THIS IS A WARNING TO ANYONE WHO OWNS a Sony S-Master MCD-450 combination surround sound, tuner CD/DVD player, it ALMOST BURNED DOWN OUR HOUSE!

If I hadn't been in the room when it started arching and smoking, there is no doubt in my mind that my family and I would be out on the street...or even dead.

My wife and I were simply watching a DVD on a PS3 using the surround sound when we began to smell the distinct stench of melting metals/plastics. We were then startled by a few quick sparks, by then the system was smoking, so I made the decision to unplug it and place it in a safe area away from anything flammable. The stench stuck around for a few days too!

The worst part of this story is that Sony didn't seem to care at all! After going around in circles with them for about a week they told me that they would send a package for us to ship them the damaged product, BUT COULDN'T ENSURE THAT IT WOULD BE REPAIRED OR REPLACED WITHOUT A CHARGE. Let's keep in mind that if someone had fallen asleep in that room, while watching the same movie on the same night, they could have BURNED TO DEATH...and so could have the rest of our family.

After a bout a month we still hadn't received any box to ship our component back to Sony in. So I reluctantly made another call to customer support, only to find out that THEY NEVER SENT US A BOX, AND NO ONE HAD EVER ENTERED OUR COMPLAINT INTO THEIR SYSTEM. TALK ABOUT POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE! YOU WOULD THINK THAT SUCH A BIG COMPANY WITH HIGH STANDARDS WOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR PRODUCTS BURNING DOWN PEOPLE'S HOMES. BUT APPARENTLY NOT!

SO ANYONE YOU OWNS A SONY HCD-450, YOU MAY WANT TO GET RID OF IT BEFORE IT BURNS DOWN YOUR HOUSE. WE WERE VERY LUCKY TO BE THERE AND BE AWAKE WHEN IT JUST ABOUT CAUGHT FIRE, YOU MAY NOT BE AS LUCKY. PLEASE CONSIDER YOU'RE FAMILY'S SAFETY.