# C90, drz9255, c910, 880prs Comparison.



## s2groove (May 18, 2007)

I had a few headunits laying around and I decided to compare them in a way I thought would give them all and even playing ground. I used some ac to dc power suppllies to provide power to the headunits and to the amp I used, a BK Butler TDB475. I only used 2 channels of the unit but it was more than enough power to successfully drive the Vienna Acoustics Mozart speakers I used in this comparison. For a review on the VA Mozarts you can look here to familiarize yourself with them if your not already: http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/197vienna/index.html
I used several discs as test material. Janis Ian Breaking Silence, Norah Jones Not Too Late, Chesky disc used by MECA, Alicia Keys Songs in A minor, and a Modest Mouse disc. To help me review the units I employed the help of my brother so as to get two opinions and he's not really into car audio (But he does hobby with home audio) so it helps eliminate some of the brand bias that I may have. I tried my best to keep unit bias out of the equation when I was listening to them. All units were set to flat and the x-overs turned off. 

The first unit we both listened to was the DRZ9255. It had a great sound but was a bit on the polished side but very detailed. While very pleasant it didn't sound as transparent as some of the other units. It had good center focus and stage width, but nothing really stood out from the soundstage, everything seemed to stay in place and recessed. That worked better with complex tracks but hurt the unit on vocals and solo's where the emotional connection kind of gets lost. The unit sounded a little warm too, but I enjoyed that myself. With the few gripes I had about the unit it did so many other things well. My final evalution of the unit was an 8.5/10. My brother gave the DRZ a 8.3/10. 

The second unit we listened to was Sony cdx-c90. We booth agreed it was the best performer of the day. Awsome stage layout with the same width as DRZ. It also sounded more neutral than warm and brought out deeper and fuller bass out of the speakers. Unlike the DRZ it was more transparent and it had a more 3D effect. The vocalist would be closer to you and sound more in the room. There was more of an emotional connection with this unit. It also had great pace that made for some foot tapping and head bopping moments. The only gripe I really had with the c90 was that it was a little grainy, but ever so slightly. It didn't take anything away from the music. We both gave the c90 a 9.0/10. 

Third up was the 880prs. Its biggest strength had to be in the imaging department with the best stage width and stable center of the day. The center image even seemed to rise a bit compared to the other two. The unit was squeaky clean as far as noise was concerned. The only thing that hindered it was that it was a bit on the bright side. It was very airy but lost some of the emotional connection I had with the c90. This unit also had a 3D effect to the music. It was more of a clinical sounding unit, not as musical as the other two. Thank God it has all that adjustability to tune it in. It didn't have quite the bass grip the c90 had either. Even though I had some small issues with the 880 it was not outclassed by the uber expensive units like I thought it would have been before the test. I gave the unit a 7.5/10, and my brother gave it a 7.8/10. 

Last but not least was the oldie Sony cdx-c910, the legend. The only reason I couldn't use the unit in a car anymore was because the remote trigger doesn't turn off the amps anymore. But that didn't hurt its audio any. If there is one way I can describe this unit I'd have to say it was romantic. Very warm. I loved it even though it wasn't very neutral. Vocals sounded best on the c910. Bass was rich and full and detailed like the c90. Good emotional connex and good pace. But it had the worst imaging of the group (maybe because of age). While it did have a great center image, the width wasn't there like it was in the others. It didn't image further right or left than the speakers were. The music was more confined between the loudspeakers. This unit was musical as well. Thats why I gave it a little better score than the 880 at 8.0. My brother gave it an 8.2. 

We both discussed our impressions and were pretty even in our evaluations. so final placing goes:

1. Sony CDX-C90
2. Clarion DRZ9255
3. Sony CDX-C910
4. Premier 880PRS


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## 3.5max6spd (Jun 29, 2005)

Great review, i enjoyed reading that-thanks for your time to do that comparo


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## skylar112 (Dec 8, 2005)

Thanks for the review. It was easy to read. I always enjoy seeing what people have to say about their own findings. I love the C90 still one of my favorite headunits to this day. Unfortunately in the cold it didn't function as well, the lack of mp3 or ipod (I know its 10 years old), and the notorious rotary remote failure, but the hu never skipped. Thanks again.


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## elminster (Jan 9, 2007)

yeah but you can have an mp3 changer sky =)


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## skylar112 (Dec 8, 2005)

elminster said:


> yeah but you can have an mp3 changer sky =)


I've done the mp3 changer deal, the text never comes up right, the changer doesn't always read every song on the disk and I just don't want a changer .


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## s2groove (May 18, 2007)

Thanks for the compliments. I have one more subject pending review that just need to be uninstalled. a Denford 8250. Any guesses on how it will fair with this group?


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## skylar112 (Dec 8, 2005)

s2groove said:


> Thanks for the compliments. I have one more subject pending review that just need to be uninstalled. a Denford 8250. Any guesses on how it will fair with this group?



Its a nice deck too, might be a drier sound than the others. I can't remember too far back. But its got a very nice transport.


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## Nass027 (Oct 25, 2006)

Thanks a lot for your time and review.It was very interesting and easy to understand.Cheers.


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## haibane (Sep 29, 2005)

Hey what are you doing with the units when you are done? You are pretty close to me it seems. I'd love to here that clarion deck.


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## s2groove (May 18, 2007)

haibane, that's a possibility. Where are you located? just drop me a pm with details.

-Andy


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## drake78 (May 27, 2007)

Good review, component mixing/matching will also be big factor. Since the TDB amp has a rich sound. Along with the DRZ9255 being on the rich side. IIRC, vienna acoutics speaker are the rich/musical side. Wich might made the overall sound overly rich. I have owned both drx9255 and hx-d10. Clarion's sonic imprint is on the rich side with slightly warm/natural sound.


some important comments from stereophile:
An impression of sound quality made in a show environment does not always provide an accurate assessment of a product's ultimate worth. If a system featuring a certain component disappoints under such conditions, this is not necessarily an indictment of the specific component: poor sound could be due to another component in the system, unfavorable interactions among components, insufficient break-in/warmup, or the ubiquitous "room problems." On the other hand, if the system as a whole sounds good, this would suggest that each of the components is performing to at least an acceptable standard. However, it's still possible for unusually good show sound to be due to a particularly synergistic combination of components and/or a room/speaker interface that just happens to minimize a speaker's problem areas. Furthermore, show attendees have only a limited amount of time to listen to any one system, and problems not apparent on initial exposure may become more obvious and bothersome in prolonged listening. To evaluate a product fairly and accurately, there's no substitute for long-term listening in a familiar environment, with high-quality associated components and familiar source materials.


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## s2groove (May 18, 2007)

I figured the amp/speakers would play a role in how the evaluation of the components went, but the DRZ was not overlly rich in this test. A tad warm but it was more neutral than the c910, but yet I enjoyed the tonality of the c910 a bit better, just not other aspects of it where the DRZ was much better. I may change the amps and speakers and do another evaluation in the future once I get the rfx-8250 uninstalled. Possibly different components will yield a better result for the DRZ.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Cool Review... compliments to the speaker selection... Vienna's rock! I love all their lines.. Even the little Haydn.. Terrific little monitors. Smooth clean and neutral.

I'm a little surprised with the claimed audiophile level of components in the DRZ that it didn't overwhelmingly spank the lesser units in detail, imaging, neutrality, etc... all the things that make a great cd player or preamp.

Makes me think.... hmmmmm How about if running into a super nice HOME amplifier.. Might be subtle, but wondering if that might make the differences more apparent... Not familiar with the Butler setups but imagining it is quite clean though for a car amp.. Are they as clean as say a B&K, Parasound, Anthem, etc type of home amplifier? slap me if I'm just being ignorant. hehe


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## s2groove (May 18, 2007)

I wish I still had my home amp to test these with (Sold it to save for a tube integrated which has yet to be purchased). But this setup sounded very good with all the units tested. None sounded bad, all of them were good to great. I actually think this setup was equal to but a little different in sound to my previous home pre-amp/amp from rega. I will change around the speakers first to my Reference 3a De Cappo's (I think this will promote more change than anything), more neutral if not brighter than the vienna's, and then I'll change the amp to a zapco or an audison to see how it all varies. I'd also be curious to have more people listen, and give their reasonings for their preference. I figure someone else has to have a different favorite.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Nice! I wish I could find a buyer like you that appreciates better-than-mid-fi gear like that to sell my paradigm ref 5.1 setup to.. I gave up on trying to sell them here.. That thread is probably 16 pages deep now.. It also looks like craigs list isn't going to fair much better as well. Oh well... I guess I've gotta load up on lumber, dricore, sheetrock and green glue to finish the basement theater plan then.


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## s2groove (May 18, 2007)

lol, have you tried audiogon? I've sold everything there within 2 days of listing. It's crazy. And a tip if you do sell on a'gon is to sell the speakers as pairs and the center separately.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Yeah not yet.. problem is I'm semi roughly 50% set on letting go of these speaks... hehe Especially the sub, because it is simply a BEAST... Can't think of what I'd rather use. It's a foundation shaker down to sub 20 hz but still quick and musical enough to blend with even the studio 20's.

Yeah once I get completely committed, I'll get it done. Audiogon is great... Appears to be a better class of buyer also than the ebay croud. I agree.. I got plenty of emails about splitting up the set... I guess if I gotta, I gotta.


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## JAX (Jun 2, 2006)

Just installed one of the c90's I have found...

It really does put a smile on my face when I can throw in a deck...check 1 or 2 settings and fire it up and shake the crap out of my house...and still put out great clean sound...

and be done...........................

I wish I could give you guys a nice technical review of it but I basically have a simple setup....no active...no components....

just 4 polk Momo 5x7 coaxials running off 1 Zed Draconia....1 JL audio 10 running off a tiny powerhouse PG ZX250 ....

and for the 1st time in 2 years I am at peace with the stereo...

I have a couple more c90's coming...I will keep the best 2 and sell the 3rd...

love this deck..

yeah it lacks lots compared to some....but for me its brilliant...

I wish I could let myself spend the money for a CLarion but I just cant..

so instead I have a couple C90's


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## drake78 (May 27, 2007)

gentlejax2 said:


> yeah it lacks lots compared to some....but for me its brilliant...


What in particular do you like so much about the c90? Have you ever used a clarion drx9255? It's one of my favorites of all time.


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## JAX (Jun 2, 2006)

nothing in particular except for its simple design and ease of use. Like a RF8250..good sound without having to modfiy it. 

You have to understand where I am at with my system. Cant expect wonders out of it so for it to sound good enough for me to be happy with it just like it is means the world. 

I got burnt out trying to find this and that...

I can use what I have now...actually use it....

I told you I wasnt going to give anything technical...


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## drake78 (May 27, 2007)

gentlejax2 said:


> You have to understand where I am at with my system. Cant expect wonders out of it so for it to sound good enough for me to be happy with it just like it is means the world.
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> thats where its really at


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## less (Nov 30, 2006)

I have repeatedly heard how good the old C90 sounds. A very good friend advised me to get one and he would sell me one of his cherished processors to go along with it - told me it would be the sq head unit of my dreams... In the end, I bought a refurbed Clarion for $600 instead. I couldn't see buying a ten year old head unit and worrying all the time about when it was going to break down and how much hassle it would be when it did!

Now, I wonder what I missed! Especially after reading reviews like this. In my friends eyes - (competitor - store owner - installer extraordinaire) he felt he coculd never get the Clarion to sound "just right." Having owned mine for several months now, I might have a feel for what he means... but boy, if it is off, it isn't off much. Its a fine head unit with a lot of nice options and it will probably last me a long time. Its just that being an SQ guy.... you always want the best! 

Think about how much we spend to move up a 1% improvement! And yet, here I am able to buy something for LESS and get perhaps a 1-5% gain lol.

I bet I own one someday! Thanks very much for the review my friend!


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## JAX (Jun 2, 2006)

I have a love / hate relationship with mine....I love its performance...hate how I cant see anything during the day....but then love how it looks at night without being too flashy....


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