Sounds good to me ;) (Philips FW-C355)

Member Name: wwfc_barmy_army

Product:	Philips FW-C355
Date:	08/08/05 (577 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great sound, looks good, easy to use

Disadvantages: Alarm gets louder and louder

I brought this around 2 years ago now from powerhouse for around £150 which was a good price.

This hi-fi boasts the following features:
Power output 2 x 40 watt RMS. 3 CD changer. Repeat/shuffle/program/CD repeat track/disc/all . play features. 40 track programmable. CDR/RW compatible. FM/MW digital tuner with 40 radio station presets. RDS including news. PS program service name. CT clock time. Twin cassette decks. Tape/CD synchro record. 4 preset sounds. Bass enhancer. 3 way bass reflex loudspeaker boxes. 5.25in woofer. Digital sound control optima Jazz Rock techno. 3 way step dynamic bass boost. 2 timer modes wakeup/sleeptimer. AUX socket. Stereo headphone connection. Remote control requires 2 x AA batteries. Main unit H31 W26.5 D35cm. Speakers H31 W21 D23cm

Installation - The installation of this hi-fi is easy, all you have to do is put the wires from the speakers into the back of the hi-fi and then plug it in. Simple. You get a quick start guide and a full manual with it.

Sound Quality - The sound quality of this is excellent. I currently have it connected up to my PC, using the very useful AUX port on the back of the hi-fi, as most of my music is on my computer. As i am speaking i am getting great quality sound coming out of the speakers. I also watch DVD's through my computer system, and some scenes in movies can sound so great through the speakers.

Look - Looks nice and stylish with the orange woofer rings & the speaker design with all hifi kind glowing buttons on the unit.

Useage - It does take a week or two to get used to the controls on the hi-fi but it soon gets very easy to navigate the options. The remote (i believe there has been two different sizes of remote released for this, i have the small one)is simple to use, with nice big buttons with what they do written on them or above them.

My features i find useful -
There are a few great features, one being the bass, you have 4 bass settings, off, 1, 2 and 3. When on '3' the bass is extremely good and loud, loud enough to get complaints from neighbours ;) I keep it on 1 or 2. I find this to be fine.

Another good feature is the DSC (Digital Sound Control) This is where you can choose the optima, Jazz, Rock and techno settings, which allows you to get the most out of the hi-fi.

As already mentioned the AUX feature is excellent, this allows you to plug in an external sound source, for example computer, DVD player, etc. This is great if you want to get better sound out of your DVD's then the small TV speakers it would usually go through.

Features that can annoy me - I like to set the alarm on my stero, but i would ideally like to wake up to the radio at a nice level of sound. But with the hi-fi the sound keeps on getting louder until you stop it. This means that you have to get up, you can't just lay there listening to the radio, but i suppose it gets me up in the morning :)

My opinion - I believe that is the a very good hi-fi which gives out great sound quality. I have had this for around 2 years and it's still going, most things break after a year, but this is still going strong. The features are good features to have and most come in use.

Summary: Overall, a great system which gives you great sound.

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