Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony MHC-GX450 3-Disc CD Shelf System with Game Sync

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.

I bought this system for my son. Less than 3 months after first using it, the tuner failed. Sony gives you a one year warranty on the product. So, while disappointed, I figured "no big deal" - I'm covered for parts and labor for one year.

What they don't tell you is that the ONLY place to repair the item under warranty is in Laredo, Texas, which is fine I suppose.......if you live near Laredo. I live on the east coast, so my "free" warranty service would actually cost me the time and materials for shipping this relatively heavy item. This hardly makes sense to pay shipping that would cost about 25% of the item's value.

The product itself worked OK up until it stopped working. It had good sound and lots of features.

My advice - buy a similar unit from Panasonic. Their warranty actually covers repair as you would assume (i.e., they will allow you to bring it to a local authorized dealer). Sony has numerous authorized service centers, but they won't cover their shelf systems there!

I had originally bought the Panasonic NITRIX 5 CD Mini System w/ Cassette Player, SC-AK630. The power was great, but was actually far too powerful for the speakers the company made to go with the system. The CD tray was also a 5 disc but a single load which meant you had to load each one individually and then close it, change tracks, open it again, and load another CD. Overall it was a pain in the butt and the CD changer was very loud because it makes a constant clicking sound and takes nearly a minute to change each CD. The layout on the remote control was absolutely horrible as well, nothing like most companies do the layout and therefore very hard to get use to. The preset equalizers are pretty decent but there are not too many of them to choose from.

I ended up buying the Sony 3-CD 400-Watt Mini Hi-Fi System, MHC-GX450. This system is absolutely wonderful. The sub is a little weaker then I would have liked but the subs in the speakers more than make up for the lesser powered regular sub. The functions are much better then the slightly more expensive Panasonic. The preset equalizers offer more in options and when you factor in the video console mixing feature it makes it even better. The CD player is a turntable design which changes over quickly and is easy to load. It is considerably quieter then the Panasonic's CD changer and easily three times faster. It seems that the Sony also reads and loads CD's faster after switching them over as well.

Not only is the Sony slightly cheaper but it is considerably better as well. I have CD players in different rooms, however with the power that this player offers; I no longer have to use any of my other players even when I am downstairs.

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

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.