Sony CFDS01CD Radio Recorder

I bought this radio recorder for a friend who is partially sighted. It's perfect, the buttons are big and it's very easy to use at an affordable price.

Almost very good

Looks good, sounds good, however....

....interface to ipod is appalling. As noted in a previous review, why on earth did Sony not use the volume control to search through music library? One has to scroll up and down through artists using the +/- buttons and it loads the first song against each artist before moving on. Therefore pressing and holding the + (or -) button does not provide a fast scroll. I wanted to access Muse and it took over 5 mins to get there! Ok, so I could delete A-Ha, Abba, Adam and the Ants, and so on, but the whole point of an ipod is that it holds ALL your music, not just the stuff you are listening to at the moment.

sony bt2600

This is a review about the 2008 version of the already popular bt2500.

I bought this from new image hifi who sent it quickly and well packed. The free gift was missing but they have promised to send one on.

The item comes with a harness ( one into two) one for the speakers and one for the power cables and an arial adaptor. I have an audi a2. Plug the exisiting inputs in and away you go. Blooth tooth works a treat ( both music streaming and phone calls/answer) and the stereo sounds great. One can control the phone re music and calling via the headunit. Even voice activation works.

Advantages over previous model i am aware of-1. this has pre-amp outs but i did not need these and one can attach a steering column/ joy stick as well as ipod via a special module to buy separately.

best wishes

azim

Brilliant product

I thought that I would try this as a friend recommended it to me. I am so glad I brought this one as it was so easy to set up and tune in, all three preset frequencies done in under five minutes, it is very clear, works brilliantly, highly recommended.

Great Product

I have had one of these for a year now and its miles better than those earpiece jobs. The quality is excellent, battery life very good indeed and it works seemlessly with my Nokia N95. Voice dialling works a treat, however my previous phone (a Samsung) was a bit dodgy, I put this down to the phone rather than the HCB-100. It clips onto the visor and does what it says on the tin! I'm about to buy another for my partner as she never has her earpiece charged or to hand, whereas with the HCB-100 its always ready to connect and the battery lasts ages and can be recharged in the car. It automatically turns off after 10 mins if you go out of bluetooth range, and connects again with one touch when you get back in the car.

Good but could be better!

The Venturi Mini is marketed as a multi-function device allowing a user to make use of the modern bluetooth profiles found in most new mobile phones.

This is coupled with an FM transmitter meaning the user is able to listen to calls and music through the car speakers via a spare frequency on FM.

In theory all this is perfect and indeed this is one of the mostly fully featured devices of this type. The OLED Display is very bright but thanks to the ambient light sensor the brightness is reduced at night, meaning you will not be blinded by the display.

It is possible to set up 4 different FM frequencies which is handy if you are driving from town to town etc.

The set up is a breeze and pairing to a bluetooth compatible phone is straight forward. Beware though Phone Book download can only be done via bluetooth but not all phones support this (not even my N95!).

The buttons have a good feel to them and a beep is heard whenever any button is pressed or if the scroll wheel is used.

With the use of RDS the Venturi Mini displays some information on the Car Radio display (e.g 'IN-CALL', 'CALLING' Etc).With some compatible phones (i.e. ones which allow the user to download the phonebook to the Ventrui) it is possible to have Caller ID on the cars Radio display.

The Venturi Mini allows the user to stream music from a compatible phone and offers the following controls: PLAY/PAUSE, STOP, Next Track and Previous Track. Music is automatically paused when a call is dialled or received.

I have sensed a slight hissing sound when playing audio through the FM transmitter. This is intermittent an I guess just an irritant more than a real problem.

The Venturi mini does not have its own speaker but it does have audio out meaning you can use it with headphones (bit risky in a car!) or if you have audio-in on your car stereo you can switch off the FM transmitter on the Ventrui mini and get even better sound through your car speakers with no FM 'Hiss'.

The venturi Mini locks into the cars 12v socket meaning it feels sturdy when being used. It switches on when the car is started and pairs automatically with the last used phone. The Venturi mini looks great and feels well built - it is surprisingly smaller than what the pictures seem to suggest.

One thing to be aware of with this type of advice is the position of the 12v Socket. If it is too far away from you - no one will be able to hear you. A killer feature would have been the ability to add a microphone through a Microphone jack so that a user can place the mic in a better position. Also if the driver behind you happens to tune into the same frequency that you are using he/she will be able to listen to the person that you are talking to - AND your Music ;-)

Great buy

I bought (and installed this myself) purely based on the reviews and advice posted here. I did initially want a stereo which had direct iPod control on the faceplate, but they were a bit more expensive. Got drawn to this one because of its high rating with reviewers and great price.

Having never fitted a car stereo before, I thought it would be difficult, but it was really simple and quick - done in a few minutes. Spent far more time trying to get the old Pioneer MD player out of my Honda Civic - had no idea where the release keys were, so had to improvise. I didn't want to spend more on new Pioneer stereo release keys that would be useless after I had removed the old stereo.

I can plug my iPod through the USB port and skip through albums and songs using the buttons on the faceplate - don't think I can access my playlists - though haven't tried yet. It starts playing a random song when it is switch it on. Apparently you can fully control your music via the iPod's (or other MP3 player) controls if you plug into the front aux input - but this involves buying an extra cable. May not be so good to try and combine driving and trying to read the tiny display on an iPod nano. The sound quality is great, at least to me - anyway much better than listening to iPod music via a FM transmitter.

Had no problem to get the stereo out of Demo mode - just look in the manual. Only knew that it would be in Demo mode as it is mentioned by previous reviewers. Wasn't too keen on the red lights on the dial and buttons, but was easily changed to green. The stereo came with a remote control - not sure about if it is a necessary item - haven't taken it out of the packaging yet - perhaps give it to back seat passengers to use. Check out the FAQs on this stereo on the Sony website for further info not listed here or in reviews.

Overall, very pleased with this purchased and even more pleased that I managed to install it myself rather than pay someone to do it for me.

Do Not Buy!!!

I bought the ION Tape2PC for my wife's Xmas gift. It is the second week in January '08 and it is not working. The ICON click only results in a message window to download Itunes. I already have Ipods and Itunes on my computer. Even re-loading Itunes has no results. 5 Emails to ION Tech Support and still no answer, and I am not the only one/ their own Forum Site. Tech Suppor?? There is no one out there. Pity you if you have a problem.

Very convenient

This is a very easy to use product complete with a built in light. You simply set the required pressure and it whirrs away and cuts off automatically when the right pressure is reached. The only downside is all these types of products are quite noisy and aren't exactly pocket sized - but I think this is a best of breed.

great unit from sony

in short, this is a great unit due to easy installation and operation, very powerful sound (even with unamped speakers), brilliant usb feature (works well with my sony NW-E016 walkman, as well as simple flash memory drives), ease of use (sony systems always have simple controls and menus),pretty cool styling, good value for money, useful 7 preset equaliser settings, and remote control (why not?! useful if youre working on your car). great peice of kit in my opinion, especially if you dont intend to amp your speaker as it delivers a very powerful sound (if your speakers are any good).

Great A/C Adapter For Sony Sat Nav

Great Price, as soon as it arrive i pluged it in to my sat nav and it worked a treat using this is great compared to charging it through a usb which you either have to do with your computer switched on or a PS3 so its just the job.

Fantastic!

I live in North Norfolk and use these transmitters with my IPAQ, iPod nano, Sony CD Player and Nokia N95

Pros: Looks brilliant, sleek and smooth design. Annoying ring is a mild buzz!

Cons: Can't use it unless you're in the car (unless you have cigarette chargers in your house...) Can't adjust the volume using the iPod though, you have to turn the actual stereo down, but you can do this on anything plugged in by the 3.5 mm

IN THE BOX:

You get the actual device with one lead for the cigarette car charger, and one for the adaptors (iPod and 3.5 mm headphone) these are permenantly connected

LOOKS:

Sleek, smooth and black. Looks smart if you like. The paint rubs off the buttons easily though. Super bright screen which displays the frequency or the setting (500, 501, 502 etc up to 509)

ROBUST:

Seems good, no breakages yet. Feels sturdy as well. the wires are thick so unlikely to snap or break

SOUNDS:

Sounds great! My only problem sound wise is that you can't adjust the volume using the device, you have to use the radio, which is ok but I've got used to being able to quickly make it quieten when I needed it to. You can do this with the 3.5 mm socket though... a slight design hitch?

BATTERY:

Very quick charge through this device to the iPod. My only problem with the battery life is that you can't run it without being plugged into a car. I use mine in my room and at work, which obviously are two places where I don't have cigarette chargers!

EXTRA FEATURES:

The charge of the iPod is the only one, which works fantastically. Its also optional so you don't over charge the iPod, brilliant

THE ANNOYING IN CAR WHISTLE:

...is actually more of a low buzz with this, and easily drowned out. Result!

CONCLUSION:

Worth the money if you are only planning to use it in the car, if you want to use it at home, or work its impossible. Good screen and easy to use/set up. Plays through all of my devices fantastically. Definitely recommend.

BEWARE!!!

ORDERED THIS ITEM HAVING PREVIOUSLY ORDERED ONE FOR A FRIEND (WHICH WORKS PERFECTLY I MAY ADD) BUT FOUND THE SECOND ONE I PURCHASED HAS NEVER ACTUALLY WORKED .. BUT AT THE PRICE OF ONLY .01p THATS THE RISK YOU SEEM BOUND TO TAKE , AS THE P&P IS PAYED BY YOURSELF ANYWAY..... SO ONCE AGAIN.....BEWARE!!!

TIP

Brilliant as said above - agree with the appearance as stated above though but not a big issue really - maybe for a younger person. Use it in my car also it works brilliantly BUT if you decide to get it, make sure the ipod volume is on max and you adjust the car sterio after putting the ipod on max volume otherwise you hear the tape going around! but excellant!!! no complaints!!

Great

This player is great, it looks and sounds good and is very easy to use (I didn't even have trouble tuning in the radio preset station thing).

I also had difficulty installing, but not because of instructions, quite simply the leads on my Nissan didn't match the connection that was on the player, so for about 6 pounds I brought the adapter and it was fine.

This is teh bets one Ive seen for this price, its excellent

Useful

OK, what would you expect from a cassette adaptor?
If you have bought one of these, or looking to buy one of these, then you should know what it is to be used for, and what to expect from it.
For a reasonable price (hmmm... a penny? exc. delivery), this cassette adaptor is more than a reasonable product to satisfy your needs.