Sony MHC-RX88 manual

1 Mini Hi-Fi Component System ©1998 by Sony Corporation Operating Instructions 3-862-015- 11 (1) f MHC-GRX8 / RX88 / RX99 / R800[...]

2 WARNING To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not expose the unit to rain or moisture. To avoid electrical shock, do not open the cabinet. Refer servicing to qualified personnel only. Do not install the appliance in a confined space, such as a bookcase or built-in cabinet. Laser component in this product is capable of emitting radiation exceeding t[...]

3 T able of Contents Getting Started Step 1: Hooking up the system ............ 4 Step 2: Setting the time ......................... 6 Step 3: Presetting radio stations .......... 7 Connecting optional AV components . 9 Basic Operations Playing a CD ......................................... 12 Recording a CD .................................... 14 [...]

4 + – R L + 1 1 5 2 4 3 1 1 1 Step 1: Hooking up the system Do the following procedure 1 to 5 to hook up your system using the supplied cords and accessories. Getting Started Note The type of speakers supplied vary according to the model you purchased (see “Specifications” on page 49). 2 (MHC-GRX8/RX99/R800 only) Connect the speaker cords fro[...]

5 Jack type B Set VOLTAGE SELECTOR to position of your local power line voltage (for models with a voltage selector). Connect the power cord to a wall outlet. Demo mode appears in the display. Deactivate the demo mode by pressing DEMO when the system power is turned off. The demo mode is also deactivated when you set the time. FM75 AM COAXIAL Exten[...]

6 Step 2: Setting the time You must set the time before using the timer functions. The clock is on a 24-hour system for the European and Russian models, and a 12-hour system for other models. The 12-hour system model is used for illustration purposes. 1 Press CLOCK/TIMER SET. The hour indication flashes. 2 Turn the jog dial to set the hour. 1 3,5 2[...]

7 Step 3: Pr esetting r adio stations You can preset the following number of stations: – 2 band model: 20 for FM, 10 for AM. – 3 band model: 20 for FM, 10 for MW, and 10 for SW (or LW, depending on the model you purchased). – 4 band model: 20 for FM, 10 for MW, 10 for LW, and 5 for UKV. 3 Press ENTER/NEXT. The minute indication flashes. 4 Tur[...]

8 n n n Step 3: Presetting radio stations (continued) 1 Press TUNER/BAND repeatedly until the band you want appears in the display. The bands you can receive vary depending on the model you purchased. Be sure to check which bands you can receive. Every time you press this button, the band changes as follows: 2 band model: FM ˜ AM 3 band model: FM [...]

9 Connecting optional A V components To enhance your system, you can connect optional components. Refer to the instructions of each component. Connecting audio components Select one of the following two connections, depending on the equipment to be connected and method of connecting. Connecting an MD deck for digital recording You can record from C[...]

10 Connecting outdoor antennas Connect the outdoor antenna to improve the reception. FM antenna Connect the optional FM outdoor antenna. You can also use the TV antenna instead. Jack type A Jack type B y FM75 AM COAXIAL IEC standard socket connector (not supplied) Screw clamp Ground wire (not supplied) FM75 AM y 75-ohm coaxial cable (not supplied) [...]

11 AM antenna Connect a 6- to 15- meter (20- to 50- feet) insulated wire to the AM antenna terminal. Leave the supplied AM loop antenna connected. Jack type A Jack type B Important If you connect an outdoor antenna, ground from y terminal with the screw clamp. To prevent a gas explosion, do not connect the ground wire to a gas pipe. FM75 AM y Insul[...]

12 CD ( P p = + 0 ) VOL +/– √ ◊ √ ◊ VOLUME 0 ) = + CD (P p DISC SKIP/ EX-CHANGE PLAY MODE Playing a CD — Normal play 1 Press § and place up to two CDs on the disc tray. If a disc is not placed properly it will not be recognized. To insert a third disc, press DISC SKIP/ EX-CHANGE to rotate the disc tray. 2 Press one of the DISC 1~3 butt[...]

Basic Operations 13 To Do this Stop play Press p . Pause Press CD (P ( P on the remote). Press again to resume play. Select a track During play or pause, turn the jog dial clockwise (to go forward) or counterclockwise (to go back) and release it when you reach the desired track. (Or press + (to go forward) or = (to go back) on the remote.) Find a p[...]

14 The CD SYNC button lets you record from a CD to a tape easily. You can use TYPE I (normal) or TYPE II (CrO 2 ) tapes. The recording level is adjusted automatically. 1 Press § and insert a blank tape into deck B. DISC SKIP/ EX-CHANGE DOLBY NR p Recording a CD — CD Synchro Recording With the side you want to record facing forward 2 4 1 53 2 Pre[...]

Basic Operations 15 TUNER/BAND = + VOL +/– √ ◊ √ ◊ VOLUME STEREO/ MONO n Listening to the r adio –– Preset Tuning Preset radio stations in the tuner's memory first (see “Step 3: Presetting radio stations”). 2 1 n Turn counter- clockwise (or press = on the remote) for lower preset numbers. Preset number Frequency Turn clockwis[...]

16 Recording fr om the r adio You can record the radio program on a tape by calling up a preset station. You can use TYPE I (normal) or TYPE II (CrO 2 ) tapes. The recording level is automatically adjusted. 1 Press TUNER/BAND to select the band you want. 2 Turn the jog dial to tune in a preset station. 5 3 Turn clockwise for higher preset numbers. [...]

Basic Operations 17 Playing a tape You can use any type of tape, TYPE I (normal), TYPE II (CrO 2 ) or TYPE IV (metal) , since the deck automatically detects the tape type. You can also use the jog dial’s AMS* functions to quickly search for songs you want to hear. To select either deck A or B, press DECK A ( or DECK B ( on the remote. DECK B ( P [...]

18 1 Press § and insert a recorded tape in deck A or B. 2 Press DIRECTION repeatedly to select A to play one side. Select ß * to play both sides. To play both decks in succession, select RELAY (relay play).** 3 Press TAPE A (or TAPE B) ( (DECK A (or DECK B) ( on the remote). Press TAPE A (or TAPE B) 9 to play the reverse side. (Press DECK A (or D[...]

Basic Operations 19 Recording fr om a tape — High-speed Dubbing 3 Press DIRECTION repeatedly to select A to record on one side. Select ß (or RELAY) to record on both sides. 4 Press P PAUSE. Dubbing starts. To stop dubbing Press p . Tips • When you dub on both sides, start recording from the front side. If you record from the reverse side, reco[...]

20 / Press DISPLAY during playback. Each time you press the button during normal playback, the display changes as follows: DISPLAY Using the CD display You can check the remaining time of the current track or that of the CD. The CD Player To check the total playing time and the number of tracks on a CD Press DISPLAY in the stop mode. If you press D[...]

21 PLAY MODE REPEAT Playing the CD tr acks r epeatedly –– Repeat Play This function lets you repeat a single CD or all CDs in normal play, Shuffle Play and Program Play. / Press REPEAT during playback until “REPEAT” appears in the display. Repeat Play starts. Do the following procedure to change the repeat mode. To cancel Repeat Play Press [...]

22 DISC 1~3 Playing the CD tr acks in r andom order –– Shuffle Play You can play all the tracks on one CD or all CDs in random order. 1 Press FUNCTION repeatedly until “CD” appears in the display, then place a CD. 2 Press PLAY MODE repeatedly until “1 DISC SHUFFLE ” or “ALL DISCS SHUFFLE” appears in the display. “ALL DISCS” shuf[...]

23 SHUFFLE REPEAT 1 ALL 1 DISC S PROGRAM STEP VOLUME SYNC ß CD ( p = + VOL +/– √ ◊ √ ◊ p CHECK CLEAR Pr ogramming the CD tr acks –– Program Play You can make a program of up to 32 tracks from all the CDs in the order you want them to be played. Disc number Track number 1 1 Press FUNCTION repeatedly until “CD” appears in the displ[...]

24 Playing CDs without interruption –– Non-Stop Play You can play CDs without pausing between tracks. To Press Check the CHECK on the remote program repeatedly. After the last track, “CHECK END” appears. Clear a track from CLEAR on the remote in the end stop mode. Clear a specific CHECK on the remote track repeatedly until the number of the[...]

25 You can record from CD, tape, or radio as you like. For example, you can record just the songs you want or record from the middle of the tape. The recording level is adjusted automatically. 1 Insert a blank tape into deck B. 2 Press FUNCTION repeatedly until the source you want to record (e.g., CD) appears. 3 Press r REC. Deck B stands by for re[...]

26 SHUFFLE REPEAT 1 ALL 1 DISC S PROGRAM STEP VOLUME SYNC ß √ ◊ √ ◊ p CHECK Recording a CD by specifying tr ack order — Program Edit 1 Place a CD and insert a blank tape into deck B. 2 Press FUNCTION repeatedly until “CD” appears in the display. 3 Press PLAY MODE repeatedly until “PROGRAM” appears in the display. 4 Press one of t[...]

27 9 Repeat steps 5 and 6 for tracks from the same disc or steps 4 to 6 for tracks from another disc to program the remaining tracks to be recorded on side B. 10 Press CD SYNC. Deck B stands by for recording and the CD player stands by for playback. The indicator on TAPE B ( (for front side) lights up. 11 Press DIRECTION repeatedly to select A to r[...]

28 FLASH LOOP Looping part of a CD — Loop With the loop function, you can repeat part of a CD during playback. This lets you create original recordings. / Press and hold LOOP during playback at the point you want to start the Loop function, and release to resume normal play. To adjust the loop length Turn the jog dial while holding LOOP (or press[...]

29 PAD B √ ◊ √ ◊ PAD A BEAT LEVEL PAD B PAD A SPEED ? / / SELECT > / . Using the drum pads With the drum pads, you can add percussion during playback. This effect can be used with any source, to create original recordings. Jog dial To change the drum sound Turn the jog dial while holding PAD A or B (or press SELECT > or . while holdin[...]

30 BEAT ON/OFF √ ◊ √ ◊ BEAT SELECT BEAT LEVEL SPEED ? / / SELECT > / . BEAT SPEED BEAT JAM BEAT ON/OFF AUTO BPM Using the beat functions With the beat functions, you can enjoy a variety of rhythms. They can be used with any source, to create original recordings. / Press BEAT ON/OFF during playback at the point you want to start the beat.[...]

31 Using the AUTO BPM function This function automatically synchronizes the rhythm of the current beat pattern with the sound source. 1 Start playing a source. 2 Select a beat pattern. (See “To change the beat pattern” on page 30.) 3 Press BEAT ON/OFF to stop the beat function. 4 Press AUTO BPM. The button’s indicator blinks orange while meas[...]

32 GROOVE PHONES DBFB MUTING* You can reinforce the bass, create a more powerful sound, and listen with headphones. * MHC-RX88 only. For MHC-GRX8/RX99/R800 see “Switching the speaker formation” on page 36. To reinforce bass (DBFB) Press DBFB*. Every time you press the button, the display changes as follows: * DBFB = Dynamic Bass Feedback For a [...]

33 To change the spectrum analyzer display Press DISPLAY repeatedly to select one of the displays below. Pattern 1 (Changes with music) Pattern 2 Note The spectrum analyzer display changes each time you cycle through the information display (i.e., function n clock n effect). VOLUME ALL DISCS ß VOLUME ALL DISCS ß EFFECT Effect ROCK POP JAZZ DANCE [...]

34 VOLUME ALL DISCS ß SURROUND Adjusting the gr aphic equalizer You can adjust the sound by raising or lowering the levels of specific frequency ranges. Before operation, first select the audio emphasis you want for your basic sound. 2 3 4 6 Selecting surr ound effects You can enjoy surround effects. / Press SURROUND repeatedly to select the surro[...]

35 VOLUME ALL DISCS ß VOLUME ALL DISCS ß Making a personal audio emphasis file — Personal file You can create a personal file of audio patterns (surround effect and graphic equalizer) and store them in the memory of the unit. Later call up an audio pattern to play a favorite tape, CD, or radio program. Create up to five audio files. Before oper[...]

36 SONIC FORMATION 3 Use the jog dial to select the file number (P FILE) where you want to store the sound effect. 4 Press ENTER/NEXT. The adjusted sound effects are stored under the selected file number. The settings previously stored at this memory location are erased and replaced by the new settings. To call up the personal file 1 Press FILE SEL[...]

37 LINK mode The same sound is output from the front speakers and surround speakers. For instance, when you want to listen to the same sound in two rooms, it is suitable to set the front speakers and the surround speakers in each room. FRONT ONLY (stereo) mode No sound is output from the surround speakers. Sound comes from the front speakers only. [...]

38 Other Features Radio Data System (RDS) is a broadcasting service that allows radio stations to send additional information along with the regular program signal. This tuner offers convenient RDS features like station name display and location of stations by program type. RDS is available only on FM stations.* Note RDS may not work properly if th[...]

39 1 Press PTY. 2 Turn jog dial to select the program type you want. See the “List of program types” section below. 3 Press ENTER/NEXT. The unit starts searching the preset RDS stations (“SEARCH” and the selected program type are shown alternately in the display). When the tuner receives a program, the preset station number flashes. 4 Turn [...]

40 ECHO LEVEL n Singing along: Kar aoke 4 Start playing the music and adjust the volume. 5 Adjust the microphone volume by turning MIC LEVEL. When you are done Turn MIC LEVEL to MIN and disconnect the microphone from MIX MIC, then press KARAOKE PON/MPX repeatedly so that “ h ” disappears. Note With some songs, vocals may not be cancelled when y[...]

41 p Mixing and recording sounds 1 Do the above steps 1 to 5. Then, insert a tape in deck B. 2 Press FUNCTION repeatedly to select the source you desire and set it to pause mode. 3 Press r REC. 4 Press P PAUSE. Recording starts. 5 Press CD (P to start playing the CD player (or TAPE A ( for tape deck A). Playback starts. Start singing along with the[...]

42 W aking up to music — Wake-up Timer You can wake up to music at a preset time every day. Make sure you have set the clock (see “Step 2: Setting the time”). 1 Prepare the music source you want to play. • CD: Insert a CD. To start from a specific track, make a program (see “Programming the CD tracks”). • Tape: Insert an tape with the[...]

43 To check the setting Press TIMER SELECT and turn the jog dial to select the respective mode (DAILY 1 or DAILY 2), then press ENTER/NEXT. To change the setting, start over from step 1. To cancel the timer operation Press TIMER SELECT and turn the jog dial to select “TIMER OFF”, then press ENTER/ NEXT. Tip The power turns on 15 seconds before [...]

44 4 Set the time to start recording. Turn the jog dial to set the hour, then press ENTER/NEXT. The minute indication starts flashing. Turn the jog dial to set the minute, then press ENTER/NEXT. The hour indication flashes again. 5 Set the time to stop recording following the above procedure. The start time appears, followed by the stop time, the p[...]

45 Notes on CDs • Before playing, clean the CD with a cleaning cloth. Wipe the CD from the center out. • Do not use solvents such as benzene, thinner, commercially available cleaners or anti-static spray intended for vinyl LPs. • Do not expose the CD to direct sunlight or heat sources such as hot air ducts, nor leave it in a car parked in dir[...]

46 T r oubleshooting If you run into any problem using this stereo system, use the following check list. First, check that the power cord is connected firmly and the speakers are connected correctly and firmly. Should any problem persist, consult your nearest Sony dealer. General The display starts flashing as soon as you plug in the power cord eve[...]

47 There is severe hum or noise. • A TV or VCR is placed too close to the stereo system. Move the stereo system away from the TV or VCR. The sound from the connected source is distorted. • If “VIDEO” appears in the display when you press FUNCTION, switch the display to “MD”. “0:00” (or “12:00”) flashes in the display. • A powe[...]

48 Tape Deck The tape does not record. • No tape in the cassette holder. • The tab has been removed from the cassette (see “To save a tape permanently” on page 45). • The tape has reeled to the end. The tape does not record nor play or there is a decrease in sound level. • The heads are dirty. Clean them (see “Cleaning the tape heads?[...]

49 continued CD player section System Compact disc and digital audio system Laser Semiconductor laser ( λ =780nm) Emission duration: continuous Laser output Max. 44.6 µ W* *This output is the value measured at a distance of 200 mm from the objective lens surface on the Optical Pick-up Block with 7 mm aperture. Wavelength 780 – 790 nm Frequency [...]

50 SS-GRX8 for MHC-GRX8/SS-RX99 for MHC-RX99 Speaker system 4-way, 5-unit, bass-reflex type, magnetically shielded type Speaker units Woofer: 17 cm, cone type Centre Tweeter: 5 cm, cone type Side Tweeter: 5 cm, cone type x2 Super Tweeter: 2 cm, dome type Nominal impedance 8 ohms Dimensions (w/h/d) Approx. 230 x 365 x 320 mm Mass Approx. 5.5 kg net [...]

51 Index K Karaoke 40 L, M Loop 28 N Normal Play 12 O One Touch Play 13, 16, 18 P, Q Pads. See Drum pads Personal file 35 Playing a CD 12 a preset radio station 15 tracks in random order (Shuffle Play) 22 tracks in the desired order (Program Play) 23 tracks repeatedly (Repeat Play) 21 Presetting radio stations 7 Preset tuning 15 Program Play 23 Pro[...]

52 Sony Corporation Printed in Thailand[...]