Good looks, excellent bass, not so good build quality, but utterly reliable.That’s the BPL DUET 120 for you.Another ace up its sleeve:its a double deck model.So you even get the recording facility(called dubbing by BPL).Or, you can use one deck for your listening, leave the other one as new and unused.But if you are “wanna record only”type of individual, then also, this machine will deliver.And deliver that with aplomb.
I feel what chevrolet is to automobiles, BPL is to electronic appliances.Reliable machines, pleasing looks and good value.The tape recorder has an unique feature.Its the illuminated “BASSXPANDER” button(as BPL tends to call it).Don’t like the clear but flat low end volume?Just press this button, it lights up and provides a very good stereo effect that is instantly recognisable.The Q-sound(another unique feature)provides that surround effect that you sometimes need to relax and unwind your mind.The way you do it(with buttons) makes a difference.
Then there are those well designed speakers and they are detachable too.One negative point however is that the system comes with a normal five-band graphic equalizer.I feel BPL gives us a more well adjusted equaliser.However the equaliser works fine.
Though it isn’t a CD-system, but you actually connect a CD-player to the system and listen to it, thanks to the revolutionary LINE-IN feature.And there are those familiar things like four band radio(FM, SW2, SW1, MW) a function switch beside the circular volume control knob, fine tuning for radio, earphone and headphone sockets, as well as an FM stereo button which has a small red light beside it.Press the button and the light comes on and the FM sound gets the stereo treatment.Press it again to get the reverse effect.
But where technology has gone for a toss, is at the “higher volume” department that is to say when the volume knob is set at a position higher than five.The sound loses its clarity with the “BASSXPANDER” on.Switch it off and you get back the clarity but the stereo effect is a bit reduced.This is okay for an average Joe, but a serious music lover may be a bit disappointed.
Another irritating aspect, the cassette compartments’ doors seem to have a mind of their own.Sometimes with the cassette inside, they cock a bit when the stop/eject button is pressed.This happens seven out of ten times.I suspect it to be an engineering defect.You have to pull the doors slightly to get the cassettes out from the enclosure.
Now comes the best part---the price.Barring the above hiccups there is not much to complain about the DUET and you get a pretty good music system at a rock bottom price of just around Rs 4500/-(in India).At that price the BPL offers you tremendous value-for-money and you can’t really go wrong with it.And wait.There is a fabulous exchange scheme and you can trade in your old, outdated music system for a fabulous new DUET and get some 500 bucks off.At least I got mine for just Rs 4000/-.With all these facts if you are willing to spend around Rs 4000/- on a music system, the Duet 120 happens to be one of your best bets.Buy it, without having second thoughts.