JVC RV-NB50B CD Portable Boomblaster with Integrated iPod Dock and Twin Subwoofer

Just bought this for my wife, as she has just set up a dance school and no portable player she has tried seemed to be loud enough for a hall.Ok, firstly the Pro's :- 1: louder than any other portable we have tried 2: Heavy bass for the size 3:Good Remote control. Con's 1: Sound quality could be better, especially at higher volumes, but overall not bad (this is no BOSE Sound-dock) 2:No seperate bass and treble control to refine sound, sytsem has pre-set tone controls i.e Pop,Clear,Flat etc, which you select depending on your music listening taste. No horizontal hard handle, only a carrying trap, this is a bit annoying when picking player up, but there is a handle of sort at each end of the unit which looks like a speaker guard rail.Overall v-good, but with a few refinements would have made this player great. If you want a loud portable players it's prob the best out there.

One thing you cant deny about this unit......It is LOUD ! (But not as loud as its RV- B 52 watt predecessors - Which would have been preferable even without ipod docking, unfortunatly no longer being manufactured by JVC) You will be hard pushed to find anything portable on the market today that can outgun the RVNB50B for Volume.

Overall it is pretty good - but could have been sooo much better, It does have a few quirky drawbacks

Power without control = Nothing, Sounding loud isnt everything, the Bass control has a 1- 6 volume control (0-6 would have been a bonus for those that like to 'Drop the Bass' in and out - You just can't do that with this unit)

The Bass this unit generates can in some room situations be overpoweringly 'Muddy' with no way of removing it even with the 4 presets that JVC have so 'Un-Generously' allowed to adjust your music to your own tonal settings, what really bugs me is JVCs 'One size fits all' approach to Tone control. The 4 preset sound modes are basic and really not enough for every audio situation....inclusion of a 3 or 5 Band Graphic EQ or even an Independant Treble control would have given this unit so much more. (A nice bouncing graphic display on the Back-illuminated Blue LCD display weould have looked great also - maybe on the next model please JVC)

Yet again JVC fails to cross the finishing line with just an FM radio band, it wouldnt have taken much more to include LW/MW for a more complete unit.

Build quality - Dissapointing - The feel of the plastic is best described as 'Cheap' (The ipod door and lock mechanism looks like it might come off in your hands) .The carrying strap is just a piece of Black webbing without a shoulder pad (It weighs 6.8 KG/15 lbs without batteries!) or even a pouch to hold the remote control. Some of the controls on the remote are not duplicated on the Boombox itself (Why !) So make sure you dont loose it.

This unit will require careful handling in an outdoor situation, the USB stick position is right on the side which makes it a no no for carrying around using USB media, it wont last 5 mins before it gets snapped off in the street.

4 out of 5 stars from me....... This unit is not the true Urban Street Warrior that it could have so nearly have been !

I bought the music system to use at my aerobic classes. I wanted something which could take CD, ipod and usb and this ticked the boxes. The system delivers a good sound - loud enough and sounds and feels professional.
The remote gives a little more control when changing tracks and music from CD to ipod etc.
The only minus is that it doesn't provide pitch change.

It also came with a strap to carry as it is pretty heavy - but I carry it about in a large sports bag for convenience and extra security.

So far so good and I'm happy and so are my participants at my class.