Hitachi AX-M140 Hi-Fi

The AX-M140 (and AX-M135) were mini hi-fi system manufactured in China by the Hitachi Corporation, in approximately 2005. The Hyundai H-MS1110 was almost identical and had a spectrum analyser instead of the Music Bank MP3 player unit. The Hitachi components consisted of power amplifier, digital radio, DVD player, and music bank. The stereo amplifier was 50-watts per channel (into 8 Ω speakers). A 40-pin control cable (also known as ribbon cable) connected all of these units together to provide the power and system control. The hi-fi came with a single full-function remote control for operation.

Review

AX-M140 was ahead of its time and still a very desirable hi-fi component system to have. The Music Bank MP3 player makes it by far extremely useful because it had built-in PATA IDE hard drive storage providing 40-GB of memory space to store music in either MP3 or WMA formats. I had always wanted to get one of these to see if the internal hard drive could be upgraded to a modern higher capacity one recycled from a PC. It also has a USB slot at the front hidden behind a flap, and therefore one can play music stored on a USB memory stick. Finally, the pièce de résistance was that you could also record in MP3 format, which was extremely useful. This unit also had a USB connection at the back so one could connect it to a standard PC to transfer MP3 data files.

The most crucial unit in the stack is the DVD player, which contains the system control board that performs the audio input switching for the main power amplifier. This board also has a small microcontroller responsible for overall system control. This IC performs functions such as serial communications with other units, standby and power ON, and remote command processing. Therefore, without the DVD player unit connected to the stack, none of the other units will work.

Price/eBay

This AX-M140 is extremely desirable amongst hi-fi enthusiasts for the excellent sound capability and the wonderful functions. Audiophiles usually love the Data Bank storage facility making it very sought after due to its usefulness. A unit in good working order together with the original speakers can command a value nearing the one hundred pounds mark. A fully complete unit in mint condition together with its original box and accessories would command over one hundred pounds.

Due to the timer and remote control facility, these units usually remain in standby mode all the time and very old units can have problems such as heat marking on the power supply boards, and occasionally total failure to switch ON. They are well-past their useful service life so one can expect problems such as non-functioning DVD player due to laser or motor failure. One could also expect a crashed hard drive on the Music Bank unit, control cable issues, and burnt system controller IC. Repairing can be costly due to the complexity and time required; therefore, buyers usually avoid such units. If you have a non-functioning system, then you could always sell the individual components, as there will be many looking to replace component parts.

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