2006 Sony CMT-NEZ30 CD/cassette micro bookshelf stereo system

Micro-sized bookshelf stereo systems became popular in the late 1990s. Here was one of Sony's last models of them, the CMT-NEZ30 from 2006. It was not their best, but still overall a very decent little system. CORRECTION: Sony's actual last micro bookshelf stereo system was the CMT-EH15 from 2009-2010, overall very similar to this one but with a cheaper cassette recorder with mechanical pushbutton controls.

[@vwestlife]

*CORRECTION:* Sony's actual last micro bookshelf stereo system was the CMT-EH15 from 2009-2010, overall very similar to this one but with a cheaper cassette recorder with mechanical pushbutton controls.

[@dowjones5981]

what the name of the first song you play when you put on the first cd!?

[@cyberwolfe]

@@dowjones5981 "Ocean Avenue"

[@igorkrajina5942]

but they still make them, a friend bought one recently

[@TheJVCguy]

my favorite old bookshelf system has to be JVCs old stuff. The JVC MX-GT90 has insane bass and the JVC HX-Z30 is my all time favorite so far. they sound epic!!

[@oldgamecafe]

JVC was superior in a lot of hifi systems models

[@PortofinoArts]

I like how you give a new life to old stuff by talking about them and giving them the importance they deserve in history of technology

[@tyttuut]

My favorite feature on that is the *_DYNAMIC SOUND GENERATOR X-TRA!_*

[@Old299dfk]

So here's the thing - I'm a music producer, and I have my setup hooked into a crude, CMT-SPZ50... I absolutely love the DSGX *because* it allows me to hear what my tracks are like when they're mastered, before I actually master them. It's almost like I have an entire mastering suite at the touch of a button, and I can get a really accurate and clear glimpse of what my tracks will sound like at their best.

[@Xxmeca421xX]

Everyone had these in the 90s, I still have speakers to one,.

[@EricICX]

I have one from Panasonic. I still use it, it's great.

[@Agamemnon2]

Yup. I went through a couple. There was one I had with a 3 CD changer and a volume control that was this giant glowing blue trackball in the front panel. I still own a pair of Sony speakers from another such system, which I used with my more vintage component stereo until I found some cheap B&Ws. I think I will eventually get a cheap amp and turn the Sonys into computer speakers.

[@jokerzwild00]

My little sister got one for Xmas one year, and I practically stole it from her I used it so much. I ended up breaking it, and I still feel bad about that. Maybe I'll find one at the thrift store and give it to her, it would only be 25 years late lol.

[@CommanderMouse72]

@@EricICX I just bought a Panasonic one for $10 at a thrift store

[@UrOpinionsSucc]

@@EricICX i also have a panasonic, but something is wrong with the tape deck.

[@LakeNipissing]

I got one of these Sony bookshelf systems at Value Village a few years ago for 12.99. It is a Sony CMT-CP100. There is an auto reverse cassette, and has two interesting features - the tape door window functions as the LCD radio frequency display illuminated in orange, but becomes transparent to view the cassette reels when in tape mode, with the orange light between the reels, and the tape motion / direction animated on the tape door LCD... very cool. The CD player employs a prism to view the top of the loaded CD through the front loading CD drawer... also very cool. The bass *POUNDS*... I mean it. These speakers have a port on the rear that moves air with the little 5 inch woofers. Even with the volume at full, there is essentially no distortion, and it is deafening. 35 WRMS / CH. I was astonished how good this thing sounds, and I must admit I had very low expectations. It is now the kitchen audio system.

[@PeterMilanovski]

They have a feature that will turn down the bass and treble to stop it from distorting! My version has 45Wrms per channel output, I have used it for parties and it's amazing! It always sounds good no matter what the settings are at...

[@70mustang302]

My wife Ashley and I bought this exact same model for our new home back in 2007!

[@verastaki]

I Love Audio Compact Cassette Tapes! I love it when I buy used stereo systems at thrift stores and I find tapes in both decks with awesome 👍 songs on them! Or when my friends give me their mix tapes. Today, I just traded a blank MAXELL UR 90 tape ( which you can buy @ any electronic or department store ), for a nice 👍 colourful SKC GX-90 mix-tape recorded full of nice hits from early 2000's from one of my friends. He had me fix his personal portable tape player. I fixed it, and I actually liked the SKC mix tape that was inside the player. I was surprised he traded me that mix tape for a brand new blank MAXELL UR 90.

[@tremolux13]

I always enjoy your videos, as well as the vast selection of music you put on. This is another reason I enjoy you channel. Quite eclectic I must say! Thank you.

[@twocvbloke]

My mother has one of the systems with the Minidisc recorder built in (just checked the model, CMT-M100MD), still works perfect and gets used almost daily, and back before I started using MP3 players I used it a lot to copy albums to MD for use in my MZ-R91 recorder... :)

[@kaitlyn__L]

Did it have CD sync for MD like this one did for tape? That'd be very convenient. If it did, did it automatically insert the track markers and so forth?

[@NetzDotCom]

I see that M100MD has PC Link input for recording from PC (I know that I need a PC Link box that connects from PC via USB to main unit via special CAV-MN10 input.

[@Narayan_1996]

Please, never stop to make this and other amazing kind of contents, you are amazingly great ^^

[@nhan26]

Thank you for this video! Thanks to "Stranger Things," I was transported back to my childhood in the '80s, and I bought this exact system after seeing your video, which lets me get back into cassettes without going down the trial-and-error/repair rabbit hole of vintage cassette decks.

[@nhan26]

10:48 is the part about the decent internals that sold me on getting this deck. I honestly don't know that much about this, so I trust the expertise of VWestlife and Techmoan before pulling the trigger on a tech purchase!

[@cravog.silveira4601]

Congrats, VWestlife! I really love the way you fix everything related to electricity and electronics. I used to be an electronics student back in the late 60's. So, I've always been interested in the kind of stuff you talk about.

[@catgirl_eva]

They still do make bookshelf stereos though. Modern ones just don't have cassette decks these days. The Sharp XL-HF102B and Sony CMT-SBT100 are two examples of modern bookshelf stereos.

[@VeyronBD]

Yep, they make quite a few in the UK too.

[@raymondleggs5508]

Onkyo and denon make them too. so does a company called neon who patterns the appearance after discontinued pioneer, and onkyo systems (same moulds I guess) that seem to get a lot of good reveiws, when they started selling them they got tons of bad reviews, but as they brought out more products the quality got better.

[@DanielGutierrez-bz8gy]

Funny I just scored an SBT100 for $20 at Goodwill a couple days ago. Very good little bedroom system.

[@raymondleggs5508]

I've seen Technical Pro bookshelf stereos too. I have one of their stereo receivers and it reminds me of 1990's sanyo gear lol

[@jokerzwild00]

They sell cheapo ones at Walmart too. I know they have an Onn brand one or something like that, and a couple others too. I think the newer ones have Bluetooth functionality as well as the tuner/cd/tape player. Edit: now that I go looking on the website it seems none may have the cassette player. Oh well, similar thing anyway.

[@ozzie_goat]

I know this video is absolutely ancient but yesterday I managed to score a CMT-NEZ3 from the thrift store for 12 dollars. Looks practically brand new.

[@user-ny1rv4ib9c]

Do you still use it?

[@superotterboy7937]

NIce microsystem! I love Sony's stuff from the late 90s- early 2000s. I bought a HCD-RG60 system on ebay recently for 60 bucks and with the addition of a cheap bluetooth receiver, it's hands down my favourite purchase. It's very plastic fantastic but many systems of the era were. Glad to see someone else appreciate these machines; not much today can sound the same for the price point.

[@calebpearson9273]

I have this exact system (got it as a hand me down from my grandma), the remote control died so I've connected a universal remote, and I'm currently using it as my desktop PC's speaker system, and love it. Probably won't change it until it dies, it's been used daily for about 15 years now.

[@northernplacecorporation]

TRACK USED AT THE END OF THIS VIDEO: "A Song Long Ago" Music by Anders Enger Jensen and Kristine Frøberg Lyrics by Gina Evjen Performed by Kristine Frøberg From album "Retro Grooves: Vol. 3" ©2019-2022 EOX Studios/Silverimage

[@JacobFrey]

@3:32 I laughed out loud for about 6 seconds. Well done.

[@Eliotime3000]

It's the first time that I listed an audio FX applied for pun purposes on VWestlife videos.

[@TerabyteForever]

We had this thing in our family, I put 2 CD's at the same time and this nice thing got trashed. Speakers still exists.

[@ThriftyAV]

The sources may not be exactly the same, but stereos with a similar footprint are still available. I purchased a Toshiba TY-ASW91 for my mother Christmas of 2017. As of today, it's still available on Amazon. This Sony may indeed be the last that includes cassette.

[@HostileLemons]

Ayy look who's here!

[@ThriftyAV]

Yep... I lurk on VWestlife's channel! We like a lot of the same stuff! Good to see ya', HostileLemons.

[@nickclark6001]

I have the later version which includes a DAB radio, it is advertised as using very little power and has been used everyday and still going strong! I've connected it up to some Technics speakers and the bass is pretty good!

[@typhoontim125]

That cassette mechanism is definitely better than you'd expect...barely any wow & flutter

[@EddieJazzFan]

I have one with a broken cassette and broken CD, but I keep it hooked up to the audio outputs of my Verizon FIOS so I can play the TV music channels through the AUX input. Sounds great!

[@VintageAudioTech]

Your channel is great! Very informative and entertaining. What is old is new again!

[@osnapitzsamd]

I have a very similar Sony system from 2010, and in four years they removed the cassette deck, kept DSGX, added an iPod input and added DAB for radio.

[@1969longshanks]

I love watching your back catalogue

[@Jpk516]

At 0:18 seconds I have that exact same Aiwa 3CD stereo system. Bought it brand new in ‘95 and it’s awesome.

[@Starry_Night_Sky7455]

I have this one. Love it! Just looking it up for fun. They might as well bring it back!

[@clydesight]

Great video! I remember a Gorgeous JVC CD microcenter with illuminated glass lid that I drooled over in the stores for a while.

[@djijspeakerguy4628]

This sound far better than I thought it would, especially in the vocal and instrument range! Maybe not the best bass, but that’s completely normal for a system of this size, and I could totally live with this sound! I’d guess the speakers had a single cull range cone driver and maybe a port, due to the slight midrange boost in the sound and the fact that similar Sony micro system speakers I’ve seen have used that layout. Only some models featured tweeters.

[@stevecoatesdotnet]

We have a similar model in our living room. Amazingly, the original Zinc cells in the remote still work OK after all these years and haven't leaked.

[@gabrielflorinrobciuc4331]

Yes, I'm hearing stereo sound coming from that Sony audio system. Wonderful!

[@RoadTripAu]

I found an Aiwa XR-MN75 similar form factor from around this era in a Salvos store recently (an Aussie version of Goodwill), Sony manufactured, but with Aiwa badging, 5 cd slot loader and not much bigger. Cassette deck looked unused like it had been in a student flat or something where they didn't know what tapes were, A$35. Needed some IPA in the remote and volume dial on the unit, otherwise in perfect order. It came with an identical remote to this one apart from the Aiwa branding, the unit itself was slightly wider to accommodate the CD stacker but essentially of the same family of shelf stereos.

[@TechMaxWare]

Practically being a kid in the early 2000's I had a GPX system similar to this. It wasn't micro, it was a simple integrated stereo system with a 3-CD changer, dual tape decks, and AM/FM radio. It included a few other "neat" features, like a very basic preset equalizer. Oh how far I've come with the system I have now, two different amplifiers, complete Dolby surround sound, an Onkyo 6-CD changer, AT-LP 120 Turntable, Pioneer CT-20 Cassette deck, and of course integration for my computer and TV.

[@boggsty]

Had a Panasonic stereo system with dual cassette and a 5-CD-switcher. Was the best sounding system I ever owned, even recorded music with it as monitors due to its aux Input. Sadly the poweramp section solder joints broke. You can still get them new at my local supermarket. It's Germany tho

[@TheJVCguy]

I got a panasonic also but its crap compared to my jvcs lol. horrible mids and bad enclosure that has resonance. which panasonic did you have?

[@boggsty]

@@TheJVCguy it was a Panasonic SA-AK 17. I still have the speakers but I gave the stereo away. It’s probably scrapped now...

[@jamiecullen9075]

I have a Phillips micro bookshelf system, Dunno the model number but I got them brand new in 2010 for my 10th birthday, came with iPhone 30 pin connector that slides out, AUX in, Line out, FM radio and CD player. Such a nice warm sound and I have a Bluetooth receiver hooked into the AUX and allows me to stream my Spotify library to them.

[@ViperJay5]

8:50 Haha, now that's MY kind of music! :D

[@adrianredodo]

You're a the real one!

[@Appleboy78165]

Nice Midna profile pic. :)

[@icukeosu]

Wow, I have that. I still using it for playing CD and tapes at kitchen. And I got a European model. It got a folder +/- buttons.

[@willijiem]

I think the best micro systems were made by JVC. They looked very stylish and had surprisingly good sound for their size, however they were somewhat more expensive than other makes. I still have one, I use it for my desktop PC. It's an UX-A5. The best of the best micro systems were the JVC Woodcone series units. They are truly amazing, and they were manufactured in the 2010's. In Japan, maybe you can still buy new ones.

[@JLin576]

Nice! I was able to score a slightly older model- The Sony CMT-CPX1 from Goodwill for $15.00. Everything works, and it sounds great. Like you, I had to get the remote from E-Bay. So in total about $30 for all.

[@zubiac]

I have a similar Sony model(well, at least it looks similar) but mine has the tape deck on the top(toploader) and the CD player(slot load drive) on the bottom. It also has some very odd features like a front line-in only (there are no inputs on the backside besides the speaker connectors) and front(!) optical-in which I have never seen on a micro system before. Maybe I'll make a video of it someday.

[@Sfekke]

I have almost the same one, the CMT-NEZ50 from 2007 These last forever & sound pretty good for their size & price

[@glengoogling7597]

Sounds better because it features a two-way speaker unlike this model (as Kevin noted), though I’m happy with the NEZ30 for $20. Original list price or sales price was only $99.

[@TechBaffle]

I have an Aiwa XR-M78EZ Micro System and one of my favourite things about it is the 'Demo' sequence on the LED display when you turn it off. 'CD' 'TUNER' then 'ROCK' 'JAZZ' etc. Complete with crazy animations on the CD selector, BBE and T-BASS dials. It's all a bit mad, very early 2000's, and something that doesn't really exist anymore. You can turn it off in Eco Mode though, as I guess its purpose was to look flashy on store shelves. 😃

[@aidenmiddleton]

Sony still makes a new one today with many modern wireless features and older features like a cd player. You can buy it on Sony's North American Website and Amazon. Its called the CMT-SBT100 / SBT100B and its $199.99.

[@LightTheUnicorn]

Ooh, that's familiar. I have a very similar UK model which includes DAB and a very pleasing lilac-backlit LCD display. Very nice little stereo systems for the size, these things!

[@cityrailrail8068]

I have a CMT-NEZ33 and it has lasted forever despite that it has fallen off a shelf a few times over the years!

[@angryshoebox]

Good stuff. I wish I’d kept my mini system. I had an Aiwa that I got around 1999 or 2000, with cassette deck & single disc CD player. I don’t remember how many watts per side it was, maybe 20 or 30. The tuner’s sensitivity wasn’t that great though, and the CD player wouldn’t play CD-RW or MP3’s(too early for it to have those features, that might’ve been why I got rid of it, actually).

[@Spookhouse13]

Love your stuff,have you updated your home radio station that video brought me to your channel

[@anthonysullivan5197]

I’ve got a CMT-EH15 from 2008 and works great.

[@Korium84]

I miss these old stereos. truly i miss being able to buy components but these were more my generation. I had an RCA (90s around 94 or so) single cd/tape similar to this. after that a memorex with turntable and the 5cd went out on it. i've been trying to fix the tray on it for awhile. think it skipped some teeth. It's insanely hard to find anything made well with a turntable anymore unless you buy retro. Both mentioned were dual tape deck.

[@PaulHuininken]

That orange LCD display is an orange segmented LED display. I love them.

[@Kuraio]

I'm pretty sure it's just a cheap inverted LCD with orange backlight.

[@PaulHuininken]

@@Kuraio you could be right, but im not convinced. Can he open it?

[@Kuraio]

On the background you can still see the orange backlighting showing through because the LCD panel can't block it completely. You won't be seeing that on a LED or VFD display.

[@PaulHuininken]

@@Kuraio I see what you mean, but seeing ot again conbinced me even more of it being LED based. There is no backlight. I argue that internal reflexions combined with an opaque beesel gifs the impression of a backlight. Plus all segments are stationary: a lcd has no need to constrain itself like that. Unless it tries to mimick that technique. LCD is energy efficient, but these soundsets had a plug in the wall: no need for LCd. But still: i could be wrong. Can the man check? Lol

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

It’s a backlit LCD, used on a few of their systems, very cheap but get the job done nicely.

[@mrgarceapolitistunew]

I have this stereo in my old house, i listened to a lot of cassettes, because CD was kinda expensive at that time. edit:not my stereo, it looks similar to it.

[@sonic2000gr]

I had the CMT-CPZ1 model a 2004(?) model. Was pretty good. Slot loading CD and RDS on FM. Gave it away when I rebuilt my component system.

[@ChromeDestiny]

I had a JVC FS-G5 I got on a good deal and liked, good sound and nice and compact. The five disc changer worked well and I ran sound from my computer through the aux input. I got rid of it when I found a JVC 5.1 reciever for a good price and started noticing used stereo components were starting to go for a good price. It's fun to tinker with for now but I could see myself going back to a bookshelf system one day.

[@Gubel1990]

Sadly, they stripped out more and more functions on these "cheaper" units from the early- to mid-2000's... In 1997 (or '98?) as a child I got a AIWA LCX-770: About the same size, but with much more functions, like RDS-tuner with PS/RT(!)/PTY/CT, Auto-storage, Full-logic Autoreverse-deck, AC-Bias, digital tape counter, Aux-in, Microphone-in (!), and synchro-recording... This thing was a DREAM! :D (...for that what it was.) (It's still standing around in the basement...Still working, except for the CD-Player - mostly the first thing dying...) The tape-deck made "decent" recordings, even on CrO2 (it really had a detector-switch in the flap for type-detection!)... The FM-reception even with a "simple" half-dipole was - and still is - GREAT! (Although it didn't have any MPX-filter, so the 19kHz tone is fully present on some tape-recordings from then...) Another great thing: The FM-Autostore found duplicates of programs comming from more then 1 transmitters on different frequencies via RDS-PI, and automatically only stored the one with strongest signal...GENIUS! Okay, the packed speakers were not that good...thrown them away a bit later... I was happy with it as a 8-year-old back then! :-)

[@previousslayer]

Was the tape selector function documented? Or a hidden surprise? Just curious 😏

[@Gubel1990]

As far as I remeber, in the manual it said that it can "play" Typ1 and Typ2 (and then also Type4) correctly, but it would be "recommended" to use Typ1 for recording... That' all whats documented... In the deck it had 4 switches: 2 for the rec-protection (1 for each Side), one in the middle for detecting if "tape in or not", and one on 1 Side near the rec-protector, to detect the 2nd "hole" which is for Typ1/2 selection... Even if it was recommended to record on Typ1, I got pretty good results with TDK SA or Sony UX-S CrO2... The Typ2's had a correct frequency response when played back on a better deck with 70uS-dreemphase... Also the level of the stupid auto-gain-control peaked at 0dB on CrO2... Seemed to be "OK"...

[@jedw]

I have a CMT GPZ6 which I have had since new (around 2002 if I recall) it has a lot of the same features as this, but it does have genuine 2-way speakers.

[@gtr500able]

I used to have one when I was younger. I had totally forgot they existed 😂

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

0:14 Awww yisssss this is something i always wanted as a teenager for my room. Those damn things did cost a fortune and were way too far out of reach for me. Nowdays i'd still wanna have one of these. For a while i had one of these AIWA compact systems but the CD drive broke and didn't work anymore and the electronics had some weird glitches too that made it impossible to turn off the system and staying off.. It always enabled itself again and made the LED matrix light up again, dispite being off. And once the tape deck door broke, which could not be repaired..... i threw it away. I kept the speakers thou. As nice as these mini systems are, they are impossible to fix / repair…

[@TheJVCguy]

you GOTTA keep an eye out for the old JVC component systems. Dude, the sound on them is insane!! they get so loud and stay so clear. awesome things. I got some videos of mine up on my channel if you wanna hear how they sound

[@bugdrvr]

Nice review on that mini system. Seems a great deal for only $20 (+remote). I have an Onkyo receiver from around the same time period where the instructions state the EU model gets RDS while my US model doesn't.

[@kylehazachode]

I’ve been on a mission for years to find a good minidisc bookshelf system. If your’s had minidisc, I’d be making offers. The majority of minidisc bookshelf systems on ebay had ripped speaker screens or damaged plastics

[@stpworld]

Ive only seen those on japan sites I have a dennon book shelf system with mini disc was hard to find it.

[@lesrogers7310]

I'm probably a little late but i can thoroughly recommend the Aiwa XR-MD510 (has CD, MD, Cass and Radio) or Sharp MD-M3H (has CD, MD and Radio). I've personally owned both of these units and still have the Aiwa.

[@cjpwolf2436]

GREAT VIDEO AND HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!! :)

[@FrightfulAccountant]

Of this era, I much prefered the small units from Sony like this on. they also still had bigger sets, but they were rather gearish looking with too much flashing lights, that really dates them. Quite well build for modern stuff. Had one of around 2008, gave it away, still works fine!

[@fixman88]

I have an RCA RP-7977A Portable System that was made in Feb 1992. It's technically a boombox since it has a handle and runs on batteries but it has a remote and no doubt was meant to fill the same niche yours does. It has a drawer-load CD player and a top-loading tape deck with full auto-reverse. It also has the synchro CD recording feature but since it's auto-reverse it's completely automatic; all you have to do is tell it how long the tape is and it does the rest. Unfortunately due to age its power supply needs a recapping but like you, I was able to find the Service Manual for it.

[@uxwbill]

Within the past year or two, I've seen a Sony bookshelf stereo in stores with that "over the top" styling, including an equally ridiculous looking subwoofer box. It probably isn't accurate to call that a "micro" system, though. I do like the styling and display of this model, though yet again I wish they would have just included R(B)DS support in every model. Surely it would have been cheaper to do that! I have an even smaller Panasonic model here that actually has bi-amplified speakers. It seems silly, but that's what they really did. It has a rather woefully underutilized VF display with a whole bunch of DVD/video CD (!) related indicators, six CD changer and a simple tape deck (that I'm not sure can actually record).

[@TheJVCguy]

lol you haven't seen over the top until you see my jvc systems. I love it though, and the sound quality on them is amazing!! best sounding bookshelf system I ever heard is the JVC HX-Z30 and for bass its the JVC MX-GT90. love these beasts.

[@moeta486]

5:30 How do you still get AM reception? There's only about three AM stations where I live (Prayers, News, and Sports stations), and I live in a major city!

[@user-or1ce7ez5w]

Try a better radio. And in night you could get way more stations

[@andresd270]

Nice vid, I have 2 Sony CMT-GPZ7, in my opinion they are the best micro component that sony made along with the CMT-GPX7. They Sound awesome, deep bass and clear highs. And the best of them they look gorgeous, the speakers without the grill are an art piece

[@domlimited1264]

Good product review Keep up the good videos

[@The90sGamingGuy]

In the early 2000's i had mini hi-fi stereo. Similar to this model Panasonic SA-AK300r , and it sounded pretty good for the price. My model was silver with blue trim. I used it from about 2001 to 2008 when the amp inside the thing quit working, and at that point i sold it on Craigslist since the unit still worked. My brother bought a different model of Panasonic mini hi fi book shelf speaker system and his still works to this day and his model was made about a year or two before mine. I remember Sony's line of hi fi systems like this and the bigger ones they offered which had a crazy amount of speakers and tweeters. I currently own two Sony boom boxes for radio/CD and tape listening one of which is the CFD-S26 and the other CFD-V10 both of which still work well despite their age.

[@TheJVCguy]

my absolute favorite component systems are the jvc stuff. amazing sound, gt90 made something on the other end of the house fall off the wall once haha

[@dashcamandy2242]

I really like how Sony designed the LCD display with amber backlighting. At first, I thought it was a vacuum-fluorescent display. Clever! I still have my old Sony CFD-470. The dual-cassette decks ate through belts insanely-fast, so I stopped playing tapes and began using it in my sunroom. The heat warped the lid so the CD player wouldn't work without weight (I used a big sealed bottle of Boku, anybody remember that stuff?) I got it for 8th-grade graduation (1992) and stopped using it when the internal amplifier started going bad. I loved using the CD Synchro-Start system, it was actually a fairly well-integrated feature. Oh, and the speakers from 1992? They're connected to the Sony surround sound receiver that my laptop is plugged into. Still getting daily use.

[@majestik101]

3:33 DYNAMIC SOUND GENERATOR EXTRA! 😄

[@Madness832]

Was always curious as to why RDS was omitted from NA models. Had a mid-90s Sony receiver that was the same. Although, there were spaces, on the main board (next to the tuner card) for an RDS IC and support components.

[@Eliotime3000]

I've seen in latin american version of this micro stereo systems of that era that RDS was a rare feature.

[@Aquatarkus96]

American cars in the mid 2000s included it on stereos, and its not like radio stations didnt use them at least the ones around here did. Also the woofer size difference between American and European models is weird too..

[@hadireg]

If the remote is lost and have a phone with IR beamer, an android app called IRPLUS gives the possibility to add a remote type. For this unit, I chose the brand Sony (various & legacy) then cmt series for the model.

[@TalenGryphon]

Sony pioneered this formfactor. Big sound in a tiny hi-fi. Sony's old Mini-bookshelf systems from the 80's still had record players available, albeit in a unique formfactor (See that PS-Q7 Techmoan reviewed). Plus those aluminum square-driver APM-series speakers sounded like *magic*. I'll stick with my FH-11w and PS-Q3 turntable, but it is nice to see Sony making systems like this again. And I sincerely hope they bring back something like the PS-Q series record players and the APM speakers

[@GeneSavage]

Sony always did better AM than a lot of other companies... not wideband, but low distortion and like you said surprisingly sensitive. I miss AM stereo. :-(

[@bell1095]

Can you recommend a better remote-control unit, less rubber-only-feeling

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

Damnit, I got fooled. I actually thought the Tapedrive door window was a Slot-in CD Drive :O Lol *DYNAMIC SOUND GENERATOR X-TRA*

[@gabrielvieira6529]

Same

[@PeterMilanovski]

I have a higher power version of this that has a slot load CD in that spot which also supports mp3 and Atrack... The speakers are five and a quarter inch two ways and it's amplifier is rated for 45Wrms, the tape on mine has been moved to the top but otherwise it's pretty much the same thing just better... They have this feature which was popular at the time which didn't allow it to distort regardless of where the volume, bass, treble or DSG settings were at, that was really great at drunken parties when someone says oh! I love this song and just cranked up the volume to max! You never have to worry about it with this thing....

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

@@PeterMilanovski Oh awesome!! So it can play AT3 files on a CD-ROM? :)

[@PeterMilanovski]

@@KRAFTWERK2K6 yes! It's just a pity that the software that Sony had to burn Atrac was a bit clunky..

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

@@PeterMilanovski Yeah… Heard about their horrible PC software for that... I only time i ripped my CDs to ATRAC was with my PS3 & using the same bitrate as MiniDiscs. I then played these files on my PSP and it always sounded better than MP3. I also experimented with DIY PSP eboot homebrew files that i gave some little menu previews. Basically creating some 30 second soundbites, encoding them to ATRAC wave & renaming it so the eboot creating tool would accept it. Too bad i really only started to use ATRAC very late, when Sony was on the verge to phase it out.

[@yugo4515]

I have a simillar model from I think it's 2001 or older. The bass is rich and it has a high-quality cassette deck (single) and a cd- player (am/fm too). At its time it was one of the most expensive ones in the store.

[@bradygiltz5160]

I got those speakers. Super good speakers though. That system doesn't do them justice

[@HooverLux]

I had one just like this but the wood on the speakers was a lighter wood. I loved it.

[@jrchannel7405]

my dad has the CMT-NEZ5 model and it look exactly as yours, but his model has speakers with removable grills

[@cookingwithchefjeff]

That Al Parks disc was pretty awesome.

[@markm0000]

I have an ancient set of Yamaha 2.1 computer speakers and they sound great. I use them with my chromecast more than anything. As for my TV... I'll probably sell it this year while it's still worth something. I haven't turned it on for more than an hour since January. I see myself using my smartphone all the time for watching youtube videos or a short movie. My laptop is never in use but I still keep it around to organize my finances.

[@PeterMilanovski]

Wow! I thought that it was like the one which I have but your one is definitely a poverty pack! Mine got 45Wrms per channel, it also got 5 1/4" two way speakers with removable grill's which I'm currently using with my early 80's Technics Hifi in my bedroom because they are small but actually sound amazing!, Although the cassette deck on mine has been moved to the top where your CD Player is and the CD Player on mine has been put towards the front bottom and it's a slot load type!, It supports mp3 and Atrack CD and even has a optical output on the front to transfer music to a portable with optical in... It has plenty of output power, I have held parties with it no problems! It's actually pretty good for parties because it never allows the music to be distorted even if the bass and treble are set to +3, yeah mine does that to. Overall, the cassette deck is as basic AF! I wouldn't use it for recording but playback is fine, the higher powered versions are definitely well worth it, you can a lot more music onto an Atrack CD due to the ability to use a lower bitrate and still sound good compared to mp3... I remember when I was getting my one, there was another model which was black in colour but supported DVD as well... I don't remember why I didn't get that one, mine was in silver and had some nice chrome touches to it to give a more quality look and feel to it. I haven't used the main unit in ages but I'm reluctant to get rid of it, it's not really a bad stereo and I am a hoarder of audio equipment LoL... The better version speakers should make an improvement to the sound if you feel like it could be better but I would definitely keep an eye out for one of the better version of these because they did get a bit better in a few key areas, sadly the cassette deck was left as is, Dolby C would have kept me happy... But I wouldn't complain about this particular model for what you paid for it... Great find, great video!

[@itxofficial8281]

I remember one particular bookshelf stereo that was widely popular in the early 2000s here in Europe: The Philips MC200. I bought mine in 2001 with my very own money, after playing a minor part in an austrian tv show. It was really good, the speakers were loud and offered a decent amount of bass. I especially liked the green backlit display. The tape deck, however, was utter crap. When recording over an already recorded cassette, there was always a good amount of bleed-through. Plus, the components of the CD deck were subpar. The small bearings on my CD tray pretty much disintegrated after just 4 years, making the whole thing unusable by mid 2005.

[@HamtaroEL]

11:00 the erase and record/play heads are mounted close together like on autoreverse decks with rotating heads on. Plus it's a real ac electromagnetic erase head not the permanent magnet erase heads on many cheaper decks.

[@jacob_n_r_z8755]

My aunt used to have a panasonic bookshelf cassette stereo. But it's in my granma's storage space. I wonder if it still works

[@cliffordpearsonjr.9748]

Sounds DAM Good...You did good!

[@oldcakeselfentertain]

Hi VWestlife, Do you know if it is able to record music from the Aux input onto the cassette tape? Many thanks!!!

[@vwestlife]

Yes.

[@bestage9429]

I miss my Panasonic SA-PM25 bi-amp stereo system :( Had great sound quality for a small system

[@jmurray01]

I remember having to manually calculate how many tracks I could fit on each side of the tape! Having a system that did that automatically would have been very good but in all honesty I didn't even know such things existed.

[@chrisa2735-h3z]

Geez I was in second grade when this thing was made! I feel old

[@nacabaro3737]

I still have my CMT-EH25, I love that thing, stopped using the system, but used the speakers for my main computer. They don't sound that bad with a proper amplifier, compared to the stereo.

[@davegustafson6106]

I had A Sony MHC model dual reverse cassette w mic input very nice! I am also writing today to get some help with ordering a new cartridge and needle for my Panasonic stereo model SD 85 made between 74-77 I want to be able to able to play 78's on it safely, so I want to install a flip cartridge for this purpose. which cartridge/stylus do I need ? Is a Diamond stylus sufficient for all 3 speeds?

[@vwestlife]

Depends on what kind of cartridge it has.

[@blitzroehre1807]

That little Stereo system somehow reminds me of the earlier Sony mini Hifis, the venerable "Falcon" series

[@OfficialiGamer]

this is similar to mine, witch is the CMT-NE3, was my dad's, funny thing about mine is the aux imput is labeled for MiniDisc

[@alynicholls3230]

that model came with a micro separate minidisc deck(rare as hell now), always missing from the system. and i dont know why people hang on to them and sell the system, since its useless without the proper cable, hifi and remote,lol.

[@OfficialiGamer]

@@alynicholls3230 yea, I don't think my dad ever had the minidisc part, I just have a Bluetooth adapter connected to it now

[@reconvertings]

how do you use the aux input?

[@christophernewman7574]

I just purchased a CMT-NEZE30 at a thrift store for $20 and everything works. How do I remove the cassette door? You mentioned it is removable but didn't show how. Help!

[@TitoMariategui]

In each side, left and right, of the cassete door, there are 3 tabs tp secure the door from being removed, you just have to press the tab in the middle a little bit and then lift up the door.

[@weasel2htm]

8:51 I'm suddenly in the mood to hit the local Mexican restaurant for some chips, salsa and tacos!

[@vwestlife]

That's Polka music from Poland, although Norteña music from Mexico sounds similar.

[@vincentblouin5882]

Thank you mate!

[@marktmdyorkshire7610]

Nice bit of kit, one for sale here in the UK for £24.99 on Ebay! I'm tempted lol.

[@NWGADX]

You may get a tone at 531 kHz, called a heterodyne. A heterodyne is a term that if you have a 530 AM station from Cuba, and good signal on 531 from Algeria the 2 signals overlap, and you still get the tone.

[@vwestlife]

I do sometimes hear a 1 kHz tone when listening to 1520 WWKB from Buffalo, NY at night via skywave, due to the very powerful station on 1521 kHz in Saudi Arabia.

[@NWGADX]

@@vwestlife I sometimes get the 1 kHz tone on 1089 and 909 kHz. My Tecsun PL398BT is great on AM and has FM/Shortwave/longwave. Do you also get the tone on 531, 549, 621, 801, 909, 1089 kHz. I haven't gotten any international AM stations on 9 kHz spacings. Check out my channel for more AM DX. My website am-fm-dx-706.neocities.org might work with your old computers.