Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony CMTCP100 Executive Microsystem

I bought a Sony CMT-CP100 over five years ago, and if I were given the opportunity, I would do it again.

The styling, first off, is simply beautiful. The curving silver front harks back to the good old analog days while maintaining a highly technological feel. The vertical CD prism display makes your CD look like it is playing vertically. This is a really neat looking feature and it allows you to see what disc you have inside. The CD is illuminated inside the player, so it looks really neat at night. Later models in this series have abandoned the prism display, probably because the cost of manufacturing was too high.

Secondly, the sound. I couldn't be happier with it. My father has two very expensive Infinity standing speakers in our living room. These speakers most likely cost $300 USD or more, yet the smaller speakers of the CMT-CP100 deliver even clearer, crisper sound with much less distortion, even on the bass. Speaking of bass, the CP100 gives extremely clear and groovy bass when the Dynamic Sound System is turned on. Distortion is practically nonexistent even at high amplitudes. There are seperate bass and treble controls, enabling one to enhance the music to his liking. This is a rare treat when it comes to shelf systems.

There is an excellent tape deck with CD-syncing features, auto-reverse, and timed recording (so you can automatically record all of your favorite radio shows). The European version (not sure about the American version) supports CD-Text. There are 30 radio presets available-10 for AM and 20 for FM.

The remote control is very handy and batteries should last for at least two years. The signal from the remote is extremely far-reaching, so you can point it just about anywhere and the signal will nearly always reach the stereo, even if you point the remote away from it. The remote also enables certain functions such as sleep timer, daily timer, and mono/stereo options for radio tuning.

The system has only one minor drawback. It is over a foot long from front to back, so it may not fit on all shelves.

Overall, I highly recommend this system, and I truly suspect that if you purchase one it will last you at least fifteen years.

I originally had a system with large speakers that took up alot of space. I wanted a system that had good sound, especially bass, that took up less space. This system fit my needs. The woodgrain speakers are nice looking and sound great. The controls on front of the unit are easy to use (SEPARATE BASS AND TREBLE CONTROLS). This system doesn't have the cheesy music type settings like for rock, country or jazz. You are able to set the bass and treble as you desire. The only thing you'll probably need the owners manual for is the station presets. It can be very complicated without reading the instructions. For my money, this is one of the best sounding and looking "small" systems I've heard. 35 watts per channel is enough power (just ask my wife). The CD changer is very good. It has all the standard controls. There is one thing, you must punch the CD controls slowly to activate them. A speedy tap of the controls doesn't seem to work properly. I think if you buy this system, you'll love it. I do.

This mini system is very good product. Great sound, digital control and very good radio tuner. Tuner have RDS (european version only) and my model have stereo audio input too (probably no all models it have). My opinion is: Buy it!

Uncluttered, simple to use and reasonable sound all from a unit that takes up no more room that my portable stereo. Though it does fall into the trappings of the "lifestyle system" on a whole I find it hard to fault this unit. At home in an office, small bedroom or even lounge room where you don't want to sacrifice living area for stereo area I found nothing that sounded as good for a comparable price.