Sharp's CDBA150 definitely sounds awesome for its price with its 3 way speakers and 50 watts perchannel. The sound is as realistic and hi Fidelity as you can get at this price when compared to other good brands (RCA/Sony/Aiwa/Panasonic/JVC) I particularly liked its Bass reproduction capability. If you want a great sound for a good price, but dont care about ease of use, then you should go for it.As in life there are downsides to this system too. If you want easy use (auto-reverse and other useful features) or a really good remote control, this one is not really top of the line. I had problems with their antenna and I would guess from my experience that it is not as 'maintenance free' as the other competion in its price range. Its had a 3 CD changer - not 5 like some of its competition.
For a quick look at competition in its price range and relative merits:
1. Sharp CDBA 200 - 4 way speakers, 200 Watt and better sound quality though the CDBA 150 is nothing to sneeze at here. Downside: $50 more..
2. Panasonic AK18 - For $20 more you get a ton of easy to use features and excellent remote as well as improved equalization. Excellent design of system for ease of use. Reliability and brand name of Panasonic. Downside: Sound quality -2 channel - inferior to the Sharp CDBA 150. The difference is VERY obvious.
3. RCA RS2505 - Superior Sound quality. 5 CD changer. Good design . Reliability of RCA. Downside : $50 more at Amazon.
4. JVC MX J100 - Looks cool, Slightly better design. Downside: The 2 channel (40 W / channel)sys sounds a big loser in comparison.
5. Sony CFD Z550 - Sony reliability, ease of use. Downside : There's no comparing the sound quality. This one is way down and would compare with lower grade systems from the Sharp stable actually.
6. Sharp CDC 3900 - 300 watts of power! Downside : older generation system, 2 channel, and $50 more to boot. Sound Fidelity is not upto the mark.
Overall I liked Sharp CDBA 150 best in the $150 or so price range.
