Sony's Shelf Sized Powerhouse
Written: Mar 15 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: awesome power, superior sound, big CD capacity
Cons: no real EQ, disk naming system needs revising
The Bottom Line: This system's best quality is it's sound output. There aren't many bells and whistles, but who needs 'em? This thing rocks!
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| jfkreviews's Full Review: Sony MHC-MC3AV Shelf System |
Everyone asks the same question when leaving home for the first time, “What am I going to do for tunes, man?” The Sony MHC-MC3AV is the answer. That is, as long as you can afford it. I couldn’t. I purchased the HCD-MC1 instead. To clarify, the HCD-MC1 is last year’s model of the MHC-MC3AV. Actually, I recently checked sony.com and I think that there is now an even newer model available. Essentially, the main features of all the Sony mini-systems are identical. I think I can accurately describe this system with my first hand knowledge.
First of all, any of you familiar with Sony’s unbelievable quality and reliability will be pleased to hear that this system is no exception. Believe me, you won’t have any problems with this stereo.
Now for the features, here are the highlights:
· 50 + 1 disk changer with disk naming
· Dual tape deck with auto-reverse
· AM/FM tuner with 30 presets
· Two main speakers, two satellite speakers, and a center channel speaker
· Optical output for MiniDisc recording, RCA stereo output, auxiliary RCA stereo input, headphone output
· Remote control
Other nifty features include a pretty thumpin’ bass booster, several equalizer settings, and a multicolor display that moves with the music. All these features would be worthless if the thing didn’t sound good, but there’s no need to worry about that. In the version I have, the main speakers are hit with about 160 watts of power. Later versions feature even more power. Believe me, you can feel it. The main speakers rock! The three-way design of the speakers helps this system produce impressive highs and thunderous bass. This baby will shake everything within a fifty-foot radius. I used a mid-grade subwoofer in conjunction with the main speakers for a while until I decided that I just didn’t need it. The speakers drowned it out!
I have noticed a few things about this stereo that do annoy me. Whenever power is disconnected from the unit your clock and radio presets are lost. I don’t know if they’ve addressed this issue in the successive models. Also, I am not particularly happy with the disk-naming feature. With fifty CD’s you will need some sort of naming ability but Sony’s does not do the job well. You can enter full names for every CD you have in there and the names are backed up in case of power failure. The problem is that the names are only associated with the disk locations and not the CD’s themselves. This means that you can’t move the disks around without deleting and re-entering the names. Other companies, such as Clarion, associate the name of the CD that you entered with the first few bits of information on that CD. That way, the name of the CD will always be associated with that CD. Another complaint I have concerns the fact that this device has no real equalizer. It has a few different presets but they offer very little control over the sound output. Now, the presets do sound great but I would like to see a little “tweakability” with a loud and powerful system such as this.
Aside from a few little flaws, this system is excellent. This should definitely be on the top of your list if you’re looking for a very powerful mini-system!
Recommended:
Yes
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