GPX HC221B Compact CD Player Stereo Home Music System with AM/FM Tuner

I do not normally write reviews, but this might help someone. I am a graduate student and a bit of an audiophile. My father has always had a very nice and expensive integrated stereo system and I tend to have a critical ear given that I am a more classically trained musician playing in the world’s longest continually touring ensemble. I love to listen to almost any type of music so this review is not particular to any one type (sorry).Being a student, I do not have a lot of money to invest in stereo equipment. Recently many of my had-me-down electronic units have come to the end of their lives, i.e. within weeks of each other my TV and stereo died. The new TV I purchased emitted a high pitched tone that gave me a headache after 30 minutes of video games or just watching an episode of something. I bought this unit so that I do not have to listen to the small TV tweeters. This unit does the job very well for the price and size of it. I can play or watch TV without pain and I can turn the volume up while walking around the house and still hear it without it being obnoxious. It is compact so it does not take up much room in my small living quarters.If you are looking for something to blow your mind playing Shostakovich, Eric Church or anything really, then you should not be looking at small units like this in the first place. I can see this being perfect for college dorms, smaller rooms, bed rooms, offices or anywhere you just need a little music in your life without going overboard.For anyone interested, I could not find much in the way of specification on this unit. There are two line-in ports for the left and right speaker to plug into, there are not additional power cables. There is an additional stereo line in to plug you iPod, TV or whatever else to play your music (looks like a normal headphone jack). The speaker cables are only about 29 inches long stretching them out so if you plan on placing them further apart you are going to have to buy additional audio lines. There is an alarm setting, which I found nice, CD player, nothing special, display dimmer, and AM/FM tuner. The power cord has two prong AC end (just in case you live in certain dormitories).This is a decent unit that is not terrible to listen to and is worth the 40$. I think it would work nicely in college or small use. Some people seem quick to judge small units (maybe not this one, but other) because they do not rattle the rafters.I hope this helped someone!

GPX Home Music System HC221B [506 02-23-2014]I required a replacement AM FM stereo/CD player. My main criteria were size and price. I had a limited area on a bureau and I did not want to pay more than $50. This product exceeded my expectations.PROS:· I was surprised how small the unit was even with the speakers side by side. The picture on Amazon look deceptively large I measured the length of all three items together: 16 and a half inches.· Set up was no problem and the instructions clear and easy to follow. Basically attached the speakers and plug it in - good to go.· The FM stereo/CD sound is, in my estimation excellent at the price.· Speakers' connections are via standard 3.5mm plugs - helpful if you want to use other speakers like I did.· The controls have a nice look and "feel" to them - I was impressed.· The unit can be used as an alarm clock also - music or buzzer.CONS:· Unit comes with a remote for the operation of the CD player only. I suppose for the price this is adequate but I would of liked to control the volume and power on/off also· The blue backlit time/Frequency display even on low brightness is, well, bright. Not an issue for me but you should be aware of this.Overall, for the pros noted I like the unit very much and recommend it.

I purchased this AM/FM/CD player in April 2017. When I set it up I was disappointed to find it couldn't receive FM radio stations, but unfortunately illness prevented me from following up on this. Finally, in 2020, I found I could devote time to figuring this device out. CDs play well but I thought I'd like to listen to my local FM station, which of course I already knew I was unable to. Turning the radio over, I noticed a small port for an FM wire antenna. I had failed to find a wire antenna when unpacking the player, so I looked the manufacturer up online and gave them a call. I was told that the FM antenna was not included with the item. This sort of surprised me, because when do you buy even a cheap Walmart radio that doesn't have the wire antenna sticking out for you to adjust? The service rep took my number and told me he'd look into this and call me back. I never heard from him. Sick of waiting, I figured I'd rig my own FM antenna with a small piece of wire. My warranty's done, so no big deal if I remove the screws on the bottom and see where to hook in the wire, right? But when I opened the bottom, surprise! Even though there is an FM antenna port clearly marked on the underside of the radio, there is NOTHING inside that it hooks into. In other words, the antenna port is FAKE, and that's why an antenna is not included with the item. There's nothing for it to hook into. So, do yourself a favor. If you think you might want to listen to FM radio, DO NOT BUY THIS DEVICE.