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Sony MHC-RXD5 Compact Stereo System

Sony MHC-RXD5 Compact Stereo System

List Price: $300.00
Your Price: $300.00
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A big fat boomin' system for under $300. What a country!
Review: The RXD5 has everything I expected from a mini hi-fi system: Big fat sound in a compact size plus lots of useful features. I got it to listen to dance music (drum 'n bass, breaks, house, techno, trance) the way it should be heard: loud and clear. Comments below are based on this annoying stuff.

Here's what I've discovered in two days. With the bass boost activated (3 settings: Off, Normal, High) the low end is pretty damn fat. So fat that it will carry through the walls even at low volume. If your music thumps and you want to listen at a comfortable level, while doing homework or reading let's say, just hope your neighbors and roommates are the understanding kind. You can't trim the bass separately, only turn off bass boost. Still sounds okay, but just okay if you like a full range. There are 10 EQ presets: Rock and Jazz work best for dance music IMHO (boosts lows and highs). The Dance setting has a flatter high end--I like my snares and cymbals extra crispy. There are also settings for Action, Romance, Drama and Sports, for "soundtracks and special listening situations" says the manual. None of 'em ought to be used for music. There's also a Flat setting. A "Groove" button cranks everything up: switches the volume to "power" mode (subtle but noticeable overdrive), changes the EQ curve (to what, I don't know) and kicks bass boost to High. You can Groove and adjust each independently, e.g. leave the volume in power mode and set your own EQ preset and bass boost setting.

I went home at midday to TURN IT UP and I couldn't discern any distortion. It delivers nice clean sound. Wish I could do that at 10 p.m. I also wish the mids and highs were a little snappier through all that bass but it's more than acceptable. It's not muddy at all, just not super crisp. My roommate doesn't care either way, but she wasn't home so nyah nyah.

You can't rewind or fast-forward a cassette while a CD is playing, they use the same buttons. You can change CDs while listening to a tape, but not while listening to another CD.

The jog dial lets you jump to specific CD tracks and select your radio presets. It also fast-forwards and rewinds the cassette, one click per song if there's silence between songs. (It's an advanced EMSS search that lets you stop at the second/third/fourth... song from where you are instead of just the next or previous song.) The cassette deck also has standard FF and REW; press again to continue playing the tape.

Biggest disappointment for me (it's minor but annoying) is the CD changer which is a little loud and clunky-sounding when it's doing its thing, a vibe-killer if you're trying to seduce your date with a continuous two- or three-CD mix. *Might* not hear it over the moaning... It might also mar your morning experience when you use the Wake To Music feature.

Don't tip the unit too far while CDs are loaded. I was hooking up the FM antenna and one disc ended up on top of another. There is a lock function for safe transport. It locks the changer mechanism, not your CDs; remove your discs first.

You can synchro-record a CD on the cassette deck (start both at the same time) or record manually. If you want to do the latter it's a one-two process, just so you know: Hit REC/PAUSE first, then select the tape direction (side) to record on. While recording from CD to cassette, pressing STOP stops the tape first, then pressing it again stops the CD. The cassette deck can muscle through those thick 100-minute tapes.

Random tip: If your cassettes sound dull from overplaying, activating the Surround Sound feature might help boost the highs. Worked for me.

There's a neat-o Tape Select Edit feature that tells you the required tape length for a particular CD, and the total playing time for side A and B so you'll know how much blank space there will be at the end of each side. A bonus for the arithmetically challenged.

I don't use the radio much. You can tune in .1 increments but as far as I can tell you can't hold the button to run up and down through the frequencies, you have to click-click-click your way through.

The "DJ" effects are Loop (repeats a segment of a song like a performance sampler) and Flash (cuts the sound in and out repeatedly). Each has an adjustable interval but you can only adjust it while the effect is activated. You have to hold the button down to activate the effect.

Don't ask me about the karaoke feature. It's there for *you*.

I don't have the remote with me but as I recall it has most everything you'd want to do from a distance. And finally, the LED display is pretty bright in a darkened room. Consider that if you put this thing next to your bed. It goes dark when you power the unit down.

I recommend you compare features with the other models in this line before deciding. I like the RXD5. Buy it and throw a party. I'll bring the music.


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