Technics SH-EH750

...Three years ago my old Technics separates system was starting to look a little jaded, the cassette deck had given up the ghost and it was time to relegate it to the bedroom.

The hunt was on for a replacement but I was very specific when it came to this new purchase. As my old system had given such first rate and long standing performance I was keen and eager to buy another by the same manufacturer. One quick trip into John Lewis and ...
...very proud owner of a Technics SH-EH750 separates system complete with 5 speaker Dolby Pro Logic surround sound, 5 CD changer, twin cassette deck, full remote control and a whole host of other exciting twiddly bits (well I did after I had parted with 499.95GBP and they had delivered it…).

~Set up~

Now this couldn’t have been simpler although I confess to having nightmares about it before it arrived; bad dreams induced ... more

For those of you who don’t already know this let me share something with you. I’m a music lover; a slave to those little silver disks of loveliness that are CD’s, each and every one that gets into my house is well looked after and cared for. So it naturally follows that my hi-fi system has to be top-notch; I don’t just love my music, it HAS to sound the best it possibly can. Three years ago my old Technics separates system was starting to look a little jaded, the cassette deck had given up the ghost and it was time to relegate it to the bedroom.

The hunt was on for a replacement but I was very specific when it came to this new purchase. As my old system had given such first rate and long standing performance I was keen and eager to buy another by the same manufacturer. One quick trip into John Lewis and the deed was indeed done and I had become the very proud owner of a Technics SH-EH750 separates system complete with 5 speaker Dolby Pro Logic surround sound, 5 CD changer, twin cassette deck, full remote control and a whole host of other exciting twiddly bits (well I did after I had parted with 499.95GBP and they had delivered it…).

~Set up~

Now this couldn’t have been simpler although I confess to having nightmares about it before it arrived; bad dreams induced by the fact that my other old system has enough cabling and leads behind it to rewire the house!

After I had made the decision that I was going to ‘stack’ all four components on top of each other as opposed to opting for the ‘side by side’ look (2 stacks of 2 units placed next to each other), getting the system up and running really couldn’t have been any simpler. Plug in a few ‘flat’ cables, hook up the FM and AM aerial leads, connect the speakers and pop the power lead into place. That’s it, job done; stand back and admire….

This hi-fi looks the business; it has a high quality silver finish to each of the units; namely the sound processor, the tuner/amplifier, the CD changer and the cassette deck. The centre and surround speakers are also silver with black ‘grills’ but the large front speakers are black with a silver trim.

~Tuner/Amplifier~

This measures 29 x 11 x 34 cm (width, height, depth) and is the powerhouse of the system. This little baby kicks out 70 watts per front speaker, 45 through the centre speaker and two lots of 25 watts through the surround speakers in Dolby Pro Logic mode. With said Dolby turned off, it kicks out even more, 100W, 60W and 30W respectively. Please don’t ask what that is in decibels, trust me it’s loud with a capital L. I’d even go so far as to say prolonged top volume from this bit of kit would more than likely find you well acquainted with the police and your local friendly environmental health officer!! But I digress, as ever. The sound quality really is exceptional and rich whatever level the volume is set; there’s no distortion even at higher decibels.

This particular component has a large display screen and it is this that lets you know which CD disk/track you are up to, which tape deck is in use, which radio station you are listening to, which setting you have the speakers set to (more about that later) etc. It even says ‘hello’ to you when you turn the power on and ‘goodbye’ when you turn it off again! Cute. When the unit is ‘off’ (stand by mode) this also displays the time as long as you’ve set the clock that is!

The tuner itself has both FM and AM capabilities, gives you the ability to enjoy RDS broadcasts (if anyone out there knows what that is please leave me a message!), and will display the name of the radio station you have tuned into as long as that particular broadcaster transmits the information. It is also capable of storing in it’s memory 39 preset stations and will do so in order of frequency; from lower to higher and FM before AM. Personally we live in an area, which doesn’t suffer from any interference radio wise, but should you not be so fortunate you can boost the provided aerials with those of the rooftop variety; there are sockets provided on the back of this unit for plugging them in.

~Double Cassette Deck~

This measures up at 29 x 11 x 28 cm and has a soft eject system and soft touch controls. Both tape decks are capable of reverse playing meaning that they will play both sides of a cassette without the need for you to eject it and manually turn it over and they both automatically detect the ‘type’ of tape you have inserted (normal, ferric etc).

Cassette deck two is the one to use should you wish to record anything from another tape, the radio or CD. It features Dolby Noise Reduction and can, if set, record on one side of the tape and then continue onto the other side using the reverse play function. To make this even easier there is also a ‘one touch’ editing system. If you’re recording and a track gets cut off because the tape has run out; this clever bit of kit realizes this has happened and begins recording on the reverse side from the BEGINNING of the unfinished track.

~CD Changer~

Or I should say FIVE CD changer to be more exact. Measuring 29 x 9 x 28 cm it’s the second smallest of the components but don’t let that fool you! This only has the one CD tray as opposed to the hi-fi’s you can get with a huge tray you fit multiple CD’s onto in one go. To use simply hit draw button number one, insert a CD then hit the button again to close. Repeat these steps with buttons two through five to load the rest of the disks. It makes an odd noise whilst swapping between one disk and another…I’d love to be able to take the top off while it’s swapping and changing CD’s just to be able to see exactly WHAT it’s doing with them!!

To play…well just hit play! The CD changer will then run through each of the five disks in order, playing each and every track in order and then stop. Hitting ‘repeat’ will have your neighbours tearing their hair out as all five CD’s endlessly loop…! You could also hit the ‘random’ button, the CD changer will then do a little bit of thinking for itself and play every track from all 5 CD’s but in the order IT chooses, or you can programme up to 24 tracks in yourself from any of the CD’s (via the remote control only).

~Sound Processor~

This is the smallest of the four separates (height wise of course!). A Sound processor is the fancy name manufacturers now give to Graphic Equalizers that have a bit more pizzazz and this one has that in huge quantities.

The basic bare bones of this is the afor mentioned Graphic Equalizer and it has 6 settings:

Heavy – for rock and music that needs that extra bit of ‘punch’

Clear – good for jazz or any music where clarity of the treble range is suitable

Hall – adds an expansiveness to sound to replicate a large concert hall feeling

AI EQ – allows you to adjust the surround sound levels (through soft, sharp, heavy and light settings)

Manual – gives you control and allows you to set each level to your own personal taste

Flat – restores the equalizer to factory preset levels

Now these settings are used in conjunction with the processor to create some pretty impressive sound…

Dolby Pro Logic – gives a truly awesome depth to all sources encoded with Dolby Surround.

Super Surround – adds surround effects to normal music/movie sources.

Simulated Stereo – adds stereo-like effects to mono sounds.

Virtual Rear Surround Effect – I use this one a lot because my room layout means the surround speakers have to live on top of the front speakers and therefore I don’t get the full benefit of the surround sound experience! Have to say though, that with this little button activated, you’d never know…

Centre Focus Effect – for those who have this hi-fi connected up to TV’s, DVD’s etc. It makes speech appear to come from the centre of the television.

Multi Rear Surround Effect – makes it seem like there are multiple surround sound speakers in the room.

Seat Position Function – use this so that wherever you’re sitting in your room the music you hear still appears to be centrally focused around you.

~Speakers~

The two large front speakers measure 25 x 41 x 24 cm (width, height, depth) and each have a 14cm cone type super woofer, a 12cm cone type woofer and a 6cm cone type tweeter. The front grill that covers the woofer and tweeter on each of them is removable; personally I leave mine covered, but that’s mainly down to the fact I have a couple of inquisitive kids here and I’d rather my speakers stayed in one piece!! The centre speaker measures 25 x 12 x 14cm and the two surround speakers are each 17 x 10 x 11cm. As I said earlier these 3 speakers are silver in finish with black front covers.

Technics are very very generous when it comes to providing speaker cable. There are miles of the stuff. Now depending on your room layout, how you want to arrange the speakers and if you want to run your television etc through this will of course dictate how much cable you need, but I would have thought it would be an exceptional circumstance for you not to have enough. The way I have set mine up means most of the cable (especially for the surround speakers) is still looped around itself as it was when I got the system!

~Remote Control~

A substantial looking and feeling control that came complete when new with 2 AA batteries. It’s two-tone in colour…grey/silver. The buttons are all soft touch but even after three years of continuous use in this house it still looks as good as new, the buttons all still function and no writing has worn off! This is what I call a ‘full’ remote control, meaning you can access all functions with it and there are a few functions that can ONLY be performed WITH the remote (for example programming the CD and muting the sound).

~Summation~

So what do I think of this hi-fi then? Well I think three years is long enough for me to have pondered this and I have to say the money I spent on this was a very wise investment. It looks great, is a doddle to use, and the sound quality is awesome; there’s just no other way to describe it. The instruction booklet is a whopping 51 pages long and all written in plain, easily understood English. Would I buy Technics again? Well my old system upstairs is still going strong and it’s 17 years old; this one has been hassle free…so yes I would. Guess I’m what you could call brand loyal lol

Thanks for reading and ta ta for now... 

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