Aiwa's Mini-System Features CD Recorder

One of the most amazing things about the march of technology is the way quality goes up as prices go down. Only a few years ago, CD recorders were among the rarest and most expensive audio components. Now they're beginning to appear at budget prices.

As of October 13, Aiwa is taking affordability to a new level with its XR-C3RW, a full-featured mini-system with a built-in CD-R/RW recorder for making digital recordings on blank CDs. Sporting a list price of only $700, the Aiwa system includes—in addition to the CD recorder—a three-CD changer that will play commercial CDs, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs; an AM/FM tuner; a dual auto-reverse full-logic cassette deck; and a full-function remote control.

Akio Imanishi, Aiwa America's senior VP for marketing, said, "The introduction of the CD-R and CD-RW formats was a significant development, allowing consumers to make their own digital recordings on CDs. Now Aiwa makes this technology available to a much wider audience by offering it in a mini system, the most popular music-system configuration in America.''

With a nod toward the High End, Aiwa's XR-C3RW also takes the biamplification approach. A 30Wpc dedicated amplifier drives the system's woofers, while a separate 10Wpc amplifier powers the midrange and high-frequency drivers in each speaker. A graphic equalizer and versatile bass adjustments let users tailor the sound to their preferences.

The disc recorder will work with either CD-R (write-once) or CD-RW (re-writable) audio discs. Rewritable discs are considerably more expensive than CD-Rs, but they allow the correction of mistakes made in recording. A digital synchronization feature allows recording from the system's three-CD changer, and a record-level adjustment gives users control over recording quality. The system also has an optical digital input for making recordings from an outboard device, such as a MiniDisc player. Aiwa's XR-C3RW digital audio system will be available in November.

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