Product Description

The Sony CMT-NEZ3 Micro System delivers full, rich sound from a system that fits on your bookshelf. Load up your favorite albums or your own MP3 mixes in the top-loading CD tray and enjoy deep bass and vibrant high-end sound. Record to a cassette tape easily with the CD Synchro Record. Get 20 watts of great sound in your office, kitchen, dorm room or any small space you'd like to fill with big sound.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36887 in Consumer Electronics
• Color: Wood
• Brand: Sony
• Model: CMTNEZ3
• Dimensions: 8.00 pounds

Features

• Great sound for dorm rooms, offices or other small spaces
• Top-loading CD tray supports CD, CD-R/RW, and MP3 CD
• Synchronized CD/cassette dubbing
• 20 Watts of total power
• AM/FM radio with digital tuning

Amazon.com Product Description
Looking for a powerful system that can fit on a bookshelf or atop a dresser? The Sony CMT-NEZ3 micro system fits the bill, offering full, rich sound in a svelte package. The top-loading CD tray is great for playing traditional audio CDs, CD-R/RWs and even CDs with MP3 music files. Use the cassette deck to play those old tapes you love, or use the CD synchro record function to make your own mix tapes. Of course, there's also an AM/FM radio. The unit boasts 20 Watts of total sound, great for your office, kitchen, dorm room or any small space you'd like to fill with deep bass and crisp, dynamic highs.

Customer Reviews

This system is a great value.
Last year the 3-disc CD changer on my Phillips compact system (FWC550) died shortly after the warranty period expired (naturally). After doing some research I decided to try the Sony system based on Amazon customer reviews. (I do a lot of shopping on Amazon because of these reviews; I can make better decisions and I learn a lot too!)

Although the included speakers produce quite acceptable sound for what they are, I did the same as some other reviewers and substituted the really good speakers from my old Phillips 550 system. Wow! The sound is great!

APPEARANCE, CONTROLS, SIZE: The cute little all-silver main unit is lightweight and fits perfectly in a small spot on my desk. The large unit controls and remote proved easy to use. The included speakers look fine and the whole system is more attractive than my old Phillips. The top-loading CD player (no CD changer to break this time!)and the cassette holder are convenient to use. (I still have lots of cassette tapes, which hints at my age.) It was easy to set the clock.

SOUND: Crisp and clean. Bass and treble can be adjusted with the equalizer on the remote. I like lots of bass and this system delivers (through different speakers of course). The Dynamic Sound Generator can be turned on for even fuller sound and the effect is very pleasing. CDs and tapes sound equally good. I don't use the radio.

OTHER: You can do CD shuffle and repeat play or create your own order of play. You can record a CD to tape but I can't imagine who would want/need to. There are also audio in and headphone jacks.

PROS: Small, light, easy to set up and use, great sound and very inexpensive. Perfect for someone looking for just the basic functions plus a few nice extras.

CONS: At this price, I don't think it has any. Now if it will just last a lot longer than my last system............

Good design; simplicity matters!
I needed a simple, well-designed bookshelf system for CDs and FM radio.

CD: My experience (and many Amazon reviews) convinced me that CD changers are not reliable, so I looked for a top-loading CD player i.e. with no motorized CD drawer. Controls are large and intuitive.

FM: Reception is good, using the unobtrusive antenna provided with the unit.

SOUND QUALITY: I cannot rate the 1-way speakers included with the NEZ3 as they are still in the box. I have several pairs of 2-way speakers collected over the years from previous stereo systems. After checking the user manual to ensure the NEZ3 supports 6-16 ohm speakers, I connected it to some EPI-100 loudspeakers, 20" tall classics from the 70's. The sound quality is great! There is no distortion even with the NEZ3 cranked up to Maximum. Of course, the Sony's puny 9-10W/channel produces sound that is just "loud enough" as opposed to "painfully loud", but it is more than adequate for my home office. There are individual adjustments to bass and treble available via the remote.

TAPE: Although I do not frequently play cassettes, I like the NEZ3's solenoid-operated tape mechanism which I believe to be more reliable than mechanical tape drives. No Dolby, which was not a concern for me.

PROS: Simple compact design, easy to use, does not call attention to itself, and sounds great! I think (hope?) this unit will provide many years of good service, as there's not much to go wrong.

CONS: CD player does not remember what track it's on if you switch the unit off or go to FM then back to CD, which I guess is not unusual. Must lower the volume when switching from CD to FM. Clock and display could be a little brighter.

Excellent Micro System
After trying another competing microsystem, this one is a keeper.It reproduces high, middle and low audio ranges well. It sounds nice out of the box, given it is only 20 watts, and the FM reception with the wire antenna is excellent. Since I have a Cambridge microworks speaker system with subwoofer, I then plugged it into the headphone jack of the CMT-NEZ3 and what a lovely sound she makes now. It now rivals the sound of a $400 Yamaha mini-system with the augmented speaker system. This Sony microsystem is well worth the money.