Sony CDXGT550UI MP3/WMA/AAC Player CD Receiver

• AM/FM radio, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3/WMA/AAC, USB, iPod receiver
• 4 x 52 watts maximum power with 2V front and rear/sub preamp outputs with HPF/LPF crossovers
• Single-line white LCD display with black background; selectable green/blue key illumination
• Includes front panel auxiliary input, USB port, iPod control; SAT-/HD-ready
• One-year limited warranty

I'm quite happy with the unit after a couple days. Surprised at how well it integrates with my iPhone (3GS) for music. It has two modes for using with iPhone, the default is it blanks the IPOD on the phone and you get full IPOD control on the deck (browse by artist-album-song). If you prefer you can set to 'passenger' mode which turns on the ability to control songs from the iPhone rather than the deck. Pandora works. You can navigate and do whatever you want on the phone while playing music through the deck; something two different 'geeks' at BB told me it couldn't do. Charges iPhone good. Cons Silly triple beep I can't figure out how to turn off when ignition turns off, supposed to remind you to remove the faceplate sheesh. No simple bass/treble adjustment for the wife, have to adj EQ from what I can tell.

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I consider myself an audiophile and am very particular about how my music sounds. When my quad cab truck with premium Infinity system blew 3 speakers, I replaced them with Polk db 6.5's and finished the job by replacing the factory receiver with this Sony unit (and wired it to bypass the factory amp). I am very pleased with the results.

Sound:

The sound quality is excellent, the best of any aftermarket car stereo I have installed in my vehicles (I'm on number 7 which have included Pioneer, Aiwa, JVC, Alpine & Kenwood). The out of the box "flat" EQ with no additional digital functions enabled sounded Ok, however, where this unit shines is in it's ability to tailor the sound to your environment. Once I adjusted the 7 band EQ to my preferences, turned on the DM+ to cleanup the compression, and setup the listener positioning DSP the result was truly stunning. On top of all that, it also has an RBE (rear bass enhancer) option which cuts the high frequencies to your rear speakers (effectively turning them into subs) and removing the muddy reflections that rear speakers produce for front seat listeners.

Additionally, the amp has plenty of volume/power for my setup and progresses smoothly up the dial with minimal distortion or frequency walk.

USB:

The USB input worked flawlessly. I loaded up a memory stick, inserted it, and the unit parsed all the artist,track & album information quickly. Tracks were easy to locate via the Browse button. The files played flawlessly (and sounded great, see the DM+ feature).

Ease Of Use:

Menus were logical and easy to navigate and follow the latest trend of sticking all settings under the volume control button. One interface feature I miss is the "loud" button on the faceplate (you must toggle it thru the menus). Another problem is that yes, the faceplate can be difficult to remove. Also, one major gripe is that this unit beeps 3 times when you turn the car off unless you remove the faceplate first. But worse, it CANNOT be disabled! Whomever the fool was at Sony that added that feature with no setting to turn it off should be fired. I almost dropped my rating a star because of it.

Display:

I would like to see a higher resolution LCD for more text, however, you get what you pay for. At this price range, the display is better than average and includes a somewhat cheesy spectrum analyzer if you're into things bouncing around on the screen (it can be turned off in settings). Illumination color can be changed from blue to green, however, the "dimmer" only dims the LCD and not the illumination and is pretty much worthless because of it. My sense is the "green" was intended for night driving and the blue intended for daylight as the blue is much brighter.

Also of note, the artist and title information do in fact display correctly on this unit for channels that broadcast it. Some receivers advertise this feature but don't always work. This one works fine.

Finally, my last concern with this unit is the Sony name. I have had bad luck in terms of reliability with all Sony consumer grade products I have purchased and usually avoid the brand because of it, however, this unit's initial quality and performance is exceptional, so I will be keeping it and crossing my fingers.

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The building block for my son's '06 Mustang audio system. This allows him to control iPod either thru the radio or via the iPod using the USB input. Also, flash/thumb USB drives plug right in and all music info reads out. (So, if you didn't decide to give in to the iPod craze, you can just use a cheap USB portable flash drive to transport thousands of songs without all the iPod bells and whistles. Of course, my son had to have the iPod-while I use the less expensive manner in my Wrangler, which is similarly outfitted with the same Sony/Infinity/MTX setup). This aftermarket unit has been great-it picks up distant FM stations, has enough power to drive the aftermarket speakers cleanly without perceptable distortion, separate controls for treble,midrange,bass + separate subwoofer out control, USB input, a front Aux mini jack input for other MP3 devices. Two different selectable colors for the face illumination to match your vehicle. I gave it a five because I've had this model in my own vehicle for quite awhile before getting the same for my son's and it has been an excellent choice and inexpensive upgrade.

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Easy to use and navigate. Sounds darn good with a set of new Sony 6x9's. FAR louder and clearer than stock stereo in my Ram truck. My stock CD player broke, and I bought this so I'd NEVER need a CD again. I put all my tunes on my 4Gig Thumb Drive and I'm good to go. Plug it in, and navigate your way, rather easily through your folders on your thumb drive. The draw back is, I haven't found how to FF or RW a playing song. But, I didn't read the manual yet either. :)

HIGHLY recommend this unit. I'm sure others are just as good, but I bought this one and it works perfectly.-Darin

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Received the SONY CDXGT550UI two days ago. Good think I hooked it up to test it before installing it permanently.

CD player could not read any type of disk. SONY Tech Support was no help. I wasted a half hour on the phone and the tech kept insisting it was wired up wrong even though the radio and USB port with a thumb drive full of MP3s worked properly. She wanted me to take it to a commercial installer. You could tell she was reading everything off a computer screen and had no knowledge of electronics or car radios. She told me I could return it for repair and it would take one to two weeks. I'd go buy a Kenwood before doing that.

Called J&R who I purchased it from through Amazon and they offered to replace it as soon as they received the defective one back. Phone call took two minutes tops. I'll update this as soon as I get a working unit.

UPDATE: Received the replacement unit quickly (thank you J&R) and installed with no problems. Replacement works fine. Have no problem navigating around the menus and buttons. Sound is good and it has no problem reading any MP3 CDs or an 8Mb thumb drive full of MP3s (which I will use mostly). The remote comes in handy as this is installed in the back of my camper and not the dash. Only problem is the remote turns the unit off but you have to go to the unit to turn it back on. Should not a problem if it's installed in a dash.