Sony XPloD CDXGT320 car stereo -- recommendations for/against?

[WhipperSnapper]

Since some cretin smashed my passenger side window and stole my Pioneer DEH-2400F two weekends ago, I need a new CD-player stereo for my car. This one seems like a pretty good value and it would come with free installation.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm...m/ccd/productDetail.do

Are the Sony XploD's decent or are they junky? Would a bottom-of-the-line Kenwood KDC-138 be better (available for $80 installed elsewhere)? Would a comparably priced JVC be better? I'd like to keep it all under $110 if possible. Is Dual a worthwhile brand or is it brand X junk?

One of the big issues is AM and FM reception and the ability to seek/scan channels. Is one brand known for having better reception than another brand or is it primarily dependent on the quality of the vehicle's antennas?

 

[jtvang125]

Their old stuff before the xplod crap was quite good. Their ES line were built like tanks too. As for now I wouldn't touch anything sony for car audio. Stay away from Dual as well.

http://www.crutchfield.com/App...9872&c=3&tp=5684&avf=N

Alittle higher than what you want to spend but you get Alpine build and sound quality along with mp3 playback.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I heard from someone else who'd owned an XploD that he thought they were crappy, too, which is too bad because that particular model has nice features and specs (on paper, anyway). I'm planning to buy one that has free installation because I've never wired a car stereo before and I'm not sure whether or not my vehicle sustained any further damage, so the Alpine isn't an option for me. What do you think of Kenwood? I can get this one installed for $100 (plus harness plug and tax):

http://www.crutchfield.com/App...i=113MP208&c=3&tp=5684

 

[RandomFool]

I've got an old sony xplod in my car. It sounds good to me but I'm far from an audio expert. A friend of mine who's much more of an The bigger issue I have is the damn thing has trouble reading disc occasionally and will randomly pop them out saying "disc read error". The interface on mine also sucks but that one looks like it's better.

I bought it because it was the one one available with mp3 playback at the store when I was there. I was leaving for a trip and wanted to replace my tape deck which had a fork sticking out of it as that was the only way I could get the thing to read the tape -> mp3/cd player adapter I had. Not a bad buy but I'm sure I could have done better.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I'd love to hear what folks think of Kenwood. I'm leaning towards the Kenwood KDC-MP208 now. I can get that for about $106 installed plus tax. I could get a bottom-of-the-line stereo for about $85 installed, but I think I'd be better off spending the extra $20 (which is nothing over, say, five years).

 

[chucky2]

I just replied to your The Garage thread on the Kenwood...check it out, you might be better off with a Kenwood Excelon KDC-X591.

That MillionBuy.com place has great prices, and their overall Yahoo merchant score is very high with many many reviews (so a good sample size). However...

...after sorting by Lowest Score, it looks like they've definitely had some problems with the service side of their business. As long as you don't have a problem with the deck, that shouldn't be an issue though.

There was another good retailer who had prices that rivaled MillionBuy's and I'm trying to remember their name...if I do, I'll post back here and at your other thread.

Basically Crutchfield is great as a search engine....their prices are insane.

Chuck