Sony MEX-1HD Car CD / MP3 Player
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Similar in In Dash Receivers
- MP3 / WMA Playback: MP3 Playback
- Additional Features: Built-in Hard Disk Animated Display
- Anti-Theft Protection: Detachable Face Panel
- Player Type: CD
- Controlled Devices: XM Ready
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User ReviewRead All Reviews »
Could've been better but,... still very cool !
Pros
Look, File/Song/Menu Navigation, Skip Protection, & amount of information on one screen
Cons
PRICE!!! constrained features that would otherwise be awesome.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
The radio has a bunch of constrained features. Things could be better. Still, it looks outstanding, sounds just as good, & is easy to use.
Overall, I'm happy with the Sony MEX-1HD. My main reasons for getting it were the look, the file navigation, skip protection, and how it displays lots of information on one screen. I had been looking at this unit in circuit city for quite some time. I noticed the insane price immediately which is why I just put it off so long. I finally heard that this model was discontinued so I started looking on eBay for a good deal. So, here's the low-down from me :
The Good Stuff :
- The look. You should be able to see it in pictures but, it's got a shiny, blue-ish, reflective look. The buttons are neatly arranged and at night, the combination of light blue and royal blue lit buttons looks really great. It does however collect a lot of smudges from you fingers.
- The display. I've had a few car MP3 car receivers now and I like having more information on one screen. I like to be able to see the song name, song number, track time, time of day, or whatever else, all at once without flipping through display modes. Also, the screen size and character size make it possible to see a lot more of the song/file names but, it typically does still have to scroll.
- Song/File navigation. Once again, from previously owning and using other MP3 receivers I've learned to appreciate this sort of thing. With the rotary knobs and soft keys, it's very easy to navigate through directories on the hard drive & cd's when you're looking for that particular song. Going through the audio setup stuff like bass, treble, ext. is also just as easy the way Sony did it. Very impressive in my opinion.
- Skip Protection. I wasn't sure what to expect but, Sony has this "g-protection" thing on this radio. I drive a camaro and the ride can be pretty rough at times so it's important for me to have skip protection for steady music. I've had it for about a month now and haven't heard a single skip or anything of the sort. It's also kind of neat to have a CD tray that you can 'click' the CD into place in it. This would allow someone to use those mini or odd shaped cd's as compared to other radios which you feed the CD in a horizontal slit.
The Bad Stuff :
- The Price. OMG! When I originally saw this radio, it was selling for $1500 in circuit city. I was still immediately attracted to it but, new it was just out of my range. I ended up finding it on ebay and battled it out at the end of an auction for a little over $600. Still Pricey but, much better.
- ATRAC3 File format. I wasn't to excited about the hard drive feature in the first place but, the whole ATRAC3 file format thing sucks. Basically Sony has their own proprietary file format call ATRAC3 and that's the type of files the radio creates on the hard drive when you copy a CD.
- Putting Music on the HD. You cannot copy an existing collection of MP3s to the hard drive through USB nor with a burned CD. YOU CAN create a regular audio CD (burned) and copy those songs onto the drive. This would require some time to get 10GB of songs that you want from the computer, onto a CD in regular audio format, and then ripped to the hard drive at an 8X speed. You can also import songs via the Sony magic gate card slot but, your limited to the size of Sony memory sticks, and you better have your own because the unit doesn't come w/ any. I was most disappointed with the fact that you couldn't copy MP3's to the hard drive via USB or CD. This is part of Sony's digital rights management (DRM) efforts, and there's a check out/in procedure that protects against music sharing.
- The USB plug. I basically explained it in the last part but, it can be used with a Sony network walkman, which I never even heard of. I mean, cool if you have one I guess, but, what a waste of potential. I wish somebody out there would mod this thing to allow people to copy MP3's to the drive!!!
Some other things that aren't necessarily good or bad (IMO) :
- Boot-up time. Yes, this thing is packing a lot of programming so, every time you turn the radio on from scratch (i.e. - start your car) it takes like 10-15 seconds to turn on and start playing music.
- Remote, what remote?! Sony did design this radio with a remote in mind although they didn't include one with it. So, if you want one, you'll need to spend another $20-80 on the Sony RM-X6s or RM-X5s. Also, what is up with the wacky remotes?!? When did the traditional rectangular shape become bad?
I told you up front that I like the radio and I really do. I was well aware of its short comings before I bought it so it wasn't a shocker for me. It sounds just as good as it looks so, I'm very happy with it and would recommend it if you don't mind the cost.
- Hyperzone
The Good Stuff :
- The look. You should be able to see it in pictures but, it's got a shiny, blue-ish, reflective look. The buttons are neatly arranged and at night, the combination of light blue and royal blue lit buttons looks really great. It does however collect a lot of smudges from you fingers.
- The display. I've had a few car MP3 car receivers now and I like having more information on one screen. I like to be able to see the song name, song number, track time, time of day, or whatever else, all at once without flipping through display modes. Also, the screen size and character size make it possible to see a lot more of the song/file names but, it typically does still have to scroll.
- Song/File navigation. Once again, from previously owning and using other MP3 receivers I've learned to appreciate this sort of thing. With the rotary knobs and soft keys, it's very easy to navigate through directories on the hard drive & cd's when you're looking for that particular song. Going through the audio setup stuff like bass, treble, ext. is also just as easy the way Sony did it. Very impressive in my opinion.
- Skip Protection. I wasn't sure what to expect but, Sony has this "g-protection" thing on this radio. I drive a camaro and the ride can be pretty rough at times so it's important for me to have skip protection for steady music. I've had it for about a month now and haven't heard a single skip or anything of the sort. It's also kind of neat to have a CD tray that you can 'click' the CD into place in it. This would allow someone to use those mini or odd shaped cd's as compared to other radios which you feed the CD in a horizontal slit.
The Bad Stuff :
- The Price. OMG! When I originally saw this radio, it was selling for $1500 in circuit city. I was still immediately attracted to it but, new it was just out of my range. I ended up finding it on ebay and battled it out at the end of an auction for a little over $600. Still Pricey but, much better.
- ATRAC3 File format. I wasn't to excited about the hard drive feature in the first place but, the whole ATRAC3 file format thing sucks. Basically Sony has their own proprietary file format call ATRAC3 and that's the type of files the radio creates on the hard drive when you copy a CD.
- Putting Music on the HD. You cannot copy an existing collection of MP3s to the hard drive through USB nor with a burned CD. YOU CAN create a regular audio CD (burned) and copy those songs onto the drive. This would require some time to get 10GB of songs that you want from the computer, onto a CD in regular audio format, and then ripped to the hard drive at an 8X speed. You can also import songs via the Sony magic gate card slot but, your limited to the size of Sony memory sticks, and you better have your own because the unit doesn't come w/ any. I was most disappointed with the fact that you couldn't copy MP3's to the hard drive via USB or CD. This is part of Sony's digital rights management (DRM) efforts, and there's a check out/in procedure that protects against music sharing.
- The USB plug. I basically explained it in the last part but, it can be used with a Sony network walkman, which I never even heard of. I mean, cool if you have one I guess, but, what a waste of potential. I wish somebody out there would mod this thing to allow people to copy MP3's to the drive!!!
Some other things that aren't necessarily good or bad (IMO) :
- Boot-up time. Yes, this thing is packing a lot of programming so, every time you turn the radio on from scratch (i.e. - start your car) it takes like 10-15 seconds to turn on and start playing music.
- Remote, what remote?! Sony did design this radio with a remote in mind although they didn't include one with it. So, if you want one, you'll need to spend another $20-80 on the Sony RM-X6s or RM-X5s. Also, what is up with the wacky remotes?!? When did the traditional rectangular shape become bad?
I told you up front that I like the radio and I really do. I was well aware of its short comings before I bought it so it wasn't a shocker for me. It sounds just as good as it looks so, I'm very happy with it and would recommend it if you don't mind the cost.
- Hyperzone
