It does sound better through an amp. It sounds as good as any mono out there. I can only echo the positivity given by other reviewers.

You can't buy them at boot sales. Someone told me you could and I've been looking for years. I had to really look hard, like others have said they did. Everyone tells me they've had one. I'm a bit doubtful. It's impossible to get one in Spain. Loads of DX7s. In England and Japan they are at their most common. I got the original box, but not the battery cover. It is a bit annoying as I like to carry it about with me and mains voltages differ in Europe. Selotape does the trick. I would suggest that you hang out for one with the battery cover.

The fact is, that it is serious little bass monster with bags of power. The pwm is great. This is a much better proposition than something like a wasp or gnat. It is well built and reliable. These mini synths that have built in speakers and run on batteries are highly sought after and go for major money. I recently saw an Electro-Harmonix mini synth being offered as a possible 'executive toy'. The guy was possibly right, though it's a shame to think that music machines will be viewed in this way. As an alternative to a Newton's cradle.

I would strongly recommend a cs-01. It is a fantastic little synth. You expect the performance of a toy. You get a fat, complex and useable sounding synth. They are difficult to locate nowadays. I know someone (an ex-lover!) who's got one. He's promised to sell it to me for years. He recently told me that he's keeping it as it is great sounding, as it owes him nothing and that it takes up no space. I think that just about summs up the problem of availability.