- For how long have you been using it?
I've had it for about 10 years, but haven't really used it for at least 5.

- What thing do you like most/least about it?
Most: it's probably the best you get without going into digital noise reduction, which came out afterwards and which had a signal/noise ratio of 90dB, whereas this is probably closer to 80 max.
Least: it's clunky when you operate it. It's very noisy when you press any button, not smoothe AT ALL in its operation.

- Did you try many other models before getting this one?
Oh yeah, lots with Dolby B...but this has B, C and S !

- What is your opinion about the value for the price?
Dont laugh: this was 2250 Francs at the time (£225 back then). Yes, you heard me. Amazing, eh? I even had this way before i had a CD player...
Later, the digital Dolby noise reduction came out and i hesitated to get it but i don't think it did Dolby S so then i was stuck...
Of course, for the same money or less even you could get a MiniDisc recorder, which i did too...

- Knowing what you know now, would you make the same choice?...
Yes, actually, because this was the best spec at the time for that money, and it did come in handy more than once: it has 2 recorders so u can record in parallel to both at the same time, which is handy when duplicating many cassettes or rather one recording onto many cassettes. Both recorders are also auto-reverse, and have space search, so you can find the next song rapidly by pressing the search button.
It also has a "FLEX" button, which is an auto-EQ of the sound and that is a major enhancement to many recordings!
The only thing that could make it better is digital NR...and smoother operation.

- For how long have you been using it?
A few hours. So i'll update the review at a later date.

- What thing do you like most/least about it?
The sound is detailed & clear & dynamic, all good!
The player is SOOOO SLOW!!! Takes ages to read a disc & start playing...really annoying.
There is a slight tick when playing...you need to be close to hear it though.
THERE IS NO VOLUME ON THE REMOTE!!! GRRRRRR!!!!!
Also, it has optical out and no coax.

- Did you try many other models before getting this one?
I had a Philips CD723 before this. It was less bulky, looked better, was 10 times faster & had volume on the remote.

- What is your opinion about the value for the price?
The sound is great, sure, but every player should have volume on the remote and it's unforgiveable that the damn thing is so slow. If it had been £60 i could understand, but it was £110 (actually it was 159,50€).

- Knowing what you know now, would you make the same choice?...
No. I'd go for one that has volume on the remote, and i'd try to find a faster one.

- For how long have you been using it?
I had this for about 8 years.

- What thing do you like most/least about it?
It's plain & simple, and very fast at reading/playing a cd when inserted...unlike the brand new Sony SACD player i just bought damn it (SCD-XE597), which doesn't even have a volume setting on the remote, which the Philips CD723 did!!
Can read CD-RW too in theory but not all models did in practice...mine did, though.
Had a coaxial digital output, which i prefer to optical...again, the Sony XE597 has optical...aargh...
Also, i think the design is quite ok, even now...again, better than the pointlessly bulky Sony SACD i just got...

- Did you try many other models before getting this one?
None, saw a review in an audiophile magazine and they actually liked the CD723, which is amazing for a £100 player. So i got it.

- What is your opinion about the value for the price?
Obviously, the player must have cost virtually nothing to make, i mean there is nothing inside...but compared to other players i'd say it was good value.

- Knowing what you know now, would you make the same choice?...
Yes, however i would have sold it sooner...i had a 5 year warranty and just before the end of that the drawer started to come out slowly...so i got that fixed under warranty. Then about 3 or 4 years later it started doing it again. Sometimes it wouldn't open, sometimes it would work fine. I sold it for 50€ (£30) and bought this slow Sony SACD player (the cheapest i could find) that doesn't even have a volume setting...what a rip off. That'll be my next review, and it won't be all good, i tell you! ;-D

Had the CD723 had CD-text then it might have deserved a 10.

- For how long have you been using it?
About 8 years.

- What thing do you like most/least about it?
The treble & mids on these are great. Never tiring, fairly detailed, well balanced...B&W have done a great job there: you can listen all day long and never get tired of them.
The bass is not so fantastic simply because the woofers are a bit small. You can't expect miracles from these and on paper they go down to 63 Hz at -3 dB and 53 Hz at -6 dB if i recall correctly. So don't get expecting much at 30 Hz... ;-)
If you want that big OOMPPH pass your way and go & get some big JBL floortsanders...
BUT, place these correctly (ie on stands and far from walls or corners) and sit a few feet away and they can be surprisingly bassy.
So that's the hardest thing with these, really: placement. If they don't sound good, you haven't placed them right. Simple as that.

- Did you try many other models before getting this one?
I listened to some cheap but much bigger Infinity units before i got these, and they had more bass but the bass was out of control.
These, placed right, are tight and forget about distortion: these babies have woven kevlar woofers: turn up the volume and these will rattle the walls.
120W RMS. I pushed my 80W RMS Onkyo Integra 9711 to the max on them and they were fine, even on bassy disco. The walls were shaking, though!

- What is your opinion about the value for the price?
Retail price was normally 3500 Francs at the time (£350 back then, more now since the £ is worth bugger all these days), which would be 530 €. I paid 2400 F (360 €), new.
I'd say the value was pretty damn good. If you want cheaper & smaller, go for the DM 601 S3's. They are half as much and quite a bit smaller but still sound good, although of course they have less bottom end.

For the money, it would have been hard to get better without going second hand. A friend of mine got a pair of battered old JBL 4311's from Barclay Studios...for under £200. A good deal. But they're huge and one of the boomers has a hole in it! So...today, i'd look around the second hand market and probably go for something bigger. I'm currently dribbling over the B&W 704's. Expensive floorstanders...maybe one day?

- For how long have you been using it?
About 8 years, used daily.

- What thing do you like most/least about it?
It looks great, it's heavy (15kg), it has a huge volume knob, it sounds pretty damn good (check out the specs!), it's dynamic, it's got loads of inputs (3 tape loops + 4 more aux), motorized volume & source knobs so you can change via the remote, 4 speakers outs, direct mode, 20dB attenuator for more precise volume setting.
This amp is ZERO HISS. Yes, even at MAX volume. In fact, there is less hiss on 10 than there is on 7.

The only improvements i could think of would be to let you use the headphone out while the speakers are on...and to have a 3 or 5 band EQ. Although it must be said the 2 band EQ does its job musically.

- Did you try many other models before getting this one?
A few, yes, mainly very old or cheap ones. There is simply no comparison: this is by far the best i've ever tried. The no hiss 'feature' is the most appreciated.
I bought this after reading a big comparison review between this and some amps that were 5 times the price. On paper, this was almost the best.

- What is your opinion about the value for the price?
Well, this was 4500 Francs when it came out (680 €). I paid 3170 F (480 €), new. To be honest, paying that much for an amp is a luxury, but built the way it is built one would hope it's meant to last...better to have ONE good amp all your life than several mediocre ones...no?

Problem is that after a year or so, one side started 'going'. I still have the problem to this day: what happens is that, at low volume, one side disappears and you need to fiddle the source selector or turn up the volume abruptly to make sound return. Turn it down again and all is fine until you change source or switch off. It sounds like it's just some dust somewhere but could be something more serious like cracked solderings maybe?
After about 5 years of use, the fuse blew. Possibly due to overheating (i had loads of stuff stacked over it). Cost 55 € to fix (£30) and they soldered up some bits that had cracked because of the heat. The technician told me it was unlikely the problem would ever occur again, so i'm not too worried.

All in all, despite these minor problems, i think this amp is a very good one.

Beware the black model has a PLASTIC front (yuck!) so make sure you get the silver one, which is brushed aluminium and has that indestructible feel to it. :-)

I've been using this direct box for just a month or so now. I bought it for use at my church where I play my acoustic guitar through the PA system with no effects whatsoever. I had been going straight in through the board but needed a DI for a traveling artist who required we have one for him to perform. So I bought it thinking I would use it for myself on a regular basis anyway. This unit is passive so it does not increase the volume noticeable, but the sound is more focused than before using it, and I think I lose less of the transient highs and upper mids of my 1970's Martin acoustic dreadnought guitar when using it. Best of all it eliminates any hum or noise at maximum volume on the mixer without adding any harshness so I can effectually play louder than before, which is good when I'm trying to keep up with a grand piano.
It has 1/4" in and through jacks, an XLR output, a pad switch for connection to "hot" signal sources, and a ground lift switch to help isolate hum and buzz. I haven't yet needed the pad or ground lift switch so I can't comment on those functions. I can definitely say that the exterior contruction is rugged, being a metal case, which is a no brainer considering they DIs spend most of their time laying on the floor when they can be stomped on, have equipment dropped on, etc.
The packaging included the information below:
Impedance Ratio (input to output): 133:1
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz ±1dB
Level Change: -20dB (input to output, pad switch set to zero dB)
Pad: 3 position, provides 0dB, -20dB, -40dB additional attenuation

I like the simplicity of it, its quietness. It does the job. I bought it because the price was great and I trust whirlwind more than Behringer or some of the other brands in the same price range as this unit (under $40). Unless I fork out the money for a SansAmp acoustic preamp, I doubt I'll have to upgrade this unit anytime, and hopefully it will last a long time. If this one was stolen or damaged (through no fault of the manufacturer) I would probably just go buy the same unit all over again.

Use it only 3 days - extremely enjoyed!