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I've only had this for a day, so I will try to update the review in a month or so -but since there are no reviews of the Yamaha MCR-B142 on Amazon yet, I thought that I should at least give my initial impression.
I stepped up to the Yamaha from iSymphony Bluetooth Stereo System by way of the Pioneer X-EM21 Micro HiFi CD/FM Stereo System with iPod-Dock USB-in Remote. The iSymphony is a nice cheap little bluetooth stereo that is fine for talk, but falls short on music. The Pioneer disappointed me in its USB drive handling. All my other stereos saw 89 albums on my stick, but the Pioneer would only see 60. Anyhow, the Yamaha is certainly in a different price and quality class from the others, but, as I came to realize how much I lean on my kitchen stereo for music, I decided it was time to shell out for a good unit.
I can't offer any of the quantitative analysis that I'm sure engineering-oriented reviewers will soon furnish. I can only offer my first impressions on what I like and I don't like.
The first thing I noticed about the Yamaha is just how heavy -substantial -the unit is. It's no bigger than my previous stereos, but much more solid. I guess I'm used to the molded plastic that is standard fare for small stereo speakers at this point. This stereo is encased in steel, I believe. It is solid as a rock. Just don't drop it on your toe. Perhaps the mass helps it to handle booming bass better than lighter components can.
Which brings me to my second point: Nice bass! Again, I can't speak to the technical side. Suffice it so say that my 3-year-old hollered "turn it down in there!" to me from across the house when I took the volume knob for a spin playing Kernkraft 400. Very nice, rich sound.
One of the reasons that I selected this model was that it looked like I would be able to connect an iPod to either the dock or through the USB connection & be able to use the remote to control the iPod in either case. Confirmed. I like that I can connect iPod/iPad/iPhone through USB so that I can do the many things a remote cannot (e.g. browse through my Amazon Cloud Player library) without actually messing with the thing while it's docked.
The display is sort of retro. It's just two lines of classic LED segmented display. One might wish for more in the display, but sometimes simple is good. Indeed, this display is simple.
One criticism I have of it so far is in its USB handling. As I mentioned, I like to park a stick in my stereo that has 89 albums. Many stereos will read the folder names & show that on the display, but not the Yamaha. It's just got the folder & file numbers. [EDIT 3/3/13: I was wrong. One can see folder or file name by hitting the "display" button on the remote. My bad!] The weird thing about the USB handling is that it won't "flip over." If I want to go to the last folder ("Zombie Nation"), I have to hit the up arrow 88 times. Every other stereo I've had would allow you to hit the down arrow once to get to the last folder. Probably not a big deal, but a strange oversight on Yamaha's part.
All in all, I am quite pleased with this stereo after one evening of use. It seems pretty expensive compared to other small units, but you can see where those extra dollars go. I expect to have this stereo for the next twenty years, at least.
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28 February 2013 update
After three more weeks of use, I've revised my rating of this stereo upward from four stars to five. It is really exactly what I was looking for. The sound is excellent. I think it would handle the Pepsi challenge against a Bose & has features that I'd prefer over the Bose to boot. Delighted by this purchase.
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