Fully functional and in fair overall cosmetic condition (please
refer to photos). The remote needs buttons pressed firmly to operate, both speaker cones are in excellent condition and back-up battery compartment (on underside) is clean with no signs of leaky batteries.
As is synonymous with Creative products the CD 740 gives exceptional sound reproduction for its compact form-factor, some say that it thumps the Bose Wave Music System out of the ‘ball-park’, on grounds of sonic performance and features.
Cnet review by Steve Guttenberg, 10 May 2005.
We're big fans of Cambridge SoundWorks' overachieving Radio
730. It's far and away the best-built, best-sounding table radio we've ever
heard, and we've tried all the serious contenders. The only thing the 730 is
missing is a built-in CD player, but thankfully, you can now find that in the
step-up Radio CD 740, which is listed at $400.
Available in black or ivory, the 740 is a near twin of its
radio-only predecessor, measuring 14 inches wide, 5 inches high, and 10 inches
deep. The unit's 12-pound heft inspires confidence.
Inserting a disc into the 740's motorized, front-loading
slot calls up information on the 32-character display. For CDs, you see the
tracks, their times, and any available CD Text data. With MP3 CD-Rs, the names
of folders and files appear. As for the radio, programming AM and FM station
presets is easy. An automatic dimmer reduces the screen brightness in dark
rooms and maintains good legibility in bright light. The display even shows
Radio Data Service information: real-time text such as the song's title, the
artist's name, and the station's call letters.
Two quality speakers and a built-in woofer, all three fed by
separate amplifier channels, provide stereo sound. The 740 is magnetically
shielded, so you can place it near a TV or a computer monitor.
The 740's alarm clock, which lets you easily program two
setups, can wake you up with beeping, your favorite CD or MP3 track, or the
radio. A 9-volt battery gives the alarm enough backup power to sail through a
blackout up to 48 hours long. The credit card-style remote is a model of
efficient design; it's highly legible and not crowded with a lot of useless
buttons.
The Stereo selector lets you choose between Stereo, Mono,
and Wide. We really like the Wide setting because it opens up the sound. The
bass, treble, and loudness controls let you fine-tune the tonal balance. We
were surprised at just how far we could crank up the bass before the 740
emitted any buzzes or rattles.
The radio's FM reception and sound quality were excellent,
and AM results were also above average. Of course, CD audio was even better.
The 740's remarkably rich sonics and generous volume capabilities compare to
those of the better mini/shelf systems.
Normally, we wouldn't have much to say about a table radio's
connectivity, but the 740 is surprisingly well endowed. The AM and FM antenna
inputs accept jacks instead of bare wire leads, which are fussier and harder to
attach. The 740 has three 1/8-inch stereo minijack inputs: the one on the front
handles quick hookups, leaving more-permanent connections to its two back-panel
counterparts, one of which can combine a line-out signal (from your computer,
for example) with the radio's sound or feed a recording device such as a CD
burner. Oh, there's also a front-panel headphone output.
Cambridge sells the 740 direct with an in-home 45-day trial
period, so you can check out the radio for yourself. Chances are you won't
return it.
[eBay code: FS 41 QY]