Sony CMT-SX7B - Reviews

(4.6)

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For Sony CMT-SX7B, 61 customer reviews collected from 2 e-commerce sites, and the average score is 4.6.

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28.11.2015

The Sony CMTSX7B is a stereo sound system with a CD player and FM/DAB radio. It’s a micro system, what used to be called a bookshelf system, meaning it’s not something to stand on the floor unless you’re seriously short of furniture. For guidance, the speakers are each very close to the size of an iPad, but are of course much deeper front-to-back, about nine inches. It’s a very good sound system, I should say, and although I'm aware that HiFi affiniacados pay a helluva lot more to enjoy their music, to me it sounds quite excellent, I can't fault it. Mine is a typical small modern living room, but if you live in a larger house, especially one with high ceilings,you’ll likely need more oomph.Basic ConnectivityGoing slightly beyond the CD and radio functions, the Sony CMTSX7B has two USB ports. The rear port is for connection to a computer or other PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) source, and I have a suspicion few users will need it. The front USB port, however, can be used to play mp3 (or FLAC, WMA, and a few other formats) music on USB sticks, external hard drives, or whatever, and of course there are many USB turntables available if you want to play vinyl records. Note that the CD player is happy with mp3 groovy tunes if they are on a CDA disc, although experienced rippers will know this can be an unpredictable area.There are also LINE IN phono sockets and and an OPTICAL input, but I must admit that in all the years optical coupling has been around I’ve never used it.Now we come to the fancy stuff.SongPalThe CMTSX7B comes with a remote (AAA batteries supplied) with which all its functions can be controlled, source selection, volume etc. But we streamlined people of the 21st century like to control things with our mobile devices, and Sony - like most other audio equipment manufacturer - have an offering in the Android and Apple app stores. Theirs is titled SongPal, and I downloaded it to my Sony Z3 Compact Android phone, which has WiFi, Bluetooth, and NFC. If your mobile device does not have NFC (Near Field Communication), then be cool and crisp, it’s a convenience not an essential.Installing the app was easy, it always is, the problems tend to come later! Here I give you a tip, Bluetooth pair your phone with the CMTSX7B before you run the app, NFC will help you do that automatically but if you don’t have NFC on your phone the procedure is simple enough; you select Bluetooth from the Function menu and enter 0000 on your phone when prompted. Why, I bet you’ve done that a dozen times.Also before running the app, connect the CMTSX7B to your WiFi. This is another reasonably familiar procedure, a matter of selecting WPS from the menu and then pressing the WPS button on your router. If you have a morbid attachment to an ancient pre-WPS router then your connection will be more of a challenge.Immediately the app starts it will scan for and (hopefully) find the CMTSX7B as well as any compatible wireless speakers on your network. I don't have any such speakers, but I can tell you that playing mp3’s from the phone through the CMTSX7B is easy and they sound pretty good. I also tried Airplay from an iPad, which works via WiFi, and that worked perfectly.Multi-RoomThe system as it comes out of the box is not really multi-room except to the extent you can hear it through the walls. It is compatible with Sony’s proprietary Multiroom method of networking WiFi/Bluetooth speakers under SongPal control, which allows one to pipe heavy rock to Uncle Bertie’s room in the north tower or light waltzes to the servant’s quarters. But the supplied speakers are most definitely not wireless, so that awesomeness is only possible with the purchase of Sony wireless speakers, the cheapest of which I can find on Amazon is £179.99. So should the CMTSX7B be described as multi-room?ConclusionThe only fair way to judge a song a stereo system is surely on the sound quality it produces. By that criteria, and considering its diminutive speakers, the CMTSX7B is something I’d recommend.

10.12.2015

This is one of those reviews where one curses the star system. In many ways, the SOny CMTSX7B is riddled with frustrations. But ultimately I'm really happy with what I have ended up with. So I'll start by giving the negatives:*Not a big deal, but slightly strange.- if you are listening to CDs on this, there is no "Stop" button on the unit itself. There is one on the remote, but it just seems strange as never seen a CD player without a stop button before.*You're meant to install the Sony Songpal app which I believe basically lets you control the sound system through your mobile. I'm not entirely sure as I was never able to download it! My chromebook wouldn't allow me to run it and my iPad couldn't even find it in the app store,despite numerous attempts. Eventually I gave up in frustration but again, if it's mainly for using your phone/device as a remote, this is not an issue for me so once I decided not to bother, it's proven no big deal.*I'd paired the sound system with my Chromebook via Bluetooth to stream music. This worked great a couple of times, then randomly stopped playing (display showed that system was finding my chromebook but no sound coming from speakers). Once I deleted the devices from Bluetooth and paired them again, it's been fine. Again, not a big deal if easily fixed like this but I'd not messed with anything.*I've had trouble tuning in and finding very many radio stations. Even the digital ones seem almost completely limited to BBC stations, but I haven't yet spent a huge amount of time playing with this so may be able to work it out with a little more patience.*Last but definitely not least is the price tag. Were I not part of the Vine programme (thank you, Amazon!!!) I'd never be able to afford this. And if I were to spend this much money (just under £450 at time of writing) on a sound system, I'd kind of want it all to work with no niggles at all.Now for the positives:*This is really simple and compact, so totally unobtrusive on a bookshelf and won't take up much space.*Most importantly, the sound quality is excellent. I'm not great with speakers, adjusting bass and treble and all that kind of thing, but some friends who are came round yesterday and were well impressed. What I know is that this will go pretty much as loud as you could ever want without noticeably (at least to a novice like me) sacrificing sound quality.*Aside from the Songpal debacle, set-up was really straightforward. The Bluetooth paired with my Chromebook no problem, and it's really lovely to be able to listen to music and films in such high quality without having to do anything other then switch the unit on.*It's a small detail, but I really love that it switches off standby automatically after a time. So much energy is wasted by leaving devices on standby, but it's easy to forget to switch them off completely. Sony have taken care of it for you with this one.*Great to have a CD player - I think a lot of these systems (including the Bose one I have reviewed previously) just assume that you're no longer using physical media, but for those of us who have cultivated our collections over the years, this may not be the case! It also means that even if the wifi isn't working, I can still listen to music.*And when it comes to the modern world, it's great having a readily accessible USB port. I know this is not particularly unusual these days, but it's still a relatively new innovation for me, and one of which I heartily approve.There's lots of other bells and whistles which I haven't investigated as yet (and may never get round to due to my ignorance of modern musical technology!) but I'm finding this system absolutely brilliant for my relatively straightforward needs. Consequently, I reckon this is a pretty good all rounder: the sound quality is great, it's simple enough for relative novices to figure out, but there's all sorts of extra stuff to tweak if you are more technologically minded.

17.12.2015

Impressive! The first thing I noticed while unpacking the system was the weight of the speakers, always a good sign in my book and individually they weigh just over seven pounds yet they are quite compact. Wiring up was no problem with the red and black speaker wires into the relevant screw points, two AAA batteries (supplied) into the rather slim hand remote, and string up the antenna behind a picture frame on the wall. (A point worth making is that there two version in the price range, I'm reviewing the CMT-SX78 with a FM/DAB radio, another version CMT-SX7 has an AM radio). The complete set-up is explained in the user friendly manual.The radio, least in the FM mode was rather disappointing but I think this is down to the antenna,it's just a relatively short wire, if an outside aerial mounted at roof height was used I'm sure the reception would be much better. On the FM I picked up the usual BBC stations plus eight commercial ones but the DAB option was better with the supplied antenna with far superior sound and ease of access, in my area, thirteen BBC stations and eighteen commercial services were available. The access to stations would depend on what DAB multiplexes operate where you live. Your favourite stations can be preset: twenty FM and twenty DAB. If you listen to a lot of radio the yearly 'Radio listeners guide' lists all the stations in the UK with a lot of information about them.The system is remarkably versatile. A built in clock allows for a sleep function. The optical in jack will let you listen to audio from an external source or maybe you just want to plug in a USB stick using the front port but you'll need to download a driver to use the rear USB port. I haven't got to grips with pairing a tablet (or Smartphone) with Bluetooth to the system, there's a large illustrated fold-out sheet explaining all this for Xperia, iPhone or WPS. I have plenty of CDs to listen to without using Bluetooth or the wifi but connecting to Spotify will probably convince me to do so.All the bells and whistles don't mean much if the actual sound that comes out of the speakers is mediocre. For a compact system this delivers a hefty punch and a rich one at that. The large volume control wheel goes up to fifty on the display, I've found that just being set at twenty-eight to thirty or so is plenty loud enough (this makes me wonder what it would sound like if much bigger speakers were wired up) but what I really love about this Sony is the ability to change the bass and treble. Both can be increased or decreased up to ten, so now, while listening to some fifties jazz, I can reduce the bass significantly, increase the treble and actually get to hear the cymbals and all the high notes...marvellous!Apart from the remarkably short mains lead (I've had to use an extension) I think this Sony audio system delivers the features and sound I like though I really can't see why it should be rather expensive.

12.1.2019

The receiver is diminutive and can play literally any source one could think of: DAB, line-in, optical-in from the TV, CDs, over the network music from the NAS with DLNA, bluetooth, Chromecast, Spotify, Tidal, Google Music, everything! The receiver doesn't have too many inputs (one line-in, only one optical-in) but with so many options already build-in they're not of much need anyway. It does however have a USB type B connection which allows the use of this receiver as a DAC from a laptop or a NAS - a very interesting option. Plus an USB A connector at the front which enables the use of storage devices such as usb sticks and hard-drives.

24.12.2015

The Sony CMTSX7B is a compact sound system featuring DAB, FM radio, CD, USB, Bluetooth, Line In, and Optical connectivity - certainly a jack of all trades - you will be able to connect pretty much any device to it.The speaker sound quality is very good, and it's possible to tweak settings if you find the bass a bit heavy (my previous speakers annoyed the neighbours as the minimum bass level was still high. These don't have that problem)Connecting your phone via Bluetooth is great fun and easy to do. I play ridiculous songs from YouTube to my toddler, and once you're paired up it's a doddle. I was less impressed with the app it encourages you do download,

25.12.2015

This system replaces our 12-year-old stereo and, boy, does it show how technology has advanced. When we bought our stereo all those years ago a friend of mine had a fantastically expensive hifi which played in every room - something that seemed little short of miraculous to me. Now that sort of thing is almost standard. I was rather apprehensive about the set up, but it was surprisingly easy. The system looks very slick and stylish, with its sharp lines and manageably small size. The sound quality, as expected, is amazing. As for using the app to stream the sound .... well, you need to spend quite a while with the manual, and be quite confident about the techy stuff, to get with it. To be honest,

28.4.2018

Excellent I always love sony audio products. The sound is brilliant and the bass and treble just right. especially being a self confessed audiophile lol.I already own srs x 99 and srs x 88 wireless speakers and the multi room function works well alongside this product.I decided to buy this as I do miss playing my CDs even though I stream music. If anyone is wanting to get the most out of hi res music I recommend Qobuz. It's a lot more expensive than Spotify and Apple Music but the sound quality is so much better than compressed MP3.One criticism is that the display light is too dim but I can live with this.

7.2.2018

I bought this product after searching everywhere for a particular combination of DAB radio, CD player, the ability to link via DNLA to my server, and to have the ability to provide multi room speakers either linked to the main Hi-Fi or stream music independently. The system was pretty simple to set up as long as the instructions are carefully followed, and everything from the use and sound of the Hi -Fi to the Wi-Fi links have been just what I wanted. Only slight issue is lack of bass at low volume, although the bass levels are adjustable, which does help. Otherwise couldn't be more pleased!

27.2.2017

The sound is very crisp and I was happy with the depth I could hear when playing a CD. I noticed Bluetooth was not as chirp probably due to a smaller frequency range over a CD. I liked the SongPal application and the ability to control the unit from a phone. I owed a CMT-CP500MD unit before this, which still had good sound even after 14 years of usage. It was the manically part that led me to this replacement. I am hoping the CMTSX7B will last a long as it's predecessor. I am really looking forward to trying out different music types and movies to see how the CMTSX7B preforms.

2.4.2018

I bought this product for its quality sound, small size and functionality. I have wirelessly connected it to my NAS where I have my music these days accessible using ITunes. It works well albeit it takes some effort to get it to connect to the network and to stay connected. I use it to cast Spotify (free), IPlayer Radio and connect the TV via optical cable. It works well for each of these. I haven't yet connected further remote speakers. They are rather expensive and do I really need them? As stated elsewhere, the LED display is rather too faint.

14.7.2016

I bought this to replace my WiFi which had died after many years of faithful service. I wanted a unit which I could play my CD's on as well as all the mod con's such as Bluetooth. This piece of kit fits the bill perfectly. It looks very classy and has a great sound. I also chose it for its compact size. I am not technically minded however I have been able to set this up so farfollowing the very detailed instructions. I am very pleased with my purchase.

24.1.2016

EASY CONNECTION TO HOME WIFI NETWORK.UPDATED TO LATEST S/W IMMEDIATELY BY ITSELF.DAB FOUND MOST STATIONS OK.THE ONLY PROBLEMS I HAVE HAD IS CONNECTING TO MUSIC ON MY PC (WINDOWS 7)I HAD TO FIND AN OLD ANDROID PHONE AND DOWNLOAD SONGPLAY,NOT AVAILABLE FOR WINDOWS PHONE, THEN DOWNLOAD MEDIA GO TO MY PC.COULD NOT GET SONGPLAY TO CONNECT OVER DLNA.THIS CAN HANG SOMETIMES BUT COULD BE BECAUSE OF OLD ANDROID PHONE.EXCELLENT SOUND QUALITY ON ALL FUNCTIONS.

3.10.2019

Bought through warehouse deal and was delighted with the sound ,there was supposed to be a ariel with the unit which was not mentioned as missing in the general description so Amazon gave me five euros credit to wards a new ariel ,this did not cover the full cost of a replacement ariel.i mainly use it to play cds and music through my I phone lovely quality sound bearing in mind the specification and it's relatively small size .well done Sony .

1.1.2018

This a superb product.My wife got me this for a Christmas present and have been playing with it ever since. The Bluetooth is great and have now got it paired with my tv which is a Samsung and use it as a sound bar for the TV. Great sound a d the usb allows me to have all 4,000 track ready to play in shuffle mode. Love it. Now for some Bluetooth speakers for the rest of the house.

24.5.2017

I bought this a few weeks ago to replace a Sony decking system which I have had for the last 20 years. Unfortunately the lazer went in the CD player and could not be replaced. I am still getting used to my new music system so far so good. When you are 80yrs old this new technology takes a bit of getting used to. Guess what the wife is quite good at this.

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