Sony CMT-CP100 Audio Shelf System
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- Included Accessories: Remote Control
- Playable Disk Types: CD (Audio)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Sound Type: Stereo
- Functions: CD Player Radio Tuner Cassette Deck
- Output Power: 70 Watt
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The Silver Box That Could
Pros
Excellent cassette deck features, good sound, solid look-and-feel.
Cons
No bass/treble controls, rear-facing bass ports
Recommended it?
Yes
It was once an accepted fact that you had to pay a little bit more for a Sony product than for a comparable product of a different brand. If the CMT-CP1 is any indication, those days are over. For the price ($249.95), this is the only system that even approaches acceptability. I was looking for a system to fit on a bookshelf, quite literally, in a small studio apartment, that would also sounds better and look more "mature" than a boombox. So far, the disappointments are few and far between compared to the good experiences.
The CD sound is quite acceptable -- my only complaint is that sometimes there is a little too much bass (if you can believe it). I suspect this has to do with the fact that the speaker enclosures have rear-facing bass ports, which, when placed against the back of a bookcase, cause the whole bookcase to function like a giant enclosure. Unfortunately, there is no equalizer or even basic bass/treble controls (the other major complaint), and so one is stuck with the booming bass. It should be noted that when the system is set out on the desk the amount of bass is just right.
The cassette sound is downright great, to these ears at least. This is the only system that I have been able to find in this price range that has a Dolby noise-reduction circuit. I test-listened it against a non-Dolby system, and the difference in the amount of hiss was apparent.
The construction seems very solid; the front panel is plastic, but the rest of the case is metal. The controls on the front panel are well-designed and well-placed, and the big shiny volume knob feels a lot classier than the cheesy "+" and "-" buttons on most other systems. Another bonus that the competitor system did not have is a separate set of controls for the cassette deck: you can rewind or fast-forward a tape while listening to a CD. The only exception to the nice look-and-feel of the system is the cheap all-plastic remote with giant rubber buttons.
Other miscellaneous features that I liked include a recording timer, which allows you to program the system to turn on the radio at a preset time and record the broadcast, and two sets of RCA inputs, which allows you to connect, say, a MiniDisc deck and a second cassette deck simultaneously, if you are so inclined.
The CD sound is quite acceptable -- my only complaint is that sometimes there is a little too much bass (if you can believe it). I suspect this has to do with the fact that the speaker enclosures have rear-facing bass ports, which, when placed against the back of a bookcase, cause the whole bookcase to function like a giant enclosure. Unfortunately, there is no equalizer or even basic bass/treble controls (the other major complaint), and so one is stuck with the booming bass. It should be noted that when the system is set out on the desk the amount of bass is just right.
The cassette sound is downright great, to these ears at least. This is the only system that I have been able to find in this price range that has a Dolby noise-reduction circuit. I test-listened it against a non-Dolby system, and the difference in the amount of hiss was apparent.
The construction seems very solid; the front panel is plastic, but the rest of the case is metal. The controls on the front panel are well-designed and well-placed, and the big shiny volume knob feels a lot classier than the cheesy "+" and "-" buttons on most other systems. Another bonus that the competitor system did not have is a separate set of controls for the cassette deck: you can rewind or fast-forward a tape while listening to a CD. The only exception to the nice look-and-feel of the system is the cheap all-plastic remote with giant rubber buttons.
Other miscellaneous features that I liked include a recording timer, which allows you to program the system to turn on the radio at a preset time and record the broadcast, and two sets of RCA inputs, which allows you to connect, say, a MiniDisc deck and a second cassette deck simultaneously, if you are so inclined.
