# Sony DSX-S310BTX



## Customsound79 (Nov 13, 2011)

I've been through a few dozen head units in my time but I want to focus on the one I've been using for the last 4 months. For the last two years my Alpine CDA-117 has been in 2 vehicles. It was a decent deck and had the Alpine name to give me reassurance that it was the best single din unit on the market.

It was the purchase of a 3rd (spare) car that plunged me into shopping for another head unit as I was to leave the 117 in my truck. (Backtrack a couple of years)I was spoiled by my Kenwood Excelon KDC-X979 for it's copious amount of audio tweaking abilities that is non-existent in todays market. Features like independent speaker output level, indepenent EQ per source, and seperate EQ for front and rear and all the other tweakers necessities like time alignment, 5 or more band parametric EQ, etc. The Alpine didn't offer the same amount of control but it was current with the iPod movement. It was after the first couple of months I found the Alpine falling flat in it's ability to interface with the iPod in a coherent way.

I found this Sony just in my desperate search for both iPod/iPhone control and superior audio control. Man was I suprised at just how handicapped the Alpine was. The Sony offered better audio control with a 7 band parametric and independent EQ per source along with the standard staples of audio tweaker demands. These are options that seem to be OVERLOOKED by other manufacturers in the current market at almost any price. Even my beloved Excelon had given up it's desire to please audiophiles. 

Enter the Sony DSX-S310BTX. It has most of the control I crave while ditching the CD player and offering an internal iPod tray in it's place. Not only does it interface better on a physical level but navigating through the library puts the Alpine to shame. The Sony has a features that I have been wanting for a long time and that is a real remote control. All other remotes provide the bare minimum of control but the Sony gives you 99% of the decks functions in your hand. Finally! The faceplate is as bad as the Alpine but with the remote this is no longer an issue. You can search by any means neccecary and find your track in a fraction of the time and effort of the Alpine. But, it gets better. The Sony has built in Bluetooth for your phone calls and streaming Pandora or any other audio source in your device.

My only negatives would be the large amount of sources to scroll through and the fact that you have to unplug and plug back in the mp3 source every time you restart the car. It's worth it though. It may be a Sony but they did the homework on this one!


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## nubz69 (Aug 27, 2005)

I have that unit and love it!!! I wish more people knew about how awesome this head unit was. Time Alignment, 7band EQ, 5 crossover points (50,60,80,100,120), 3 slope (6,12,18dB) selections and rear bass enhance. It's an SQ guys dream + bluetooth + pandora control + dual USB!


The reason your iphone needs to be unplugged and plugged back in is because when the unit connects to the iphone's bluetooth, the iphone sets it's audio output to bluetooth instead of the doc connector. Its a minor annoyance but the only way to avoid it is to wait until your bluetooth connects and then plug in your phone.

FYI if you really want to make your car sound good with this head unit. Setup the time alignment, first with measurements and then tweak it by ear. After that I personally recommend turning on the rear base enhance or fading to just your front speakers. The rear bass enhance feature lowpasses your rear drivers to act like little midbass/subs. It has the added affect of improving your soundstage and imaging in the process. I am not sure it is documented but your sub control also affects the crossover point on the rear bass enhance. If you have everything time aligned and setup right the increase in midbass can be huge. For a while I was running the sub crossover @ 120hz and then using the lowpass on the sub amp. This setup had huge midbass but I have since changed my system around quite a bit.

One other tip, if you are using your iphone. Try out a FLAC player like golden ear. You can use it while the head unit is connected to the front USB to get a digital, lossless signal into your head unit.

Sony has really been stepping up their game lately.


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## pimpndahoz (Dec 11, 2011)

I had this unit and LOVED it! Had to ditch it b/c MECA rules say only CD's for now. Oh well, when the rules change I will most likely get another Sony and used it for comps.


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## c_nitty (May 17, 2010)

Any one else used this deck?


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## dobslob (Sep 19, 2011)

I have one in my truck and absolutely love it. There are times that I miss the CD drive, but they pass quickly. The USB drive allows access to my hard drive and the iPod interface shows as much info as I could want. The Bluetooth interface, especially the Pandora portion is great, especially as it switches from music to navigation directions and to my calls. I rarely even think about the fact that I have a single DIN deck in a DDIN location.

The best part for me is the pre-amp. The signal is clean almost all of the way up. It actually soft clips at 48 out of 50 and the output at that point is well over 4 volts. 

To me the display is one of the best available on a single DIN unit. It is clean and clear and I have not even had trouble reading info on it in the AZ sunlight.


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## c_nitty (May 17, 2010)

dobslob said:


> I have one in my truck and absolutely love it. There are times that I miss the CD drive, but they pass quickly. The USB drive allows access to my hard drive and the iPod interface shows as much info as I could want. The Bluetooth interface, especially the Pandora portion is great, especially as it switches from music to navigation directions and to my calls. I rarely even think about the fact that I have a single DIN deck in a DDIN location.
> 
> The best part for me is the pre-amp. The signal is clean almost all of the way up. It actually soft clips at 48 out of 50 and the output at that point is well over 4 volts.
> 
> To me the display is one of the best available on a single DIN unit. It is clean and clear and I have not even had trouble reading info on it in the AZ sunlight.


 Thanks for the info I don't have anything apple so I will get this or the mex bt4000p.


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## damage (Nov 25, 2008)

I have this unit too. It is really an awesome unit. The best thing about it is the pandora interface for ANDROIDS! Sony really hit a home run with this one.


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## dylan199 (Apr 17, 2012)

damage said:


> I have this unit too. It is really an awesome unit. The best thing about it is the pandora interface for ANDROIDS! Sony really hit a home run with this one.


I have it as well and agree it is a great hu!


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