Anyone Have Experience With Stereo's From Bigc...

[StrongView]

I was wondering if anyone here has actually heard any of the large stereo's they sell in BigC, Carrefour or Tesco. They have huge speaker towers, and look nice...but so do most Thai pastries, and I'm no fan of those either. Has anyone actually bought a stereo setup @ one of these stores? If so, where, what brand name, your level of happiness with the product and how much did you pay for it? Thanks a lot.

[StrongView]

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[Neeranam]

Yes I've bought one from Big C - it was cheap, loud and lasted about 2-3 years. A prime case of "buy cheap buy dear". There is usually no problem with the speakers, it's the cd slot and cassette bit that usually go quickly.

I need a powerful stereo to drown out the local noise.

[spacebass]

Hi strong view,

I spent 10 years selling pro audio in UK so i think I have some good practical experience and hopefully know how in this field.

I have bought a Soken set up it is not too big and garish and not that small either , it consists of a sub bass box with the amps and some controls in it , which is 36cms deep 28cms wide x 39 cms high , it does something like 60 watts RMS bass and 2x40watts RMS for each top box (you may know RMS is the only value when it comes to audio watts , PMPO rating etc is pure marketting bullshit).

The two top boxes are 60cms high x 17.7cms wide and 17cms deep. all nicely veneered in a medium shade wood.

All you have to do is plug your cd player in and you are away.

For me sounds great and listening to a set is the only way to judge it, I actually wanted a lighter wood for my second set and of course there were light wood sets there some looking bigger and tougher than this one, but they just did not have the same 'welly'.

The model is T-210 and it comes alone for around 5000bht or pakaged with a vcd player for more money. If you need a CD player I would buy a multi region cheopo DVD player , you can pick these up fmost times for around 1,500 bht seem to be in Big C festival more often

Don't buy foreign because of import duty and don't let the little man in the shop sell you what he wants, listen..

Let me know what you think!

SpaceB

[h90]

my wife bought a very cheap one.

2 month later laser of the CD drive broken--repair

2 weeks later laser blind again.

Now I just ripped everything, connected it to her computer and she listen the CDs as MP3, over the external input.... that works well, specialy because now the part for adjust the volume also broke (month 6), but can adjust it on the computer....

Yes I've bought one from Big C - it was cheap, loud and lasted about 2-3 years.  A prime case of "buy cheap buy dear". There is usually no problem with the speakers, it's the cd slot and cassette bit that usually go quickly.

I need a powerful stereo to drown out the local noise.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[think_too_mut]

I bought a Sony, 19,990baht from Emporium.

At Tesco the very same model was - 19,990 baht too.

Then, while on holidays, I bought 1800B stereo from Tesco.

That one, could not see it at the Emporium to compare the price.

[greenwanderer108]

can't say i've bought any real stereos from Big C (more than 2000 baht) but the cheap radio/tape players I bought in the past from Big C only really ever had problems with cheap heads in the tape player and/or the motor there. So it's really not worth it having an electric repairman replace a motor for half the price of the whole thing new.

But if you're putting in big bucks, after the warranty expires, it shouldn't be too much of hassle to replace small motors and heads. CD players are another story. Why don't you just get a good DVD player (i.e. sony, phillips, samsung) with a year++ warranty. That can run you anywhere from 2-8 thousand bahtt for something decent. They're oretty sturdy. I've had my Phillips DVD player for more than a year and no problems/malfunctions yet (knock on wood). It also came with free t-shirt and DVD.

The good intl. DVD players can play most region DVDs, all VCDs, CDs, CDRs, MP3's, and even microphone jacks for the Kareoke CDs that Thais love so much. (Good for us farang to learn reading/listening Thai also)

And if you need ampifed sound, you can buy a stereo speaker/amplifer set for cheap...starting under 1000 baht up to 3-4000 baht.

IMO, it's a better value with the DVD set-up. The only thing it lacks is the radio tuner.

For most of my listening, though, it's usually the 'ripped' option via the computer as it's easiest/most reliable.

[rono]

Hi,

used to buy cheap stereo's but they never last long, I now have a pioneer dvd home theater for 3 years 80 rms output on each of the 5 speakers, not a single problem yet. recently i got a samsung dvd home theatre free when i bought my new tv, 100 watt rms at each of the 5 speakers, brilliant sound of both dvd players.

my conclusion: buy a more expensive quality brand.

[jonik]

If you don't wanne pay the price for a sony you could buy a AJ syst. it is supposed to be produced at the same factory.

[jonik]

My gf has one that cost her 1500 bth ...... sh#tty sound but it works thou.

[Gumballl]

As one of the other posters said in an earlier statement, just use your PC (or laptop) if you have one, for playing CDs or MP3s. A cheapo multi-region DVD player can be used, if not your PC itself.

When it comes to stereo systems, what really sets it apart is the quality of the sound. Shop for good speakers, for these are paramount for any worthy stereo system. Note that BIG speakers are not always better than small ones.

When I was living in LOS last year, I bought a 2000 baht speakers from a manufacturer called Micro (?). The set came with a subwoofer, and a pair of "double decker" satellite speakers. The sound was awesome for the small condo I rented.

I hooked these speakers to the TV, my laptop, and more often than these, to my iPod. I could not have asked for better sound (well, actually a 5.1 system would have been nice!). But still, good speakers for the mulah.

Here in the US, I have a Denon audio-visual-receiver (AVR) with Paradigm speakers in a 5.1-setup. DVD player is Phillips. This entire system cost $1700 in the US... a bit rich for most in Thailand... even for me when I was there.

[TBWG]

I was wondering if anyone here has actually heard any of the large stereo's they sell in BigC, Carrefour or Tesco.  They have huge speaker towers, and look nice...but so do most Thai pastries, and I'm no fan of those either.  Has anyone actually bought a stereo setup @ one of these stores?  If so, where, what brand name, your level of happiness with the product and how much did you pay for it?  Thanks a lot.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi not sure I can give you any advice other than make sure you take a pair of ear defenders with you when you plan to buy.

It seems mandatory to have every single stereo,TV and radio in the shop display blasting out at maximum volume and all tuned to different stations.

I personally can't stand it for more than about 5 minutes at a time!

Good luck!