Needs a little more Tweaking
Written: Jan 30 '00
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Pros: Excelent Pre-Amp, Copper Chassis
Cons: Only a Pre-Amp, Hard to see face in Sun
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| smithy_101's Full Review: Sony XR C900 Mobile ES Radio / Cassette Player Cam... |
To All:
I was looking for a Sony Head Unit to match my sony setup that I already had in place in my car and also my truck. I own 2 vehicals, my truck has been to Stereo compititions and won trophies for the stereo installed in it. When it came time for me to Tweak out my cheap car, and 93 Ford Taurus. I had already been running a Sony head unit for a while with the matching CD changer.
Given the fact that I hate noise and distortion when it comes to stereos, it was only a matter of time before I found this one from Sony. The first big hurdle was trying to locate a dealer that sells Sony Mobile ES anymore. Sony has put so many restrictions on local dealers when it comes to selling ES, theat most of them said the heck with it.
After locating a Dealer (about 70 miles away)I was able to negotiate a more resonable price for the stereo. Picked mine up for about $450, which is much better than $600 quoted by Crutchfeild.
After Installing the Stereo in the dash of my car (was not hard considering I pulled out an older Sony) I decided to fire it up and see what it sounded like.
Sound quality was pretty close to the old stereo I pulled out because I did not change the amps I was running. What did change was the fact that my Sub level was now controled from the deck independantly from the rest of the speakers. This is a huge improvement over the old setup. Changer controls and casette controls were all the same as compaired to the other sony deck I pulled out. However, the face that hides the casette is motorized, and folds down in such a manner that you can still read it while it is down. Very cool.
The Face plate has multiple viewing angles so if you mount it lower in your car, you can angle the face so you can see it better. Also, the qulaity of the face plate was better than what you are used to. It was not made of some cheap plastic. It was kinda heavy for just being a little over a quarter inch thick.
One thing I do wish Sony would go back to it the screens they had on the ES decks 3 years ago. This stereo has a problem found in many other stereos. You can not read it when the sun is shining directly on it. Sony had a stereo (XR-C720 Mobile ES) a few years back that was very easy to see in sunlight. I think they should go back to that design for the LCD in the face.
As for everything else in this stereo, it work rather wel, produces a clean pre-amp signal that my amps can amplify cleanly.
I would recomend this deck for anyone looking for sound quality, and not afraid to spend the extra few bucks.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 450
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Epinions.com ID: smithy_101
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Member: Brian Smith
Location: McHenry IL
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 1 member
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