Sony CDX-530RF

Price Paid:  $260.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 Sony CDX 530RF

Summary:
Great product, well worth the price paid. Sound quality, ease of use and decour are all exceptional.

Strengths:
One of the most surpringly useful item is The remote espically when I,m cleaning my SUV I have no problem with reception from the remote to the base unit.

Weaknesses:
No weakness

Price Paid:  $0.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 CDX-530RF

Summary:
The sound and quality i great. My friends and i really enjoy i when we're driving long distances. Many people say that it doesn't play CD-Rs but i have no problem playing mine.

Strengths:
It is very easy to see the display at night and in the day. The remote control is great to have too.

Weaknesses:
I really don't feel that it has any weaknesses except when you have to get out and go to the trunk to change the CDs if you don't have any room in your car to install the cd changer.

Price Paid:  $160.00

Summary:
This is my first car multi changer and it is great. I installed it myself with no problem and it was up and running in no time. Sound is decent and although it uses the FM band and it is limited by the FM’s dynamic range, it sounds better than any FM station. Sound quality is about 85 percent of direct connect CDs which is very good. I definitely recommend it. I am surprised that couple of reviewers commented it doesn’t play CD-Rs. Mine does and I am playing 9 recorded CD-Rs in it right now which are recorded in 4 different CD recorders (Yamaha, Plextor, Mitsumi and Teac). The trick is you need to “Finalize” the CD, which basically closes the CD so that no further recording is possible. Most of the newer recording software (I use Nero V 5.5) have a option or a check box which says finalize the CD. That option must be selected.

Strengths:
It has CD text which shows the CD and Song titles. Wired and wireless romotes. It plays recorded CD-Rs. Priced lower than comparable Changers.

Weaknesses:
It needs to be connected to power to eject the cartridge.

Similar Products Used:
N/A

Price Paid:  $155.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 CDX-530RF

Summary:
I highly recommend this unit. It performed better than I though it would. It definitly puts the finishing touch to any stereo. The display can be mounted vertually anywhere and it is easy to read and use. The sound quality is outstanding and you will not have problems installing with the schematic given to you.

Strengths:
The unit is very easy to intall. The only splicing you have to do is for the power. The audio goes through your radio. The unit comes with a good schematic on the configuration. The sound is great and the controls are easy to use, especially the remote. If you are worried about the quaility of the sound through the radio it is as if you hard-wired it to your stereo, I could not believe the quality. You get text on the display if your CD has that encoding on it. It tells you what CD it is and the name of the track. Also, the display has different colors, the text is in white, options are in orange, and the play button is in green. Easy to see at night. Great Unit!

Weaknesses:
The weaknesses of this unit are overpowered by the strenghts. Unless you have a lot of space in your car the unit has to be mounted in the trunk, unless you have an SUV or truck. You better be a person who does not change CDs constantly or otherwise you will not like it. The power has to be on the main stereo for the unit to work, so that means you have to have power to the stereo to eject he mag from the changer. The biggest drawback is that this unit does not play CD-R's at all.

Similar Products Used:
Heck of a lot better than I had. I had my factory stereo with a tape player and that was it. I used a portable CD player for a while and I got tired of it fast. Unit works like a CHAMP. I am more than satisfied!

Price Paid:  $200.00

Year / Model Reviewed:
 CDX-530rf

Summary:
Works great, just can't play CD-R. Sony customer support has no suggestions and won't take it back as an exchange.
Don't buy this unit if you plan on playing CD-Rs. Not what I expected from a relatively new unit from Sony.

Strengths:
Holds 10 disks

Weaknesses:
Doesn't play ANY of my CD-Rs, even though the documetnation states that it supports CD-R. Sony customer support could offer no suggestions.

Similar Products Used:
Ford OEM six disk changer that came with my car in 1995. My six year old changer has no problem with CD-R.