Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Audio What's up with Sony?

Has anyone else noticed the increasing trend of malfunctioning Sony HU's lately? It's not just on this board but most other audio boards I visit. I was just wondering if anyone had some insight on this possible trend.

What do all of you consider to be the least reliable $250 HU?

I've seen it, but I never really ever see people reporting the problem. All I ever see is people warning others because their brothers friends girlfriend reported that their HU sucked. There must be something behind it, but i suspect that when sony focused on flash, they got lumped in with the lower end brands.

On this board alone, we've had 2 or 3 Sony Xplode HU's with problems in the last month. Are they outsourcing their lower end decks to someone which would account for the decrease in quality?

I'd tend to agree that when a manufacturer focuses on looks/features while still offering a low price, quality does seem to suffer.

I worked for Sony about 6 months ago...I had their MP3 player HU. Worked great..still does...sold it to my friend. Sony is having a little trouble with everything latley (shuting stores down, closing service centers) but, everyone says Sony's HU sucks. I thought it was great!!!

Where I haven't really seen too much as far as malfunctions..etc

I do think that their quality in general has gone down hill. I really can't stand the Xplode line! And really the only Car Audio products I would buy from Sony (unless something changes) is their ES line. And that seems to be no more lately.

Home Audio isn't near as bad, but even it has gone downhill. I have the (Now discontinued) Flagship 777ES Home Reciever and what has replaced it 5ES isn't anywhere near the sound quality of the 777es, but yet its pretty much the same price. Go Figure!

TV's I'd say is the only area where Sony has gotten better in the past year. They are still overpiced IMO, and its funny to see everyone copy their design in that dept. I always find that Sony develops products which have aesthetic appeal, build quality, and quality components. This is why I buy sony!

I hope they get their stuff together and become the Sony they used to be. Its not that bad yet but it seems to be getting worse, especially when it comes to Car Audio!

Later

i havent had any problems with my Sony HU, in fact, i love it!

I have a CA-850X and i really like it, no problems, my brother and a friend have a mid range unit and they haven't had any problems either. As someone said to me a hu is alot mor complicated then a speaker so more could possible go wrong...but it shouldn't

i have a sony HU, and amp, no probs with either of em for like a year, and i love em!

I don't have any idea about their quality as of late, mostly because Sony believes everyone should have a little bit of red to spice up their life. I had a C-680(I think that was the model, it was a Mobile ES) and I loved it! When I got this car, I thought it was time for a change, but Sony did not even come to mind because there was no way I was putting a red face HU in my all blue car. I think they alienated a lot of people by only offering red and silver colored products. They should have stayed neutral. My 2 cents.

Check my sig...

I really want to upgrade to a newer Sony HU but the Xplode series are fugly IMHO. Haven't had one problem with my 780. I did get ticked at Sony for dropping the accessories for my deck. Does anyone have a Sony optical source selector for the ES line that they want to sell? :rolleyes: