MHC-GN1300D - Mini HiFi Component system

The MHC-GN1300D is a mini DVD HiFi component system powered by a massive transformer and consumes a staggering 365W while delivering a total of 905W RMS power. It offers USB video playback and recording. The MHC-GN1300D certainly has a place among top mini HiFi audio systems. I happened to own one several years back and I really loved it.

A thorough review of the MHC-GN1300D is available here. 

It delivers impeccable sound quality particularly while playing from DVD/CD/MP3 and USB sources. Ability to resume playback from last known playback point while playing your favorite disk is a plus. Though the MHC-GN1300D is with a single subwoofer, it does well in delivering a heavy punch with majority of the sound sources complemented by the two front speakers. The centre speaker adds extreme clarity to the sound output making every instant of action very enjoyable. 

The MHC-GN1300D, consumes way too much power while delivering very little to the speakers in comparison. It is falls short on volume. You cannot compare it to some loud systems like the STR-KM7 nominally rated at 180W input power and 2012W RMS output music power. It is not however fair to compare the MHC-GN1300D to the STR-KM7 AV receiver because the MHC-GN1300D is component audio system with DVD/CD/MP3 run by a series of motors! 
The absence of HDMI terminations makes the MHC-GN1300D unsuitable for most enthusiasts because the best media devices today have HDMI jacks. However, S-Video and component video output jacks seem to be an adequate substitute to HDMI in terms of output quality. Though I'd still prefer an HDMI connection(but that's just me). Additionally, the MHC-GN1300D USB playback option is limited to playing MP3/AAC/WMA/Divx and MP4 files only. The USB device must be FAT formatted(NTFS not readable) and only a few files; 150 per folder, and not more than 200 folders on the root folder are playable which is adequate for an average user. Large USB devices like portable HDD sizes are not supported. 

Generally, the system scores fairly well in terms of output and I would rate it at 3.5 overall. 
A complete specification list of this system is as follows;

Amplifier section:

• Total RMS power output : 905W RMS
• Subwoofer power output: 210W RMS(8 ohms, 100Hz, 10% THD)
• Center speaker power output: 85W RMS(6 ohms, 1kHz, 10% THD)
• Front speaker power output: 2 x 215W RMS(6 ohms, 1kHz, 10% THD)
• Surround speaker power output: 2 x 90W RM(6 ohms, 1kHz, 10% THD)

Video features:

• 3 DVD/VCD/CD Changer with Divx and MP3 playback.
• NTSC/PAL Progressive scan
• 12bit/108MHz Video DAC
• DVD-R/-RW, DVD+R/+RW, DVD+R DL, MP3/JPEG, MP4 - Simple Profile
• USB Playback and recording (Divx, MP3, MP4, JPEG)

Audio features:

• MP3 Booster +
• Karaoke scoring
• Digital Cinema sound Multi dimension 
• Dolby Digital
• DTS
• Dolby Prologic II
• S - Master Digital amplifier 
• USB Playback and recording (MP3, Divx, MP4)    
• Single deck audio tape playback and recording
  

  Inputs and outputs:

• 1 Audio in and 1 Audio out
• 1 Video out
• 1 Commponent video out
• 1 S - Video out 
• 1 A/V in
• 1 Mic in
• 1 Head phones out
• 1 USB in

   General features:

• Power requirements: (120-127V, 220V, 230-240V), 50/60Hz: Power consumption: 365W(active), 0.5W(standby)
• Digital FM/AM tuner, Preset tuning(FM20/AM10), Direct tuning
• Magnetically shielded speakers
• 20cm front speaker woofer with 2.5cm tweeter horn
• 25cm subwoofer speaker

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7.2 Channel Sony Muteki STR-KM7 Review

The Sony Muteki STR-KM7  is a 7.2 channel home theater that processes full HD input signals and delivers 2012W RMS music power to a 9-speaker box configuration. I have owned this 7.2 channel Sony MutekiSTR-KM7

for two years now and I can comfortably say I'm very satisfied. It is a home theater built for action. It is incredibly loud with its two subwoofers designed to deliver a heavy punch for majority of media sources. If you are a movie lover and a fan of loud parties, a phenomenal 2012W of music power output is available at its speakers.

You will enjoy every bit of action with incredible clarity and volume. For movies enriched with bass effects (LFE channels), the cinematic experience is indescribable. This home theater is able to reproduce the lowest frequency notes with great clarity and power. The metallic cone speakers adopted by Sony are able to reproduce sound with minimal distortion. 

I like how this STR-KM7 reproduces the sound of the canon while watching the hunger games DVD; it is a heart wrecking boom! In principal, get any movie and power it through this home theater and you will not regret it! Movies encoded with Dolby and DTS sound formats give the best experience. This home theater is built for movies! It gives a true cinematic experience. It can process Dolby TrueHD, HD Digital Cinema Sound, DTS 96kHz/24bit. In addition, it allows 3D and HD picture pass through. DTS Master Audio is down mixed to DTS 96kHz/24bit. Some older models however, do not process Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio. Please confirm this for your model before purchase. Logos of Dolby TrueHD, HD Digital Cinema Sound, DTS 96kHz/24bit must appear on the AV receiver unit and packing boxes.

The Sony Muteki STR-KM7 is easy to automate and easy to set up if you know what you are doing. It comes along with an elaborate manual detailing every bit. For me, I normally connect a PC/Laptop, HDMI Blu-ray Player and HDTV/SATV; and control everything via an Android phone.  

The STR-KM7 is delivered in two boxes weighing 65+34 kgs. It comes along with 9-aluminium cone speaker box system; 1 center, 2 surround, 2 surround back, 2 subwoofers, 2 front speakers and a single remote. The STR-KM7 has been released in several models for instance; Muteki STR-K7SW and Mgongo HT-M7. All these are just variants of the same home theater with only slight improvements among them and tailored for specific markets.

The STR-KM7 has its downside. I would have loved to get a little more punch from the Subwoofers but they seem to max out at half volume (though even at this level it is still good enough) and any further increases in volume seems to affect only the front and surround speakers. This leaves you craving for more bass.  At maximum volume the bass effect seems to get blanked out by the sound from the front and surround speakers. It is more evident when listening to mp3 music and media not loaded with LFE effects. It's like as though, some channels lose power as you turn up the volume. This home theater will never set your floor into vibration because its deep bass drivers are not designed to respond to audio frequencies lower than 100Hz. Deep bass frequencies lie somewhere between 20Hz and 100Hz. So if you are the kind that enjoys deep bass that rattles your spine, this is not for you! Noteworthy though, the STR-KM7 is very loud, even at half volume it delivers just perfectly.

If you choose to sync the Sony Muteki STR-KM7 with the TV through BRAVIA sync, you are able to control it through the TV using a single remote. It is able to recognize the TV output selected. I have tested this on a Phillips and a Sony TV. I cannot guarantee whether other TV's will behave the same way. Though, the down side of this sync, is that sometimes the sound output gets distorted  and may and may require resetting it. 

The USB playback option is very limited. This Sony Muteki STR-KM7 can only play *.wma, *.aac & *.mp3 files of bit rates not more than 192kbps and it is unable to read NTFS formatted USB devices, portable HDDs for that matter. It becomes slower between playbacks for devices stacked with a large volume of audio files. It allows up 100 folders and a maximum of 8-level folder depth thereby limiting you on the number of hours and precious audio and movie file playback. A solution to this is to connect a portable playback device instead of using USB giving you the luxury of playing all kinds of files without worrying about system limitations. In addition, the Sony Muteki STR-KM7 has fewer manual controls making its remote an indispensable part. You have to keep it far from destructive kids lest you get stuck with a box you can hardly operate and program. Other than that, it is a fantastic system built with an extra touch of class. If I were to rate it on a scale of 1-5, I would give it a 4.8. 
Found this helpful? Here is an in depth review of the STR-KM7.

Note:

It should be noted that this system is rated 2012W Total RMS power. The speaker output ratings given are obtained about a specific frequency (i.e. 1 kHz) and speaker load (say 6 ohms) as indicated instead of the entire signal range of 20-20kHz. For this reason the very high values are justified. In addition, the high aggregate harmonic distortion value means at some point you may experience some sound discomfort. I have experienced this during my continued use of this system especially while playing some MP3 files from a laptop. Turning the volume down a bit,  distortions become less pronounced. If files are played from a high quality source, the output is similarly of a high quality. Playing files from Android phones and tablets has always given me the best output quality at all volumes. For best sound output from all sources, it is advisable to connect all inputs to an audio distortion correction unit and pick inputs to the home theater from the outputs of this unit. 
An updated review and buying guide can be found here.

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9.2 Channel Sony STR-DA5800ES AV Receiver

Yet another state of the art AV receiver from Sony entertainment. The STR-DA5800ES delivers an incredible 9.2 Channel output surround sound at [130W x 9, 8 ohms, 20-20kHz, 0.09% THD] capable of 4K resolution pass-through and up-scaling with a 4K TV or 4K projector. Stream movies and music from the internet like never before and control the AV receiver with an iOS or Android device using the ES Remote app available from Google play or iTunes store. The STR-DA5800ES is fully compatible with control4 controller for home automation. This AV receiver can easily be integrated with virtually any home automation system.


The STR-DA5800ES is fully loaded with equipment. The 8 HDMI inputs are more than enough for all the input sources you can  pack in your living room.  The remaining 2 HDMI outputs are enabled for 4K scaling and pass through to a  4K projector or TV. This is the part where my curiosity is still not quenched for I did not have the opportunity to test this feature since I did not have a 4K TV or 4K projector in my possession. I would very much like to know what happens when you scale up a 576i, 720p, 1080i, 1080p picture to 4K. I hope no jagged images result in which case I would say thumbs up to Sony!

With this STR-DA5800ES it is possible to stream movies and music directly from internet via its Ethernet ports, however, while streaming an HD movie, a link speed of at least 2.5Mbps is advised. For better picture experience use 100Mbps link speed.  The STR-DA5800ES is able to produce an immersive experience and a nuanced performance for midsized rooms. It is able to deliver all notes with extreme clarity for virtually the entire musical frequency range(20 Hz - 20k Hz). However, at high volume it begins to waver a little bit - signaling it's run out of power. I wish it could deliver 200W per channel! My love for a loud home theater goes without question! Even when the volume is turned up, it maxes out pretty quickly before my ears get enough of it. Though I cannot fault it on sound crispness; it was designed for perfect sound reproduction considering it is rated at 0.09% THD! 

I had been contemplating about acquiring this system to replace my Muteki STR-KM7, but after experiencing it at a friend's place, I have decided not to buy it mainly on grounds of limited power in relation to its pricing. The STR-KM7 or popularly known as the Muteki HT-M7 is relatively cheap and delivers a heavy punch as well. Note however, the choice of speakers you use can influence greatly the output of this system. The HT-M7 is supplied complete with 9 speakers unlike the STR-DA5800ES. You have to buy speakers separately with the STR-DA5800ES.
 
Installation of the 5800ES is a night mare - the backside simply has so many ports, figuring out which ports to use is no ordinary man's job! A lot of cabling has to be done. I advise getting a techie to help you out if you are not sure of what to do. If you do not have any home automation system of any kind, you can still control it via the ARC HDMI port, TV and iPod or iPhone or any smart phone to a limited extent. So set it up fast and have a blast!

I do not normally give a fuss about the GUIs and software that Sony has always loaded on their entertainment systems because I prefer to concentrate on what it is capable of delivering. For as long as the output is excellent then it's a system worth my dime! I'm quite sure though a good many would find the STR-DA5800ES GUI less flexible and unpalatable to the eye. But since this is not part of my core judgment features I will overlook it!  

According to Sony, the following are the detailed technical  specifications of the STR-DA5800ES system.

Audio Specifications

• 9.2 channel A/V receiver (130 watts x 9 @ 8 ohms, 20-20kHz,  0.09% THD)
• Flexible speaker options including Bi-Amp, Front High  Speakers and variable zone 2
• 4 ohm/8 ohm switching
•  High-quality Audio Transmission System (H.A.T.S.) - SACD audio synchronization 
• Variety of sound fields including HD-DCS (Digital Cinema Sound) and Berlin Philharmonic
•  Sound Optimizer
• DTS Neo:X
• Digital Stream Direct®(DSD)
• DTS-HD
• Dolby® True HD/Dolby® Digital+/DolbyPro Logic II
• 31 band graphic equalizer

Video specifications

•  Supports HDMI 1.4a 3D pass-through and Audio Return Channel(ARC)
• Supports 4K pass-through and upscaling
• Supports 4K pass-through to 2nd zone
• On-screen graphical user interface with overlay
• HD Faroudja upscaler for 2nd zone
• Supports Deep Color and x.v.Color™
• 24p True Cinema™

Inputs and Outputs

• 11 HD inputs (9HDMI®, 2 component)
• 3 HDMI® outputs (1 for 2nd zone)
• Integrated 4-port Ethernet switch
• 2nd zone Component over Cat5e Output
• Multi-channel inputs: 7.1
• Pre out: 9.2+2 (fH)
• 3rd zone audio only
• Front USB for iPhone® or iPod®

Control Features

• Can be Activated to full Control4 controller
• Control over IP, RS232, 1 IR-in/ 4 IR-out and triggers.
• USB port for ZigBee(ZigBee dongle included)
• AMX Device Discovery Beacon
• Crestron Connected™

Dimensions and Weight:

17"(W)x 7 3/8"(H)x 16 1/2"(D)

 39 lbs / 17.7kgs
Find an updated article and buying guide here.

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