Sony MHC-GT444

...at other reviews online, the Sony MHC-GT44 or the equally priced and featured Sharp MPX880X. I first looked online and saw both systems priced at around the £200 mark and both had 5 out of 5 stars from user reviews. I decided to look for them locally for a more personal consideration. I couldn't find the Sharp model but found the Sony and can't say I was overly impressed but it did look the part and as it played MP3 it had what I wanted. I didn't ...
...thing I saw was the Sony MHC-GT444 on sale with a £80 reduction. Without hesitation I immediately clicked to reserve and luckily found it was in stock at my local Argos store so I reserved it and picked it up next day.
Incidentally Argos are selling a Sony model with a slightly different model number that starts with MHB and at a much more expensive price. There is no MHB model in existence and it is in fact the model I'm reviewing, the MHC. ... more

I had been looking for a new hifi for quite a while as it had been a while since I sold my old one. My music experience since then was through my iPod earphones, my iPod dock or blasting it away in the car.

Sony MHC-GT444 Wins it

I had whittled my decision down to two candidates after looking at other reviews online, the Sony MHC-GT44 or the equally priced and featured Sharp MPX880X. I first looked online and saw both systems priced at around the £200 mark and both had 5 out of 5 stars from user reviews. I decided to look for them locally for a more personal consideration. I couldn't find the Sharp model but found the Sony and can't say I was overly impressed but it did look the part and as it played MP3 it had what I wanted. I didn't buy it that day as I'm always buying stuff and seeing it much cheaper within a few days, so I waited.
Weeks had passed and I received my usual newsletter from Argos. I had forgot I needed or even wanted a new hifi until I clicked on the home entertainment category and the first thing I saw was the Sony MHC-GT444 on sale with a £80 reduction. Without hesitation I immediately clicked to reserve and luckily found it was in stock at my local Argos store so I reserved it and picked it up next day.
Incidentally Argos are selling a Sony model with a slightly different model number that starts with MHB and at a much more expensive price. There is no MHB model in existence and it is in fact the model I'm reviewing, the MHC. Argos have made a mistake so don't go buying the more expensive one thinking it's a better model.

Make Sure You Know Someone With A Van

I didn't realise how big it was, as it's described as a mini hifi, until the eight employees carried it out to the front desk. I drive a Rover 75 saloon, this was going to be a tight squeeze. Off I went to the car carrying one end while my son struggled with the other end. All the way there I was telling myself, "Go back fool...it's not going to fit", well maybe I was saying it in a different way. Once I looked at the box sitting outside the car I was now convinced I needed a bigger car and said this to my son. He said, "Two choices Dad, I'll sit on this box while you go and take all day looking for a new car, shouting at salesmen, bantering for new mats, a valet, service, full MOT, tax and a full tank....orrrr we could go back to Argos and buy a smaller hifi. "Son, an £80 reduction is no joke, it WILL fit". After pushing, shoving, grunting and stopping half way for a sausage roll and a Coke, we finally defied physics and made it fit. Little did I know I had just created the proverbial "head stuck in the railings" predicament. "Get me the butter son".

What's In The Box?

I sat on the couch wondering which of my wife's ornaments were getting ejected to make room for my new toy. I finally opened the box and was met with the usual white polystyrene packing. I then realised why the box was so big. Sony made sure if there was a holocaust, this hifi would survive. In the box you get the main body of the hifi, two speakers and a slightly larger subwoofer. You also get a remote control, batteries, guarantee, user manual and little squares of adhesive "feet" which you have to stick on the underside yourself. There is also the standard FM "wire" aerial and one for AM which sits on top of the hifi.

Quick Set Up

Setting up is pretty straightforward, find a location or chuck out the wife's stuff and make one, plug in speakers, subwoofer and aerials and all is done. The connections only go in one way so even a fool can do it or as my wife always says, "It's fool proof so even you can do it". I usually answer back after she gives me my opinion. Once connected up, I heard my wife looking in the bin for her crystal candelabras. After switching on the power the unit goes into "Demo" mode. This is designed for the shop floor to entice you in with it's fluorescent and flashing display. When I saw it in the shop it wasn't powered, if it was I wouldn't have been able to buy it, I'd have been running home for my migraine tablets. Thankfully you can turn the demo off which puts the unit into standby mode with no display, not even the clock. This is a powersaving feature and Sony claim the power consumption is only 0.5W.

List Of Features

Mini hifi
CD player with stackable 3 disc changer
MP3/WMA/AAC playback from CD or USB drive
USB recording from all sources
USB MP3 direct playback (dongle or MP3 player)
Single tape deck with record
AM/FM RDS radio with 20 presets
Front L/R audio input for external sources like MP3 players
Headphone jack
Microphone jack
Microphone level control
2 x 150w 3-way bass reflex hybrid dual woofer speakers
1 x 150w Subwoofer

Main Unit Layout With Description

I will start from the top of the unit. On top we have the tape player with mechanical buttons and not the "full logic" electronic type. I can only assume Sony have not extended their budget here as tape playing is virtually a thing of the past. I don't have a problem with this but the only thing that annoys me is the fact it's going to collect dust with being right on top.
Moving to the front of the unit and from the top we have an analogue meter display. This is the type of display seen on older hifi's with a dial and a little needle that performed an arc from left to right. The best way to describe it is like the REV counter on a car, the more power you use the farther the needle travels. The display behind the needle shows 25, 50, 75 & 100%. Between 50 and 75 it says "High Power" and between 75 and 100 it says "Full Power" While you are playing music the needle fluctuates depending on the "power" of the song, i.e. more bass, more needle movement. The display can be adjusted from showing its normal red, blue and white colours with a red glowing needle and from switching off the backlight completely to sporting a glowing red colour. You can also make it flash different patterns which I'll talk about in a minute.
Heading south again we have the main display which provides all the information on tracks, radio stations, volume, adjustments etc. The display works in conjunction with other buttons (described further down) scattered over the front of the unit. You can manipulate it to show track numbers or CD Text if your disc supports it. It also shows ID3 tags from MP3 files and you can choose to display the track name, album, or artist. There's info on the source playing, like which disc is playing or whether its MP3 or normal audio.
Next is the main controls including volume and buttons for selecting the playing source. The volume is one huge knob in the centre with a larger operations dial surrounding it. Surrounding the dial is a band of LED light that can be set to flash in rhythm to the music. At the bottom is the CD drawer where you can stack 3 discs. Disc one goes to the bottom then you slide a little tray forward for disc two, and so on. You can change two discs while one is still playing.
Below this is the inputs for USB, headphones, mic (with mic adjustment control) and a L/R audio for external sources. Although this is convenient for connecting MP3 players I think an inclusion of the same input on the back would have been helpful for the connecting of a permanent turntable etc.

The Buttons And Description

The buttons are laid out almost symmetrical and are easy to read. I'll do the same as before working from the top but also going from left to right at each section.
OK, top left is the Power button to the left of the meter display, no description needed.
Below and down the left of the display are the buttons, Display, Meter Mode, Options & Erase. The Display button, in standby mode, is used to turn on the demo mode, turn off the display completely or to show the clock for 8 seconds. The clock can't be left on permanent. In power mode it can be used for track info, playing time, time left, files and folders for MP3 playback and title, artist & album.
Meter Mode is used to select a meter display pattern for the backlight, needle and its display.
The Options button has different uses but predominantly for the main display. It is used in conjunction with the Operations Dial and the Enter button. First select what you want to adjust by pressing the Options button and turning the Operations Dial. It will cycle through "Illum" (Illumination), "M-Backlight" (Meter Backlight), "MTR Pointer" and "Display". I will describe only one as all the adjustments are essentially the same procedure. To adjust the display, press "Options" and turn the Operations Dial until "Display" is shown, press "Enter" and turn the Operations Dial until you find the setting you want and then press "Enter" again. To exit the options menu, press "Options" one more time.
The Erase button is used to erase files from a USB device. You can erase a single file or a whole folder by selecting them using the navigation buttons.
To the right of the display and working down, the buttons are Preset EQ, Groove, Surround & EQ Band.
Preset EQ is for selecting factory preset equalizer patterns that consist of Rock, Pop, Jazz, Dance, Soul, Reggae, Salsa, Samba Flat, or User EQ (one you have preset).
Groove is a brilliant instant effect that when pressed reinforces the Bass and enhances playback with a rich deep sound. Pressing once more further enhances the sound again which is unbelievable and very loud even at a low volume. This is not recommended if you live in a flat.
The Surround button when pressed gives an artificial "surround" effect. I wouldn't use this as I think the quality deteriorates when using it. If you want surround, buy a surround system.
EQ Band is used to create your own sound effect. This can be used with the other preset patterns which you can select as a starting base sound and adjust using the Operations Dial and the Enter key. Once you create a sound it can be saved and chosen using the Preset EQ button.
Below again and on either side of the volume control are various buttons for selecting the music source like CD, Tape and so on.
Directly under the volume control is the Return, Enter & REC buttons.
The Return button is to "go back" a folder when playing MP3 files.
Enter, explained already is for confirming a setting or a change to a setting.
The REC button is for recording to a USB device (not an iPod).
To the left and right in this area is the Subwoofer, REC Timer Disc Skip/EX-Change, three buttons for discs 1-3 and the Open/Close button.
The Subwoofer button simply switches on or off the subwoofer.
Rec Timer is like a video timer so you can record a radio station while you're out. Pressing this button brings up a clock which you change using the operations dial for start and stop times. You must have a USB device connected for recording to.
Disc Skip/EX-change is used to skip to the next disc when pressed repeatedly or to change a disc in the tray while one is still playing. This button can also be used to "lock" the CD mechanism when transporting the unit.
Discs 1-3 buttons are for selecting any disc individually without skipping.
The Open/Close button is to open the tray and eject all discs.

The Remote Control

The remote control is reasonably well laid out but may be hard to use if it's a little dark. The play, pause and stop buttons are on the same row and the navigation buttons above. It would have been better if they were presented like a DVD player remote where they are in a little circle. Most of the frequently used functions are available through the remote but no record button. I haven't tried yet but it appears the settings and light displays have to be changed on the main unit although you can set the clock and tune the radio with the remote. There is also a sleep timer on the remote which goes from 90-10 min in 10 min steps.

The Manual

The manual is a bit basic but easy enough to follow. It shows a picture of the hifi with everything numbered and over the page is a list of numbers with the corresponding named button or control. These lists also have the page number(s) where each button is mentioned so makes it easy to find learn a particular function quickly.

Other Features

Although an iPod can't be played unless connected with Phono connections you can plug in a standard USB type MP3 player and play or record directly to it. Being a Sony unit it can also play and record directly to certain Sony Ericsson phones, to the phone memory or an inserted memory stick. It will also accept many Sony Walkmans. You can record from any source to a USB stick which converts to MP3. It will not copy CD text to the recorded track and will only copy from a disc in real time. If the disc inserted is MP3 encoded and you copy to USB it will transfer at high speed with no sound and will also copy the ID3 tags. The AM/FM radio is RDS which shows station name, programme or song playing (sometimes).

Dimensions

Main unit: 36x23x36 (cm) HxWxD. The depth of the unit obviously includes its big knob!
Speaker: 36x23x23 (cm)
The Subwoofer is slightly wider than the speakers.

The Conclusion

Being slightly larger than I expected I still think it's a decent size for a lounge or a bedroom and with the ability to use with or without the subwoofer I'm sure it will fit in a relatively small space on or in a cabinet. You have to take into consideration the size of its knob because...size does matter if you're trying to insert it in a small space.
Moving swiftly on.....the look of the hifi is quite modern and it doesn't look cheap or tacky. The speakers although light in weight actually produce a deep sound due to the dual 130mm woofers. They also have a crisp tone from their 40mm tweeters. The subwoofer is equally impressive with its bass reflex 200mm woofer. This is VERY loud and will easily annoy the neighbours even at low volume. Used along with the "Groove" setting you better make sure your ornaments are taped down.
The buttons and controls are laid out and easy to use although one or two could have had a more strategic placement, like the "enter" button being closer to the operations dial.
The meter display is more of a gimmicky flashy thing and doesn't serve any important purpose. When playing music at a low volume you can hear the meter "clicking" as it moves up and down. It does get annoying but it can be turned off which is good.
The main display is basic but gives all info on the source, tracks, numbers etc, in a one line configuration with info above on what disc you're playing or if it's MP3.
The ability to record to USB in MP3 format is nothing special as a PC can do it much quicker...BUT, the thing I like is the fact I can connect my turntable and convert my rare vinyl to MP3 and also record from the radio.
Features like the wildly flashing LED's might appeal to some but the good thing is there are more subtle sequences to use or it can be turned off if it gets annoying.
The microphone input might be useful to some as you can record yourself to a USB drive. I doubt I'll use it but it's there if I ever need it.

To finish off I have to say this is a great piece of kit and at the current price it's a steal. I can't really fault it in any way as any gripes are just minor niggles regarding things you don't have to use. I'm happy and all the reviews I read before I purchased the hifi were positive, so here's to good music.

Thanks for reading.

LawrenceP 

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