Good Car Stereo

About a year ago, I got my used 98 Nissan. The car's stereo was absolute garbage. Nothing worked. That is to say that only about 3 buttons were functional, and if you punched the console you could here the radio for 20 seconds on a good day. I'm 17 and a very avid music fan, so this stereo wasn't cutting it.

I looked around and saw this Sony as the most inexpensive stereo with the features I wanted. It has a front auxiliary input which was my primary concern. Like many people, I have all my music on an mp3 player and the aux input for this price is what made me chose this. However, there are many other good features. It has a CD player which is supposedly very resistant to skipping (I've never used it except to test it the first day so I don't know how good it really is). It has an AM/FM tuner, which is always good, and a bright, clear display. Set up for the digital stuff is pretty easy. It has a detachable faceplate, but it's a $80 stereo, and I don't feel like carrying a faceplate around with me/shoving it in the glove compartment, so I don't use it. Actually, it seems to be hard to put back the < 3 times that I've used it.

Now, for installation I did this myself with a kit purchased for 25 USD at Circuit City. I don't have much money, so paying for installation was an unnecessary cost. The installation would have gone very easily, but at Circuit City my supposedly "new" install kit was opened and missing directions despite my having been told it was opened "just to show the items". After finding the directions online (which was a pain) it went pretty smoothly.

My only complaint is the noise from exiting the car without removing the detachable faceplate. This little beep is only a minor bother, and you get used to it, but... I do wish I could turn it off.

For such an inexpensive stereo, you can't beat the many features of the item.