Victor Cosmopolitan 8-in-1 Music Center review: Play and digitize

Price at time of review

$169.99

Today’s Best Price: Victor Cosmopolitan 8-in-1 Music Center

$149.99

$149.99

I nearly titled this review “Everything but the 8-track,” but that’s what I consider to be a very positive product: Victor Audio’s Cosmopolitan 8-in. -1 would have started with a negative note for Music Center. It’s the most versatile of the 10+ nostalgic legacy media playback devices the company has to offer.

Play vinyl (33, 45 or even 78 rpm), cassettes, CDs, AM/FM radio, as well as digitize that material in MP3 format to USB or SD media. You can even record to cassette if you’re interested. The only trick I’m missing is writing the audio to his CD (and the aforementioned 8 tracks), but that’s a much more complicated process since all the formats are involved. Actually, I didn’t want to burn a CD. Did I mention it can send and receive Bluetooth audio as well?

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth article on the best turntables..

Victor sent me a silver faux-dark wood side version of the Cosmopolitan, but it’s also available in basic black if you want a different dark look that screams pretty much 1980s. The Cosmopolitan measures approximately 12.5 inches wide, 10.5 inches deep, and just over 8 inches high, with the top-mounted record player cover closed.

victor audio

At the front are a cassette desk and CD player, LCD readout, controls, and digital and analog inputs and outputs. On the back is a power jack (using an AC wall adapter instead of the internal transformer), a captive FM antenna wire, and analog stereo RCA outputs.

Front panel controls include component select buttons, as well as large tuning and volume (press to turn on) knobs. Above the CD tray is another row of controls that perform other functions in addition to controlling that device. and next.

These controls are used for recording various components, programming and navigating radio stations, handling files on USB and SD media, and more. The whole deal is very clever and much more capable than you might think. Being able to delete files from a USB stick is not what I expected.

Victor also includes a remote control that covers most functions. At approximately 5.5 inches long, it sits comfortably in your hand and features logically placed buttons with easy-to-read bold labels. The remote is powered by 2 AAA batteries, which unfortunately are not included. Neither are cables for RCA jacks. If the latter is missing, order it at the time of purchase. As we will see, Cosmopolitan is perfect for supplying other quality audio equipment.

Learn more about the Victor Cosmopolitan

For a $180 8-in-1, you shouldn’t expect the best of any particular component, especially one that’s been discontinued. I wanted it to be doable, and with one exception, it almost did.

record player: The ability to handle 78 rpm media on top of the latest 33 rpm and 45 rpm platters is an immediate bonus. It has a cushioned tonearm with a cue lever and an auto-stop (but no auto-return). A 45 rpm adapter (these records have a large center hole) is included.

The tonearm rested lightly on the record, the stylus seemed fine, and the speed was steady (belt driven). Going digital, however, the sound coming out of the unit seemed a little thin compared to other turntables. It’s easy to EQ the resulting recording for a bit more fullness and the top end is there. If it weren’t in the original signal, it would be difficult or impossible to reproduce.

This component certainly works, but I preferred a richer sound.

cassette player/recorder: This is the weakest component of the system. The control buttons are of the rugged long-throw mechanical type with a rugged door. On the other hand, it does not support Dolby B/C/HX or dbx noise reduction, nor does it have bias adjustment for each tape type.

There also appeared to be a bit of high frequency flutter, likely due to tape speed fluctuations and distortion during tape recording and playback. Some of my cassettes are 50 years old from his and prone to these artifacts so maybe it’s not Cosmopolitan’s fault. That said, some are still retail-packaged (i.e. unopened) and are of a much newer vintage.

Other oddities include no lights to indicate recording is taking place. Also, the player does not automatically switch states when rewinding or fast-forwarding. That is, the button remains pressed. I don’t care about the buttons, but the fluttering and distortion were disappointing.

Note that you can fix flutter and wow in post-production using Celemony’s program called Capstan. i used it. It works very well and requires very little user intervention. Capstan is very expensive, but in fact he can be rented for a day or he for two to harness its magic. No, that precious blast from the past isn’t destined to be a phenomenon.

cd player: This is the best of Cosmopolitan’s legacy media components and it worked all around. This is not surprising, as he is one of the new technologies at hand. Generally speaking, digital either works well or doesn’t work at all.

The trays slide in and out quickly, and track switching was quick. Note that the CD player does not work at the same time as the tape player. Be careful, at least if you have a tape player recording to USB.

AM/FM radio: Cosmopolitan’s radio tuner surprised me. I found a lot of stations without having to unwrap the wire antenna from the back. Note that I am almost exactly in the middle of San Francisco.You can automatically save stations to presets or add them yourself using the multifunction controls above the CD player. The process is explained in the User’s Guide.

To make matters worse, it can record FM radio, but not AM broadcasts. It’s not a big deal for most people, but AM has some unique things and it would be nice to have it documented. Sadly, there’s also no Bluetooth output when radio is selected. Regardless, good reception makes this one of the better components of the system.

victor audio

Digitization to USB stick or SD card: Cosmopolitan didn’t like the first 1TB exFAT USB stick I inserted, but this is a pretty easy deal. The 4GB FAT32 stick I switched to was fine. Recording is as simple as selecting the component you want to record, pressing record, and starting playback. The file (eg REC1.mp3) will be saved in a folder named REC which is automatically created by default.

Digitizing a CD is a little different than recording an LP or radio. Press Record again and the player will start at the beginning of the current track. In other words, we’re not just recording the input signal, we’re ripping it digitally. In fact they are stored in a separate folder named “Rips”.

We recommend renaming the digitized file immediately, or if you’re recording album sides, radio, etc., open it on your computer and rename or split it. There are free programs such as Audacity and Ocen Audio that facilitate this.

Bluetooth transceiver: Cosmopolitan both receives and transmits Bluetooth, so you can add Bluetooth streaming to your existing TV or stereo system. For example, the Roku TV doesn’t have his Bluetooth output onboard, so you can connect the TV’s AUX output to the Cosmopolitan’s AUX input and then use that output.

Alternatively, you can plug the Cosmopolitan into Bluetooth and use the headphone jack or RCA analog outputs to send audio to the rest of your stereo setup. This is definitely one of the useful features of Cosmopolitan.

Victor Cosmopolitan Audio Performance

What does Cosmopolitan sound like? By itself, it’s not very good. The side-facing internal speakers are lacking in top-end frequency reproduction, coming at little to none. They get by in a pinch, but the Cosmopolitan really intends to deliver audio signals to more acoustically capable devices.

I was generally happy with the quality of the recordings made from FM radio, especially CDs, the latter ripping pristine. However, the digitization of the cassette was not of the same quality. It’s probably the tape player’s fault. The recording from the LP was a little thin, but as I said, the frequencies are there and just need a little EQ in post.

Output from the system’s 3.5 mm jack is fine. The RCA output and Bluetooth acoustics are also good. Only the built-in speaker sounds cheap. Buy this unit for its playback capabilities, but don’t expect it to fill your bill as a standalone audio system.

Is the Victor Cosmopolitan 8-in-1 a bargain?

None of Cosmopolitan’s components will please audiophiles, but that’s not JVC’s intended market. increase. Bluetooth goes a little beyond that, making it a great unit for sending and receiving signals to and from connected devices.

Finally, thanks to the Victor Cosmopolitan 8-in-1 Music System for both its vintage look and its wealth of features. It’s great that you don’t have to boot your computer to rip a CD (assuming you can find one with a CD drive). FM recording is very cool. But let me say one last time. The sound quality of the cassette deck is disappointing. Apart from that: Well done, Victor.