JVC FS-Y1 Component Audio/Video System with DVD/CD Player and AM/FM Tuner
By: JVC Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 16
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 On: 2008-03-01
Ive been an Audiophile for 30yrs of My 45yr Life. Ive seen the big Audio Speakers phase out to small compact and/ or In-walls. Went through the FM Stereo to 8-Track to Cassette to CD to MP3 craze and still have most of My Collection. Ive always felt Bigger was Better and the more Speakers the Truer the sound when it came to Ultimate Sound Quality. Yes...I still have My Polk Audio SDA SRS, Definitive Tech BP3000s and even My Klipsch Horns but I was knocked off My Chair when My Girlfriend bought Me the JVC FS-Y1 Component A/V System for My Den. (Look...when You speakers are taller then Your Girlfriend...) So I took the System out of the box with the Warden looking over My shoulders, read the Manual (real Men dont read Manuals but the Warden was still looking over My shoulder) and hook the System up placing the small Cube Speakers in the corners. Then I noticed... theres a Subwoofer Output; what the Hell...OK, Ill bite so I hooked up My Jamo D-4, Dual 8" Subwoofer just for laughs. Ill be honest...the Remote was Impressive, the Speakers are nice looking and the System has Video Component Outputs, a Clock, CD/DVD and AM/FM Stereo Tuner with Presets all in a little System no bigger then a Bread Box! So I place My "Old School" Bass CD in the Tray, sit back in My Recliner, prop My feet up and get ready to chuckle. I couldnt believe the sound the came out of the small Cubes; Clean, Clear and full of Body but where was the Bass?? Oh...theres a Function on the Remote that turns the Subwoofer Output on and off. Whatever!! And with the Warden still looking over my shoulder I... WOW, I almost fell out of My Chair when the Subwoofer started dancing. How could a little System this small have such a great Subwoofer Output? So I went one better, I hooked the Video up to My 42" Flat Screen just to see how good the DVD would look and sound. Again I was almost knocked out of My Chair when I saw the quality of the Picture with the thick sound that was coming out of just 2- Speakers and a Sbbwoofer...I was sold!! Its not My McIntosh, Carver or even Nakamichi Equipment but boy does it look and sound great. So with permission from the Warden, Im writing this review to let all You Old School Audiophiles know that bigger isnt always better!! This little System kicks serious Butt.
 On: 2007-09-17
The new JVC FS-Y1 replaces their old FS-1000 that served me extremely well for some 8 years. When the 1000 suddenly stopped working, I ordered the new FS-Y1, since it is about the same size and fits in the space available. However, by making the Y1 interface with video components, JVC overcomplicated a user-friendly remote with lots of unwelcome buttons. Anytime the buttons for the main function of a radio are hidden behind a sliding plate on the remote, designers have lost sight of the customers priorities--not to mention the customer losing sight of the buttons. In short, the beautiful simplicity of the 1000 gives way to the annoying complications of a hybrid machine that probably would not be the choice of anyone who needs a tuner for video.
On: 2007-08-23
I am SO happy with this vendor and the product. I ordered it and requested standard delivery. I received it the next day by 11:00 am!
I love the compactness, versatility of the product. Though Ill only use it as a radio/CD player, it also has the capability of playing DVDs ... incredible. So many functions in such a compact product.
The JVC quality is evident in its construction and sound quality. Very nice, I recommend it!
On: 2007-08-16
I was looking for a compact audio system and I finally chose this after reading many buyer reviews.
Appropiate for small room environments, full featured, rich sound and very elegant design.
Have not tried the DVD video output yet, hence no comments on that.
Highly recommended for the above-average listener and outstanding quality for the price.
 On: 2007-07-26
To start, I would have given this a 4.5 star, but its not an option.
Basically, I was searching for a mini-system that played DVDs, and there arent many options available. I had two options: pay a boatload of cash for a Denon, or get a cheap Teak system. Anyway, I stumbled on this one, and purchased it without listening to it based on the reviews.
To say the least, Im very pleased! The sound is very true, picture quality is good, and its quality made. I have very few gripes, and of course Ill list them like any good Amazon.com customer would do. :)
1. It has a separate sub-out, which I thought was fantastic. But, upon turning the sub-out on, it decreases the output to the two speakers. This is by far the most annoying thing.
2. It doesnt have an audio out. I thought if I ever wanted to upgrade and have a mini component system, I would have the option. Apparently not. This isnt a huge deal to me.
3. You can control the bass and treble levels, but it doesnt allow you to modify the mid-range. Why JVC, why!? This is a little annoying, because when you drop the low-range, it affects the mid-range level a little.
If you are considering this item, here are a few suggestions. Dont expect this to fill a large room with symphonic sound. Its not powerful enough. It sounds great in small to mid-sized rooms. If youre expecting to have hard thumping bass, then continue looking, and pay more money. If you want good sound in a reasonably sized room, which wont take too much space, then this will work well for you. Id buy it again.
Lastly, I dont have any problem with the remote. I think its fairly intuitive, but thats just me.
On: 2007-07-03
This was the first time I was buying an audio product without actually listening to it, but I figured I would take my chances, but I must say I am pleasantly surprised with the result. Right from the time you take the system out of the box, you can feel that this is a high quality product. Wooden speakers, bass reflex ports and full aluminum, full range cones that deliver excellent sound. The bass isnt hard pounding, but is surprisingly good for the size of the speakers, thanks to the tuned bass port at the back of each speaker. I havent used the DVD feature yet and may never use it as the system lacks an HDMI output, however it does have a component output. The other problem is the lack of a cassette player, but then again, this is a modern micro-bookshelf system; they probably dont expect anyone to play tapes on this.
I definitely recommend this system as its outstanding quality for the price.
On: 2007-05-16
I am amazed at the quality of this product. I was blown away by the sound of this compact unit. It rivals that of my full size stereo system. I would definately recommend it to anyone who is looking for a compact system but doesnt want to compromize sound quality. The fact that it also plays dvds is a bonus.
On: 2007-04-15
Pros: The build quality on this unit is excellent - solid with nice variety of inputs and outputs. The sound and picture is crisp and the system is clearly, hands down, the best looking low profile executive system in the market today.
Cons: The output power is somewhat low compared to my old Sony system (vocal quality is crisp but bass quality is non-existent). However, adding ANY DECENT powered subwoofer to this set will make it perform like a pure dream. This is my best home entertainment purchase ever. With regards to the system features, not as customizable as I thought it would be - but quite usable nevertheless.
Other Thoughts: Currently, it is wired through my Dell 2405FP 24" monitor through the component inputs and acts as my primary DVD player (no need to turn on the computer). The next best thing would have been to integrate RF into the remote instead of just standard IR.
On: 2007-02-12
Good as additional sound system for a bedroom ; I added to my Samsung 32 LCD and works really good for a small room environment; the DVD unit is not noissy and, until now is not stuck or nothing bad happened. For less than $100 is better than any other option. I used to have a Sony system but the plastic clippers to hold the CD/DVD in place broke in around a year... now is only FM music system in the bathroom... lets see how long last this JVC but, I feel will be lasting more than the Sony.
On: 2007-01-12
I purchased this system because I was away from home, housesitting on Long Island and in dire need of the replication that my home theatre system delivers.
I read the specs on this JVC ensemble and decided to have it shipped to me at my remote location.
I got it, figured out a system hookup to the owners Magnavox 19" TV, hooked up the bazooka sub out of my truck (tricky) with the sub out on the back of this nifty unit and plugged in the small but powerful monitors.
I turned it all on and "wow"! I was blown out by the picture playback quality of the DVD on the piece, even thru a slightly (ten years) older nineteen inch TV! The audio quality was just short of phenominal from those little behemoth speaker monitors.
If I had known that I could get this much quality and power out of such a small system, I would have got this piece sooner.
I put it back in its box, nicely packed and its off to my next location... somewhere in the country. I have my portable home theatre system in tow when I go.
Awesome piece, awesome price!!
Thanks Amazon.
On: 2007-01-10
The mini system that I need must have at least a single audio input so that I use it to power the CD changer. I looked at the usual suspects: Sony, Panasonic, JVC, Onkyo, Philips. Panasonic probably has the most choices; many have a cassette player and CD changer. Unfortunately, the plastic exterior also look and feel cheap; the styling is best described as boom box futuristic ugly. Most have a mini plug input. My CD changer has the regular composite output and I dont want to use an adaptor to fit into a mini plug. So, all systems with mini plug input are eliminated from consideration. Sony has better looking systems but also come with mini plug. Finally it came down to JVC FS-Y1 and Onkyo CS-210. Both have one composite audio input and have great styling. The Onkyo is about a quarter bigger and heavier which is a minus.
This is a full fledge audio-video system. It can play video and audio DVDs, and a host of other formats. What it cannot play are: CD-R/-RW recorded in "packet wire" (UDF format), DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-R/-RW recorded in VR format, CD-ROM, CD-I, Photo CD, SACD and the non-DVD side of DualDisc is not recommended. It has DTS 2.0 and Dolby Digital sound decoder.
I dont have a TV in my bedroom so I didnt test the video capability of the system but the specs sure look darn impressive for such a small machine. Having used it for a few months I have to say I am very pleased. The system really looks very nice with clean modern styling and no hard plastic showing. The prominent volume knob is right in front; easy to access and scroll smoothly. The speakers are small so definitely a space saver. The sound is crisp and clean, and even when the sound is cranked up high, it doesnt distort. The bass and treble controls do a passable job of customizing the sound but I do miss the equalizer function from my old receiver. It also has a sleep and wake up timer. You can program up to 3 separate wake up times and specify the volume of the wake up sound source, very useful .
The one annoying thing is that when you switch back from radio or auxiliary to the CD player, the music starts playing immediately. I usually like the music to be played randomly and it doesnt save the setting once its turned off so that the only way is to set it each time by letting the CD spin up, stop it, change the setting to random or program, then hit play again.
The remote, unfortunately, is rather poorly designed. Since it controls both audio and video functions, it has 70! small buttons. There is a sliding cover on the lower half and the video and audio related buttons are placed randomly, it seems, on both halves. To use the lower half, you slide the cover down so that the control is even longer. It would be better if the cover can be moved upward instead. Most functions could be controlled only from the remote. Definitely the organization of the buttons is lacking. It is not wide but thin and long, easy to grip. The main unit has only a dozen buttons on top for basic functions like stop, play, radio, CD, etc. There is a button for treble and bass but it cant change the settings, only showing what the settings are. It seems only the remote can change the settings, very strange. The stop button is labeled Multi-Control but the only thing it does is stopping the CD, cant figure out what other things it can control.
All in all, a worthy system especially if you use it for its video functions as well.
On: 2007-01-03
I wanted a small system to attach to a second TV for better audio and to playback DVDs.
For a Mini-Stereo system with DVD, component, and digital audio out, I couldnt be happier. It also plays Media CDs (jpgs, mp3s, etc. - i.e. slideshow). The speakers are "detachable" so I could convienently place them further away from the TV. The remote needs to be used to adjust the clock and a few other functions, otherwise I suggest using another controller.
 On: 2006-11-10
Pros:
1) Sound Quality;
2) Programable Volume level for wake-up alarm setting;
2) Compact Design;
Cons:
1) Remote is too complicated for ease of use;
2) Display setting reverts back to system default anytime a button is pressed which requires the display to change (example: I set the display to show the time while a CD is being played. I then decide to turn up the volume but in doing so, the volume level is displayed while the volume is adjusted. Once the display does back, instead of going back to the time (which is what I set it to prior to changing the volume) it goes back to showing the CD playback info (track, playback time, etc);
3) AND THIS LAST REASON IS THE REASON WHY i WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER ONE OF THESE... playback of CDs and DVDs is mechanically noisy. The volume has to be set on at least 20 for you to overpower the sound of the spinning CD/DVD. It makes for an uncomfortable drifting off to sleep.
In my opinion the CONS outweigh the PROS so look elsewhere for a better product. This one will be a disappointment.
On: 2006-09-21
For the money, this has several great features. The sound really surprised me for such a small unit. If there is still not enough bass for you, there is a subwoofer output to plug into. It has aux. input to hook the TV to so you can watch the game or race with a little more than just the tiny TV speakers.
If space is an issue, you cant go wrong with this one.
On: 2006-05-04
Sound quality is excellent, ton of features (plays almost every music format there is, not to mention DVDs), compact and aesthetically pleasing. However, the unit itself is very noisy during disc play. A loud high pitch whirring noise from the CD motor can be heard over low to medium volumes. Youd have to pretty much set to high volumes when playing music or movies if you want to drown out any of the noise coming from the CD unit. If you can live with the noise, this is a good buy, nothing else compares when it comes to the available features. But beware, the inability of the unit to control disc noise may be why its so affordable.
On: 2006-01-06
I have a large 100 watt stereo setup that consists of five JVC components and two pairs of speakers. I bought this system as something I could play easily when I wasnt doing "serious" listening.
It was a surprise. Not only do the little 3.19 inch speakers give adequate volume for casual listening, they also sound great. JVCs circuitry gives very reasonable bass, along with clear highs. You would think you were at least listening to two-way speakers with six inch woofers, not these small cubes.
I have not tried, and have no plans for using its DVD capability as yet, so I cant review that feature. I can vouch that the audio is very good, the unit controls and the remote are easy to use with a logical set-up, and the entire system has the feel and look of high quality.
My only disappointment is that it has audio "in" RCA jacks, but not audio "out". So I cant connect to a recording deck. For me, this is minor.
Review the features and specs to see if this system might meet your needs. I have been very pleased with it.
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