Sony MHC-GX450 3-Disc CD Shelf System with Game Sync

by Sony

Product Details

Product Manual [778kb PDF]

• Item Weight: 100 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 60 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0001LCZZQ
• Item model number: MHCGX450
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,768 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Get the Hi-Fi features you want, but in a small package. The MHC-GX450 includes a 3 Disc CD Changer, CD-R/CD-RW and MP3 playback capability, 3-way main speakers with hybrid dual 5" woofers, Game Sync Mixing, dual cassette decks, and 30 station presets. Game Sync Mixing lets you control the volume of your music and game sounds, so you can get just the right mix. The CD-R/CD-RW and MP3 playback capability makes it possible to play your burned CDs and personal compilations, while the dual cassette decks add even more flexibility. And, the MHC-GX450 may be a Mini Hi-Fi system, but it still has 400 Watts of total power, with a 150 Watt Subwoofer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars maybe best in its class,BUT..., March 17, 2005

By 

Eduardo Nietzsche (Houston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony MHC-GX450 3-Disc CD Shelf System with Game Sync (Electronics)

...keep your expectations low!

For a cheap shelf system this Sony can certainly crank...BUT with an ungodly amount of distortion and resulting listener fatigue above 50% volume mainly due to the lousy speakers (typical of all shelf systems) and subwoofer. Keep in mind though that 90% of mass manufacturers like Sony, Phillips and Panasonic routinely inflate their watts-per-channel numbers to pull in the naive and uneducated consumer...Sony claims that the speakers do 125 wpc and the subwoofer 150 wpc but when you consider how quickly the sound distorts as you increase the volume, more realistic numbers would be closer to 40 wpc for the speakers and 70 wpc for the subwoofer. Still impressive compared to the shelf systems of just 10 years ago, which had no subwoofer and were barely pushing 15 watts per channel---but no comparison to what even the cheapest low-end component stereo system can do!

The subwoofer does not have its independent volume control so it does a good job as long as you stay well under 50% volume, go beyond that and it overpowers the music with its muddy boominess. At low to moderate volumes the subwoofer does a decent job, though. I ended up turning my subwoofer sideways away from the corner of the room where the shelf system sits, which did help to lessen the bucket-like boominess.

All of the above is normal at this price point, right? Well yes and no. Compared to similar offerings in this price range by Panasonic and Phillips (I won't even mention all the Walmart off-brands) this Sony more than holds its own---in fact if those were the only choices I'd take this one in a heartbeat.

HOWEVER...if you know where to look you can get a MUCH better component system for just an extra hundred bucks or so! Go to jandr dot com for entry level Onkyo or Sherwood stereo receivers under a hundred dollars, DVD/CD players like the Toshiba 3960 for fifty dollars and bookshelf speakers like the Polk R15 or JBL E20 for one hundred a pair. (As for a tape deck who on earth even uses cassettes anymore these days?) This setup by itself will already sound three times better than any all-in-one compact system costing three to four hundred dollars, even without a sub. If you must add a sub you can start with a cheap one hundred dollar Yamaha (or even better, a Dayton sub from partsexpress dot com) that will blow away this Sony's sub.

About the only justifiable reason to get any compact shelf stereo is if you are truly pressed for space and money, and if you only listen to music (not too closely) at low to moderate volumes.

With any compact system you will get a very limited range of sound-shaping options, for example this Sony only has 3 preset equalizer settings instead of allowing you to set bass and treble manually, and there is no balance control. Also because everything has to fit within a tiny little box, there is bound to be more electronic noise and interference in the signal as the miniaturized parts are crammed much closer together, which is why the sound becomes fuzzier the louder you play music, and the unit can heat up if pumped at high volumes over any extended period of time. Most importantly, there are much fewer connectivity options, meaning you can't hook up as many different things (video games, TV, VCR, PC, iPod, etc.) into the shelf system at the same time as you can into a standalone receiver...for instance with this Sony you only have one set of auxilary inputs.

So that's why I think the extra hundred or so dollars would be extremely well spent. But then again, if you absolutely cannot go over two hundred, this Sony is a very good choice in this class.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Satisfied, December 21, 2004

By 

E. Ragan (NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony MHC-GX450 3-Disc CD Shelf System with Game Sync (Electronics)

I was so satisfied after purchasing the MHC-GX250 five months ago for my bedroom that I went out and purchased the Sony MHC-GX450 for my living room. The results have been just as great as my first system. Simple and easy to set up, it took me all five minutes to get it up and running. The bass on this thing is crazy, which is great for parties and get-togethers. If volume is what you want, you'll definitely get it from this system. The difference between this system and the MHC-GX250 is the this one comes equipped with an extra 325 watts, which becomes very evident when you want to crank it up to the next level. Surprisingly, it delivers light music just as well as it does heavy. I just turn the bass off and switch it to either 'jazz' or 'soul' mode, and I'm sleeping like a baby. Since I bought it, there haven't been any problems with the unit. This is a great system for the price and I encourage potential buyers to search no further.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HIGH QUALITY WITH SONY, April 26, 2004

By 

TMAC1687 (Little Rock, Arkansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sony MHC-GX450 3-Disc CD Shelf System with Game Sync (Electronics)

This package is the best for $200, it has supreme sound, and simple controls for easy use. The front A/V inputs make a great feature for this unit, it also makes it easy for connecting to your T.V., game system or DVD player. You can't go wrong with a 150 watt sub, plus the pure sound of the main channel. I turn up the volume when I listen to my tunes and this baby knows how to handle it. If your looking for an awesome CD player at a great price than this is the one, or you can spend $400 for SONY's next step up. JVC and Panasonic have tried to out dual SONY but with the Passion the people have at SONY no one is going to beat them. JVC's model is a sad excuse for a system and looks like a piece of crap, and Panasonic is getting there but SONY still has them beat. It's an honor writing a review about such a great music machine. Thanks for your time.