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I know enough about human factors and design engineering to recognize that the complex, three-fingers-at-once keying required to power down the CD player is clearly a diagnostic designed in for techs, but which has been published in the instructions as some sort of workaround to salvage a poor system design.2) The display cannot be read unless it is eye level or below. Jazz and rock are going to sound lame, and rap is going to be a shadow of what the actual recording was.5) The antenna uses a psuedo-proprietary connection (it appears to be a three pin power connector for CPU fans), which means if you have to move the unit several times over its life, like from one dorm to the next, the typical cheap/thin/fragile antenna wire that's included will inevitably break. Why can't Sony do likewise.3) The equalizer presets are lame, especially the "Jazz" setting, which approximates wrapping the speakers in two layers of pillows and duct tape. In fact, the instructions tell you how to power off the CD portion of the system in order to improve reception. But hey, it's a Sony, right.
Here's why:1) FM reception is marginal, even with ideal antenna placement. No problemo. I should have walked away when I saw that none of the three would lock on to even one station.when there's almost two dozen stations right in town. People buy compact systems for two reasons.to get simplified operations (blown out of the water by the complicated power down the CD procedures).or to save precious space in small or crowded rooms.
With only four EQ settings to choose from, this narrows down your real choices quickly.4) Despite the pretense of bi-amplification (hence two sets of wires per speaker), bass is muddy with a poor rolloff below about 120hz, and an overemphasis in mid-bass to try and disguise its thinness. Likewise, with the non-standard antenna connector, you can't use an upgrade antenna or a cable-tv feed to improve the poor FM reception.6) I've been setting clocks on car stereos, VCRs, watches, PDAs and all the other gadgets since the 80's. This is ludicrious in an all-in-one system. Since you can't read the display unless this unit it on a low bookshelf, options for where you can place this unit get limited pretty quickly. It wasn't obvious, and it wasn't documented in the one-sheet instructions.SUMMARY: Sound like an 80's boombox from the drug store.
This unit was the middle of three Sony offerings at a national chain. Rich this is not. Anything more demanding than a string quartet or acoustic guitar is going to sound weak and boomy. Problem: there's no way to replace the antenna with an aftermarket unit. It sits on top of the overhead, above my computer. Reception like the clock radio at the motel. People who say Sony has gone downhill are just blowing steam.I'm beginning to think they were right.
Display you can only read if it's down low taking up prime real-estate.BOTTOM LINE: You wouldn't like it if you got one for free. I have to compare this to a Panasonic unit I have at work. That puts me at a negative 70 degrees or so from the display, yet I can read it easily. But with THIS unit, it was a half-hour ordeal of trial and error. It's annoying.
The speakers are separate from the main unit, but the speaker wires are 24ga, and only about 4 ft long, and the connections are sealed inside the so-called speaker cabinets, so to set the speakers on top of the bookshelf with a reasonable separation, I had to join extension wires to them - 8 wires altogether. Quite a miracle that it lasted this long. Pros: OK sound, plays MP3 CDs, OK FM reception, iPod connection.Cons: Horrible looking speakers, speaker leads too short, clock display cuts off after 8 seconds, no CD changer.I bought one of these to replace a 7-year old Magnavox mini component system with a 5-CD changer, in one of my vacation rental homes. And that's another thing - why does it need two sets of speaker wires. The sound of the Sony system is no better than the Magnavox, although I'm sure it would play much, much louder, if anyone could stand it. I have to wonder what kind of person designs this kind of junk. This is NOT high fidelity.Another annoyance is that you have to use the remote to display the time, as the clock display goes off after 8 seconds. Every other device I have has the clock on continuously - even if it's always at 12:00:00.It's good that the unit plays MP3 CDs, but I was unpleasantly surprised to discover that it only plays one disk at a time.Ah well, I guess I'll just return it and get the 3-disc changer.
Great system. Could not be happier with the sound quality and features on this system.The ipod dock is a great feature especially with the controls on the remote. A little more depth than your average bookshelf system, but still is compact.
Why are these extra leads needed. I bought this unit to have a good sound system in my bedroom and to power my outdoor speakers. of course, the information that came with the unit was no help. I wanted to buy a speaker switch but in addition to the usual red/black speaker leads, this unit has extra blue/gray leads for the "high frequency" part of the speaker. These extra leads make a standard speaker switch unworkable. The sound is great but the pe-fixed equalizer settings are practically worthless. I'm still debating whether to keep it or take it back.
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