Boston Acoustics MicroSystem CD User Manual

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What is it? The Boston Acoustics MicroSystem CD is a very stylish all in one music system that’s at home in an office or any reasonably sized room.

Oh, it’s a table radio. Calling this system a table radio is like comparing a Ferrari to a municipal

bus. The MicroSystem CD plays music and it plays it well. The slick, little credit card remote mimics most of the top mounted controls and operating the unit is quite intuitive. The slot loaded CD is hidden behind the display and a magnetic gap provides a handy-dandy storage place for the remote. Open the box, plug it in and listen…

Wow, this doesn’t sound like a table radio! I told you, this is not a table radio. The Micro System CD gets an amazing amount of musicality out of a very small enclosure. The sound is sweet and seductive, wholly devoid of harshness. The high end can actually be a bit subdued when listening to properly recorded classical guitar, for example.

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Can it rock? Come on, this little Boston Acoustics unit only weighs 9 pounds. Still, the MicroSystem CD will put out a surprising amount of sound with great ease. On both large scale classical material and some fairly head-banging rock, the presentation was always controlled and full of impact. Of course, the laws of physics bend but they won’t break. Put it this way, the MicroSystem CD will play pretty much any music you like at sane, but not insane, decibel levels.

But what a radio it is! As much as I enjoy my CDs, what pleased me most about the MicroSystem CD was its amazing tuner section. Oh I know that this is the age of XM Radio and iPods (though iPods will feed the MicroSystem CD just fine) and all the rest, but I still like listening to plain, old radio. The tuner on this Boston Acoustics model is among the best I have ever used, and I have used some very expensive tuners. Best of all, its great balance of sensitivity versus selectivity is had with the use of the very simple antennas supplied by Boston. Distant stations or smaller stations prone to drift are locked in. My guess is that Boston borrowed some of the tuner technology from their superb Recepter table radio for the MicroSystem CD to great effect.

MicroSystem CD Boston Acoustics www.bostonacoustics.com $499 in Charcoal or Polar White

Everything, all in one box! The MicroSystem CD has not replaced my reference system, but it was never intended to. Still, I can imagine many listeners using it as a main system and enjoying their music for years to come. Boston has a winner here: the MicroSystem CD is elegant in look and sound. It has a smoothness that calms the soul and never sounds small or forced. For less than $500, both convenience and music are your reward. Highly recommended.