HOME ENTERTAINMENT : For Audio Value, Boom Boxes Are Best

In the last-minute shopping flurry, here are some tips if you’re considering some relatively low cost audio gifts--boom boxes and portable CD players.

Boom boxes: In general they’re a great value, particularly since all now are equipped with CD players. Even the low-end units sound better than costly models sold back in the ‘80s.

For as little as $80 you can buy a small box--a portable sound center, weighing 8 to 10 pounds, that includes AM-FM radio, tape player, speakers and the CD player. Don’t expect many features, though, on the low-end units. For instance, most don’t include a mechanism for presetting radio stations.

If you’re buying for real music buffs, a small boom box ($80-$150) isn’t a wise choice. The bass isn’t strong enough to do rock music justice and the sound is too distorted to satisfy the true classical fan. But small boxes are ideal for youngsters, as a backup for a main system or as the main system for the casual music listener.

Remember that boom boxes don’t have sophisticated noise reduction or sound-level controls that are necessary for those who do extensive taping.

Bigger boxes, in the $160-$250 range, produce surprisingly good sound, get above-average FM reception and have detachable speakers that allow for decent sound separation. Some have fairly fancy features and include remote control units.

Experts surveyed say that, among the small boxes, the Sony CDF-12 and the Panasonic RX-DS13 are good bets. Both are available for under $100. Among the more expensive boxes, in the $200-$250 range, they cited the JVC-PX110, the Panasonic RX-DT670 and the Sony CFD-560.

Portable CD players: The low-end models have improved markedly over the last few years. They’re very light, skip less during movement and get longer play--eight to nine hours--from two AA batteries. The sound, even without expensive headphones, is particularly sharp for rock music, since even the cheapest units have bass boosts.

The experts recommend the RCA RP7903, available for about $80, and the Sony D-131, which you can find for about $100, as good buys.

What’s New On Video

“The Client” (Warner): Before a mob lawyer commits suicide, he spills an incriminating secret to an 11-year-old boy (Brad Renfro) from a poor, dysfunctional family. A tenacious U.S. Attorney (Tommy Lee Jones) wants him to testify about the information, but the gangsters, of course, don’t. For protection, the youngster hires a lawyer (Susan Sarandon) who becomes his surrogate mother. Bolstered by outstanding performances, this adaptation of John Grisham’s best-selling thriller is a good entertainment.

“Wagons East!” (LIVE): It’s unfortunate that this woefully unfunny comic Western is the late John Candy’s last movie. He plays a bungling wagonmaster herding a wagon train in the reverse direction. Don’t let your curiosity about Candy’s final film suck you into this stinker, which co-stars Richard Lewis.

“Lassie” (Paramount): The new adventures of the super-smart, noble collie, this time with a master (Thomas Guiry) who’s a city boy adjusting to life in the country. OK if you’re in the mood for a very sentimental family entertainment. You’d be better off, though, renting the 1943 gem “Lassie Come Home” instead.

“Widows’ Peak” (New Line): In a small Irish town back in the early century, a mousy spinster (Mia Farrow) clashes with a newcomer--a sexy widow played by Natasha Richardson. The fun is seeing how the scandalous feud rattles this prim community, which is run by a matronly widow (Joan Plowright). Factor in a murder-mystery and a clever twist at the end and you get a rather enjoyable light, low-key comedy.

“Spanking the Monkey” (New Line): In David Russell’s first film, he does what’s seemingly impossible--make a movie about incest that’s not at all lurid or sensationalistic. It’s a coming-of-age tale about a confused college student (Jeremy Davies) who has a summer affair with his unhappy mother (Alberta Watson). In this provocative comedy/drama, Russell finds dark humor in the wreckage of a family. Mainly for those with a taste for extremely offbeat movies.

Special Interest

Leslie Nielsen is noted for playing the clumsy cop in the madcap “Naked Gun” movie series. This time he plays a character who’s just as wacky, terrorizing a golf course in the 50-minute, slapstick video “Leslie Nielsen’s Bad Golf My Way.” You don’t have to know much about golf to appreciate some of the very funny bits. From PolyGram, at $20.

You may think of antique-hunting as just casual fun, but there’s a real art to it, as you find out in the information-packed tape “What a Deal!: Buying and Selling at Antique Flea Markets.” From Salt Lake City Video, at $25: (800) 444-2524. . . . “Women’s Self-Defense and Fitness Program,” hosted by Bruce and Kris Jenner, is a very informative tape about rape prevention. For $15 from White Star.

Foreign Films

The major foreign-film release of the last month is the Spanish “Belle Epoque” (Columbia TriStar), which won the best foreign-language film Oscar. It’s a racy comedy about a soldier, AWOL during the Spanish Civil War, who stumbles into a houseful of seductive sisters. . . . PolyGram’s “Savage Nights,” the French drama about a promiscuous, HIV-positive man, is another acclaimed film that’s interesting because of its compelling theme. . . . Columbia TriStar’s “Germinal,” an adaptation of the Emile Zola novel, is worth a look. Set in the 1880s, this three-hour epic stars Gerard Depardieu as a poor miner suffering through a labor strike with his large family. . . . Lina Wertmuller’s “Ciao Professore!” is due Jan. 10 from Buena Vista.