Yeah, what they won’t think of. I’ve been toying with the thing for 12 hours here, and thought to file a first-impressions Xanga report. Enjoy.
Bottom-line: A worthy novelty-market offering, I suppose.
Ok, having put the bottom line at the top, I have no further duty to respect format, and so I’ll just discuss Pluses and Minuses as I see fit, and sue me.
I had the Unit delivered last night. I was already in bed, but I do remember hearing engine noises, probably the crane. I’d asked ‘Bruno’, the fellow I bought it from on E-Bay, to put it somewhere near the house, like on the lawn, but this morning I saw the thing, all shiny, out there on the side of the street. Damn. It must weigh a ton. Literally, 2200 pounds. Oh well. One of the pictures in the Korean-language manual (the back half of it, which is all Bruno still had) shows a guy with his out in the middle of a street(!). I tried to push mine, to no avail. It does come with wheels for maneuverability, I’m guessing, but the lever in the Listening Booth, when you slide it to ‘P’ (obviously stands for ‘Push’ or ‘Pull’) kinda locks the wheels. So put ‘Lack of Portability’ in the Deficit column.
On the plus side, the sound is superb, state of the art for a 45 watt system with 4 speakers. The listening compartment is quiet and well padded, with two seats front and 2 more rear, I guess for parties. Says it has ‘Air Bags’, whatever that is. I guess if you get short of breath from the high-fidelity tunes. There’s even a big wheel in the front of the cabin, but so far it doesn’t seem to pan the audio at all. I may have to use Google translate.
Veracity: I must admit the likeness to a motor vehicle is un-canny. All they left out, obviously, is the un-necessary (?) clutch pedal and a gear-shift lever. In its place is the aforementioned slider. It’s labeled with letters, ‘N’, ‘R’, and ‘1-2-3’, whatever they mean. My current theory is ‘Nothing’, like with the Chinese sweat-shirts we see here with gibberish printed in English on the front.
Battery- life: No problem there, although it did take me a while to figure how to get to the compartment. Turns out there’s a lever up in the front, duh. I pulled it finally and the front hatch opened. Lots of guts in there, in addition to a rugged 12 Volt ‘battery to die-hard for’. Rated at like 100 Amps. What the rest of the stuff does is maybe in the book, although I suspect some of it is proprietary.
So there ya go. Oh price?
I paid about $2000 bucks for the thing, delivered. Yeah, you may be saying ‘that’s a lot for a lousy CD-Player’, but Bruno assured me that I can always sell it for about that, if I find the right victim. And as long as I don’t put too many miles on it. No problem there, I can’t push it even ten feet, unless he means miles on the rotating CD Drive. Lots of stuff I don’t know yet. Like even the name. The Hebrew Proof-of Purchase card says like ‘Die Wu: New Birah’. When ya sound it out. Or ‘Nu… Birah!’ which is what you say here to a bartender who forgot to pour your Goldstar draft, so busy gawking at your girlfriend.
Speaking of romance, I do need to spill the news of this purchase to my Significant Digit; I can already hear her bitching: ‘You paid too much, as usual, you sucker!’. So that’s kinna why I decided to lay out the situation in a Review. And on the whole, yeah, it’s a nifty enough gadget for the money. Just wish it were a little closer to the house. JS/ Tel Aviv
jxsolberg 
I think you did a great job with your cd player. I agree, it’s not the smallest or most portable, but it has comfortable seats to relax in while you listen. And 2K delivered is a bargain!
You could be the first on your block to teach a Music Depreciation class.
If it does not play LP’s, you are obviously a sucker. On the bright side, as it appears roomy, you could have some exciting adventures. I would like a preview. Are you up for it?
@BoulderChristina – That’s nice to hear. I did just learn that I can use that key they give you to lock it, to, you know, keep folks from stealing your CD, and turn it there on the column, a whirring noise happens down inside the battery compartment. Sounds like a engine running. Clever folks, the Koreans. (South)
@twoberry – clever as always. The ‘car’ doesn’t have too far to devalue anymore, but I kinda love it already.
@Kellsbella – Sure, we’ll do that Louise and Somebody thing, jamb on the brakes at the edge of a cliff, see if they’re real. I’ll let you wear the bandana,
@jsolberg – Well, if you’re driving and I’m to be outfitted in a bandana, I can’t see what could possibly go wrong with the brakes.
@jsolberg – Will wonders ever cease?? 🙂
@Kellsbella – Well, I didn’t specify the bandanna over your eyes, but yeah, it was a scary movie. Now to choose the soundtrack.
@jsolberg – How bout one of my favourites? (I don’t know why, really)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keuI2LHMlwU&feature=fvsr
I’m surprised it looks so REAL. Looks like you got your money’s worth! Hope the hi-fidelity doesn’t ruin you for the cheap US models.
@murisopsis – Yes, I’m learning new functions as we speak; looks like they hid an experimental ‘transmission’ which changes gears automatically. Never had one in 45 years, but I’ll try it. Kinda makes a ‘driver’ obsolete, to my taste.
So what’s with the road sign attached to the rear of the CD player? Is that the aerial? My guess is you have a DVD player in the boot shaped thingy.
In a deire to be the first in the Tel Aviv area, I’m afraid you overpaid. The Indians are promising to come out with a similar CD system next year for about half price. WSell, I SUPPOSE you are happy being the first in Tel Aviv!
@Lovegrove – Yes, I believe it transmits my listening choices to who knoweth where. Seems to be beamed straight vertically. We all know where *that* takes you.
@DEISENBERG – Nope, I already checked out the Indians offering. Only plays ragas and sitar music, which is cool by me but attracts police attention.
Truly enjoyable. Don’t forget weather-sensitive. Try to pop in a CD on a cold day and see what happens. Car problems completely transcend nations. I was hanging out with these Armenian guys in their Ford Focus and my friend asked them to put the back windows down, at which point they exchanged **The Look**–the one that Gandalf gave to Merry and Pippin when they wanted to join the fellowship, or the one that Otto Von Bismark gave Kaiser Wilhelm when we decided to start WWI. Turns out the back windows in their car-shaped CD player don’t work either–just lyk my girlfriends’, and every other Ford Focus I have ever known. Keep a lookout for a teenage girl with rich parents = good future buyer. 🙂
It’s very shiny. Also, I like that there are handles on the top so you can carry it with you. Tit’chadesh!
@jsolberg – Verily, it taketh thine record collection choices yonder to ye seven ears of ye warrior aliens, even now collecteth they at ye portals of ye olde moon to wipe us out. They don’t want to but thine choices of musical entertainment is driving ’em crazy.Try some rap.
@autumn_cannibal76 – Hey, thanks for the tip. I’m usually the last, final owner of anything I buy, ha.
@elgan – Ha, now I just need larger than life hands with which to pick it up. The thing has kinda changed my life, which was my fervent hope. Next time you visit I can feel more presentable.
@Lovegrove – Yes, I’d heard about that alien concern. believe they reacted to the musical choices on a planetary probe once with ‘Send more Chuck Berry’
Cool, it looks like it even has mirrors so you can see how ridiculous you look while you sing along.
What it lacks in portability, it more than makes up for in CD storage capacity. The left-right metronome feature is a bit puzzling, as there is no tempo control, but I am sure it works with certain tunes.
@MelFamy – Sharp eyes, guy. Yes, I can’t seem to find the synch program for it. Nothing more embarrassing than to be blasting ‘Born to be Wild’ and the flashing lights tagging along as ‘born to be mild’.
Thymes are change sense Paul ore was it Saul took the donkey trail to Damascus ‘n fell off Jew two a coupla bumps in the road. Knot shore if that referred two a girly hitchhiker.The main difference today of course being the donkey trail to Damascus is closed or at least not a trail one would be advised to take one’s ass.So where you been? Get back to the keyboard immediately ‘n utter fourth wisdom unto the gentiles..
The handles on top look like they could be used as a handy temporary storage for building supplies that you want to keep off of the ground. What vehicle model were they copying?
@Roadkill_Spatula – Ha, you perfectly capture the spirit of the piece, where a dumb-f*ck like me, so un-used to having a normal car, can’t seem to see the thing. Yes, a nifty movable lumber skid, and maybe storage shed for the tools.It’s modelled after the 2000 Daewoo Nubira, I’ve discovered from some official-looking papers I found in the glove-compartment/ drug stash area.My younger kid does call it a ‘Mommy-car’, but I’ll get over it. Already hauled 50 2X4s to a roof I’m doing.
@Lovegrove – I’m tied up building roofs, trying not to do a Karl Wallenda off the edge. And no, we didn’t close the roads to Assyria. Our dream was of a normal neighborhood. Tell it to the towelled heads.
@jsolberg – I did no wish to imply that the closure of the Damascus road is the fault of Israel. Indeed, whosoever’s fault it was, it won’t be open for a while yet. This civil war is going to go on for a while.Keep safe on dem dare roofs.
@Lovegrove – Ha. Just sensitive I guess. Lately we be accused of about everything.
@jsolberg – So it was youse wot killed my chickens.
@jsolberg – Hey, you said towel heads. The towel heads are Semites. So, youse being anti-Semitic or whatttttt?
Best features: 1) The “seventies style” lights which pulsate in synch with the music (as long as the music beats evenly at about 4/sec.) on either Right or Left channels. 2) The four-point pneumatic levelling system so there’s less skipping. 3) The fact that, unlike the slightly larger Sanyo Ghetto Blaster, this model doesn’t rest on your shoulder uncomfortably and it provides enhanced protection during drive-bys and confrontational street dance-offs. “Hey Rudy. I think that guy in the feculent-hued sound wagon be tryin’ to get yo girl to shake her action all up in his ‘screen. You kno’ what I’m sayin’? You want me to tell him that in dis ‘hood we keep our auditory fenestrations rolled up tight if we strangers?” 4) Cup holders!
@gnostic1 – All fine features, but the cup-holder (ok, beer-holder) is turning out to be a nice blast from the past. I use it from sun-up to sun-down and then some. Hadn’t even noted it when I decided to purchase the unit. Like marrying a girl for her dancing, then discovering she can knit. Something like that…
I agree it’s a lot of money for a CD player, but as long as it cranks out the tunes, what’s a few bucks when you can jam in style? Good to see you on my page today! I’ve been wondering how you are doing. I haven’t been xangaing very much lately.
I had a flower pot like that once.
@blonde_apocalypse – Haha (just now saw your comment). But for a flower pot, it took me to Tel Aviv this morning in 31 minutes, a new speed record. Meanwhile my previous auto is now a carpet-drying stand and a lumber rack. Moveable too.
I had a boom box almost that big back in the day!
I notice sweet little angel baby J has been a bit on the lazy side when it comes to posting. We want the nudie pics and we want them now! (Obviously, Beth coerced me into saying that.)