Sony announces new range of HiFi systems

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Posted on 8 Jun 2010 at 16:52

Sony has introduced its latest range of HiFi systems, further expanding its range of personal and home audio products.

The company said that it has now started to focus on the differing desires of UK listeners with specific tweaks to products for the UK market, while also catering for different audiences.

“At Sony, we pride ourselves on our audio heritage and this new range of HiFi’s for 2010 is designed to deliver great audio quality whilst offering a range of features and designs to suit people’s individual tastes,” explained Ben Law, category marketing manager for audio at Sony UK.

The product which Sony is most excited about in its new range is the CMT-MX550i, a micro HiFi component system with a contemporary design to complement Sony’s recently released ‘Monolithic’ Bravia TVs. It’s expected to retail around the £200 mark.

It boasts a two-way speaker system with a 60W RMS output and an S-Master digital amplifier “expertly tuned” specifically for the UK listener by UK sound engineers. Law said this was done to enhance the overall aural experience, as its research proves that listeners across the world react differently to different sounds.

The MX550i includes an iPod dock hidden behind the front panel, which also acts as a charger for your iPod/iPhone while it’s playing music. There’s also support for mp3 playback over USB and a built-in DAB radio, while the CD player supports CD, CR-R and CD-RW formats with shuffle, repeat and program functions.

Sony also introduced three other new HiFi systems today. The CMT-BX77DBi builds on the best-selling CMT-BX70DBi model, although Law admitted that the changes were small. He explained that most of the tweaks focused on improving sound quality. It pumps out a 50W RMS sound from CDs, your iPod or other personal music player. It's expected to cost around £170.

The CMT-FX250 and CMT-FX350i are very similar in many respects, both including stereo speakers rated at 10W RMS. It includes support for playback over USB and CD as well as including a built-in DAB radio. The CMT-FX350i adds an integrated iPod dock into the fray.

Sony didn’t confirm pricing for the CMT-FX250 and CMT-FX350i models, but expect them to be competitively priced. All of the new HiFi’s will go on sale in the next few weeks.

Author: Tim Smalley