A u d i o J o u r n a l
MicroSystem CD
Boston Acoustics
www.bostonacoustics.com
$499 in Charcoal or Polar White
What is it? The Boston Acoustics MicroSystem CD is a very stylish all in
one music system that’s at home in an office or any reasonably sized room.
Oh, it’s a table radio
. Calling this system a table radio is like comparing a Ferrari to a municipal
bus. The MicroSystem CD plays music and it plays it well. The slick, little credit card remote
mimics most of the top mounted controls and operating the unit is quite intuitive. The slot loaded
CD is hidden behind the display and a magnetic gap provides a handy-dandy storage place for
the remote. Open the box, plug it in and listen…
Wow, this doesn’t sound like a table radio!
I told you, this is not a table radio. The Micro
System CD gets an amazing amount of musicality out of a very small enclosure. The sound is
sweet and seductive, wholly devoid of harshness. The high end can actually be a bit subdued
when listening to properly recorded classical guitar, for example.
Can it rock?
Come on, this little Boston Acoustics unit only
weighs 9 pounds. Still, the MicroSystem CD will put out a
surprising amount of sound with great ease. On both large
scale classical material and some fairly head-banging rock,
the presentation was always controlled and full of impact. Of
course, the laws of physics bend but they won’t break. Put it
this way, the MicroSystem CD will play pretty much any
music you like at sane, but not insane, decibel levels.
But what a radio it is!
As much as I enjoy my CDs, what pleased
me most about the MicroSystem CD was its amazing tuner
section. Oh I know that this is the age of XM Radio and iPods
(though iPods will feed the MicroSystem CD just fine) and all the
rest, but I still like listening to plain, old radio. The tuner on this
Boston Acoustics model is among the best I have ever used, and I
have used some very expensive tuners. Best of all, its great
balance of sensitivity versus selectivity is had with the use of the
very simple antennas supplied by Boston. Distant stations or
smaller stations prone to drift are
locked
in. My guess is that
Boston borrowed some of the tuner technology from their superb
Recepter table radio for the MicroSystem CD to great effect.
Everything, all in one box!
The
MicroSystem CD has not replaced my
reference system, but it was never
intended to. Still, I can imagine many
listeners using it as a main system
and enjoying their music for years to
come. Boston has a winner here: the
MicroSystem CD is elegant in look
and sound. It has a smoothness that
calms the soul and never sounds
small or forced. For less than $500,
both convenience and music are your
reward.
Highly recommended
.
© copyright 2005 Paul Cervantes / Ultralinear
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