Sony ATRAC CD HiFis

[jonny mac]

I'm thinking about getting one of the Sony ATRAC CD mini HiFis, the two models I'm considering are the CMTGPZ7 and the CMTCPZ1. The former I can get for €200 and the latter for €270. At the moment I'm thinking that the extra €70 is probably not worth it. Both play ATRAC CDs and have an MD link which are what I want, so long as they both sound good of course.

The more expensive has RDS, S-Master amp, "Dynamic Sound Generator (DSGX)" (not sure what that is) and 2-way speakers.

I'm not after top-notch SQ but of course better is better.

Anyone have either of these or can offer any opinion?

Cheers

[mercury_in_flames]

Go for the one one with the s master amp. Have you gone to a store to try them out??? I wouldnt buy a micro system without doing that. For me what counts, are looks, how many watts RMS per speaker, and price. I would go for the cmt-cpz1 personally, just because it seems to have better woofers for the bass, and has more power.

[jonny mac]

I won't be buying either of these any time soon, perhaps in three months at the earliest. I'll try to have a listen beforehand. By then maybe there'll be something else on the market.

[mercury_in_flames]

either way, the cheaper one has been discontinued i think, or at least is not anywhere near as easy to get hold of as the cpz1, which i think means just that.

[JustAnUnCoolCat]

Have zero idea of the current breed of Sony hifi's mind but some thoughts.. that could relate to this topic.. :-

If those items represent modern examples of the mega-flashy 'high power' mini-systems that Sony produced for bedroom/small room use or simply where compactness was required...

1. You'll see a big improvement if you use alternative speakers.

'big improvement' should be read as relative, as i recall well one or two Sony mini setups i auditioned (was not impressed.. made a better impression when i lashed them up to some full size speakers left over from a full-sized Sony setup - but then they showed up how the mini unit was heavily tailored to the supplied speakers, but there was an improvement still .. to my tired old ears anyway).

2. No matter what glitz and glamour hype you read, don't expect the minis to sound as lively as their full-sized or midi seps style counterparts.

If you can keep those things in mind, and respect the limits, then i guess those ATRAC CD based units will probably sound ok.

Mind you, personally, i'd play safe and find a decent compact amp and speakers.., dig out a tuner and lash in a portable ATRAC unit (or two, say put an ATRAC CD and Hi-MD unit in place, using the Hi-MD as a compressed and uncompressed audio rec/play source and the CD unit as the CD/ATRAC/MP3 playback source).

That way, given you mix and match well regarding the amp and speakers, you avoid some of the inherent colouring of audio that sometimes occurs when say recording from source to recorder via the amp in some mini/midi's (show me a mini or midi combined setup, out of the box, that aint got some 'make it sound more than it is' colouring.. and i'll probably die from shock).

Just remember, there aint no harm in going for what you are asking about - but with a bit of thought, you could easily break even on seps.. or get a bit better on a seps combo without it taking over your room

As for Sony complete systems that are mostly seps by design, usually they are pretty sound items and at most may benefit from some better speakers (that said, in fairness, the stock stuff is usually pretty good vs most stock speakers supplied with many systems).

Guess it depends on what you want, me.. i'd get paws dirty and get it the way i want it.. rather than go with pre-boxed kits

'Tom Kat'