Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I've been a big fan of Yamaha receivers for many years. If you buy towards the top of the range, you won't be disappointed. I still own a DSP-A3090, an R100, and an MCR-E300GLC mini-system. All have performed heroically over the years with virtually no problems. When I saw the MCR-230BL advertised, the USB and iPod inputs were the draw. I assumed that since it was a Yamaha product, it would have intuitive controls and at least one aux input (shame on me for not checking this out beforehand). First of all, the controls are a mess. To make very basic adjustments in tone, you have to dive into a menu system that should be an example to designers everywhere of how to frustrate your customers. I suspect 80% of people that buy this will never figure out how to adjust bass and treble. There should have been dedicated knobs for this but I understand the necessity of controlling cost. Regardless, there are many examples of good menu driven controls. In this case, the controls are awful. Secondly, there are no aux inputs. Forget connecting anything else to this other than an iPod and usb device. Thirdly, this is available with or without the speakers. I was intrigued by the unusal depth of the speakers so I bought these as well. Save your money. The speakers lack any semblance of realistic midrange, bass or smooth treble. I've owned many speakers and understand these are basically throw-aways but was hoping Yamaha might have produced a diamond in the rough among cheap speakers. No such luck. So what's to like? The iPod functionality is good. The remote controls most anything you will need to control in the iPod. It has an output for a sub. The usb input is cool. I've connected several flash dives and a 40Gb portable, usb powered hard drive. All worked well. I finally ran a mini-jack to rca cable from the headphone output of this to my other Yamaha mini-system so I get the better sound quality and controls. If you are considering buying this, I'd look at something a little more sophisticated from Yamaha or Denon, something you will be happy to use for many years. If you want iPod connectivity with controls, there are many iPod docks that can be connected to any receiver, some of which have remotes and other nice features but all of which will cost far less than this unusual mis-step by Yamaha.
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Yamaha MCR-230BL Micro Component System (Black)
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