JVC Kaboom Series RV-B99BK Boombox CD | RV-B99BK

Description

JVC Kaboom! Base Canon Boombox with CD,
(Cassette Player Doesn't Work), Digital Tuner, and Guitar Jack
Description
The appearance of JVC's RV-B99 Kaboom! Boombox is striking enough that you might be tempted to dismiss it as a gimmicky showpiece. Don't. Rugged build was definitely a priority in JVC's design, but when it comes to sound quality
and
quantity, the RV-B99 is far and away the best value going in portable music systems.
The RV-B99 sounded terrific on our full range of program material, from rock and rap to classical and acoustic world music. The unit delivered clear, balanced sound from two 6.5-inch woofers, two 3.25-inch drivers, and no tweeters, underscoring the fact that simpler is often better, especially when striving for cost-efficiency. JVC quite obviously put its money into amplification (26 watts per high-powered channel) and subwoofers, resulting in a combination of effortless power and deep, giving bass previously unheard of at this price.
The obvious benefit of a high-powered amplifier is being able to play it loudly. The RV-B99 exhibited an almost unnerving ability to play louder and louder, forcing us to rest our ears long before we encountered limits in the RV-B99's performance. There was no distortion in the highs, and not a hint of compression (or loss of dynamics) in the bass.
The less-obvious benefits of heavy-duty amplifiers show up during low-level listening. Lower-powered systems
might
muster the loudness of the RV-B99, but they'd never match it for putting out easy, full-bodied sound at very low volumes (which is where we found the RV-B99's separate bass-adjust knob the most useful). The six-level subwoofers worked well enough that we had to roll them back to two or three at high listening levels. But when playing music quietly, it was nice to crank the bass up to five or six and hear lower tones that would otherwise be inaudible.
What kind of bass are we talking about? By our measurements, the RV-B99 "kabooms" down to about 50 Hz at its loudest, which is low for a portable system. (It takes loudspeakers of substantial size to get good bass in the remaining octave or so below this). The bass-adjust knob works in conjunction with three equalized presets (Clear, Pop, and Beat) to give you several ways to tailor the sound for whatever music you're playing.
A defeatable JVC feature called Active Clear Sound (ACS) kicks in to emphasize highs when frequencies above a preset threshold are present, the thinking being that the overall audio signal will be cleaner if this is only active when it needs to be. In practice, the "pumping" from the on-off action of the circuit proved irritating on more delicate music, but on complex rock material, it brought a pleasing presence to the treble region.
The RV-B99 has a great remote: small and responsive (with fast search and scan times), letting you select tracks directly from a numbered key pad. We noticed, however, that when skipping tracks the player clipped the first half-second or so of the desired song. If you're skipping around or making a cassette from a programmed sequence, this could be highly inconvenient.
The auto-reverse tape player sounds far better than average. (There's no Dolby, but the tape hiss wasn't intrusive.) A host of features--one-touch record, a microphone or guitar input (you can blend either one with CD sound, making it perfect for karaoke), a back-lit LCD screen, a clock/timer, and a thick shoulder strap with a pouch for the remote control--round out the unit's flexibility.
For a feature-packed portable system that plays with equal ease at high and low volumes, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better unit than the JVC RV-B99.
Pros:
Highlights
Specifications
Type
boombox
Manufacturer
JVC
CARRYING CASE
Type
none
Included Accessories
carrying strap, control case, power cable, remote control
MISCELLANEOUS
Color Category
black, gray
Color
black, dark gray
Body Material
plastic
BATTERY
Form Factor
D type
Required Qty
8
CONNECTIONS
Type
audio line-in, headphones, microphone
AUDIO FEATURES
Output Channel Qty
2
Output Power / Total
52 Watt
Sound Effects
Active Clear Sound, Active Hyper-Bass PRO
Sound Output Mode
stereo
Timer
sleep, wake
Built-in Clock
digital clock, timer
Alarm Qty
1
Additional Features
Bi-Amplifying
HEADER
Brand
JVC
Product Line
JVC Kaboom ! Series
Model
RV-B99BK
Localization
English
Packaged Quantity
1
BUILT-IN DISPLAY
Display Illumination
Yes
CD SYSTEM
Type
CD player
Media Load Type
top-load
Playback Modes
continuous, one track repeat, program play, random play / shuffle, repeat all, skip playback
Frequency Response
20 Hz
CD-to-Tape Synchro Recording
Yes
CD Track Programming
Yes (20 tracks)
CASSETTE SYSTEM
Type ( Cassette Deck dose not work)
cassette deck
Control Type
full-logic
Cassette Capacity
1
Synchro Start Recording
Yes
Auto Reverse
Yes
Auto Shut-Off
Full
DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT
Width
27.2 in
Depth
11.8 in
Height
9.4 in
Weight
20.94 lbs
EQUALIZER
Equalizer Type
digital graphic
Equalizer Factory Preset Qty
3
Equalizer Factory Presets
Beat, Clear, Pop
SERVICE & SUPPORT
Type
1 year warranty
SERVICE & SUPPORT DETAILS
Type
limited warranty
Full Contract Period
1 year
Service Included
parts and labor
RADIO
Preset Station Qty
45
AM Preset Station Qty
15
FM Preset Station Qty
30
Tuner Bands
AM/FM
Antenna Form Factor
built-in AM / telescopic FM
Tuning Display
LCD display
Additional Features
Auto Store (AS)
Radio Tuner
Digital - AM/FM
MD SYSTEM
Type
none
BATTERY / POWER
Type
power supply
GENERAL
Manufacturer
JVC