Emerson Radio Corporation MS-3108 Mini Audio System
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Similar in Audio Shelf Systems
- Included Accessories: Remote Control
- Playable Disk Types: CD (Audio) CD-R CD-RW
- Number of Discs: 3
- Sound Type: Stereo
- Functions: CD Player Radio Tuner
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User ReviewRead All Reviews »
Thought It Was Haunted - Call Ghost Hunters
Pros
Nice sound quality, space-saving design, nice look
Cons
Door opens randomly, CD compartment stopped working, runs on common frequency to garage door openers.
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
If you can get it on clearance for under $50, that's when I'd buy it. Otherwise, it's not built to last!
I loved the look of the Emerson MS3108 Shelf System and the price was right, so I purchased it for my living room about a year ago. The player worked great, sound quality is average for an affordable stereo, so I was pleased for the first couple of months. Then the weirdness started.
Let's start by covering the player's features:
1. Three separate CD compartments. You can shuffle the songs on one CD, two CDs or all three. CD-R and CD-RW compatible.
2. Different EQ modes for Classic, Flat, Rock and Pop. I find that keeping it on rock provides the best sound.
3. Has a built-in clock, LED display, that allows you to set a sleep timer or delayed start.
4. AM/FM radio with 20 presets
5. Remote control with a great battery life
6. Audio outs
7. Headphone jack
8. 1X woofer and tweeter
Again, it is a sleek looking system that fits nicely onto a shelf. Mine has screw holes in the back that also you to mount it on the wall. Keeps it out of the way.
Here come the problems. It has a 90-day warranty. Four months into owning it, the CD player started opening itself. We'd be watching TV or in another room preparing dinner and the door would open up. You close it and it opens itself back up. Nowadays, it takes me four or five attempts to get it to close. It even opens up in the middle of playing a CD. Most of the time now, we keep it unplugged.
Another problem we've encountered, it starts playing a CD randomly. This has only happened a few times and at first we thought maybe someone had set the timer, but that wasn't the case. At 3:00 a.m., the CD player started playing the Aerosmith CD we'd left in the day before. That's actually what prompted us to start keeping it unplugged when not in use.
We seriously did begin to question if we had a resident ghost or something. Upon further research, I found that a lot of online reviews state the same issue with the door opening itself.
Eventually, my brother, who is an electrical engineer, came over and experienced it too. He went outside and noticed our neighbor had just come home and used their garage door opener remote. With that, we asked our neighbor to do it again and sure enough, the door on the stereo system opened.
Turns out, that certain remotes activate the CD player. Our neighbor's garage door opener is one, but we've also had it happen when cars are driving by.
A newer issue is that the first CD compartment will not load a CD on the first try. It takes four or five tries before it recognizes CDs, especially CD-R or CD-RWs. It also skips quite frequently once you do get it working. We've stopped using the first compartment for that reason.
It's a good system, but having to keep it unplugged is a bit of a hassle, especially if you use the clock/timer function. The fact that the first CD compartment ceased working properly, that alone makes it unworthy of the price I paid.
Let's start by covering the player's features:
1. Three separate CD compartments. You can shuffle the songs on one CD, two CDs or all three. CD-R and CD-RW compatible.
2. Different EQ modes for Classic, Flat, Rock and Pop. I find that keeping it on rock provides the best sound.
3. Has a built-in clock, LED display, that allows you to set a sleep timer or delayed start.
4. AM/FM radio with 20 presets
5. Remote control with a great battery life
6. Audio outs
7. Headphone jack
8. 1X woofer and tweeter
Again, it is a sleek looking system that fits nicely onto a shelf. Mine has screw holes in the back that also you to mount it on the wall. Keeps it out of the way.
Here come the problems. It has a 90-day warranty. Four months into owning it, the CD player started opening itself. We'd be watching TV or in another room preparing dinner and the door would open up. You close it and it opens itself back up. Nowadays, it takes me four or five attempts to get it to close. It even opens up in the middle of playing a CD. Most of the time now, we keep it unplugged.
Another problem we've encountered, it starts playing a CD randomly. This has only happened a few times and at first we thought maybe someone had set the timer, but that wasn't the case. At 3:00 a.m., the CD player started playing the Aerosmith CD we'd left in the day before. That's actually what prompted us to start keeping it unplugged when not in use.
We seriously did begin to question if we had a resident ghost or something. Upon further research, I found that a lot of online reviews state the same issue with the door opening itself.
Eventually, my brother, who is an electrical engineer, came over and experienced it too. He went outside and noticed our neighbor had just come home and used their garage door opener remote. With that, we asked our neighbor to do it again and sure enough, the door on the stereo system opened.
Turns out, that certain remotes activate the CD player. Our neighbor's garage door opener is one, but we've also had it happen when cars are driving by.
A newer issue is that the first CD compartment will not load a CD on the first try. It takes four or five tries before it recognizes CDs, especially CD-R or CD-RWs. It also skips quite frequently once you do get it working. We've stopped using the first compartment for that reason.
It's a good system, but having to keep it unplugged is a bit of a hassle, especially if you use the clock/timer function. The fact that the first CD compartment ceased working properly, that alone makes it unworthy of the price I paid.
