Sony Mobile ES CDX-910

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Ebay

Year / Model Reviewed:
 Sony CDX-C910

Summary:
I had figured this an excellent unit for a while - impressive sound, very clear - very professional looking unit too. I had begun to question it''s craftsmanship, however, when I began to have small problems with it ranging from a faceplate display randomly turning on and off with the faceplate securely attached to random "ERROR" messages on cds with no scratches whatsoever. Finally, when driving along one day listening to some Prodigy (''Diesel Power'' was the exact song :-)), I heard a noise which sounded like the laser continually searching for a track, accompanied with a burning smell. Hasn''t ever worked since - that''s pretty poor for a headunit valued at MSRP $899, of which I paid the not-so-cheap $300. ESPECIALLY for one as well cared for as mine, professionally installed and faceplate that was always kept in air conditioning - POOR! :-P. Will not buy Sony again, finally taking friend''s advice that no matter what you hear, Sony car audio (even pre-Xplod) is junk despite the high price tag for some units. Steer clear and go pick up an Alpine, Pioneer, or Eclipse. These people know what they''re doing, if you want your cd player to work and work for as long as you own it, that is.

Strengths:
Quality sound from 20bit DACs Copper Chassis (I suppose ''quality sound'' includes this) 4v preout Decent unit in it''s day, not for 2002.

Weaknesses:
Poorly assembled 2 preouts, no sub out Bulky remote included

Similar Products Used:
Alpine CDA-7832 (Previous headunit) Pioneer Premier DEH-P930

Price Paid:  $300.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 Sony CDX-C910

Summary:
I got this unit used to replace the cassette deck in my competition car. I use it in conjunction with the XDP-210EQ processor which I wanted for the Time-Alignment features. I think my most favorable sound quality impressions are due to the pin-point imaging the DSP provides. It is excellent to have the entire system controlled through the head unit as opposed to all the knob twisting I had to do with my prior set up. Anyway, the C910 is dead quiet. I mean perfectly quiet, as evidenced by the perfect 15 scores it gets even with the engine running. I had an intermittent whine with the previous unit and with the combination of the remote DC-DC converter and the Fiber-Optic connections, I have absolutely dead silent operation. That was the second big reason that I wanted this unit. I was disappointed to find out the at the unit does not display CD-Text information, which I was mis-informed that it did, but oh well, not too many discs have CD-Text any way. I could not recommend this unit more since I could not find another new Sony that I wanted any more and I really don't like head units from too many other manufacturers, from a style and features standpoint. I absolutely hate the "Las-Vegas-flashy- lights-moving-pictures" crap that everybody is selling nowadays. I understand why people think it is cool but I detest every head unit that fits that description. So, I had to get a 4 year old head unit to avoid the hype. I have hit potholes and bumps so large I thought I had damaged my wheels and neither the C910 or my changer have ever skipped. Probably because both have "memory" skip protection. I saw where some guy said the C910 did not play CD-R's well but I would have to dis-agree, since mine has played over 50 of mine with no problems at all. My old changer would not play them so that is like reason 3 that I bought this unit. Note however, that the C910 does not play CD-RW's. The button layout and controls are great but the display is useless unless it is dark. Any mild sunlight totally washes it out, but besides the minor annoyance who cares?

Strengths:
Absolutely Excellent!!!! Zero noise. Never, ever skipped. Digital Optical ouputs.

Weaknesses:
Why a coax to optical adapter? It is fragile and could only have been included in order to force the purchase of a separate, expensive XA-D210 adapter.

Similar Products Used:
replaced a Sony XR-610

Price Paid:  $200.00

Summary:
this is one hell of a buy..i have never had one problem with it...it can work its stuff on any car...in my eclipse it works just wonderful...i would highly recomend this product to anyone and no matter what the price you are sure as hell getting your mones worth!!!

Strengths:
None

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $250.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 Sony CDX-C910

Summary:
Bought this deck used so that I could have something that would fully control my XDP-210EQ digital preamp/crossover/eq.

Wow.

This deck has a digital toslink output that gives me direct digital transfer to the 210--meaning that I have 21 bands of digital EQ, selectable crossover points for fronts, rears and sub, adjustable sub levels, and user-selectable DSP soundfields--all from the driver's seat with my remote, all in the digital realm. Toslink from both the head and the changer means that the only place I have analog cables is between the preamp and the amps--a run of less than a foot--as well as speaker cables. What this does for sound quality is hard to estimate, because of all the many factors affecting an autosound installation. Let's just say it's about as good a signal as I could buy to go to the amps (cheap Rockford for sub, nice H/K four-channel).

This deck is dead silent and will not skip. It has dynamic range that is nearly a miracle. The level of control it gives me over my sound is unprecedented, and can only be bettered by using the $2000 XDP-4000 which can be tweaked with calibrated mics and a computer. Ergonomically, the rotary dial is a joy to use, so much quicker and easier than previous Sonys and others I've owned.

Finally, the biggest deal to me about this deck's sound--It's personal since each of you has his own car with its quirks. My Maxima has an alternator whine that has been all but impossible to banish from the sound of my components. The separate power supply that comes with this unit is worth its weight in gold for the improvement it makes. This, together with the CDX-C90's copper shielding (shared by the preamp), banishes spurious automobile electrical noise. I am thrilled.

Strengths:
separate power supply (nice audiophile touch), copper shielding, optical digital output, full DSP control.

Weaknesses:
Motorized faceplate is somewhat fragile, requiring care to keep things intact.

Similar Products Used:
Sony CDX-M650. I liked the "active black panel," but it didn't control all the eq and crossover settings of the 210. What a surprise that in addition to the added control features, I got sound quality that was orders of magnitude better.

Price Paid:  $600.00

Summary:
I would just like to tell the world that there is no cd unit made (besides the c90 of course) that can compare to the sound quality that you will hear when you turn this thing on. No words can describe just how awesome this is. I have this wired via digital optical toslink to an xdp-u50d digital processor and I have complete control of EVERYTHING through the head unit (sub, four channel adj, time alignment for seat positions, 10 surround modes, and more). There are no "added features" that are on this unit just to make it look "cool". Every feature on this unit is one you will use. Unbeleivable unit that I recommend everyone take the time to listen to just once before they die.

Strengths:
DSP capability, 4 20 bit d/a converters, smooth loading, 4v preouts.

Weaknesses:
daytime display is practically invisible.

Similar Products Used:
jvc digifine. there is no comparison worth mentioning here!