Home > Consumer Reviews > Philips Micro Hi-Fi System - MC320

I am extremely pleased with this purchase for a number of reasons.

1-Unlike 95% of comparable systems, this unit doesn't look like its a nuclear reactor. Infact Its style recalls the 70's era of plastics...when plastics had integrity and solidity. The unit is simply beautiful to look at, and even if retro isn't your thing, I think the flexibilty inherent in this design will impress. The speakers and the main unit are all the same size and shape which makes them interchangeable. You can stack them or shuufle them in any order to suit your space requirements. The units themselves sport clean lines and are inspiring to look at (in fact this particular model won design awards this year)

2-The sound that comes out of this unit is simply amazing! I used to thump 4 15" subs in my car so I know about bass. It only uses 4" speakers (plus tweeters). How is this possible? Design and engineering. The speaker boxes are properly engineered for the speakers and the plastic cases are very rigid which means that these babys are efficient. More than can be said for most other brands... Also, the gain on the amplifier has been set at a rather low level so the amp will not clip, even at highest volume. In fact, I was surprised at how little distortion occured when cranking up heavy bass music. I think this shows attention to engineering and concern for longevity of the product on the part of Philips.

3-Price. I can't believe all this is possible for [the price]. Some glorified boomboxes go for more than that and they simple don't compare. I actually felt empowered walking out of the store knowing I had gotten more than I paid for (or more than I could have with another brand!)

Is this product perfect? No. It has some flaws, the most glaring one for me being that some of its basic features like base enhancement and eq settings are only available through the remote. Lose or break the remote and you are SOL. I aslo think they could figure out a way to connect the speakers to the body, giving the user the option of using it as a boombox (though I realize that is not what this unit was designed to be). Also, being able to create your own eq rather than using standard presets ( like "jazz" "rock" etc...) would be nice. But hey for [the price] I can't complain.

I always considered Philips to be a bit Euro-Trashy. It was overpriced and under-specked. I now stand corrected. While its true I could have had more features for the same price, it wouldn't sound or look as good, nor be as solidly built as this unit. My Sony days are over...Thanks Philips!

I reviewed lots of small stereo options before making this purchase, and I'm really happy with this product. I bought it just so I could have a small stereo in my bedroom with fairly good sound quality. This system has exceeded my expectations. It's small, easy to use, was inexpensive, and sounds great! It's perfect for a bedroom or office. The remote is really small and chincy-looking, but it all works great.

Great price, good sound and classy, low-key design all in one package. The issues I have are only minor and may or may not influence your decision but I'll let you know what they are.

Pros:

- The picture Amazon shows is a little different. It actually comes with plastic grills that cover the speakers. These can be removed easily but it's best to leave them on so you don't accidently puncture the speakers.
- Buttons on the unit are firm and very responsive. They require only a light press.
- Remote is flat and has useful features. You can mute, reverse a tape, and if you press shuffle, CD play begins automatically. It's also responsive and worked from 25ft away.
- Alarm clock and sleep are nice bonuses. You can wake to any track on a CD. The sleep gradually lowers the volume when you get near the end of the timer. I thought this was a nice touch.
- Auto powers down after a few minutes if there is no tape or CD activity.
- Has aux input. You can use these as computer speakers if you buy a mini plug to RCA audio cable.
- Clean and crisp sound. Bass is adequate. (Don't expect chest-thumping.)

Cons:

- Clock is in 24 hour format which most people are not used to. But it doesn't matter since the clock font is too small to be of any use.
- Easy to accidently press record since it requires only one button.
- Headphone jack is on top and towards the back. This was inconvenient for me since I keep the unit in a computer desk shelf and it was difficult to access.
- Not much difference between the classic, jazz, rock tones but this seems pretty common with sound presets.

Even with the nitpicks, I gave it 5 stars due to the low price and sound quality you get. [...]

Well, I read the longer review about how the FM antenna requires a strong signal and I concur. However, the features the reviewer is talking about are found only on higher priced boxes and rarely in a system designed for ease of use. So, I'd say that for the purposes we bought TWO of these systems, they cannot be beat.
1. The remote is simple and you can feel the buttons - with a little time you'll learn the ones you need in the dark. It's not back lighted.
2. The sound is really, really good. Now, don't think $50 (I bought @ WalMart) buys a $1000 stereo, but hey, it's really good. We returned two other systems because the hiss at low volumes was louder than the music. This system has dynamic, tight bass, decent sound field enhancements, good control over the sound, and did I mention it sounds really good?
3. The price - how can you go wrong with a box this good for about $50? I matched it with two other systems costing $100 and $145 - this one was by far their superior.

3. The design - simple, uncluttered and in 3 small pieces that can be seperated and still look good. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I'm not one for the current crop of industrial, chrome, and steroids that denote most current stereos.
4. The CD loads in a sort of fold out tray - fun and easy for the kids to load. They can touch the laser eye though - careful!
5. What else is there to say? It's a great system for $50, you really can't go wrong with this selection.

I am still amazed by the quality of sound. I played Flamenco guitar music and every pluck of the string is felt. No muffled high or mid range sounds. It's Clarifty redefined! I am tired of the old boombox, base only sounds, coming out of most 300W systems with no attention paid to tone quality. This little 40W system has a total sound range with less distortion than almost all the higher priced systems. I had a Brazillian women marvelling and spellbound over the grande sound coming out of such a small box. You know how much Brazillians like their music,dancing and carnival. I pack it in my large suitcase if your wondering. I have received a few such comments if you know what I mean.