Sony MHC-S9D

I bought this system from my brother and it was wow! however i have encountered a problem with its sub woofer. It is not producing sound any more and i got a local engineer who checked and found that the switching ic is dead. Any idea on where i can find one? I have a Msc-s9d and connected with sawm20 as sub woofer

The Sony MHC-S9D is a great setup for people who want a relaible multi use system. I have owned my system for 2 years now and the biggest problem with the system is well it's too big. The DVD picture is pure perfection and the it so easy to setup a baby could do it. The sound can be setup using the on screen display from Speaker Levels to Placements. I find the Centre speaker is too quiet, I don't know why. The problem with the centre speaker is that when you're watching for example; the matrix it's dead quiet at the talkin scenes so you turn the volume up. Then when it suddenly gets to a loud part it blows the roof off.

I would only get this system if you have loads of free space. My room is only 12ft by 8ft and I find the units take too much space up and the sound gets very bassy and muffled. I am getting rid of this stereo but only because it's too big. I am just going to get a sony micro system and a small DVD player and 5.1 speaker package. It may cost slightly more but at least I will have more space and a clearer sound. All in all this is a great system if you have a big room.

Bought mine from Miller Brothers as ex-display for £500. Not as good a deal as some people, but I nearly ended up with a damaged system, no manual, no remote control. It was good that I asked them to demo the entire system, as we discovered the DVD didn't work! Waiting for them to get a replacement paid off ( I nearly got fed up and cancelled)as the replacemnt system had everything complete and untouched (remote,manual etc), unlike the original system they had in the shop that literally was pulled straight off the shelf!! Anyway very happy with this sytem, watching DVD's now is a family event and we all agree what a good buy this was. One thing-did anyone else get theirs upgraded to multi-region? I ask as I cannot for love or money find anyone who will upgrade it for me-they all say they have never heard of this player. Oh well, not really a problem anyway.

MY OLD SEPERATES SYSTEM KNOCKED THE SONY MHC S9DS INTO THE GUTTER WITH MY CELESTION DITTON SPEAKERS JBL AMP AND CHEAP CD PLAYERS....

I was looking for a quality Hifi which incorporated a DVD player and Dolby 5.1 and DTS decoding and hey presto look what I found!

On purchasing my Sony MHC-S9D mini system, I must say that I was suprised at just how good the assembled Hifi looked. After following the excellent setup instructions I was able to get DVD player working and sat back to watch 'The Matrix' which it played without a flaw. Even though there is no dedicated Sub Woofer, the combined Sub/Front Speakers had Jurasic Park III thundered through the house, with the Dog hiding from the imaginary threat!

The radio and tape deck both give off excellent crystal clear sound, and the playback on the DVD/CD interchanger is a credit to the quality of the Amplifier. My only gripes relate to the Remote Control which has more functions than the helm of the Starship Enterprise, but after a couple of days and a thorough read of the manual this was soon resolved.

All in all, an excellent Hi-fi available on the web, and great deals can be found if you search on www.shopsmart.com

While agreeing with everything Rochbaby says about the Sony MHC-S9D mini system:

The sound and build quality is awesome, and the features extensive. I do have 3 niggles which are:

Why a twin cassette deck, who uses tapes nowadays anyway? (The Tape unit is as large as the Amp).:

The Auto Format Decode (AFD) only works with CD/ DVD input, so if you want Pro-logic from you TV you must manually select surround sound. :

The System should be provided with a Sub-Woofer, while the 2 front speakers produce a meaty base sound the 0.1 element of the 5.1 surround sound of Dolby Digital and DTS is sadly missing, I plan to get one as soon as I can.:

I find the Dynamic Bass Feedback (DBFB) make the system sound woolly, in surround mode the Cinema Studio B mode is clear and crisp. But for CD's and DVD's I use Auto Format Decode (AFD) the surround sound is a joy and audio CD's are decoded using just the front speakers allowing for a richer sound and a more powerful output.:

Having said that I was blown away by the quality of sound, watching the Matrix on this system is an experience not to be missed. Go out and buy it just for this.:

If anyone is looking for a surround mini system I would like to recommend the sony MHC-S9D. It's the best £650 i've ever spent.

Functions- 3 DVD/VCD/CD changer (can also play CDR and CDRW).

Great picture quality equalling that of some of sony's dedicated dvd players and with the on-screen display, setup of speaker placement is a doddle. Audio quality is superb with integrated DD 5.1, Pro Logic, and dts ( this feature is rare in most dvd minis) decoding plus sony's Digital Cinema Sound d.s.p.- you'll not be wanting for effects. There is a sub woofer output but some might think that the bass is sufficient ie. the battle scenes in 'Gladiator' and 'Mummy Returns' will have your furniture shaking. Dvd features include Picture Navigator ( on some dvds you can change the camera angle), title search, subtitles,10 levels of dynamic range compression for watching movies at low volumes at night and parental control. For video there is a normal video and an s-video output.

Cd Audio- is clear and defined with plenty of bass. Hearing subtle details of a guitar or flute solo being played still gives me the shivers every time. For those who like me enjoy a lot of audio adjustability there is a parametric equalizer. Just about everything can be adjusted including things like reverberation and wall hardness. All these adjustments can be made from the comfort of your seat with the most comprehensive mini system remotes i have ever seen- it can even control a sony TV if you have one. The only buttons that need to be pressed on the system are for the PTY radio function and the cassette record button. Everything else can be controlled by the remote.

There are many dsp sound fields to suit all different kinds of music (18 to be exact), this includes 2 hall modes, opera, jazz club, church, and arena. These are all fully EQ adjustable so can be tailored to your needs. If you don't like your new creation there is the option to return the sound field to the factory settings- so no harm done but its nice to be able to experiment. These sound fields will give your music depth and creates the illusion that you're actually there at a concert without loosing any of the detail- beautiful. It's a shame about the noises it makes when the system changes CDs and the elevator system can be inconvenient but its something i can live with, with the quality of audio on offer, in fact i don't notice it any more. Sounds great playing Dido to Destiny's Child. Other functions include:-

full logic double cassette deck with Dolby B noise reduction.

- RDS pty radio with 30 presets.

-DVD/CD text (this is another great feature which puts this system a notch above the rest in desirability...oh and its useful too)

-CDR and CDRW playback

-analogue audio connections. 1 input for VCR audio, 1 input and output for analogue MD, also an optical digital output AND input.

There is also an optional MD deck on offer (MDS-S9) for around £150-£200.

-Timer with daily play,record and sleep function.

Image- if you're looking for a serious looking mini with no flashing lights. Consisting of stylish silver and dark grey boxes with clean lines, flat fascia and ordered button layout. No curvy bulges or weird angles. The 4 box layout will impress. The display is large and sensible with a 9 band spectrum analyzer- if you want it.

The overall system is slightly larger than most minis being 47cm high when stacked and is delightfully heavy. This is a system you'll not want to hide away- one of the reasons i didn't get the Technics scdv250.

Speakers- The fronts are a weighty pair of 120W (10% RMS) each, nearly half a metre tall, mahogany effect, dual woofer speakers that absolutely ooze class and sophistication ie look like a pair of expensive hi-fi speakers bought as seperates. No bulky, moulded plastic fascias, just one flat and silvery grille net which hides the units underneath. These fronts are very high quality 3-way speakers. The centre and surrounds are small but heavy for their size and at 40W each they are no light weights. The fronts and centre are magnetically shielded- sony made this system perfect for A/V use. The detail of the surrounds and centre meshes well with the power of the fronts. In truth a pleasure to listen to. Centre and surround loudness can also be adjusted.

Overall- If your looking for a home entertainment solution/ mini system that delivers SERIOUS audio and visual and looks the part too, check out this system.