Aiwa CDC-X304 Car CD Player
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- Player Type: CD
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Good especially for the price.
Pros
Good price, good features and AUX input.
Cons
Menus/functions poorly designed, no dimmer lead.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
For an entry level CD this is a good, lower priced unit. If your seriously into car audio this guy is probably not for you.
I purchased this unit as a cost effective replacement for a factory tape deck. The factor that weighed most in my decision is the AUX input. Why doesn't everyone do this? So far I have been happy with it's performance especially given I paid around $100 for it, however there are pros and cons on this one. I will say the sound quality is not quite up to par with comparably priced units (JVC and Sony).
The first thing I noticed is that the tuner is pretty sensitive in comparison with most factory units I have dealt with and with many other aftermarket units. Of course there is a "Local" setting to curb this to keep the station from walking all over your receiver. The display is a light blue only (which is pretty bright) and there is a dimmer for night driving but you have to press through a short button sequence to dim it (annoying). You would think since the unit is dimmable that a illumination or dimmer lead would be part of the wiring harness to dim it when the car lights come on.... not. But other little things like power off CD eject and insertion, removable face and auto preset stations make this a nice little unit in general.
There is an EQ of sorts, although its not a graphical one. It's based on bands (accessible with the forward and reverse CD controls... awkward) and a numerical setting for each band: high, low, mid and sub. Oh and fade and balance are tacked onto the end of that which is also not very intuitive. The H-Bass button gives you access to the lowest band, and the unit comes with common preprogrammed "profiles": Pop, Rock, etc. Both of these features are pretty useless in my opinion... I have tended to set and forget.
My favorite part of this (besides the aux input)unit is the volume control... one very big analog-style button. I can zip it up or down in an instant and not fiddle with press-press-pressing buttons. The button layout is good. Not too much clutter but probably could have been done with less buttons (and better menu navigation layout) and those buttons lead to various menus. There seems to be no rhyme or reason why certain menus and functions were placed under certain buttons. And functions that you would think would be grouped with other functions are not. In other words the menu system is inconsistent and takes some real getting used to, especially considering these menus have to be traversed while actually operating the vehicle.
Installation was what you would expect: 8 speaker wires, switched 12, constant 12, amp remote, and antenna lead and ground. Presto your done. There are pre-outs on this one but am not currently using them.
The first thing I noticed is that the tuner is pretty sensitive in comparison with most factory units I have dealt with and with many other aftermarket units. Of course there is a "Local" setting to curb this to keep the station from walking all over your receiver. The display is a light blue only (which is pretty bright) and there is a dimmer for night driving but you have to press through a short button sequence to dim it (annoying). You would think since the unit is dimmable that a illumination or dimmer lead would be part of the wiring harness to dim it when the car lights come on.... not. But other little things like power off CD eject and insertion, removable face and auto preset stations make this a nice little unit in general.
There is an EQ of sorts, although its not a graphical one. It's based on bands (accessible with the forward and reverse CD controls... awkward) and a numerical setting for each band: high, low, mid and sub. Oh and fade and balance are tacked onto the end of that which is also not very intuitive. The H-Bass button gives you access to the lowest band, and the unit comes with common preprogrammed "profiles": Pop, Rock, etc. Both of these features are pretty useless in my opinion... I have tended to set and forget.
My favorite part of this (besides the aux input)unit is the volume control... one very big analog-style button. I can zip it up or down in an instant and not fiddle with press-press-pressing buttons. The button layout is good. Not too much clutter but probably could have been done with less buttons (and better menu navigation layout) and those buttons lead to various menus. There seems to be no rhyme or reason why certain menus and functions were placed under certain buttons. And functions that you would think would be grouped with other functions are not. In other words the menu system is inconsistent and takes some real getting used to, especially considering these menus have to be traversed while actually operating the vehicle.
Installation was what you would expect: 8 speaker wires, switched 12, constant 12, amp remote, and antenna lead and ground. Presto your done. There are pre-outs on this one but am not currently using them.
