Onkyo CS-345 CD Mini System Preview

Desktop and bedroom systems have always been a popular way of getting audio to other rooms without having to deal with wires, universal remotes, and installers. Plus, they make great gifts for kids for Christmas. There is no wonder that, just before Black Friday, Christmas, and CES, so many new desktop systems are being announced.

Onkyo holds a special place for us in the HTiB systems because, unlike other manufactures that will offer some sort of paired down receiver with proprietary speaker connections that guarantee you have to throw the whole thing away when you want to upgrade, they offer full featured receivers with normal connections. When Onkyo announced their new CS-345 CD Mini System, we wondered what they would include.

Well, of course, it has an integrated iPod dock. It seems everything these days does. With Made for iPod/iPhone certification, the CS-345 supports the iPhone (iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G, and iPhone), iPod touch (1st through 4th Generations), iPod classic, and iPod nano (2nd through 6th generations). Of course, the CS-345 charges your iPod/iPhone while docked. While there is no wireless connectivity (either through Apple's AirPlay or through your wireless home network), the dock pretty much takes care of that. For other devices, there is a single set of stereo input jacks.

As the name suggests, there is a built in CD player (one disc - audio compact discs, MP3 compilations, and CD-R/CD-RW discs supported) plus an FM/AM radio tuner (no HD radio) with 30 presets. There is a headphone output on the front plus a video output for displaying iPod/iPhone video on an external monitor (pretty much perfect for your typical college student) plus a subwoofer output (for extra bass).

The receiver/CD unit is a fairly modest 8 7/16" by 3 15/16" by 10 5/8" and only 5.3 pounds - perfect for placement on top of a dresser. As to be expected with a system this size, the 15 watt (6 ohm, 1 kHz, 10%, 2 ch driven) amplifier is a high-efficient digital design. There are treble and bass controls plus an ActiveBass feature which automatically adjusts bass content depending on listening volume plus a "Super Bass" feature for simulating your kid's car.

The CS-345 includes two, two-way bass-reflex speakers. Each speaker sports a 1" balanced dome tweeter and a 4" woofer. Onkyo specs the CS-345 down to 55Hz (and, oddly, up to 50kHz which we hope if a typo as human hearing cuts off at 20kHz). The speakers are constructed out of MDF and measure 5 1/8" by 8" by 6 13/16" and weigh nearly as much as the receiver unit at 4.2 pounds. 

We really wish that Onkyo has released a picture of the rear of the CS-345 and speakers to see how they are connected. We are hoping for, at worst, a spring-type connection both at the receiver and speaker. At least with separate connections you can lengthen the wire (if needed) or swap out speakers. We know many college students that use speakers from their old mini systems in their first home theater setup until they can get something better. We hope that Onkyo has facilitated this traditional transition into home theater.

Conclusion

At $300, the Onkyo CS-345 looks to be well priced and featured for the market. The integrated iPod/iPhone dock will appeal to many and the stereo input will appease the rest. Video output from your docked iDevice is a nice feature for students looking for an easy way to get new content in their dorms. The subwoofer output shows how Onkyo understands that this type of customer is likely to be looking for additional bass before they need additional inputs. The CS-345 may be limited, but it has just about everything a college dorm, bedroom, or office needs.

For more information, please visit www.onkyousa.com.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.