Sunday, August 18, 2013

Is the GPX Home Music System the Ultimate Low Cost Dorm Room Stereo?

It's back to school time! If you are looking for a low cost stereo for a dorm room, walk right on by the brand names like Sony, Pioneer, Yamaha, and Onkyo.  If you want a good little system for playing music in a dorm room, check out the humble GPX HM3817DTBLK Vertical Home Music System with CD Player (Black)

The GPX Home Music System has a regular audio input for MP3 players or Tablet computers and it has an RCA stereo input for a conventional stereo sound source like a turntable.  I have one and it is great for music in a small space like a bedroom.  Since it is a very inexpensive unit, you don't have to worry about losing a valuable investment due to theft or clumsy drunken roommates.  



This little stereo can fill a dorm room with sound, but it isn't really capable of disturbing the neighbors. Here is a complete review that I previously published on Yahoo Contributors Network:

Compact Stereo Review: GPX Home Music System with CD Player

An Inexpensive Stereo that May Be Perfect for Dorm Rooms, Offices, Bedrooms, and Other Small Spaces

If you are looking for an inexpensive stereo that can fit in a small space (like a bedroom, dorm room or office) and that can play well with MP3 players, tablets, computers, and other gadgets, the surprisingly inexpensive GPX Home Music System with CD player might be a good choice.
Once upon a time, I owned the perfect stereo. It had waist high speakers that pumped out at least 100 watts of power per channel. It was a Technics system with individual components I chose by hand including a receiver, dual tape deck, and five disc CD player. I watched the sales at and it was beautiful. But, since I lived in an apartment in a densely populated urban area, I could never crank the volume above two or three. While I may one day recreate my stereo of early nineties glory, on a day-to-day basis, my actual music needs are far more modest. I don't need to blast my neighbors into fits of fuious indignation. Instead, I need to play my CD's, plug in my tablet and stream a podcast, or simply watch videos on my laptop with decent sound. I don't need to fill a home with sound. I need to fill a bedroom or a home office. That's where a compact stereo can really be useful. I recently found an inexpensive little stereo that fits my needs. It is the GPX Home Music System with CD Player.

This little stereo only costs about $45, but it can play music from every device we own. It has ports to accept conventional RCA plugs from another stereo component such as a turntable or DVD player. If I don't have a device connected to that port, I can connect something via a line-in from the earphone jack of a modern portable device like an MP3 player or tablet computer. The GPX system also has a built in CD player and AM/FM radio. It can be used as an alarm clock. It can even be mounted on the wall. It has two detachable speakers. The system has a stereo headphone jack. It has preset equalizer settings for rock, pop, jazz, and classical. It even has a remote. From a usability perspective, the GPX Home Music System is easy to set up and use.

In my testing, the GPX Home Music System worked well in a small space. The unit's CD player and AM/FM radio receiver functioned just fine. The sound was adequate, but not booming. This is not a powerful stereo at all. The back of the unit claims a 14 watt power supply. But, not all that power is making it to the speakers. The sound would be about what you'd expect from a set of pretty decent $20 computer speakers or a small boom box. With no dedicated sub-woofer, there was no thumping to disturb our neighbors. However, for a small space, that can be a good thing. The lack of booming bass might make this speaker the perfect choice for parents who want to get their kid a stereo without feeling the effects throughout their entire home. I felt the sound quality of the GPX system was also somewhat limited by the plastic speaker enclosures. The "tweeters" on the speakers are just cheesy non-functional pieces of plastic decor. That being said, the sound was clear and pleasant enough. For a small space, the sound quality was good, but not excellent. You won't find audiophile quality at a $45 price point.

However, there is a chance that you can tweak the cheap little system yourself to improve it a bit. One Amazon reviewer reported good results by swapping the speakers for a better pair from his local thrift store. That sounds like a potentially outstanding idea as speakers from bookshelf stereos can often be found at my local thrift shops. However, the challenge would be to find speakers that have a single male plug for each speaker like the GPX speakers.

Overall, I was very pleased by the GPX Home Music System. It met my basic expectations. I liked being able to hook up my Nook Color and stream music from AccuRadio. While it may not be a powerful stereo, this GPX unit has the priceless ability to accept input from many different devices. In this world that makes this "Home Music System" an incredibly useful little system.

1 comment:

  1. These home music systems looks impressive.I hope they sound as good as their looks.

    Music Systems

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