Sony CDX-S2210 Car CD / MP3 Player
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Similar in In Dash Receivers
- MP3 / WMA Playback: MP3 Playback ATRAC Playback
- Anti-Theft Protection: Detachable Face Panel
- Player Type: CD
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What a find!
Pros
easy to read, easy to use, ATRAC3 gives great storage possibilities
Cons
shuffle is persnickity, manual tuning in radio mode
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Easy to use, no skipping, great character/name display, no disappointments, a great workhorse.
I bought a 2001 Defender, and upon going out for the test drive, I noticed this CD player was installed (Defenders do not come with any radio whatsoever installed).
In my other car we used a Sony walkman with Atrac3 compatibility, so finding this player already installed in the car was quite a pleasant surprise. I use regular Mp3 format for some stuff I listen to, but converting to Atrac3 is nice (ah…if you have Sony stuff!) in that I fit about 30 CDs on one CD that way. Doing this on a Discman is ok, but unless I had the player right in front of my face, it was hard to know what was playing, track names, etc. Having the in dash version with the nice large characters displayed to give you that information is nice. Plus, you can change the display to show the clock, track number, CD, or track name. When you are listening to 30 different CDs, this comes in very handy trying to remember all that. This character display could be bigger, but really, what you need is displayed large enough. Sure, there are no fancy graphics or images flying by on the screen, but for function, this works very well. Now, if you want to look good, perhaps try something more ornate. No changing colors of the blue screen and red glow buttons. Again, not a factor for me.
Moving through the 30 (or more) possible different CDs on your single CD is relatively easy, there are two buttons that double as preset one and two (they are identified above the numbers as "-…Group…+" and this takes you through the different CDs, or group files that you could create through the software on your computer. If you have never experimented with the Sony software needed to make all this happen, it can take some getting used to, but burning the CDs uses a "Simple Burner" program that if you already have the music on your computer makes it fairly simple to set up. Burning, at least on my computer takes quite a while, but I usually just find something else to do while it is working. Really though, if you have several hundred CDs…using this method it is quite possible to have every single CD you own in your vehicle with you…no worrying if you have the CDs you want with you on a road trip, or getting an urge for a particular song and not having it available.
Changing CDs in this format takes usually just a few seconds for the player to read and recognize the CD and be ready for playing. Actually playing it is virtually trouble free. The quality of roads we normally drive on every day are some of the worst you would probably ever see, and we have absolutely no skipping or error problems. Very impressive.
This model has a detachable face, and at first attaching and detaching it can be frustrating, but once you get the hang of it, it is not too bad and can be done very quickly. Almost quick enough to get you to take it off when you park the car for safety. The operative word being…almost. Usually I am still too lazy to do so. But still a nice feature to have when you really think you need it. Also, in case you do want to take off the face, but are the forgetful type, the player beeps at you after your turn off the ignition to remind you that you did not take it off. The beeping is not so annoying to bother you, but at the same time it would be hard to miss if you really needed to hear it.
I am not a true audiophile, and the speakers installed in my truck are probably just average, but the sound produced is good for me. Having the choice of different equalizer settings is nice depending on what music you favor at any given time, since access to those settings is just a touch of a button. You can also custom make an equalizer setting to go along with the half dozen or so preset versions. Need more bass? Good grief, I hope not...even with my normal speakers, I get plenty of bass without having to adjust anything. Changing the equalizer settings gives you as much bass, treble, or vocal as you, or rather the car next to you, would want.
Preset radio stations? You got what you need. I am more of a constant CD person (I did mention storing 30 CDs at once right?), so I do not experiment much with the radio, but I have not had many problems. Manual tuning takes a bit more work…I think I figured it out at one point, but I try to program all the stations we would need when I got the truck. Good thing though that I do not experiment much with the radio, otherwise this might be a little annoying.
There is also a "ATT" button which might have some fancy function, but for me in the real world, it works as an instant mute button. This is nice for conversations from the back of the vehicle, and beats turning down the volume all the way and then back up for just brief needs.
I really like the fact that you can not only use the fast forward buttons for selecting the next track, but also to genuinely fast forward in the track itself by pressing and holding the button. Most players I have had or used before have not had this capability.
Other features? There is a dim feature for the lights at night and even an off switch for those times when you just want the player, well, off. And although I do not have one, this is set up for controlling your sub woofer should you chose to get one in the options for controlling the sound (also easily accessible by pressing one button and scrolling through fade, sub, left/right, etc.)
Anything really annoying or problematic? Well, I have tried the shuffle program a couple times, and have not got it to work as I wanted, in that it shuffles through the particular CD or group, not all the music over the entire CD. Hmmm, shuffling just through one CD is not exactly what I had in mind. However, this could be attributable to user error (perish the thought!), since I was trying to mess with this feature and drive at the same time.
Otherwise, this player has met all my expectations, and I did not even buy it! I was preparing to switch whatever was in there for a yet undetermined model, but have been pleased enough with this that I would even consider getting another one, or a similar model for another vehicle should the need arise.
UPDATE May 2007...I bought two more of these units for my other vehicles, I have been happy enough with it, and it has performed just as well in the other vehicles.
In my other car we used a Sony walkman with Atrac3 compatibility, so finding this player already installed in the car was quite a pleasant surprise. I use regular Mp3 format for some stuff I listen to, but converting to Atrac3 is nice (ah…if you have Sony stuff!) in that I fit about 30 CDs on one CD that way. Doing this on a Discman is ok, but unless I had the player right in front of my face, it was hard to know what was playing, track names, etc. Having the in dash version with the nice large characters displayed to give you that information is nice. Plus, you can change the display to show the clock, track number, CD, or track name. When you are listening to 30 different CDs, this comes in very handy trying to remember all that. This character display could be bigger, but really, what you need is displayed large enough. Sure, there are no fancy graphics or images flying by on the screen, but for function, this works very well. Now, if you want to look good, perhaps try something more ornate. No changing colors of the blue screen and red glow buttons. Again, not a factor for me.
Moving through the 30 (or more) possible different CDs on your single CD is relatively easy, there are two buttons that double as preset one and two (they are identified above the numbers as "-…Group…+" and this takes you through the different CDs, or group files that you could create through the software on your computer. If you have never experimented with the Sony software needed to make all this happen, it can take some getting used to, but burning the CDs uses a "Simple Burner" program that if you already have the music on your computer makes it fairly simple to set up. Burning, at least on my computer takes quite a while, but I usually just find something else to do while it is working. Really though, if you have several hundred CDs…using this method it is quite possible to have every single CD you own in your vehicle with you…no worrying if you have the CDs you want with you on a road trip, or getting an urge for a particular song and not having it available.
Changing CDs in this format takes usually just a few seconds for the player to read and recognize the CD and be ready for playing. Actually playing it is virtually trouble free. The quality of roads we normally drive on every day are some of the worst you would probably ever see, and we have absolutely no skipping or error problems. Very impressive.
This model has a detachable face, and at first attaching and detaching it can be frustrating, but once you get the hang of it, it is not too bad and can be done very quickly. Almost quick enough to get you to take it off when you park the car for safety. The operative word being…almost. Usually I am still too lazy to do so. But still a nice feature to have when you really think you need it. Also, in case you do want to take off the face, but are the forgetful type, the player beeps at you after your turn off the ignition to remind you that you did not take it off. The beeping is not so annoying to bother you, but at the same time it would be hard to miss if you really needed to hear it.
I am not a true audiophile, and the speakers installed in my truck are probably just average, but the sound produced is good for me. Having the choice of different equalizer settings is nice depending on what music you favor at any given time, since access to those settings is just a touch of a button. You can also custom make an equalizer setting to go along with the half dozen or so preset versions. Need more bass? Good grief, I hope not...even with my normal speakers, I get plenty of bass without having to adjust anything. Changing the equalizer settings gives you as much bass, treble, or vocal as you, or rather the car next to you, would want.
Preset radio stations? You got what you need. I am more of a constant CD person (I did mention storing 30 CDs at once right?), so I do not experiment much with the radio, but I have not had many problems. Manual tuning takes a bit more work…I think I figured it out at one point, but I try to program all the stations we would need when I got the truck. Good thing though that I do not experiment much with the radio, otherwise this might be a little annoying.
There is also a "ATT" button which might have some fancy function, but for me in the real world, it works as an instant mute button. This is nice for conversations from the back of the vehicle, and beats turning down the volume all the way and then back up for just brief needs.
I really like the fact that you can not only use the fast forward buttons for selecting the next track, but also to genuinely fast forward in the track itself by pressing and holding the button. Most players I have had or used before have not had this capability.
Other features? There is a dim feature for the lights at night and even an off switch for those times when you just want the player, well, off. And although I do not have one, this is set up for controlling your sub woofer should you chose to get one in the options for controlling the sound (also easily accessible by pressing one button and scrolling through fade, sub, left/right, etc.)
Anything really annoying or problematic? Well, I have tried the shuffle program a couple times, and have not got it to work as I wanted, in that it shuffles through the particular CD or group, not all the music over the entire CD. Hmmm, shuffling just through one CD is not exactly what I had in mind. However, this could be attributable to user error (perish the thought!), since I was trying to mess with this feature and drive at the same time.
Otherwise, this player has met all my expectations, and I did not even buy it! I was preparing to switch whatever was in there for a yet undetermined model, but have been pleased enough with this that I would even consider getting another one, or a similar model for another vehicle should the need arise.
UPDATE May 2007...I bought two more of these units for my other vehicles, I have been happy enough with it, and it has performed just as well in the other vehicles.
