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Review 3 of 4
Price Paid:
$300.00
from some place in NYC Strengths: Clean looks, powerfull built in amp, features. Weaknesses: Detachable face detaches, main display is hard to read in direct sunlight, only decent sound quality. Summary: I use this HU with stock Honda front speakers, some very basic Pioneers in the rear, and a Bazooka RS10hp sub.
Overall I am pleased. The power of the amp is quite impressive, and I never need to turn it more than halfway up because it is more than loud enough.
The sound quality is not the best. It does have an integrated EQ, so one can tailor the sound, but this is not audiophile quality. Without the DSO feature on, the sound is actually downright disappointing. With DSO on, it can be a little shrill, but adjusting the high pass filter helps. Working with the EQ and system wide treble control gives you the control to make it sound the way you want.
The display is very cool and has a very clean look. This inside display is even cooler, but has a drawback-- I have found that if I have the display flipped down (CD slot exposed) the detachable face comes off if I hit a big bump, which shuts the system off. This means that I keep the face closed 95% of the time, forcing me to use the remote just to adjust the volume, this is a little annoying.
Other than that it works well and has many great features. 3 sets of 5v preamp outputs, subwoofer level control, high pass filter, low pass filter, tunable EQ (factory setting are useless, but it will store your EQ maps).
I don''t use the radio too much but the tuner seems strong. The CD player works very well; it has read every CR-R I have tried so far, and rarely skips, even in my lowered/stiffly sprung car.
Buy this HU if you want a powerfull, cool looking HU and you need compatibilty with a Sony changer. Don''t buy if it you want the best sound quality money can buy.
It has done what I need it to, but so would any HU for this price. I use a Sony MD changer so this forced me into a Sony HU, I would probably try a Nakamichi or Eclipse otherwise.
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