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Bought two of these as Christmas presents last year. I liked the IPod dock option and it works well.The Iphone will warn you it is "not a supported device" and prompt you to turn off the phone to eliminate any 3G interference. I do not do this and have no issues with it.The sound is decent. My daughter leaves it on 24 hours a day, much to my dismay, but we have had no issues at all with them.
lol, unit size would be nice. thought this was much smaller that what it is - humongous.
[[ASIN:B00171T0SE Sony MHCEC78Pi Mini Hi-Fi Shelf System with Digital Media Port and 380-Watts RMS (Silver)]I like the system except the speaker cords are too short for where I want to place them and the system doesn't have any extra speaker outlets. I use this for listening to the radio and it does not allow me to access some stations that I like to listen to.
This thing isn't going to blow the door off dorm room hinges but it pumps out quality sound. I bought it for my girlfriend who has a studio and this thing is nice and loud enough to blanket the bedroom and kitchen area (which aren't connected in a typical rectangular fashion). It's a great option for a living room area or bedroom. The price on this thing makes it right all the way.
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.
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