The Last of a Breed
Written: Jun 26 '00 (Updated Jul 06 '00)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
|
|
|
Pros: Exceptional Tape response, CD Labeling, Two Remotes, Very Solid Build, Very Easy to Use and Set Up
Cons: Only the display dims, not all the buttons and controls
|
|
|
| AVaddict's Full Review: Sony XR C900 Mobile ES Radio / Cassette Player Cam... |
Please note: this review is quite lengthy, but if you are serious about the finest cassette head unit ever offered in the U.S., this will probably be what convinces you.
Preface
Tape technology is on its way out, I think we all have realized that at some time in the past few years. MD is on its slow way in, pushed, more than anything else, by the format being adopted by other mfrs. We all have lotsa tapes though, at least I do, as well as all of my friends. Why not get the best possible playback device available? Because no major mfr is advancing tape technology (SONY is quite possibly the last mass maker of decks, that feature Dolby S), or playback technology like better heads, this deck represents, truly, the last and finest of a dying breed. What do I mean? A Laser Amorphous (not to be confused with the Dyn-Amorphous, though I imagine they are similar) head, for starters, is much better than the standard or "enhanced" permalloy that is the industry standard in respect to frequency response as well as separation. Better chassis construction; this unit weighs almost eight pounds and doesn't have a power supply!! This unit actually has two drive motors, something you flat won't find on ANY deck on the mainstream market right now, or possibly ever again, even by SONY. These are just a few of the point I am going to talk about in this review. Just as a little background info, previous to this unit I had a XR-C5120. It was a very capable little unit, but was bottom of the line and moreover is no longer available, which is why I pulled my review of it. The XR-C900 is an ES unit and IS still available for what I paid thru Crutchfield for half price, $299.99 as opposed to $599.99. The MSRP when it originally came out about four years ago was $699.99!! AAAAnyway, let me tell you all about the head unit sent from heaven.
Construction
The first thing I would think if some one I knew suggested spending $600 (or even $300) on a tape deck would be that it better be VERY well manufactured. This SONY is that and more! A good portion of the outer carriage is copper, THICK copper. This is good from a couple of viewpoints, ONE) This is potentially one of the best and easiest answers to preventing interference; stop it before it gets to the unshielded interior circuitry. TWO) Copper, in the proper purity, is deliciously non-resonant when compared to some other common frame/chassis materials, specifically, magnesium, beryllium, or high-carbon steel. The bolts used to marry the various parts of the chassis are of substantially higher quality and larger size than the 5120 I had. Unlike the 5120 (or other comparable non-ES SONY units) there are no fasteners or arc welds used to hold the various external parts together, nice! This is not to dis the potential quality of an arc weld, I just feel better about big honkin' bolts. As mentioned above, this unit weighs about eight pounds. That my not seem like much but if you pick up various head units at your local electronics super store, you'll notice most weigh in the neighborhood of 2-3 lbs.
The hookups in the rear of the unit are of extremely high quality as well. The RCAs are not just mounted on the unit itself, they are on 4-5 inch cables bundled coming out of a reinforced "port" on the back. The same is true for the antenna hookups as well, BOTH of them (yes, there are two). The quality of these conns is apparent as well. The cable sheathing is of higher quality than one might expect, much better than what is included when you buy a CD player for example. The antenna conns are also heavy metal housed in a glossy thick black plastic/rubber casing. The conn for the wired remote isn't anything special, nor is the hookup for the CD changer control. The metal plate on the front of the unit which the face is mounted to is heavy gauge and unmoving, very solid! Unlike most of the car stereos from SONY, the little snaps on the side of the stereo to keep in place are joined on this unit by two other brackets that have to be screwed on over them. It would appear in form and use, this adds quite a bit to its rigidity within the dash. This is a great feature because it all but alleviates the possibility of squeaks and rattles due to it shimmying within the mounting sleeve during driving. The little plastic piece that goes around the face once you've mounted the unit is quite flimsy, but looks great once installed. The remotes (yes, it CAME with two) are cheapy looking, but once the wired remote is mounted, it takes on a sturdier look to it. The wireless I have assigned only for the people in back seat, so I'm probably never going to use it, but I seriously doubt, even if it were used heavily, it would break. I say that just based on my extensive experience with their home electronics remotes.
Features and Ease of Use
After much thought I cannot think of a feature that this unit doesn't have or needs to have to make it better than what it already is (i.e. perfect). This is maybe with the exception of Dolby S, which, at this point, is an unreasonable expectation on a car cassette head unit. The cassette section of this unit is exceptional! I don't know how else to put it. It is auto reverse (obviously), auto type selection (chrome, metal, normal), it offers Dolby B AND C (!!!), automatic music search (AMS) for up to 9 tracks which is surprisingly useful, and the key feature of outstanding sound quality. The rewind could be faster but that is not too much of a problem for those constant music junkies out there. It has a feature such that when one revs or FFs the tape, the radio kicks in till its done (mmm, feeling lazy?). The tuner section is amazing too. I regularly, regardless of atmospheric conditions, get stations from almost 70 miles away! Depending on the broadcast quality and power, the sound from FM, taking into account the smaller dynamic range, is clear and bright. AM is AM, what are you gonna do, but it does pick up more of them and keep the stereo AM stereo, again, depending on broadcast quality and power. Programming and naming the radio is a long process, but worthwhile. I don't have that many stations I listen to regularly, so I don't utilize ALL the settings, but it is nice to have the variety available to me.
The CD section is well beyond the norm. Not only can you do basic stuff like shuffle (2 modes), repeat (3 modes), random (2 modes), and up to 24 track programmability, it also has a CD naming feature so you can always know what you're about to listen to without having to guess or remember what you put in tray 8 last week. I believe it will hold around 100 names, but don't hold me to that, I'd have to look at my manual again, and even now I have only programmed about 20-25 CDs. None the less, that's a lot of CDs. My whole attitude/view/MO (whatever you want to call it) is moving away from CD and towards MD and MP3, so that's probably all the naming I'll ever need, I don't even have 100 CDs now. The interface between the CD player is nothing short of seamless. It is actually easier to use than the deck I had previous to this. The display being as large as it is, is very easy to read, whether playing CDs or figuring out the play direction of the tape in the deck. The really neat thing about it though is that instead of using that little jog dial on the left to blip blip blip my way through all the discs, all I have to do is press the corresponding button on the face, 1-10; easy, fast, direct! Yes sir, SONY caters to the "lazy american"! No more having to move your finger so many times!!
This head unit has a couple of unusual features that make it neat to own. One of these is the fact that it isn't a flip down face, it is motorized and slides down then forward, cool! The unit will play with the face down, but it is nearly impossible to read. Interestingly enough, the face seems far better manufactured than the faces that are on the current ES models. Not only is it thinner, its heavier, brighter, has a larger display area with excellent contrast. The contrast adjustment is easy to find and use. Being in Texas, the sun is a real concern when it comes to being able to read the display on the units face. To remedy this, SONY has an option built into this unit which will tilt the face (bottom first) towards you at an 80 degree angle and a second setting at 70. The more extreme of the two settings, 70 degrees, helps a little bit. The display takes on an inverted look to it, where the lit area appears to be dark and the rest of the display appears lighter. If you've been in the southwest anywhere you'll understand that sometimes there's nothing short of shading the display with your hand to make it legible. Any way you cut it, this is a very cool head unit.
Sound and Summary
It is the quality of your CD player that defines the initial line level signal quality. Then it is up to your head unit not to butcher it. This head unit caresses the signal and delivers pure listening velvet straight to your ears. After mastering some tunes off CD onto a good metal tape with the Dolby in C position and playing it back in the car with Dolby C, it is as good as CD, except the s/n is lower. Even after you turn the volume up to compensate for the lower s/n (signal to noise in db) the sound is flawless and warm beyond words. Short of my home system (all SONY, almost all of that ES), I have never heard such beautiful sound. The piece that really got my attention was that very long and sad passage from Platoon that is played throughout the movie and most poignantly at the end, I was next to tears. Simply put, you will be amazed that a tape can sound so good, so pure, and so accurate. Cassettes have some serious drawbacks to them: physical playback (the read surface touches the play surface), limited lifetime due to playback method, and possible stretching in the tape. So ultimately, when you buy a tape for recording, it is more of a lease. This reality aside, tapes will live forever in the heart of the XR-C900.
At last check this deck was still available from Crutchfield at the price I have listed. Yes, it is a lot for a deck w/ CD/MD control. Yes, tapes are on the way out, though the total transition in the market may take another decade, if not more. And finally, yes, blank tapes are not as abundant as they once were in the quality or range of choices. So who is this deck best for? Everyone. This is a great head unit, hands down. It has got all the necessary bells and whistles to make even someone as anal as me happy. It has got flawless tape playback with very low distortion, wow and flutter, and a great s/n with Dolby C on and a well mastered metal tape. It has got the best tuner I have ever been exposed to in addition to a great user interface for CD. The display is clear and organized and it has got truly premium circuitry. For less than half of the original MSRP, this head unit is a must for anyone who still possesses a large quantity of tapes or still records on tape as opposed to MD or CD and still wants the unrelenting quality of an ES head unit. As if you couldn't tell from the novel I've written here, I unequivocally, absolutely, and completely recommend this unit to EVERYONE. I say this to you now, if you make this investment, you will be pleased beyond your wildest dreams. I hope I have given enough insight for an educated buying decision.
quick note: the CD changer I am using with this is the CDX-727, see my review if you want know more ;)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 299.99 + shipping ($8)
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
AVaddict
|
 - Top 200 |
|
Location: Texas
Reviews written: 139
Trusted by: 134 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.