Just for personal reference, I have used and installed a myriad of car audio products, and per my experience, Sony stuff is NOT on par with what I typically install. Sony P5s are nothing special, but they are not horrible. They are just not great buys for your money.
No, I doubt it is my installation skills as I have plenty of happy customers and successful installs. No I don't like jumping on bandwagons (see my Do not post X vs. Y thread) but this is a case where an ill informed consumer typically could have done better for themselves. I have used Sony Xplod head units, they are tolerable, and look decent, but are not especially feature rich. Sony amps typically seem to run un-naturally hot which is a problem down here in Florida, and I have had two cases where Sony amps have cooked themselves on properly driven and installed setups; that is to say there were in no way, whatsoever, being overworked.
Older Sony stuff is pretty decent, but I see a problem with Sony that is getting worse: they are producing more and more volume with seemingly increasingly lax fault tolerance, and their growing batches of products seem to be less and less reliable. Now, perhaps it is just me noticing this, but for the reason of the recent decline in craftsmanship and quality in the Sony car audio line, I recommend people avoid them when I design car audio systems for them. Perhaps Sony will have an epiphany and turn around and start improving like they have been doing with their ES line of HT components. Perhaps they are going the revamp the Xplod line or replace it all together. If they do something that seems indicative of improvement, I will probably consider them as a viable option for reliable and consistent car audio gear in the future. Until then, Sony car audio is a no-go in my book.
I hope this post has been mature and well versed enough to get your respect and attention. I do not intend to jump on bandwagons nor follow like a lemming, but I based my judgment off of my own personal experience, and determined to agree with the majority… is that a crime?
-----Nate
