The MEGA 180’s Hi-Fi audio mode

Listening to the radio

Switching to AM

The feature that really sets the MEGA 180 apart from other SFF systems is its Hi-Fi audio mode.

In Hi-Fi mode, the MEGA 180 can be used to listen to audio CDs or even the radio without turning on your system. In fact, the Hi-Fi mode works without the processor and other system components installed! This saves end users the hassle of having to boot into the operating system to perform these functions (and saves your ears from the associated noise of having the system powered up).

Simply press the “HiFi” button while the system is powered off to enter Hi-Fi mode. The MEGA 180’s LED will then switch from displaying the current time (clock mode) to Hi-Fi mode. Next, the MEGA 180 will scan the optical drive to look for an audio CD, if one is present, it will begin playing the first track from the CD; otherwise it will turn on the radio.

CD playback

Scanning for radio stations

The whole procedure works seamlessly, in a matter of seconds you can be listening to audio CDs or FM/AM stations on the radio! You can switch between FM/AM/CD modes with the “mode” button, which is located on the front of the MEGA 180. The radio provides autoscan capability and supports up to six presets. MSI bundles the MEGA 180 with a small antenna and base (which connects to the back of the MEGA 180), so everything works out of the box.

In practice, our radio reception was good, but not great. About what you’d get out of an older clock radio. If you have an antenna from your stereo handy, it may not be a bad idea to swap it out with the MEGA’s standard antenna. MSI also includes a remote control unit with the MEGA 180, which can be used to control the radio or CD player in Hi-Fi mode. Buttons for channel and volume control are present, as well as switching between modes. The remote also has buttons for launching other applications such as TV tuning and navigating DVD menus (among a host of other buttons).

The MSI remote is IR-based, so you will need line-of-sight with the MEGA 180 in order to operate it, but we don’t think this will be a problem for most users. The remote is slim, powered by a 3V lithium battery (which is included) and stylish enough to fit right in with the other remotes in your home theater system.

MEGA 180 remote control

The remote and antenna come bundled with the MEGA 180

If you don’t want to use the MEGA 180’s remote, the front panel of the MEGA 180 has all the buttons you’ll need to manipulate the system in Hi-Fi mode. A large volume knob is located just below the Hi-Fi button, while buttons for play/pause, stop/eject, and fast-forward/rewind are provided. For controlling the radio, the fast-forward and rewind buttons are used to adjust the channels, while the play/pause button is used to program them. The MEGA 180’s graphics equalizer (which can also be controlled via the remote) has four presets (normal, pop, classic, and jazz), and SRS stereo enhancement is also available. Like a typical CD player, the MEGA 180 also supports track/disc replay, and provides a shuffle mode for those of you who have already memorized the order of tracks on the disc.

The color display MSI has integrated on the front of the MEGA 180 looks straight out of a high-end car stereo and works well in a variety of lighting conditions. Numbers are easy to read and can be viewed from a distance, although it’s a little more difficult to read which EQ mode you’re in. Unfortunately CDDB isn’t supported, so it won’t recognize the title of tracks you’re listening to, but other track information is provided by the display. It would also be nice if the display had a dim mode, or the ability to turn itself off. This would be helpful for using the MEGA 180 in dorm room environments, where the bright display may distract you from sleeping. An alarm mode would be another nice addition if it could be done without adding too many buttons to the MEGA 180’s front panel.