Car AudioCar audio related questions and helpful hints for building the best sound system for your car or getting the most out of what you have.
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it came with the car and i dont have a users manual so i know very little about it, how do you guys think it ranks against others. and does anyone else have it? i'de really like to get ahold of a users manual or atleast ask some questions of someone who has one. thanks alot
well.. what's the model # on it? it should be on the top left of the faceplate... i have the 550x... i hate it... i've had it repaired twice... next time i'm gettin another cd player
cd's skip... display blacks out... when i push a button... therefore i can't turn volume up or change tracks... other than that... it's good
i'm getting an alpie with front, rear, and sub preouts when this one goes out tho... i haven't seen if it works yet tho cuz my car JUST came back from the paint shop... i been outside lookin at it
Its amazing how Sony is the product most people want for home audio and Tv's. But when it comes to car cd players or infact anything car audio they stay away from the Sony name.
Oh by the way - yeah there are some older Sony players that were really good - but the new ones - naah.
Go with Alpine - you will love em.
Jay
We sell Sony at my shop,but I don't normally push that line. There is only one deck that I like and have luck with from Sony,and that is the CDX750 that I have in my Expedition.I don't care for Sony all that much,but this particular model is the only one from them I have found to like.I have experienced a lot of problems with Sony car audio receivers in the past,which is why I try to stay away from them(except for the one I have)
well i got rid of the sony and bought a $200 pioneer, it works great but the only thing i miss from the sony is the ability to controll the loudness of the bass (3 different settings) with just one button, i an still do it with this one but i can only adjust it from no bass to a certain level of bass (which i have to preset...) ohwell, how much do you except i could get from a pawn shop for my old deck?
Ugh, Bass boost in my opinion is a useless feature. Though I do understand that its a preference, I just can't see it. I prefer a clean, flat response over a bass emphasized one.
On my home theater I have bass and treble controls, I even have the loudness option. I NEVER use them. I prefer a flat responce than a major boost in the base.
That said there is a place for a bass boost, its just not accurate enough to really be usefull. To really equalize a system you need to have a full 10 band equalizer with controls for each speaker. Otherwise its simply useless.
Then again, take this all as my opinion. I do however have a decent home surround system. It is entry level though. It does sound extremly good for the Grand I spent on it. Bought most of the equiment as open box items, or as refurbs. However with speakers I bought new. I trust many things to open box and refurbs. Speakers are not one of them. Its one component thats way too easy to damage. Pioneer receiver, Dolby Digital. 100x5, with a Velodyne sub. Full range front towers.
Sony line is complete crap. They really needs to quit for a few years and redesign everything from scratch... Their new 32 000 color display is neat but it probably has a 30 hour life or something.
Reliability wise Ive never had a problem with anything clarion . Pioneer is good for the price though you should be happy. If you want bass boost just get some subs with an amp, or even a single 10 in one of the hatch side compartments.
__________________ 91 Trans Am GTA 350 TPI
2 600W 15 inch Clarion subwoofers in a custom hatch sub box exclosure with lexan top powered by a Clarion DPX1000.2 1000W 2 channel amp,
Blaupunkt dual coil 150W/coil 6x9s in rear and 45w 4x6s in dash powered by a Clarion DB625MP MP3 head unit, TB bypass, home made cold air open element air filter. To come: SLP 1 3/4 headers+y-pipe (sitting in garage, going in after e-test), ASAP: flowmaster catback.
It really all depends on how much you want to spend. If you buy cheap, I don't care what brand it is, it will not sound as good or last as long as a more expensive setup. I am now using a Sony MP70 deck and 2 Sony Mobile ES amps. I have had the deck for about a year now and the amps for 6 years. The amps hit as hard and as clean as when I first bought them. The amps were pretty pricey when I bought them but that was only because I was building a competition system at the time so I needed high quality amps and the sonys were the best I found. They haven't failed me, yet. I guess what I am trying to say is if you have the money and time to spend putting together a good system, then the brands out there will not disappoint you. If you buy cheap, it really dosent matter what brand you buy. It still will not sound as good or last as long.
My Sony Mobile ES deck died twice within the first 2 years. Needs to be reset alot too. The warrenty has expired on it, so the next time it breaks and gonna chuck it and by another brand. I've had alot of trouble with Sony's home line too.
__________________ -Justin- out of my mind and I'll never know why '86 Pontiac Firebird 305-4bbl / 700R4 T-Top WS6
'92 Pontiac Firebird 305-TBI / 700R4 T-Top
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i'd stay away from any sony stuff made in the last 5 years, especially the xplod crap. there was one in my car (still in there due to lack of funds) when i got it and although it does play most of the time, if its cold in the car, the buttons do not always work right. the older sony ES was some of the best stuff at the time, but sony has just gone downhill fast in the car audio department. the home stuff, another story
I agree with most people here when they say that Sony's car audio equipment is total garbage. My friend had a Sony amp die on him 1 month after the warranty expired and he doesn't push it too hard. Their customer service screwed him over royally too. For a head deck, I absolutely recommend JVC. For $150, you can pick up the KD-S680 and you won't find a better deal. I have last year's model KD-SX950 myself and it's sweet. just my 2 cents
I've got my eyes set on the new JVC digifine2.2 707 model...rotary volume(no buttons for me lol), MP3/CDR/CDRW playback, and a great silver face for like $250 average price...and i've heard great things about them from people on this board.
Don't buy sony, they suck. I would save your money and buy a better head unit. I bought a Eclipse 54410 head unit and I love it. Also I wouldn't take any numbers serious, like watts. Companies tend to lie and put peak power outputs on their head units, you want to look for RMS power. My Eclipse has 18wx4 but that is continous power. The sony your talking about has 50wx4 peak power. So if you go by those numbers the sony will look better when in fact the Eclipse is. Hope I helped you out.
I would have to agree about the older mobile es line of sony. They were built pretty solidly. Mine is about 6 years old and it still pounds pretty hard. The newer explod line doesn't impress me much. They just seem all cosmetic. As far as the deck goes, I usually spend a little bit more to get a good quality deck. You'd be surprise how good the overall quality is of a deck if you're willing to pay the price, even if it's a sony. I've been putting systems in cars for 16 years and I would have to say, quality really depends alot on price. You get what you pay for. The system in my camaro is a mix of different brands - pioneer deck, infinity 4x6, 6x9 and 12" subs, kenwood 2 channel amp, rockford fosgate 4 channel amp and a profile electronic crossover. My celica has the $3k sony setup and that sounds way better than my camaro. If you have the money and time to spend putting together a quality system, you will not be disappointed even if you choose sony.
I give it to eclipse, clarion, and alpine I believe they are the best decks for the money, I have heard nakamachi is very good but they are just to expensive for my taste. The eclipse is very clean power. I run an eclipse by the way