Originally posted by brianl703:
I don't dispute that you've owned 7 Sony head units in 13 years without a problem. It doesn't mean anything if that means you buy a new Sony head unit about every two years. Pretty much ANY head unit will last two years.



Well, I still have a Sony XR-7070 tape deck from 1991. Dolby B (!) and it might even have Dolby C . Right now, it is serving duty in my brothers old sunbird, after spending 6 years in a 82 Chevy LUV. It isn't a full logic deck, so i can't speak for how long those would have lasted. I also have a Sony RM-X2 remote system controller with seperate tuner and changer control mechanism. It was originally used in my 87 Omni, but is now serving as a stealth install in a '66 Caprice of my brothers.

There have been 2 sony's that I have used that have been sold before a likely defect could have happened.

The only one I had problems with was a Sony CDX-C910 that had the face ripped from the unit during my car accident 3 years ago.

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I don't dispute that you can make a Sony head unit sound good. In fact, I believe that you can make pretty much any head unit sound good. I have a Mazda CD player (pulled from a 2000 Protege) in my Mustang and it sounds good. That's because the Mustang has dash speakers which I replaced with aftermarket 3.5" two-way speakers and now it has very good high frequency response and good stereo imaging. That just goes to show that the speakers and speaker location are more important than the head unit.



Can't dispute anything you wrote. Any modern HU, and sometimes even stock HUs, are normally good enough to make a VERY good sounding system. Selection and implementation of any system are the keys to good sound.
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One thing I have seen that differs between head units is the FM sensitivity/selectivity performance, but if you mostly listen to CDs, do you care? Or in the case of tape head units, Dolby B or not. By the way, it's amazing just how much you have to pay for an aftermarket tape head unit to get one with Dolby B on it when I've never seen a single factory tape head unit that didn't come with Dolby B.



True, it got to a point where most of the middle to high end decks had Dolby B, (remember Dolby NR? haha) and high end almost all had Dolby C. Now, to find any deck with it is unusual.
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I don't dispute the fact that Sony head units aren't returned to Circuit City any more than other brands. I don't think this means anything because nobody is going to return their Sony to Circuit City if it's 3 years old when it breaks.



Also true. I don't even dispute that there are some problems with the their products, or that their aren't better options for the money. I just think they get an unfair rap overall.

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Well, one post said "So what if it breaks when it's 4 years old, by then you want something new anyway". I guess if that's what you want, why wouldn't you be happy with a Jensen? It'll last at least 4 years, probably. If not, it was only half the price of the Sony.



I have been extraordinarily lucky, I presume. My brothers and friends have been through a number of other brands (inclding sony) while all of mine seem to keep plugging along without issues.

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I want to get rid of my head unit because I'm sick of it, not because it broke. It might take longer than 4 years for me to get sick of it.



I fully agree, but most will upgrade more often than 4 years in the real world.
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I'd still be using the factory CD player in my Contour if it hadn't crapped out.



I have a great deal of sympathy for you.

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Can one expect that sort of reliability out of a Sony, if one doesn't want to replace their head unit every 4 years?




Hard to say. I guess I wouldn't expect that reliability from any brand HU now. If it happens, great! But it is not probable.

"If you are flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit" -Mitch Hedberg