Page 1 of AIWA 370- does not officially rock !!! - lecson 900 does

sorry to inform all those people out there desperate for an aiwa 370 but in my opinion ( having had one ) it does not even begin to compare in picture or sound quality to the lecson 900.
after reading all the postings and genaral hype about the 370 i was desperate to get my hands on what sounded like the perfect budget player. i had bought a lecson 900 which is an excellent machine (£179 from debenhams) only gripe i had was the noise from the drive so i returned itand began my search for an aiwa, which i found in the form of a display model at comet in uddingston.

after all the talk on this forum i thought i was about to be put into dvd heaven by the outstanding quality of this machine, how wrong i was.
the picture quality is poor ( yes poor !!) the machine seems to over sharpen images similar to when you sharpen a digital picture on a computer you lose some of the fine detail and it does not fare very well in scenes that have groupings of dark objects or dark scenes in films such as seven.

the aiwa as we know does not have a digital decoder on board so the sound is rather light in comparison. yes i know it looks like a good machine and a lot has been said about it but in terms of picture/ sound quality it cannot even hold a dimly lit candle to the lecson 900.

i returned my aiwa to comet uddingston branch ( so there one there for anyone who wants it ) and bought another lecson 900, i can put up with the drive noise for the quality in picture/ sound and features.


as i said before the only gripe i have with the lecson is that the drive is slightly noisy if it wasn`t it would be the perfect machine.

i am sure many people will disagree with the above but before you do, get experience of both machines ( like i did !! ) and then let me hear you say that the aiwa is better

all comments welcome, jimbo? anybody?

I don`t know about the Aiwa since I have not seen one but the Lecson is very impressive. It is basically the same as the Wharfedale 750s 1st generation ( I have both and looked inside) but with a DD 5.1 decoder. Don`t be fooled by the jokers on this site, on my Sony 32FX60 there really isn`t much difference between budget players such as the Lecson and the top end Sony`s and Panasonics (and yes I have both).

As snafu correctly states the Lecson is just a Wharfedale with a 5.1 decoder, complete with all the Wharfey`s problems;

Noisey drive
Buggy firmware
Very basic GUI
Dire NTSC to PAL50 conversion
Mandatory gaps in CD playback

> the aiwa as we know does not have a digital decoder on board so the sound is rather light in comparison.

Sorry, but this doesn`t make any sense! If you are not using an in-built decoder then you must be using the one in your amp. In which case that is where the problem lies. . .

The only criticism I have heard is that the LG/Aiwa`s picture can be a little too sharp and clear for older classic films and therefore can reveal faults in the original material. However, for modern material it is up with the best of them. Just take a look at Gladiator running on an LG/Aiwa and the picture is faultless.

> . . .then let me hear you say that the aiwa is better

I have had a Wharfedale (Lecson minus decoder) and now I have an LG 3350E (Aiwa plus decoder) and without a doubt the LG/Aiwa is by far the better machine.

>>"the picture quality is poor ( yes poor !!) the machine seems to over sharpen images similar to when you sharpen a digital picture on a computer you lose some of the fine detail and it does not fare very well in scenes that have groupings of dark objects or dark scenes in films such as seven."

Don`t know what you bought mate, but that`s certainly nothing like MY 370!!

Mine handles everything I throw at it, and has never "flared" the picture on anything yet!!

And I have 80+ DVD`s, about 15 of which are R1 and I have had NO cause to complain.
I think you got one with a faulty decoder!

However, I won`t diss the Lecson for two reasons:
1) (mainly) I have no experience of the player, only other opinions on this site;

2) Picture is in the eye of the beholder. However, I have had a Pioneer 525 (rated as one of the best for picture quality), I have put the Aiwa against Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba and Pioneer new models in store, and it STILL compares better than most and even on the one player I thought was decent!!!

However, if you`re happy with your choice, then so be it.
That`s what it`s all about in the end up, whether you`re HAPPY or not!
(by the way, did you check the "TV Output" sections in the setup menu?)

AIWA 370 (officially) ROCKS!!!!!!!

Having owned both (albeit for a fairly short period of time), I`m afraid I have to disagree with you, Dilbert. Only a little, though...

I found the Lecson to be a fairly good machine - the sound and picture were both fine, although I did feel the latter could have been better. To me, the Aiwa produces a better picture, although (as Jimbo said) I guess it`s rather subjective.

Since my system only uses Pro-Logic, I can`t really comment on the sound other than to say I couldn`t see any significant difference. That said, I`m tone-deaf (according to my wife), so I`m probably not the best qualified to comment anyway :)

The main difference between the players (IMHO) is that the Aiwa is very much more professional. The Lecson gives the impression of being `budget`... it`s noisy, the remote`s a bit rubbish, the fast forward is laughably choppy and the on-screen display is lifted straight from a ZX81.

There is, however, one thing I miss about the Lecson... the zoom function. Granted, the Aiwa has one, but it IS literally a `zoom` function, allowing you to enlarge portions of the screen in Blade Runner fashion. The Lecson zoom is much less flexible, but on my 4:3 TV, it enlarged the 2.35:1 WS movies to 16:9, chopping the edges. As the TV`s only 25", this was really nice to use on the movies that don`t work in pan-scan mode. Maybe I`m setting the Aiwa up incorrectly, but this is a feature I really wish it had....

Just my opinion... :)

Can you tell me the trick play functions on the lecson.

Without getting into one of those pointless, mine is better than yours, arguements, and taking my cue from Jimbo`s objective and restrained response :) I`ll stick my two-pennorth in.

The Aiwa is a good machine and its good to see a Japanese brand at the budget end of the market that does what it does. I also have an LG player that I rate highly, and as the Aiwa seems to be an LG clone (or is it the other way round) then I`d expect it to be good in the picture department, so I`m surprised that dilbert preferred the Lecson, but really rather chuffed. I reckon the Lecson is excellent, though I have no doubt of the quality of the Aiwa, but having got the Lecson, and being easily pleased :)) there`s no point in me changing.

It is a Wharfie in another skin, which is hardly surprising as Stan Curtis is the man behind Lecson and was the Head of Wharfedale when the 750 was introduced, but I`d argue that it is not 100% identical (leaving aside the decoder issue) as it seems to handle some disks that the Wharfie doesn`t. I had no probs with Gladiator Disk 2, for instance.

Yes, the disk drive is noiser than other players, but doesn`t bother me as mine is some 10 feet away from me. I also wouldn`t dream of playing CDs on any DVD player if I wanted any kind of quality, so thats not a problem either as far as I`m concerned. I`ll also agree the setup graphics are basic, but does that matter? It is at least easy to use and I don`t buy a DVD player to watch the setup menus. If I want loads of glitzy graphics to do a simple job, then I can just use this computer and Mr. Gates` software :))

I will also admit that the remote is pretty grot, especially the colour (Urghh!!!!). In fact, its bloody awful to look at, but the most used buttons sit pretty well under the fingers and that`s what counts. As Jimbo says, how we perceive picture quality is a very personal thing and at the end of the day, if you are happy with what you have got, then stay with it.

the lecson 900 is not a wharefedale 750 with a 5.1 decoder it is a dofferent machine with different firmware ( upgradeable ) and as mick golby points out plays the disks that are usually problematic to wharefdales.
i suggest that you have a read of the february issue of what hi-fi where it rates the aiwa 370 as three stars and gives a direct recommendation that the lecson is better ( five stars ) :P

>>"i suggest that you have a read of the february issue of what hi-fi where it rates the aiwa 370 as three stars and gives a direct recommendation that the lecson is better ( five stars ) :P"

I suggest you look into how magazines review their players Dilbert.
And who actually does the review!

I remember years back..one rated the Amstrad UF20 VCR as "The best Video to hit the market! Fabulous build quality, fantastic picture and sound and easy to use controls! All for the lowly sum of £200"
Got five stars, and a "Best Buy" award..(can`t remember the name of the mag..sorry)

How good was it? Well, I was selling them at that time, and we got 100 into our store!
(phenomenal as we usually only carried 3 or 4 of a model in stock, but they expected big things from these)
sold out in a week due to that review.

However, out of that 100, within 2 weeks we had CHANGED or REFUNDED 99 of them!!!!
Yep, no crap, only ONE player never got returned.

Well, not for two manths anyways, then in came the guy who bought it with it under his arm!!
Yep, that got refunded too!!

Told ya, I aint gonna "Diss" or "Slag" any player off, the main thing is, you are happy with YOUR player, just don`t start "dissing" ours! :oÞ


AIWA 370 (officially) ROCKS!!!!!!!

point taken jimbo,my response was actually to trolls points.

however, as has been stated beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder and it takes different strokes for different folks etc. speaking from experience and having been relatively new to the dvd game i know how influential this forum can be on someone looking for a decent player and simply wanted to point out that recommendations don,t always mean its the player for you.
no bruised egos i hope, as i enjoy the info and knowledge exchanged on this forum :)