Product Reviews for Sony CMTMX500I Mini Hi-Fi System

By ridenow from Undisclosed on 9/2/2012

Pink Floyd is an excellent test for this unit. Plows through scratched cd's.. I forgot my charger plug for my dead i-phone at work... And then it dawned on me, "this will charge my i-phone so I can test it" And so it did. The sound is excellent. Initially, I was dissapointed, it does not have your typical slew of connections on the back to hook-up various devices. In fact, there's none. But it's not needed with this system . It has a very sensitive mini mic jack in the front if you want to tie something in. The speakers, and the system itself are very light weight, which did cause a little uncertainty.. But after listening, "this is a near-perfect sounding audio device" just the way it is..Very-well thought through features. Not a heavy metal player...However, this is a clean, lean, hi-fidelity machine. A great job to Sony's design and engineering team!

By nipper from Northwest Ga on 5/7/2012

nice system for a small to medium room.It has good sound .My wife loves to put her iphone on the dock and listen to her music .I plug in my xm radio I love mine .

By Huey from Durham, NC on 6/26/2011

This system was not as described/pictured. There is no usb connection as show in the picture, how do you make that kinda mistake? The speaker grills don't come off, so that leave you with a boring looking system(this is actually what sold me on the system). The sound is ok, but I expected better. The speakers are NOT what you see in the photo.I'm thinking of returning if I can.

By MJarve from Minnesota on 4/30/2011

I'm an audiophile, of the high-end variety. My main setup includes the like of Musical Fidelity, Krell, Herron Audio, and so on. I have very high standards when it comes to musical performance, but this does not preclude budget conscious units. Indeed, there are more than a few "giant killers" out there that can be had for little more than the cost of a decent diner at a nice restaurant. The Sony CMT-MX500i is one of those units. The notion of a "shelf" system or all-in-one unit repulses many audiophiles, but, darn it, it's pretty convenient sometimes. If it sounds, good, all the better. The Sony combines in a single chassis an iPod dock, CD player, line-level/AUX input, FM Stereo tuner, pre and power amp, and, if you're in Europe, a USB input and DAB tuner as well. The power amp is a Class D or switching power amp rated for 30-watts per channel (at a stupidly high 10% THD+N), but is likely good for at least 20 "real" watts per channel, RMS. Being Class D, the amplifier is very efficient meaning it can get all the power it needs from a modest 35-watt SMPS (switch-mode power supply). Incidentally, Sony was one of the first mass-market electronics companies to embrace the use of switching power supplies and digital amps starting in the 1970's- they have the experience to make it work right. The supplied speakers are a simple two-way affair with a 4-inch woofer and 1.5-inch cone tweeter in a ported enclosure; pretty standard stuff, but it works quite well. Indeed, the performance of the speakers is much better than one would think from something so humble. The system as a whole provides much better performance than the modest build quality and specs would indicate. Indeed, while it's laughable that it could compete with even a mediocre "real" hi-fi setup of even a few hundred dollars, you would be very hard pressed indeed to get better performance for for the $150 you will pay from any new system, and such a system would be hard-pressed to deliver all the options the CMT-MX500i brings to the table. The iPod integration is perhaps the best I've encountered, with the remote and front panel controls providing access to all essential iPod playback options, well beyond the standard play/pause, track skip, or repeat/shuffle modes, allowing you to select play lists, navigate menus, and so on. Well done! There are a couple of things I do find wanting, however. First, the clock seems to have been included as an afterthought; It's only available if the unit is turned on, or for a brief time by pushing a button on the remote- a feature to display the time, perhaps with a dimmed display while in standby mode would have been welcome. This is particularly idiosyncratic, given that the unit will happily display the "Demo Mode" all day.... Additionally, a headphone jack would have been a welcome addition. Finally, don't loose or break the remote- certain features (tuner presetting, the clock display, sleep timer, etc), are available only by remote.

By Anonymous from Minnesota on 4/30/2011

I'm an audiophile, of the high-end variety. My main setup includes the like of Musical Fidelity, Krell, Herron Audio, and so on. I have very high standards when it comes to musical performance, but this does not preclude budget conscious units. Indeed, there are more than a few "giant killers" out there that can be had for little more than the cost of a decent diner at a nice restaurant. The Sony CMT-MX500i is one of those units.