Customer Reviews

Philips MCM275 Flat Wall-Mountable Shelf System

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I bought this unit as gift for my sister for her kitchen and I think its awesome. MP3 & WMA disc capable for when I come by to play my CD's, and Ipod ready for my brother in law. All she wanted was a radio, and this comes with two real antennas (a great AM one and a long wire-antenna for FM) that both get excellent reception. The unit has a real nifty speaker/unit wall mounting bracket so the whole thing can mount right up, flat on the wall.(we used the bracket to mount the speakers to the unit and just have it standing on top of a small microwave) Philips instructions are some of the best around. Unit buttons, remote, and display are great. And this unit has the new European Union energy saving setting (non vampire electric draining I think). Sound is more than enough for a kitchen and dining room. But for a large,loud party in a living room, it won't put out enough volume.

I really hate this stereo. There are several reasons.
1. If your power even flickers, the system resets. Even more annoying if you use the timer function as an alarm clock and it doesn't wake you up in the morning because the system has reset.
2. Whenever you put in a CD, the system has to read the CD and count the number of tracks before the CD will play. Not a big deal but I swear those extra 30 seconds take forever. Man! It even annoys me to describe this stereo.
3. The remote control that comes with this system SUCKS! The play button hasn't worked since day one and other buttons are continually going out. I rarely use this stereo because the remote is so terrible. And to make matters worse, there are a lot of buttons on the remote that aren't on the system itself, so if a button on the remote breaks you may be completely out of luck.
4. The feature where you can assign radio stations to numbers sucks. You can't search through your presets quickly. Being able to slowly search through pre-set stations is the high point of the radio. If you're trying to just search through stations that aren't assigned it's a real pain. You have to hold the search button down for 5 seconds or so, and then the radio searches through stations until it gets a strong signal. Really poorly thought out.
5. The Ipod docking feature is over-rated. I have the docking system and a regular set of ipod speakers. The ipod speakers are way better. Although, it is nice to be able to use the stereo remote to change tracks on my ipod.

The one redeeming factor of this system is the USB capability. As much as I hate this system, that's a pretty sweet feature. You can plug in a USB drive with music on it and play it. A good feature on a crappy stereo.

Overall, yes, this system plays music but you'd be wise to spend your money elsewhere.

nice sounding, looks nice, small footprint. Speakers detach or mount to the unit. Remote is great because it is very thin and encased in a plastic guard which is good for kids when droped or thrown! I bought this for the baby's room. Aux input and a USB for mp3 , ipod, etc.

It's a great unobtrusive stereo for the bedroom, with the added benefit that it plays mp3s and wma files.
However, I am very annoyed by the fact that you cannot set the clock. Instructions say that you should press Display/set Clock and then use the volume buttons to set time. Well, after you press the "Set Clock" button (and it starts to flash), you then press the volume buttons which (I can't imagine why) turn the volume up or down (depending on which button you press) instead of setting the hour and minutes.
Therefore, you cannot set it up as an alarm clock, contrary to its intended use.
It would also benefit from a longer power cord, since you may want to mount it on a wall at a height or distance that isn't next to a power outlet.
Other than that very annoying setback, it is pretty much what you would like from a compact stereo.

**UPDATE** Added defects: (1) "Play" button on the remote ceased to function at all after a couple of months with very little use on my part. (2) After I mounted the stereo on the wall above my bed and played some CDs, you can listen to it spinning when lying in bed listening to music at low volumes.

This is not the most powerful system available. If you are looking for a stylish micro system, you should consider this one. The sound is very good for a small unit. The unit looks very contemporary and sleek. I searched for several days trying to find the best rated micro system, and this was the one that was the highest ranked. I bought this from Amazon for $89.99 and am very happy with it. You can get the MCM240 refurbished on the Philips website for around $40 if you are on a tighter budget. This one should not tip over as easy as the MCM235 or MCM240 since it has a slightly different base.

I'm satisfied with this system- it works well and looks smooth. I especially like that I can plug my usb drive right into it-no need for a system with a CD changer. It plays wma and mp3 files that aren't protected.

As the other reviews say, the sound is not what you'd get on a larger system, but I think this one goes loud enough to annoy the neighbors in an apartment complex. Rather than have adjustable bass and treble, it has a few settings such as Jazz, Rock, Pop, Classical with different levels of each. It also has a bass boost option.

I'm also very pleased with the size and weight. Especially if you have to move a lot or are in a small space, this is a good choice.

This sound on this system is average. Good system for kids rooms. Note that the clock doesn't light up. We hoped to replace the kids' clock radios but are now in a bind b/c they can't see the time in the dark. USB connection works great with our Creative Zen Nanos.

I purchased this item for my kitchen as I love to listen to cd, cd-mp3, or my ipod while I cook and/or clean. It was the perfect choice. While I did not mount it on the wall, it is still less bulky than most units. It fits perfectly on the counter against the wall. The sound is wonderful and I get all the fm stations I need! I would highly recommend this product.

This product was purchased for me as a birthday present. The overall look of the system is very eye pleasing. The sound is great. There are however two things I do not like about this system. 1. The clock does not stay lit; the system actually turns off completely when powered down. 2. Trying to find the adapters to play your IPOD are ridiculously difficult. I can't play any "protected" songs without the adapter and it's VERY hard to find the adapter. Seems like basically a waste. Had I known, I would have probably returned it. Requirements for attachments should be posted on the BOX!

When my circa 1994 stereo stopped working about a month ago, I started looking for a replacement, and quickly found that sound systems have changed quite a bit in the last 15+ years. This was one that was in my top 5, because it's quite sleek, had the USB connection, and the reviews on the sound were quite good. I happened across it at a charity auction last week and picked it up for $80, which I'm realizing now was quite a fabulous price. It's the first stereo I've actually displayed (it's on an art deco shelf in my 1920s home)rather than stashing in a closet, because I like the looks of it. The sound is more than enough for gatherings at my home, which is under 1,500 square feet. The only downfall is that it may not be compatible with my iPod nano. So far, I can only get it to play one song off the Nano, and after reading reviews here, that may be as good as it gets. Honestly, I've not taken any time to determine if I'm attempting to play songs properly, if songs are organized correctly on my iPod, etc., so maybe I'll eventually figure it out. Overall, very nice system.