Aiwa CDC X217

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Came in car

Year / Model Reviewed:
2001 AIWA CDC-X217

Strengths:
H-Bass and clean sound, Illumination is excellent, functionality is good. Dirt Cheap!

Weaknesses:
Skips worse than running with a 90's model walkman. Mute button is a joke.

Summary:
Brother had the CD player for almost 6 months in his 00 Civic. I got it for nothing and it was installed in a 1992 Plymouth Sundance, then was installed into a 1998 Mercury Mystique LS. The system pushed the 2 12" Kicker Comp subs really well, and sounded great with upgraded door speakers. The Hyper Bass is an awesome upgrade and the sound is clean. Only problem is the system began to skip upon every bump it hit. Some systems can even make the player skip as well. The face isn't easy to take off and can be a little troublesome, and the mute button doesn't mute complete, just a silencer for temp use. Lights in it look awesome, but face seems cheaply made.

Similar Products Used:
Sony Flip player, Jensen in dash, Sony LCD DVD player/CD player combo.

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00 from It was in my vehicle

Year / Model Reviewed:
 Aiwa CDC-X217

Strengths:
-Light-up color changes (blue or red) -The face has a CD-slot so it does not need to flip down for you to load/eject a CD -H-bass setting gives lows some more kick, even with factory speakers

Weaknesses:
-SKIPS more than a Discman in the dryer -Face is difficult to remove, making it easy to damage when pulling off to ensure that it isn't stolen

Summary:
I honestly have to say that this CD player overall is a piece of junk. The one I have was in my Jeep Cherokee and had been installed by one of the vehicle's previous owners, but I have had other car stereos that did not skip upon hitting the slightest bump in the road. There is a cool feature that allows you to switch between blue and red as the luminescent color of the buttons and a ring around the volume knob, if that sort of thing really excites you. Otherwise, this deck, as far as I'm concerned, is just a cheap piece of junk made to look good. I had a CD get stuck in the CD player and after taking the CD out with a pair of tweezers, the CD player no longer works and now all I have is an AM/FM radio.

Similar Products Used:
Panasonic C3300U

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $80.00 from Best Buy

Year / Model Reviewed:
2003 AIWA CDC-X217

Strengths:
Good sound, nice appearance

Weaknesses:
Eject button is cheaply built (failed) and mute button is only partially effective

Summary:
Good quality for use in my Dakota SLT Pick-up. Only real problem I've had is the eject button for the DC player failed, so now it is just a radio until I can find a new faceplate (E-Bay maybe?). Had to upgrade speakers, but was worth the expense. Mute button is marginally effective.

Similar Products Used:
Factory single CD in my T-Bird

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $99.00 from Best Buy

Strengths:
Good sound, easy to use controls, good quality for the price.

Weaknesses:
Mute by power button is annoying, no pause button for cd.

Summary:
I've had this unit installed in an old '87 Chevy Celebrity for almost three years. For the money, it was a great buy. Installation would have probably been easy if it weren't for the fact that I had to take half of the Celebrity's dash apart to get the radio out, and the factory harness had been modified so the harness adapter I bought didn't work right. It took disassembling the dash again to get it all right. The sound has been good even with original factory speakers. New speakers weren't in the budget. It skipped some with real hard bumps in the beginning and it has gotten a little worse over time. I've had a few errors with the cd player but they cleared when I turned the car off and back on. Great bang for the buck. I just pulled it out before junking the car. I think it's worth putting into my next car, which does't have a cd player either.

Similar Products Used:
Jensen CD3010X (not as good)

Price Paid:  $80.00 from Mail order

Year / Model Reviewed:
2003 Aiwa CDC X217

Strengths:
Audio Input jack in the front Bass booster CD-R/RW playback excellent sound intuitive interface wheel jog dial DETACHABLE FACE

Weaknesses:
None noted thus far.

Summary:
A well-built, great product! It is currently powering 2 10" subs, a 1000 watt/4 channel amp, 4 6.5" speakers, and tweeters beautifully. It is easy to use after about 3 days, but you won't need to read the manual. 45 watts x4 channels!

Similar Products Used:
Other CD players.