The MHC-GX450 Features 400 watts total power 3 disc CD changer 3-way main speakers 8" subwoofer, dual 5" woofer, 5" sub-woofer, 2" mid-tweeter --Silver finish
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.
1 Worst piece of electronics I have ever purhcased.
After just a few months, the CD tray began to malfunction, and playing CD's was impossible. Sent to Sony repair under warranty, paid $$$ out of pocket for shipping (ouch!). A week after I got it back, the tuner stopped working. I will soon be paying as much in shipping as it would have cost to buy a new, better, unit! Believe me, it's worth an extra few bucks to buy something better, or at least something from a manufacturer with a better warranty and better customer service! Don't be fooled by the brand name, I was.
2 maybe best in its class,BUT...
...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.
3 Quality.Consistency.Value.Performance.
I am greatly satisfied with this system. You will not find a better one for the same price.
4 soooooooooooooooooooooooooo sweeeeeeeet
first of all U HAVE TO GET THIS. THIS THING IS SO FRIGGIN CRAZY THE BASS IS SO CRAZY THAT I PUT IT NEXT TO A JUNKY PANISONIC AND THE PANISONIC BROKE THATS HOW CRAZY THIS IS. THE USE OF THIS SYSTEM IS EASY. HOOK IT UP,TURN IT ON AND JAM. JUST MAKE SURE UR NEIGHBORS ARE GONE. THIS THING PUMPS AND THE GAME SYNC IS CRAZY. IT CN BE USED FOR TV TOOO! GAMES SOUND SWEET BUY IT (...)
5 Very Satisfied
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.
6 It's an excelant stereo, I love IT!!!!
I purchased this stereo because i liked the fact of the bass, the watts, and importantly the sound. ITs a great stereo and i would buy it anyday, matter in fact ill buy another right now!!!! lol
7 Just buy it!
For $200, there's nothing to think about. JUST BUY IT! Looks great. Awesome sound. Nice features.
8 Read This Review
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.
9 Incredible!
I just bought this stereo from Circuit City for $189. It took me like five minutes to set it up. I plugged my PS2 into the A/V input and popped in DDRMAXX (Dance Dance Revolution Maxx) and put it on the Dance EQ. Even though I have carpet ( which is not recommended for best performance for the sub) it sounded awesome! The room literally shook. Great for when you watch a movie or play your PS2 ( or any other console system, even... ( sigh) XBOX...). 5 Star.
10 wow, just......wow
I bought this stereo at Circuit City for $180 and the only complaint I have is that the tape player is kind of loud when you're switching functions, and the alarm is complicated, but i will rarely us either so I don't care. The sound is AMAZING and all the buttons are very simple and high quality (I was thinking of a similar Panasonic model, but it seemed like it was going to break any second) and what I liked the most was that you can turn the Subwoofer on and off whenever you want with just the push of a button and that it isnt all cladded with stupid bright-colored plastic, very simple and very nice, I am extermely happy with my purchase.
P.S. and circuit city gives you a full year warranty, even if you buy it used
11 SSSSSAAAAWWWWEEEETTTT
this system is awsome!!!!!!!!!! if ya dont think the same somethins rong witch u!! i can make the whole room shake without the sub on!!! everythin on the systems awsome!!!!!!
12 damn it
this radio sounds really good but after the first month my cd got stuck in the cd holder and it wouldn't play so if u like just am/fm and casettes then don't get this radio.
13 Affordable and the Best Stereo!!!
I bought this stereo for 199.99 at Best Buy. I am very happy with it. The sounds is so clear. You can hear every little "sh," "ck," "cling," of the music with this stereo. The sounds are not blended. It is almost you can "picture" the sound because how clear it is.
If you are a bass lover, party lover, dance lover, this stereo is good to go for your home party. Play it with your hip-hop music, you can feel the beat so increadible. I rate this stereo as perfect. All my friends who have heard it too say the same. I recommend this stereo. And the price, gosh dirt cheap for super best stereo like this.
14 this stereo is sweet!
dude this stereo is awesome. you can feel the bass.im surprised its so cheap. this is definitely the stereo to choose.
if you put it next to another stereo and played them both the sony stereo would be so much better. it would be like oooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhh you got served, you got served!
dude get this stereo.
15 i love my new stereo
This stereo is so awesome! I was looking at some ratings at other websites and sony's $400 stereo was getting way lower ratings than this one and they were saying that the sound quality is better than the 400 one. I've personally never heard better sound come out of any speaker in my life. The sub pumps up the volume and keeps me groovin', baby. Oh yeah, ah, this stereo is off the hook!! My brother's $500 sony stereo doesnt even sound as good as this one. YOu must buy it if you have $200 and any common sense at all.
16 HIGH QUALITY WITH SONY
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.
