acoustic solutions sp100 review

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Picture courtesy of Matt Mould.

Average Ratings

Sound Quality	5.3/10
Features	7/10
Value for Money	8.1/10
Reviewer Rating	7/10
Overall Rating	7.7/10

71% Recommended5 out of 7 Reviews

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By mark lucas on 6th Feb 2008

mark lucas's Ratings

Time Amplifier Owned	1 - 6 Months
Sound Quality	5/10
Features	7/10
Value for money	6/10
Overall value	6/10
mark lucas's recommendation

Good Points

Cheap cheerful, reasonable build quality, 6 channels, user friendly and basic

Bad Points

Only 2 speaker ports, not the most amazing sound quality.

General Comments

Over the years I built up a small stock pile of separates which I'd gradually replaced with better brands. Rather than flog the existing decks on ebay - I thought it might be interesting to compile a second hi-fi out of these spares. My goal was to assemble something cheaply without looking at the second hand market. What I ended up with is something very acceptable sounding.

I was lucky in managing to obtain some last-of-line 2 way 8ohm 100 watt bookshelf speakers by Bush. These were at a rock bottom £9.99 and a brand I normally wouldnt touch with a bargepole. The irresistible sale price and build quality served though. Fortunately, they turned out actually better than their Argos equivalents (which I also own and use as rears on another system). They match the acoustic solutions amp perfectly without any hiss or distortion, possibly because they're a little beyond the amps drive.

Overall I wasnt impressed with the amps condition when removing it from the box. In particular, the volume knob was scuffed and the lcd display had tiny scratches, possibly from an abrasive cloth. There were also small scratches on the side. Argos are notorious for this and I perhaps should have taken it back. Decided otherwise as it was their last in stock- some liberally applied brasso metal polish buffed these defects out quickly.

The size of this amp is unnecessarily large (but as standard). Take note of the dimensions if you have limited space. Despite some contemporary styling, it looks like something from 1970. My wife jokes that all it needs are some wooden panels to
complete the look. The strange alloy finish isn't to its credit because when you try to clean it, bits of lint get stuck to the surface.

Functionality is quite impressive. It's handy to have so many digital controls as oppose to dial knobs which wear and crackle with age. The buttons feel stiff and click, a little cheap but acceptable. A backlit yellowish green lcd display also makes
it more interesting, if at all something which looks like it belongs in a car. Because everything's combined under one function button, adjustments are time consuming and more fiddly than usual.

The range of bass and treble is a little muddy and muffled but again acceptable. A sub woofer in my case isnt necessary as the speakers already have adequate woofer ducts at the rear- some good heavy bass. There is however, a distinct lack of something, I'm not quite sure what it is. The system has a good volume range , loud enough without distortion but it seems to be missing some kick mid-range or clarity. There's a considerable reduction in volume with my old Aiwa phono deck connected but I suspect this may be down to the quality of the unit and format. I also found with two seperate brands of dvd player connected, there's little difference in sound quality between the two on each channel which is unusual.

Finally the remote control supplied has a good range with variable angles but it's not something I'd use (because I have legs).

If you're looking to compile a budget system for six separates and you want something better than a standard portable boombox, this is an ok product. It's also much better than the vast majority of 'girly' micro systems out there. Combine this with a cheap tesco dvd player, you'll have a great quality system which will last years. If you're a hi-fi audiophile, avoid this like the plague - This amps a joke compared to my entry level sony. 'It does exactly what it says on the tin ', no more, no less.

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