Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony MHC-EC55 Mini Hi-Fi Component System

I have always been a fan of Sony. I wanted a compact disc receiver. I also wanted the radio part to receive all the radio stations near and far from my area. For more years than I care state, I listen to the radio when getting ready for work and weekend mornings. Cleaning house, etc. I listen to my CDs. The Sony Component System is exactly what I wanted. Picks up radio stations near and far. The sound is great - speakers do a good job. I have looked for over a year - price, size, receiver are my most important qualities. I am well satisfied. Will shop Amazon for my other needs.

What an impressive system for the money! I was looking for a reasonably priced CD player for the family room/kitchen area of my home and, after a lot of searching, zero'd in on this one. Was I ever impressed when the unit arrived (quickly, I might add). I put the EQ on 'flat' and selected my favorite 'test' recording which I have used to try out new music systems I have obtained since 1958. The RCA Victor album, arranged and recorded to show off the label's 'Living Stereo' series, is "Gisele" by Gisele MacKenzie. The album's wondrous arrangemtns by the great Axel Stordahl and Gisele's fantastic performances came through clearly, and proved that this Sony unit passed my test with flying colors. Gisele's impressive contralto voice never sounded warmer and richer and more life-like, and Stordahl's strings never sounded better, with other instruments coming fast and furious from the left and right channels. Of course, I'm using the stereo CD version of Gisele's album these days to test equipment...in early days I used the stereo LP edition. The unit is easy to use, and I didn't refer to the manual once during the unpacking and installation process. The radio has great reception...and the MP3 input works like a charm...and is on the front of the unit for ease of use and for ease in changing MP3 players. The audio output is fantastic and fills the rooms nicely with great sound! I love this unit, and can't believe the quality for the price...discovering that shipping charges were included puts the value over the top! I have a very expensive system I use in conjunction with DVD/TV viewing, but I just might prefer the rich tones coming from this unit for everyday music listening. I also like the fact that the bass is not overpowering, and doesn't have that flat 'thump' 'thump' 'thump' sound I find so annoying! The remote works fantastically well! Thanks Sony and Amazon for providing a unit I can be proud of and enjoy! In closing, I wish units had separate bass and treble controls these days, instead of a few pre-set EQ selections...but the EQ settings on this unit are very workable.

I bought this unit about a year ago, and immediately saw that the 3-CD changer was probably a lousy design. Sure enough .. the internal changer mechanism died today with very little usage. I doubt that I've played 50 CD's on this unit in the last year. Other than that, the unit sounds great, but its still about the worst hundred bucks I ever spent. I'm pretty dissappointed, and I'll probably never buy a Sony anything again.

I bought this from a local store recently, and I don't know if it's just the model i picked out, but the system is very picky about the type of cd that you can play. if the screen printed label is even the slightest bit too thick, it won't play it, and reads no disc.

I have a cd that i really like, and it works PERFECTLY on every other system I have, except for this one. I used to be able to fix the problem by just resetting it, but it just stopped working. I'm done with it. I'm returning it to the store and buying something else.

DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT. There's really high chance that it WON'T WORK.

Great mini-hi-fi system for the money. Found that all music sounded best on "Jazz" setting. All other settings made higher ranges of notes sound a bit tinny, at least to my ear. But on jazz setting, a full mellow sound emerges. Nice.