Hi-Fi: JVC Nx-G9 Sophisti – Review – 74

The name Sophisti is not yet one that rolls off every tongue, but JVC plans to deal to that as it unveils more products under the ‘prestige’ name and builds consumer awareness.

JVC has set three parameters for membership to its Sophisti club: systems that embody the company’s quest for authentic sound and acoustic realism; sophisticated design that matches quality room décor; and integrated systems that provide “wider entertainment possibilities and fun surprises for consumers”. Hang on to that thought for a moment or two.

First off the block, a couple of years ago, were the DD-8 and the DD-3, featuring a network media player that served as the nerve centre of a home entertainment setup. These were well-reviewed products of undoubted quality but, in New Zealand at least, did not do as well as JVC had hoped. Consumers didn’t seem to appreciate the possibilities that a media player setup offers. Tone readers excepted, of course.

Now JVC has expanded the Sophisti range with products such as this NX-G9 DVD compact component system that turns its back on the integrated network media player concept to favour a more conventional three-speaker/receiver setup, but with a twist.

Harking back to that goal of “wider entertainment possibilities and fun surprises for consumers”, the NX-G9 includes a karaoke function with two microphone inputs and many of the goodies that advocates of this form of entertainment like to have but which I don’t understand, such as scoring, vocal masking and digital echo.

Despite the wish to have the product complement hot home decor, the NX-G9 is quite conventional looking, the square-ish box finished in glossy black, the speakers in various sheens of black with chrome highlights. The receiver unit looks plain and unobtrusive until you push the button, when a control panel slides down and a blue strip light starts flashing.

The receiver most conveniently connects to a TV panel via an HDMI cable with 1080p/720p up-conversion. It takes sound from a versatile variety of sources, including MP3, WMA and WAV files, and handles JPEG still and MPEG-4 image files.

I like the way JVC has arranged USB and microphone inputs across the front of the receiver’s base; they’re so easy to get to. That flip-down panel has controls for volume, source and some other frequently used items, but most users will bypass these for the convenience of the long, slim and button-rich remote that includes the karaoke controls.

Setup time out of the box is quick and easy: I’ve seen ‘easy’ before, but this takes the cake. Plug in wires already attached to the speakers, add AM or FM aerials if you want, connect to the HDMI port and to a power source and you’re ready to karaoke -or, in my case, watch DVDs.

Given its price point and place in the great audio-visual scheme of things, the NX-G9 performs well, delivering a full and rich sound, albeit one that becomes distorted and thus jarring at higher volume levels. At sane, neighbour-friendly levels it’s fine and would make a worthwhile addition to any lounge, designer décor or not.

It can also be easily configured to suit your listening preferences. So you could say it’s both Sophisti and cated.

PHIL HANSON

TECH SPECS

Nx-G9 Sophisti

Component DVD System

$799

AMPLIFIER

Max output: 160W 4 Ohm 63Hz (subwoofer) 90W x 2 3 Ohm 1kHz
DVD/CD PLAYER Playable formats: DVD, DVD-RW, DVD-R, +R and +RW, CD, CD-R/RW, WMA, MP3, WAV, JPEG stills, MPEG-4, DivX Ultra
Dynamic range: 80dB
Signal to noise ratio: 80dB
Dimensions: 250 x 150 x 250mm (W/H/D)
Weight: 5.5kg

SPEAKERS

TYPE: Three-way bass reflex
Woofer, midrange and tweeter:    160mm, 50mm, 20mm
Subwoofer: 160cm Impedance (main, sub): 3 Ohm, 4 Ohm Power capacity (main, sub): 160w, 90w x 2
Dimensions: 185 x 460 x 195mm (W/H/D) main 185 x 460 x 195mm sub
Weight (main, sub): 3.7kg, 4kg

CONTACT

www.jvc.co.nz

PROS

CONS

• Loses its cool at high volumes

• Karaoke-friendly

VERDICT

• A lot of product for well under a grand

This review is from Tone issue #74.