coxpaul's Full Review: Sony CDX-M8815X Car CD/ MP3 Player
Big Disappointment
Good sound and it has been reliable, but on balance this is not Sony's best work. Given the price, I would have expected quite a bit more out of this unit.
The motorized faceplate, a kinda kewl gimmick, is not adjustable. In my installation, it faces almost straight up, and is thus very difficult to see and operate. When the faceplate is closed, there are NO controls available… not even a mute or volume control. The unit must be opened to do anything with the sound. This takes several seconds and multiple buttons… not the best arrangement when driving down the road. If you happen to have the remote at hand, this isn't a problem. But remotes tend to never be where you think they are when you need them.
The faceplate when closed puts on any of a number of slightly interesting displays, and one more-or-less static display with a teeny little clock display. Having no other clock in the car, I rely on the car stereo clock. This one is very poor. The faceplate lighting is also limited to only bright, or slightly less bright (when vehicle lights are on). There is no way to hook up to illumination controls and get continuously variable brightness.
The single large center button on the faceplate (when open) is labeled "source." I pressed it and worked with the unit for about 20 minutes before figuring out that "source" does NOT get the Sony CD changer (the real reason I bought a Sony headunit was to control the changer) selected as a source. It only toggles between tuner and whatever else. Another button, the "mode" button must also be pushed to get to the changer from the internal CD player. Very odd and not intuitive at all.
Speaking of controlling the changer, I can't believe this thing will not "pause" when playing CDs in the changer. The only place a "pause" button is located is on the remote. It has no effect on the changer.
Another huge blunder in designing this unit is the lack of even-numbered frequencies on the tuner. Sony responded to me with a curt "it is only for the US" but that ignores so many realities of the modern world I didn't even respond to them. How hard would it be to have a menu option, as so many other manufacturers have done, that allows for a "euro" setting?
There are numerous other minor problems, like not having any display options for CD time remaining and such (things that I had on much cheaper units 8 years ago). It is baffling to me that a modern unit would be so lean on features. The worst of this is the lack of support for auxiliary inputs. Since the CD changer is connected/controlled thru the headunit, I have to pay $100(!) to get additional input for an MP3 or other audio input. Aux Lite is ridiculous.
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