Sony MHC-GX750, MHC-RG100, MHC-RG121, MHC-RG221, MHC-RX550 Operating Instruction

4-252-491-13(1)

Mini Hi-Fi Component System

Operating Instructions Owner’s Record

The model and serial num bers are located o n the rear of the u nit. Record the ser ial number in the space provided below. Refer to them when ev er you c all upon your Sony deale r regarding this product.

Model No. ______________ Serial No. ______________

MHC-GX750/GX450/GX250 MHC-RG555/RG551S/RG444S/

RG441/RG333/RG222/ RG221/RG121/RG100

MHC-RX550

WARNING

To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not expose the unit to rain or mo ist u r e.

To prevent fire, do not cover the ventil at ion of the apparatus with news papers, table-cloths, curtains, etc. And don’t place lighted candle s on the apparatus.

To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not place obje c ts filled with liquids, such as vases , on the ap pa ratus.

Do not install the appliance in a confined space, such as a bookcase or built-in cabi ne t.

This appliance is classified as a CLASS 1 LASER product. This marking is locat ed on the rear exterior.

Don’t throw away the battery with general house waste, dispose of it correctly as chemical was te.

NOTICE FOR THE CUSTOMERS IN THE U.S.A.

This symbol is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the product’s enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.

This symbol is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the appliance.

CAUTION

The use of optical instruments wit h this prod uc t will increase eye hazard.

WARNING

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protectio n against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and ca n r adia te radio frequency energy and, if not in sta ll ed and used in accordance with the instructi ons , may cau s e harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installa tion. If this equipment doe s ca use harmful interference to r a dio or te le vision reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correc t the interference by one or more of the following measures:

– Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna. – Increase the separatio n bet w een the eq uip ment and

receiver.

– Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit

different from that to which the receiver is connected.

– Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/ TV

technician for help.

CAUTION

You are cautioned that any changes or modif icat ions not expressly approved in this manual could void your authority to operate this equipm ent .

Note to CATV system installer:

This reminder is provided to call the CATV system installer’s attention to Article 820-40 of the NEC that provides guidelines for proper ground ing a nd, in particular, specifies that the cable ground shall be connected to the grounding system of the building, as close to the point of cable entry as practical.

NOTICE FOR THE CUSTOMERS IN CANADA CAUTION

TO PREVENT ELECTRIC SHOCK, MATCH WIDE BLADE OF PLUG TO WIDE SLOT, FULLY INSERT.

CAUTION

The use of optical instruments with this product will increase eye hazard.

NOTICE FOR THE CUSTOMERS IN THE U.S.A. (MHC-GX750 only)

If you have any questions about this product, you may call; Sony Customer Information Service Center 1-800-222-7669 or http://www.sony.com/

The Number below is for the FCC related matters only.

Regulatory Information

Declaration of Conformity

Trade Name: SONY Model No.: HCD-GX750 Responsible Party:Sony Electronics Inc. Address: 16450 W. Bernardo Dr, San

Diego, CA 92127 U.S.A. Telephone No.: 858-942-2230 This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

NOTICE FOR THE CUSTOMERS IN THE CANADA (MHC-GX750 only)

Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference, including interference that may cause undesired operation of the device.

Son utilisation est au tor isée seulement aux cond itions suivantes: (1) il ne doit pas produire de brouillage et (2) l’utilisateur du dispositif doit être prêt à accepter tout brouillage radioeléctrique reçu, même si ce brouillage est susceptible de compromettre le fonctionnement du dispositif.

NOTICE FOR THE CUSTOMERS IN THE U.S.A AND CANADA (MHC-GX750 only)

Replace the AC power adaptor with mode l AC-GSX100 only, if replacement is necessary.

Except for European model

ENERGY STAR® is a U.S. registered mark. As an E

TAR

partner, S ony Corpor a tion has determined that this product meets the E

NERGY STAR

NERGY

guidelines for energy efficiency.

How to use this manual...........................5

Playable discs....................... .... .... ... ........5

Getting Started

Hooking up the system...... ... ...................7

Setting the clock....................................10

CD/MP3 – Play

Loading a disc.......................................11

Playing a disc........................................11

— Normal Play/Shuffle Play

Playing repeatedly.................................13

— Repeat Play

Creating your own program..................14

— Program Play

Tuner

Presetting radio stations........................15

Listening to the radio............................16

— Preset Tuning — Manual Tuning

Using the Radio Data System (RDS)....17

(European mode l on ly)

Tape – Play

Loading a tape.......................................18

Playing a tape........................................18

Tape – Recording

Recording your fav o r ite CD trac k s on a

tape..................................................19

— CD-TAPE Synchro Rec or din g

Recording on a tape manually...............20

— Manual Recording

Sound Adjus t ment

Adjusting the sound..............................21

Using the sub woofer............................21

(MHC-GX750/GX450/RG551S/

RG444S/RX550 only)

Selecting the sound effect.....................22

Adjusting the graphic equalizer and

storing.............................................22

Selecting the surround effect................23

Enhancing video gam e sou nd............... 23

— Game Sync

Mixing video gam e sound with other

sound source................................... 23

— Game Mixing

Singing along........................................24

(MHC-RG555 only)

Timer

Falling asleep to music......................... 25

— Sleep Timer

Waking up to music..............................25

— Play Timer

Timer recording radio programs........... 26

— Rec Timer

Display

Turning off the display.........................27

— Power Saving Mode

Viewing information about the d isc in th e

display............................................ 28

Changing the Power illuminator...........28

(MHC-GX750/GX450/RG555/ RG551S/RG444S/RG441/ RG333/RX550 only)

Optional Components

Hooking up optional components.........29

Transmitter ...........................................30

(MHC-GX750 only)

Troubleshooting

Problems and remedies.........................33

Messages............................................... 36

Additional Info rm at io n

Precautions ...........................................37

Specifications .......................................38

List of button locations and reference

pages...............................................44

How to use this manual

This manual mainly explains operations usi ng the remote, but the same operations can also be performed using th e buttons on the unit havi ng the same or similar names.

Playable discs

You can play back the following discs on this system. Other discs cannot be playe d back.

List of playable discs

Format of discs Disc logo

Audio CDs

CD-R/CD-RW (audio data/MP3 files*)

* MHC-GX750/GX450/RG555/RG551S/RG444S/

RG441/RG333/RG222/RG221/ RX550 only

Discs that this system ca nnot play

•CD-ROMs

• CD-Rs/CD-RWs other than those record ed in the following formats: – music CD format – MP3 format that conforms to ISO9660

Level 1/Level 2, Joliet or Multi Session

• A disc that has a non-standard sh ape (e.g., card, heart).

• A disc with paper or stickers on it.

• A disc that has the adhesive, cellophane tape, or a sticker still left on it.

ISO9660 Format The most common in te rnational standard for the logical format of files and folders on a CD-ROM. There are several specificati o n le ve ls. In Level 1, file names must be in the 8.3 format (no more than eight characters in the name, no more than three characters in th e e x te nsion “.MP3”) and in capital letters. Folder names can be no long er tha n e ight characters. There can be no more than eight nested folder levels. Level 2 specific ations allow file names and folder names up to 31 cha r acte r s long. Each folder can have up to 8 trees. For Joliet in the expansion format (file and folder names can have up to 64 characters) make sure of the contents of the writing software, etc.

Multi Session This is a recording method that enables adding of data using the Track-At-Once me thod. Conventional CDs begin at a CD control area called the Lead-in and end at an area called Lead-out. A Multi Session CD is a CD having multiple sessions, with each segment from Lead-in to Lead -o u t regarded as a single session. CD-Extra: This format records audio (audio CD data) on the tracks in session 1 and data on the tracks in session 2. Mixed CD: This format records data on the first track and audio (audio CD data) on the se cond and subsequent tracks of a session.

continued

Notes on CD-R and CD-RW

• Some CD-Rs or CD-RWs cannot be pl ayed on this system depending upon the recording quality or physical condition of the disc, or the characteristics of the recording device. Furthermore, the disc will not play if it has not been correctly finalized. For more information, see the opera ting instructions f or the recording device.

• Discs recorded on CD-R/CD-RW driv es may not be played ba ck be ca use o f sc rat che s, d irt , recording condition or the driver’s characteristics.

• CD-R and CD-RW discs recorded in multisession that have no t en ded by “closing the session” are not supported.

• The system ma y be unable to play MP3 format files tha t do not have the “.MP3” extension.

• Attempting to play non-MP 3 format f iles tha t have the “.MP3” extension may result in noise or malfunction.

• With formats other tha n I SO9 660 le ve l 1 and 2, folder names or file names may not be displayed correctly .

• The following discs take a longer time to start playback.

– a disc recorded with complicated tree

structure. – a disc recorded in Multi Session. – a disc to which data can be added (non-

finalized disc).

Music discs encoded with copyright protection technologies

This product is designed to playback discs that conform to the Compact Disc (CD) standard. Recently, various music discs encoded with copyright protect io n technologies are mar keted by some record companies . Plea se be awar e that among those discs, there are some that do not conform to the CD standard and may not be playable by this prod uct.

Cautions when playing a disc that is recorded in Multi Session

• If the disc begins with a CD-DA session, it is recognized as a CD- D A (audio) disc, and playback continues until an MP3 session is encountered.

• If the disc begins with an MP3 session, it is recognized as an MP3 disc, and playback continues until a CD - D A (audio) session is encountered.

• The playback ra nge of an MP3 disc is determined by the tree structure of files produced by analyzi ng of the disc.

• A disc with a mixed CD format will be recognized as a CD- D A (audio) disc.

Getting Started

Hooking up the system

Perform the following procedures 1 to 5 to hook up your system using the supplied cords and accessories. A model equipped with a sub woofer is used for illustration purpose.

AM loop antenna

FM lead antenna

Sub woofer*

Getting Started

Front speaker (right) Front speaker (left)

* MHC-GX750/GX450/RG551S/RG444S/RX550 only

1 Connect the front speakers.

Connect the right and left speaker cords to the SPEAKER terminals as shown below.

Red

Red/Solid

(3)

Insert only the stripped portion

Black/Stripe (#)

–

Black

2 Connect the sub woofer.

(MHC-GX750/GX450/RG551S/RG444S/ RX550 only)

Connect the speaker cords to the SUB WOOFER OUT jack and CONTROL jack as shown below .

SUB WOOFER OUT jack

CONTROL jack

continued

3 Connect the FM and AM antennas.

Set up the AM loop antenna, then connect it.

Plug type A

AM loop antenna

Note

Keep the antennas away from the speaker cor ds .

4 For models with a voltage selector, set

VOLTAGE SELECTOR to the local power line voltage.

Refer to the print on your sys tem’s VOLTAGE SELECTOR for available settings.

Extend the FM lead antenna horizontally

Plug type B

AM loop antenna

Extend the FM lead antenna horizontally

Plug type C

AM loop antenna

Extend the FM lead antenna horizontally

North American model: Connect white side.

Other models: Connect brown side.

* Saudi Arabian model: 120 – 127 V

5 Connect the power cord to a wall

outlet.

The demonstration appears in the display. When you press ?/1, the system turns on and the demonstration automatically ends.

If the plug does not fi t t he w all socket, detach the supplied plug adaptor (only for models equipped w ith an adaptor).

Inserting two R6 (size AA) batteries into the remote

Note

If you do not use the remote for a long period of time, remove the batteries to avoid possible damage from battery leakage and corrosion.

Tip

With normal use, the batteries should last for about six months. When the remote no longer operates the system, replace both ba tteries with new ones.

Attaching the front speaker pads

Attach the supplied speaker pads to the bottom of the speakers to stabilize the speakers and prevent them from sl ip pi ng.

Front speaker (Left (4)/Rig ht (4)) Sub woofer (4)*

* MHC-GX750/GX450/RG551S/RG444S/RX550

only

When carrying this system

Perform the following procedure to protect the CD mechanism. Use buttons on the unit for the operation.

1 Make sure that all discs are removed

from the system.

2 Hold down CD and then press ?/1 until

“STANDBY” appears.

After a few seconds later, “STANDBY” disappears and “LOCK” appears.

3 Unplug the power cord.

Placing the sub woofer (MHC-GX750/GX450/RG551S/ RG444S/RX550 only)

To obtain a better bass reproduction, we recommend you to place the sub woofer on a solid floor where resonance is unlikely to occur.

Notes

• Always place the sub woofer v ertically, keeping it a few centim eters away fro m the wall.

• If the sub woofer is p laced in the center o f a room, the bass could be e xtremely weakened . This i s due to the influence of the standing wave of the room. If this happens, move the sub woofer away from the center of the room or eliminate the cause of the standing wave, by placing a bookshelf against the wall, etc.

Getting Started

Setting the clock

Use buttons on the r emote for the operati on.

1 Press ?/1 to turn on the system. 2 Press CLOCK/TIMER SET. 3 Press . or > repeatedly to set the

hour.

4 Press ENTER. 5 Press . or > repeatedly to set the

minute.

6 Press ENTER.

The clock starts working.

To adjust the clock

1 Press CLO C K/ T IM ER SET. 2 Press . or > repeatedly to select

“CLOCK SET”, then press ENTER.

3 Do the same procedures as step 3 to 6

above.

Notes

• The clock settings are canceled when you disconnect the power cord or if a power failure occurs.

• You cannot set the clock in Power Saving Mode (page 27).

CD/MP3 – Play

Loading a disc

Use buttons on the unit for the operation.

1 Press Z. 2 Place a disc with the label side up on

the disc tray.

To insert additional discs, press DISC SKIP/EX-CHANGE to rotate the disc tray.

3 Press Z again to close the disc tray.

Notes

• Do not use a disc with t ape, seals or pas te on it as thi s may cause malfunction.

• Do not forcibly press the disc tray closed with your finger, as this may cause malfunc tion.

Playing a disc

— Normal Play/Shuffle Play

This system lets you play audio C Ds and discs with MP3 audio tracks. MP3 audio tracks cannot be played on MHC-GX250, MHC-RG121 and MHC-RG100.

Example: When a disc is loaded

Disc tray number

Disc presence indicator Playing time

Track number

1 Press CD (or FUNCTION repeatedly) to

switch the function to CD.

CD/MP3 – Play

continued

2 Press PLAY MODE repeatedly in stop

mode until the mode you want appears in the display.

Select To play

ALL DISCS (Normal Play)

1DISC (Normal Play)

ALBM (Normal Play)

ALL DISCS SHUF (Shuffle Play)

1DISC SHUF (Shuffle Play)

ALBM SHUF (Shuffle Play)

PGM (Program Play)

All discs in the disc tra y continuously.

The tracks on the disc you have selected in original order.

All MP3 audio tracks in the album on the disc you have selected in original order . When playing a non-MP3 disc, Album Play performs the same operati on as 1DISC Play.

The tracks on all discs in random order.

The tracks on the disc you have selected in random order.

The MP3 audio tracks in the album on the disc you have selected in random order. When playing a non-MP3 disc, Album Shuffle Play performs the same operation as 1DISC SHUF Pl ay .

The tracks on the disc in the order you want them to be played (see “Creat in g y o ur own program” on page 14).

3 Press N.

Other operations

To Do this

Stop play Press x. Pause Press X. Press again to resume

Select a track Press . or > repeatedly (or

Select an album of MP3

Find a point in a track*

Select a disc in stop mode

Switch to CD function from other function

Exchange other discs while playing

Remove a disc Press Z on the unit.

* You may not be able to search between multiple files.

Also, the time may not be displaye d correctly for some files.

play.

turn l L on the unit). Press ALBUM – or + repeatedly

after step 2. Keep pressing m or M during

playback and release it at the desired point.

Press DISC SKIP (or DISC 1 – 3 or DISC SKIP/EX-CHANGE on the unit).

Press DISC 1 – 3 on the unit (Automatic Source Selection).

Press DISC SKIP/EX-CHANGE on the unit.

Notes

• You cannot change the play mode during playback.

• Some time may be needed to start playback of discs recorded in complex configura ti ons suc h a s ma ny layers.

• When the disc is inserted, the player reads all the tracks on that disc. If there are many albums or nonMP3 audio tracks on the disc, it may take a long time for play to begin or for the next MP3 audio track to start play.

• Do not save unnecessary albums or tracks other than MP3 ones in the disc to be used for MP3 list e ning. We recommend that you do not save othe r ty pes of tracks or unnecessary albums on a disc that has MP3 audio tracks.

• A n album that does not include an MP3 audio track is skipped.

• Ma ximum album number: 150 (includi ng ro ot folder)

• The maximum number of MP3 audio tracks and albums that can be contained on a single disc is 255.

• Playback is possible up to 8 levels.

• MP3 audio tracks are played back in the order that they are recorded on the disc.

• Depending on the encoding/writing software, recording device, or th e recording media used at the time an MP3 audio track is recorded, you may encounter such problems as disabled pl ay back, sound interruptions, and noise.

Playing repeatedly

— Repeat Play

You can play all the tracks or a single track on a disc repeatedly. MP3 audio tracks cannot be played on MHC-GX250, MHC-RG121 and MHC-RG100.

Press REPEAT until “REP” or “REP1” appears.

REP: For all the tr acks on a disc u p to fiv e times. REP1: For a single track only.

To cancel Repeat Play

Press REPEAT repeatedly until both “REP” and “REP1” disappear.

Notes

• You cannot select “REP” and “ALL DISCS SHUF” at the same time.

• When you select “REP1”, that track is repeated endlessly until “REP1” is canceled.

CD/MP3 – Play

Creating your own program

— Program Play

You can make a program of up to 25 steps from all the discs in the order you want to play them. You can synchro re cord th e pr ogra mmed trac ks onto a cassette tape (page 19). MP3 audio tracks cannot be played on MHC-GX250, MHC-RG121 and MHC-RG100.

1 Press CD (or FUNCTION repeatedly) to

switch the function to CD.

2 Press PLAY MODE repeatedly in stop

mode until “PGM” appears.

3 Press DISC SKIP (or DISC 1 – 3 or DISC

SKIP/EX-CHANGE on the unit) to select a disc.

4 Press . or > repeatedly (or turn

l L on the unit) until the desired

track number appears.

When programming the MP3 audio tracks, press ALBUM – or + to select album, then press . or > repeatedly (or turn l L on the unit) until the desired track number appears.

6 Program additional tracks.

To program Repeat step s

Other tracks on the same disc

Other tracks on other discs

4 and 5

3 to 5

7 Press N.

Program Play st arts.

Other operations

To Do this

Cancel Program Play

Clear a track from the end

Tips

• T he progr a m you made remains after Program Play finishes. To play the same program again, press CD (or FUNCTION repeatedly) to switch the fu nction to CD, then pres s N. However, the prog ram is cl eared when you open the disc tray.

• “ – –.– –” appears when the total CD program time exceeds 100 minutes, or when you sel ect a CD trac k whose number is 21 or over, or when you select an MP3 audio track.

Press PLAY MODE repeatedly in stop mode until “PGM” disappears.

Press CLEAR in stop mode.

Selected track numberDisc tray number

Total playing time (including selected track)

5 Press ENTER.

The track is programmed. The program step number appears, followed by the total playing time.

Tuner

Presetting radio stations

You can pres et up to 20 FM stat ions and 1 0 AM stations. You can then tune in any of those stations simply by selecting the corresponding preset number.

Automatic tuning preset

You can automatically tune in a ll of th e statio ns that can be receive d in your area and then store the radio frequenc y of the desired statio ns .

1 Press TUNER BAND (or FUNCTION

repeatedly) to switch the function to tuner.

2 Press TUNER BAND repeatedly to

select “FM” or “AM”.

3 Press TUNING MODE repeatedly until

“AUTO” appears in the display.

4 Press – or + (or TUNING – or + on the

unit).

The frequency changes as the system scans for a station. Scanning stops automatically when a station is tuned in. At that time, “TUNED” and “STEREO” (for an FM stereo program) appear.

If “TUNED” does not appear and the scanning does not stop

Set the frequency of th e desired radio station as described in steps 3 through 8 of “Manual tuning preset” (page 15).

5 Press TUNER MEMORY.

A preset number appears.

Preset number

6 Press – or + (or TUNING – or + on the

unit) repeatedly to select the desired preset number.

7 Press ENTER. 8 Repeat steps 2 through 7 to store other

stations.

Manual tuning preset

You can manual ly tun e i n and store the radio frequency of the desired stations.

1 Press TUNER BAND (or FUNCTION

repeatedly) to switch the function to tuner.

2 Press TUNER BAND repeatedly to

select “FM” or “AM”.

3 Press TUNING MODE repeatedly until

“AUTO” and “PRESET” disappea r from the display.

4 Press – or + (or TUNING – or + on the

unit) repeatedly to tune in the desired station.

5 Press TUNER MEMORY.

A preset number appears.

6 Press – or + (or TUNING – or + on the

unit) repeatedly to select the desired preset number.

7 Press ENTER. 8 Repeat steps 2 through 7 to store other

stations.

Other operations

To Do this

Tune in a station with a weak signal

Set another station to the existing preset number

Follow the procedure described in “Manual tuning preset” (page 15).

Start over from step 2. After step 5, press – or + (or TUNING – or + on the unit) repeatedly to select the preset number you want to store the other station.

Tuner

continued

+ 33 hidden pages

Sony MHC-GX750, MHC-RG100, MHC-RG121, MHC-RG221, MHC-RX550 Operating Instruction

Table of Contents

How to use this manual

Playable discs

Getting Started

Hooking up the system

Setting the clock

CD/MP3 – Play

Loading a disc

Playing a disc

— Normal Play/Shuffle Play

Playing repeatedly

— Repeat Play

Creating your own program

— Program Play

Tuner

Presetting radio stations