Why do Sony HUs "suck" ???

beenthere

I've read numerous responses here to people looking to purchase a new HU and the general response is "don't buy Sony, they suck". One person offered that Sony's are less reliable and that other brands may offer better features or value. Okay I understand that, but what does "Sony suck" mean from a technical point of view???

Other than personal likes, beliefs, opines, etc. is there some technical deficiency in the Sony HUs or are they just considered over-priced and/or possibly less reliable than some other brands or what??? And if there are technical issues do they apply to all Sony HUs and to both the CD and actual tuner or one and not the other or what???

Thanks for the clarification. Sony sucks just doesn't provide a whole lot of technical info.

LittleCar_w/12s

It simply the way that sony builds their products... in general, their sound quality is less, the power handling is a bit of an overstatement, and they tend to have considerable clipping. I am not sure how they are as far as capability to read bad disks, etc, but from a SQ installer's point of view, they suck. If you're going for price only, I guess they are ok.
-Jerry

Jstas

Personal experience.

I have never had a Sony head unit worth keeping.

So deal with it, Sony sucks. Thier amps break and usually end up breaking the speakers they are hooked up to, they don't always make rated power either. They are far from clean and tend to clip when pushed well below thier limit. Thier subs are poorly constructed, fall short of performance expectations for thier price point and do not have the motor control that even subs that are cheaper possess. Thier head units have a cheap feeling and simple yet important mechanisms break. On top of that, they charge a premium price for equipment that can be outperformed by bottom rung pieces of equipment from Sony's direct competition.

Sony sucks because they are putting out equipment of questionable enough quality to have people saying that they suck yet they charge a premium price because of a name that was built up in the 70's and 80's when pretty much all consumer level electronics were fairly poor.

exalted512

sony sucks because of their poor build quality, overratings, and piss poor performance
everyone i have talked to has had problems with their Sony HUs
old Sony...a few years before Xplod came out, was actually pretty good
not the best by far, but for the price, they were def. a good buy
now they make everything red and pretty and sell to a bunch of kids who dont know better and are using their parents money
-Cody

bknauss

What kind of technical answer are you looking for? They're made cheaper, they put in a bunch of crap that costs money, so when they try to set a price point for the thing, they need to strip out the important stuff like caps, resistors, chips, protection circuits, etc etc etc. Sony as a whole has taken a dive over the past 10 years. For a company that used to be known for stuff that would last forever, the crap they make now definitely tarnished that image.

beenthere

Thanks BKnauss and the other's who posted respectful replies. I understand your position on the technical issues.

MacLeod

Its the damndest thing though. Virtually every piece of electronic equipment I own is from Sony (TV, DVD, VCR, computer, digicam ect) and they have performed flawlessly. I bought a Sony CD player before my Alpine to keep everything Sony and within a year it quit playing radio stations. Cds worked fine but no radio. Then I bought my Alpine and the CD sound quality was night and day different.

Ill keep buying Sony for my electronics, just not for my car audio. I just dont understand why they wont put their quality from other products into their car audio line.

TrappedUnder Ice

I have a sony dream Machine (clock radio) that has been flawless since it was given to me in feb.86'....been around the world too!

I'm not a fan of anything sony...tv's are nice and ps2 holds its own. rest..ack. Ive had home dvd players die.. still have one working..but it does not get used much!

too much out there better for the price. and thier ES line... guess its all personal choice

but on sony hu's... Reliability has been an issue. Known a lot of folks who had issues right after the warranty expired....Now the Newer HU's...the verdict is still out. Ive heard they are not quite as junky....but why take the chance?

LittleCar_w/12s

Didn't you know? Sony uses the 'warranty chip' technology developed by the same as the v-chip. It logs how many hours it's been plugged in, then self-destructs after a given warranty time so that you are forced to buy a new one. Sheesh, I can't believe you didn't know that.......

Nah, really they just suck, and I believe the PS series is only dependable because they'd make more money selling more games than replacement systems... Sony used to be a quality name, I'd even venture to say one of the first best-known, but they've just fallen apart, and most of their gear is aimed to gamers and kids.

I'd just stick with quality like blaupunkt and alpine, pioneer etc..
Hoep you find something from a better company to suit your needs and budget.

-Jerry

MacLeod

I bought a Sony 100x2 shelf system with a 51 disc changer and surround sound (before Dolby 7.1 ) for my home stereo back in '98 and man it sounds great! It is my reference system for my computer and car stereos.

Now why cant Sony make great audio like this now? They obviously know how to, but for some reason they choose not to!

LittleCar_w/12s

It's who they market to, not what they can do... home audiophiles want quality, and are older than car audioheads which are generally young stupid people. We may be of the select few that care. I cringe for every 9 of ten systems I hear, as they are total crap, just loud. All most want is loud and looks.
-Jerry

beenthere

Isn't that what life is all about - PROFILING ???

NOT !

MacLeod

I was in Circuit City the other day sitting in a corner sobbing at how pathetic CC's car audio dept has become, and this drip walked in and wanted 2 subs, and a "loud amp" for $300. Didnt even ask about speakers or SQ, just which was the most watts and a which box would fit in the back of his Civic or whatever rice buggy he was driving.

I thought about intervening but just went back to my corner and continued sobbing whilst gazing at the Verge and ESA amps that now inhabit the spaces on the soundboard where once the prestigous Alpine V12 amps once resided.

exalted512

i went and picked up some DB coaxials for the old man yesterday...theyre running off my old JVC deck
sound nice
that deck doesnt put out the cleanest power though
the CD player doesnt work on it anymore either...lol
-Cody

Systems

I have been in the car audio scene for over 15 years, and I bought several different brands of head units, Kenwood, Panasonic, Jvc, Alpine, Pioneer, and Sony. And to my experience
Sony is one of the most reliable HU there is out there. Everything they make is made with quality, except the mid-range speakers. and the worst experience I had with a head unit was with Kenwood HU's
they tend to skip with real heavy bass.

exalted512

you must have had some realllllllllyyyyyy limited experience in your 15 years there buddy...
-Cody

RRRoamer

I have never played with Sony car audio (And given the glitzy POS thinks they sell these days in CA, I am pretty sure I won't every have a Sony HU!). But I USED to love there home AV stuff. Given the experences I have had with Sony TVs and DVD players over the last 5 years, I have offically written Sony off as "crap sold on last decades reputation". That does suck because Sony used to be a very well made brand. I guess they had too much pressure to push the profit margins up so the stock price would go up another 5% or so...

MacLeod

Originally posted by gus lopez
....and the worst experience I had with a head unit was with Kenwood HU's
they tend to skip with real heavy bass.

I have had 2 Kenwoods in my days and both started skipping prematurely, like within the first 12-14 months. The one Sony I had quit playing radio stations after a year. My 2 Pioneers were flawless as was the Clarion I had waaaaay back in 90. Im on my first Alpine now and so far so good. Ive had it at just about a year now and have had no troubles.

Airplay355

i have a sony HU in my car, its fairly new but no problems so far. I bought it because i had best buy gift cards and because it was simple looking, i didnt want tons of tiny little buttons or flip down menus. as far as how it sounds? i couldnt really tell you, im running crappy stock 95 subaru legacy speakers, they distort before i even get a chance to turn it up loud. im scared now about the tuner dieing. the model number is mp40, and i don't think its that much of a hunk of crap. it was $199 at best buy.

remember i had gift cards so i had to buy it there lol