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

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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.
• ASIN: B0001LCZZQ
• Item model number: MHCGX450
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #49,259 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 31, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Crafted for style and built for power, Sony's 4-piece MHC-GX450 stereo is the ultimate party animal. The system packs a rafter-rattling 125 watts per channel across a pair of 3-way, dual-woofer speakers and a standalone powered subwoofer with an 8-inch woofer, so you'll never miss a kick-drum hit or a low bass note. You get a 3-CD changer with play exchange (so you can swap two discs while a third is playing) and compatibility with not only homemade CD-R and CD-RW discs, but discs loaded with MP3 music files, too. The dual-well cassette deck offers full-logic performance and the FM/AM radio boasts 30 station presets (20 FM, 10 AM) for ultimate tuning convenience.

A cool feature called Game Sync mixes the sound from the system's front-panel audio/video inputs with the sound of your favorite music--whether from CD, MP3 CD, cassette, or radio--so you're not forced to choose between game sound and music listening. You can have either one--or both. Maintain a composite-video connection between the stereo and your television, and you'll have instant video access right from the unit's front panel.

You'll find no cheap up/down volume buttons here--the MHC-GX450 sports an easy-to-grab, illuminated center volume knob that goes all the way up. Other great features include shuffle, program, and repeat CD playback, CD synchro recording, a bright, easy-to-read, color fluorescent display, and a Remote Commander remote control to keep you in full couch-potato mode.

Extensive audio processing enhancements include Sony's Groove bass enhancement circuit, as well as 8 preset equalizer curves with 3-band parameter adjustments to heighten the power of your music or tailor the sound for a specific location. Further, Direct AV EQ adds 16 preset equalizer settings that cater to music (Pop, Rock, Soul, Oriental, Dance, Jazz, etc), movies (Drama, Action, and Musical), and games (Arcade, Adventure, and Racing).

Direct A/V EQ also lets you store customized settings in three personal files. And, if that's not enough, the system even simulates surround sound for spacious music or movie effects. Finally, VACS (Variable Attenuation Control System) is designed to ensure superb clarity, even at high volume levels, preventing amplifier "clipping" and its consequent distortion.

What's in the Box
Main unit, two front speakers, a subwoofer, a Remote Commander remote control (model RM-SC3), remote batteries, an FM wire antenna, an AM loop antenna, and a user's manual.

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.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 50 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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

...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.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read This Review, October 26, 2004

By	Craig Greene (Gering, Nebraska) - See all my reviews

Hi, Im 20 yrs old and i should have bought the Sony MHC-GX450 sooner. It's my first boom box, shelf stereo, mini system, whatever you want to call it, and it ROX! Let me tell you everything important that no other review has said. It has 3 p files (program files) that lets you save the settings on your system. This means once you are done adding different equalizers and presets to it, your settings are saved so you can watch movies, play games, and rock out, each with a "unique" sound. when i watch a movie, i have sorround sound and i switch my pfile when listening to a cd to have more bass. Let move on, the center knob has a light that turns on the the sound of the music. Pretty cool. It sounds better than my brothers sony he got 6 years ago for $400! I paid $189.99 and passed up the $200 dollar red panasonic which i can't find a review for (cuase it stinks) im sure no one wants to buy one becuase they make alot of sound "chatter" when putting a cd in. The sony plays mp3's awesome and you can even fast forward through a mp3 file, rather than most cd players that don't let u do that. For guitar players, plugging your guitar into the game sync with an adapter will let you play the guitar along with your favorite songs and i find this feature enjoyable. Or plug in your Gamecube, PS2, or XBOX to the game sync and listen to that while having your own playlist of songs playing at the same time. This system is awesome and definatly worth buying. I would pay $500 for a system like this. The few things i hate about it are little things that don't hurt its perfect rating. For instance, the remote, it sux. If the movie im listening to puts out to much bass in a part of the movie, i have get up off my seat and push the equalizer button or groove button manualy to change the lows of the movie. If someone brings this up to Sony the next time they decide to make a stereo system, their perfect masterpeice would be even better. i give it a 5 out of 5 for giving candy to my ears and waking my neighbors up at night.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Satisfied, December 22, 2004

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

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.