Sony Mobile ES CDX-C90 CD Receivers

Sony Mobile ES CDX-C90 CD Receivers 

DESCRIPTION

In dash cd changer.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 20  
[Jul 12, 2008]
David L
Model Reviewed: c-90

Strength:

SQ

Weakness:

display is hard to see

the best deck i have ever owned. i have had an alpine 7909, a pioneer premiere M88 among others

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Feb 06, 2003]
krom69
Model Reviewed: 2001

Strength:

a-1 sound, very easy to use. The hardest thing for me to figure out was setting the time lol. great for competitions. Clean look not to flashy.

Weakness:

Can't really see the display to well in the sunlight. When using the xdp-4000 you need to run at least three amps,because of the rca out puts

I always love it when someone asks "what kind of head unit do you have?". Knowing they have not experenced the ultimate sq that comes from the c90 breaks my heart. When i first grabbed this unit going from a c8825 or somthing like that, I notice a differance HUGH! The clearidy and accraucy was awesome. Then i hooked up my xdp-4000 and holy beep! This product is not to be taken lightly, this is a seriously wicked deck.

Similar Products Used:

nothing that comes close to this

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Nov 29, 2002]
RacerXRed
Model Reviewed: CDX-C90 Mobile ES CD Tuner

Strength:

Very informative display, CD Text, sound quality.

Weakness:

Display temperature, no optical adapter included.

Sony has really outdone thereselves this time..... The C90 is an outstanding piece. The unit is a excellent upgrade from my CDX-C910. The display is well laid out, I like the fact that the clock, disc/track names and info can be read at once. It can be a challenge to read in direct sunlight though. The angle adjustment helps a little. My 2 gripes are the fact that the display seems to be temperature sensitive, changes color when its hot. The other is the fact that Sony made the digital out a coaxial instead of TOSlink. There's no excuse for this, so you have to go out and buy an XA-D210/211 adapter. This should have come with the unit, the bracket for it does!!?!!?! Anyway, the fact that it can display CD Text is a plus, and it can display up to 10 tracks/discs/md's that are either loaded in the changers or in the unit. I have the unit connected to a XDP-210EQ dsp/crossover/eq unit, XA-U40D digital multi-changer selector and a MDX-65 MD changer.

Similar Products Used:

Sony CDX-C910 Sony CDX-C490

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 14, 2002]
owee
Model Reviewed: cdx c90

Strength:

sound quality u can do anything, with or without the processor it sound great the abilty to shut the display off when driveing at night is cool too

Weakness:

the display during the day is a little hard to see but u can adjust the angle to compinsate that, also once in a while the unit will stop and restart but not very often.

what an amazing piece of technology with the optical output in use with the 210eq eneything is possible, i sent my old C910 back for repairs several times and wrote them a letter of complaint and suddenly the c90 shows up whoa!

Similar Products Used:

the c910, and my first deck pioneer deh p545 no comparison

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 14, 2001]
alcidio
Model Reviewed: 2000

Strength:

price(mine) sq doesnt skip

Weakness:

colours cant put names on my cds

well, 3 weeks ago, ive bought an jvc kd sh77, but he had some problems and my salesman had this sony, with 3 months of use, to sell and i changed them. and what a difference!!!!the tweeter is less harsh and he has great sq.i love this unit, the only problem is that the knob colour(blue) isnt the same of the buttons(green or ambar), and i cant save any names on the cds, i dont know what im doing wrong, but i cant do it!

Similar Products Used:

jvc kd sh77 jvc kd lx30r

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 03, 2001]
Arno
Model Reviewed: 1997, Opel Astra

Strength:

The sound is very clean and dynamic in a musical way.
The unit has no gadgets on it, only what is needed.
Building quality is strong.
The unit is easy in use.
The display can be turned off.

Weakness:

The display. If you want to see it, you have to drive at night. (sometimes need to see it, to change settings)

This unit is worth the money. As an audiophile in home audio, I can say that this is the only unit that makes music come alive. It makes you forget that you are driving in a car. When you make a combination with Sony's XDP-4000X, you will have full controle of your soundstage. (but for programming the soundstage, you need a computer with the right software, ask your dealer for it)

Similar Products Used:

None

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 06, 2001]
Mike Hope

Strength:

Best Sound Quality I have ever heard.

Weakness:

Hard to see in the Sun... same with every unit...

Got mine at www.speakersound.com for only 879. Every shop I went to was retailing it over 950 to 1200. After I got the order through it didn't take much time and I got it. I was the happiest guy alive. This thing Rocks. Till this day I am finding out new features and when I tell people about the price they don't beleive me. My friends go crazy for this thing. It has the cleanest sound I have ever heard and soon I will be in Comps so this will be the leading thing in my system.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer Premier 900R

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 24, 2001]
Shawn

Strength:

Great looks, great sound quality, display can show a LOT of info at one time. Rotary encoder on the joystick remote. Cool motorized face.

Weakness:

TERRIBLE display. Can't see it AT ALL during the day, even WITH tinted windows. Blue color turns purple after the unit warms up. TINY clock, hard to see.

Sound quality is superb on the CD only. My CD and MD changer sound excellent through it. FM tuner is weak and staticky, typical of my previous Sony head units though. The styling is excellent. The faceplate is actually made of aluminum. The joystick remote is a very high-quality piece, it is also made of aluminum and has a very good feel. It too has a rotary encoder (volume knob) so it makes adjusting volume super easy. The LCD on the other hand, is weak. Initially, I loved the LCD because it's dot-matrix and displays a lot of information on the display (good for going through my MiniDisc titles). However, it's useless in the daytime. I can't see it at all when it's sunny out. My car also doesn't have a clock, as the factory head unit was also the clock. As a result, I need a head unit with a decent clock. The C90 has a clock, but it's teeny weeny. It's hard to see even at night. The infrared remote is larger than it needs to be. If sound quality is your primary concern, this is the deck for you. If a quality build and feel are important, this is also the deck for you. If value, features, easy-to-read display, and getting the most bang for the buck are important, you might want to look elsewhere. I personally haven't found anything worthy of replacing my C90, that's why I've owned it so long (well over a year).

Similar Products Used:

Sony MDX-400

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
3
[Apr 16, 2001]
Charled Henry

Strength:

Sound Quality..best i have ever heard
Good tuner.. no trouble on FM staions i used to have trouble with downtown
Ergonomics.. Easy to control and change functions while driving
Volume knob very linear in adjustment at 1 db steps
Never skipped, even when i try and make it.
The fiber-optic output i feel is also a great strength with this unit. That little skinny cable versus a wad of RCAs....

Weakness:

LCD Sceen is unreadable in even moderate light. With so many funtions this is a MAJOR fault

Coupled with the XDP 4000 DSP and the 838 CD changer this is the best system i have ever had. The versatility i have with this system is incredible, as well as the soud quality.

Similar Products Used:

Eclipse 415 HU.... The eclipse had skipping problems from the start and still does.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 19, 2001]
Juan

Strength:

Sound Quality: Probably one of the best CD players I have used in my car.

2 Remotes: Although I didn't use it, I have used it on other Sony head units and this one feels like it belongs on something this cool. The "feel" to it is just so nice. Too bad it won't work on any of the other head units that sony makes.

Display: At night, its great display. During the day is another story.

Price: Got a 75% discount off of MSRP because I worked at a Sony dealer. Can't get a crappy stereo for the same price I paid for the C90.

Weakness:

Installation: Boxes and more boxes. One box for the display, another box for the switching power supply you have to hide behind your dash.

Display: One of the worst dispalys I have ever seen. Actually, one of the bests at night, with few gimmics, but during the day its almost impossible to read.

Faceplate: Slop in the faceplate (moved around a little more than I would have liked).

Remote: The wireless remote is kind of big, especially compared to the newer ones. Came with no batteries.

Price: Makes you wonder if you locked your car, or left it in a bad spot since anyone who sees this stereo in the dash will probably want to smash a window and grab it for themselves.

Ordering: Unit is supposedly on backorder at times and tough to find.


The Sony C90 is one of the top of the line head units out there. In combination with the Sony XDP-4000x it is hard to beat. If you are going to put together a competition system, I would recommend getting one of the C90s for your ride. It fits nicely in my Nissan Sentra using the stock radio brackets, and the only downside. I like the CD text feature, and disc and radio preset naming.

Similar Products Used:

Clarion 9175: No comparison, Sony eats it for lunch
Sony MDX-8500x: much more toys, but not the same SQ.
Nakamichi CD700: Better display and ergonomics. But the Sony is much more reliable.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 20  

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