# Sony CDX-C910 & XDP-210EQ



## shutterguy (Feb 10, 2015)

Through help of a good forum member, I located a Sony Mobile ES CDX-C910 and XDP-210EQ, both in pristine condition. Very easy up to this point, hard part was finding Sony's out-of-production XA-D210 digital output adapter. Found one on ebay within the week for $100, insane considering Sony sold these for $25 back in the '99/'00, however I needed it and no one makes anything like it. Located a 5M unilink cable and an optical cable and was all set. The C910 replaced my Alpine CDA-9857 and sounds much better. 

I was thinking about getting a C90 if the right deal came along. I've had the 910, C90, & 210EQ before, I was thinking between the 2 headunits shouldn't be any sound difference using a digital out, considering you are relying on the D/A converters in the 210EQ at that point. Anyway glad to have the old school ES back in my ride, only thing that scares me if it ever needs fixed.


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## deeppinkdiver (Feb 4, 2011)

Eli.. Very happy to see you made the connections you were seeking and were able to pick up these great old pieces. I knew sending you to Tan was going to make you happy, for one he is an amazing guy to deal with and two, that is all my old equipment that you picked up from him and I can attest to how it was all cared for. Great to see this stuff being used together!

Sorry to hear about the D210 price they got you for, at least you were able to get one! Two thumbs up!! Cant wait to hear your impressions and see what you come up with on your install.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

The Sony ES CDX-C910 is pure sex.

It was my first true SQ head unit and is still my absolute favorite "no frills" SQ head unit. IMO, it has a simple, straightforward, and beautiful layout. 

And I love the design of the Rotary Commander that you can operate completely by touch once you learn the functions of the buttons & knobs, though I wish they had made it slightly larger. The only real negative for me was that the display was completely unreadable in full sunlight, and difficult to see in bright ambient light.

Unfortunately, Sony had quite a few problems with this unit. The DC-DC converter (that separate small metal box with the ~18" pigtail) is usually the first thing to have problems. It powers the display and a few other circuits in the main chassis. It was also finicky when trying to play burned CD-R discs. Make sure that you use high-quality CD-R's and don't burn them at anything higher than 4x speed.

This HU is great when combined with the XDP-210EQ, or the XDP-4000X with its higher-quality DACs and circuitry. You are right that the DACs in the Head Unit will be bypassed, and it will use the DACs in the XDP's when it is connected to one. And you will notice a definite jump in SQ if you use the XDP-4000X. The downside to the 4000X is that you need to program it/make all tuning adjustments using an older 32-bit Windows XP computer that has the old style DB9 Serial Port, or use a USB to Serial Port adapter cable, and the software is from the Windows 3.1/95 era!

This HU is even better when combined with one of the CD Changers with an Optical Output (If you still use CD's!) Note that you still need to connect Analog RCAs between the HU and XDP-210EQ or XDP-4000X to get the AM/FM/TV Tuner output. Only the CD signal is sent over the Toslink Optical cable. The analog line output from the Tuner is not routed over the Sony Uni-Link Bus cable, unlike Alpine's AI-net cable.

These units have something called "Custom File Memory/Custom Disc Memory". It is a tedious process, but you can program or name each individual CD that you use and Assign Specific DSP/EQ settings for that specific CD, so that when changing discs either in the Head Unit or the CD Changer, the processor will load the custom EQ/DSP settings for that particular disc. 

If Sony reissued this HU with a modern display and a direct Coaxial RCA output AND Toslink Optical output (without the need for the XA-D210/D211) I would grab one in a heartbeat.

You can download a PDF of the User Manual here if you don't have it:

http://pdf.crse.com/manuals/3856715212.pdf

Enjoy this beauty while it lasts!


.


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## vinman (Feb 5, 2013)

Tanx for all the info 

Just wondering , can the XDP-210EQ or the XDP-4000X be used with other lower model number Sony CDX-C??? HU's ?

Tanx .......... Vin


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## shutterguy (Feb 10, 2015)

Thanks Steve and bbfoto, 

I've have over 600 cd's so I'm sure the 910 will get its use. For the life of me I couldn't understand why Sony didn't just put an optical jack on the back of C90 and 910, they did it for the MDX-800REC MiniDisc headunit so you optically record from one of their high-end cd changers. I had a full blown ES, Phoenix Gold, and Boston Acoustics system that I should have kept, however at the time I decided I didn't need it. I had the whole list below in a '96 Chevy Blazer LT. It was the best system I ever put together after working car install for a few years. I will say the C90 was good over the 910 with the fact that it could read CD-Text, it made things easier when going through the changer magazine........

Sony CDX-C910 (sold to get the C90)
Sony CDX-C90
Sony XT-40V TV Tuner
Sony 5" Monitor
Sony MDX-65 MD Changer
Sony CDX-828 Changer
Sony XA-U40D optical multi-changer device (rare find)
Boston Acoustics 6.43 Pro Series (Bi-Amped)
Phoenix Gold Power, Ground, and Audio Cables
Phoenix Gold ZX450
Phoenix Gold ZX500
Phoenix Gold XMAX 12" (x2)

The only thing I have from that list today besides the pictures items in my first post is the Boston's.


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## shutterguy (Feb 10, 2015)

vinman said:


> Tanx for all the info
> 
> Just wondering , can the XDP-210EQ or the XDP-4000X be used with other lower model number Sony CDX-C??? HU's ?
> 
> Tanx .......... Vin


Far as I know the CDX-780 will work with the 210EQ, not sure about the 4000x though. That might be it, the U50D was another one with limited compatibility.


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## soccerguru607 (Nov 4, 2009)

deeppinkdiver said:


> Eli.. Very happy to see you made the connections you were seeking and were able to pick up these great old pieces. I knew sending you to Tan was going to make you happy, for one he is an amazing guy to deal with and two, that is all my old equipment that you picked up from him and I can attest to how it was all cared for. Great to see this stuff being used together!
> 
> Sorry to hear about the D210 price they got you for, at least you were able to get one! Two thumbs up!! Cant wait to hear your impressions and see what you come up with on your install.


Didn't I bought Tan's DLS ultimate collection? Very nice person to deal with. His probably related to my family lives in Indonesia.


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## [email protected]'go (Aug 22, 2013)

You can write my article about the Sony CDX C910 (in french) here: 
Sony CDX 910rds; un combiné évolutif haut de gamme


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

how does volume control work? I know with the alpines if you use optical out the volume needs to be controlled either on the processor or with ainet cable, is this what the unilink cable is for? to send volume control/input switching to the 210 eq?


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## [email protected]'go (Aug 22, 2013)

With the C910


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## legend94 (Mar 15, 2006)

iirc the 910 had a better daytime display than the c90 which if you are using the processor would be enough reason for me to use the 910. that c90 could barely be seen in the day


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Lycancatt said:


> how does volume control work? I know with the alpines if you use optical out the volume needs to be controlled either on the processor or with ainet cable, is this what the unilink cable is for? to send volume control/input switching to the 210 eq?


Yes. The UniLink cable carries the volume control/input switching/CD or MD changer control data from the HU and sends it to the processor.



legend94 said:


> iirc the 910 had a better daytime display than the c90 which if you are using the processor would be enough reason for me to use the 910. that c90 could barely be seen in the day


Yeah, the C90 display is abysmal as well. You would think they would've made it much better after the C910. Sony did actually try a new display technology (at the time) in the C90, which was highly touted and one of the main Bullet Points in Sony's advertising and marketing for the unit, but IMO it failed miserably. There's just not enough brightness or contrast with the C90, and this gets worse with age, along with horizontal and vertical lines crossing through the display...kind of like having a bad pixel in a LCD panel, but instead it's an entire vertical or horizontal line segment of the display, and more & more of these will show up over time.  In all other respects it's a stellar unit!

I'm still running the C90/4000X combo in one of my vehicles now. I have 2 back-up C90 main units and 3 extra faceplates for this reason, haha. :blush:


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

[email protected]'go said:


> You can write my article about the Sony CDX C910 (in french) here:
> Sony CDX 910rds; un combiné évolutif haut de gamme


Chris, very nice article to read. Thank you.


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## jtaudioacc (Apr 6, 2010)

shutterguy said:


> Thanks Steve and bbfoto,
> 
> I've have over 600 cd's so I'm sure the 910 will get its use. For the life of me I couldn't understand why Sony didn't just put an optical jack on the back of C90 and 910, they did it for the MDX-800REC MiniDisc headunit so you optically record from one of their high-end cd changers. I had a full blown ES, Phoenix Gold, and Boston Acoustics system that I should have kept, however at the time I decided I didn't need it. I had the whole list below in a '96 Chevy Blazer LT. It was the best system I ever put together after working car install for a few years. I will say the C90 was good over the 910 with the fact that it could read CD-Text, it made things easier when going through the changer magazine........
> 
> ...


the 910 didn't do CD Text? or your changer didn't? i mostly had the 900, cause you know, boomin' the changer would still skip with (12) 12"s. lol i think the last changer i used was the 2001? i also had the big suitcase one as well. but i know for sure i used cd text on some changer cause i loved the two line dot matrix of those head units.


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## vinman (Feb 5, 2013)

shutterguy said:


> Far as I know the CDX-780 will work with the 210EQ, not sure about the 4000x though. That might be it, the U50D was another one with limited compatibility.


I'm assuming this CDX-C860 has the needed connectors (except digital out) and should be able to control the XDP4000X and a CD changer .....










I'm assuming the optical connection can occur downstream from the HU , between the XDP4KX and the CD changer and the HU would basically act as a controller ?

Thank you .......... Vin


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## shutterguy (Feb 10, 2015)

[email protected]'go said:


> You can write my article about the Sony CDX C910 (in french) here:
> Sony CDX 910rds; un combiné évolutif haut de gamme


Nice write-up and nice pics!



bbfoto said:


> Yes. The UniLink cable carries the volume control/input switching/CD or MD changer control data from the HU and sends it to the processor.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's what I call being prepared!! My C90 same thing, display went out over time, very hard to find any shop to work on them. 



jtaudioacc said:


> the 910 didn't do CD Text? or your changer didn't? i mostly had the 900, cause you know, boomin' the changer would still skip with (12) 12"s. lol i think the last changer i used was the 2001? i also had the big suitcase one as well. but i know for sure i used cd text on some changer cause i loved the two line dot matrix of those head units.


No CD-Text on the 910, just Custom File Memory, that was manual entry, limited character space, and limited amount of cd's that you could name. The 828 changers had CD-Text support.



vinman said:


> I'm assuming this CDX-C860 has the needed connectors (except digital out) and should be able to control the XDP4000X and a CD changer .....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It was a grey area as far as what units could control the DSP/EQ units. All of the trunk units (210EQ, U50D, 4000x) had unilink and analog audio inputs which was the basic for signal and control, the tricky part was headunit support. Some could control the U50D and not the other 2, some could do all 3. Yes, you could optically connect a changer to the 4K and the HU would be the control piece.


TV control was hit or miss on the C90, I remember when I worked at a Sony car/home store, I would call Sony tech support, ask them to hook up the tv tuner to the C90 to see if it worked before we purchased one. Amazingly it did, they said it wasn't designed with tv control in mind but it knew the device was connected to it.


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## jtaudioacc (Apr 6, 2010)

shutterguy said:


> No CD-Text on the 910, just Custom File Memory, that was manual entry, limited character space, and limited amount of cd's that you could name. The 828 changers had CD-Text support.


ah, that was it. had to input it. i remember that. then, my friend has a tahoe with the same setup, but two 828 changers.


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## My98RT10 (Dec 25, 2014)

Have this combo (CDX 910 & XDP 210), too, and love it! Installed it in my '98 Viper because it is the same age and I wanted to go old school. Combined it with 2 Alpine amps (MRV F409 & MRV T757). Awesome package! Will post some pics later...


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## My98RT10 (Dec 25, 2014)

I am not allowed to add pics or links due to my limited number of posts....


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## vinman (Feb 5, 2013)

Hello there and welcome 

Take your time , look around , there's lots to read in the forum 

Join a couple of discussions and write something , soon you'll be able to post images 

I for one would be interested in seeing the pictures and reading about your experience with these sony units .

In the meanwhile you can write and get a story ready to add to the images 

Cheers ...... Vin


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## My98RT10 (Dec 25, 2014)

vinman said:


> Hello there and welcome
> 
> Take your time , look around , there's lots to read in the forum
> 
> ...


Will do! Thanks!


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## shutterguy (Feb 10, 2015)

Working on a tablet install to integrate with this!!   Glad to see audio heads still out using the old school ES products.


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