Customer Reviews

Sony CDX-GT330 MP3/WMA-Compliant CD Receiver

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this stereo because of the Sony brand name and the price. Overall this is a great sounding receiver, and I'm sure when I replace my 12-year-old factory speakers, the sound quality will improve even more. I'll just list some of the pros and cons I found on this unit in the few days I've owned it:

PROS:
1) The controls are easy to use, and set up so the driver can access the various functions quickly. Most of the buttons (aside from the presets) are clustered on the right of the face so you can hit them without reaching too far. There is a large knob that adjusts volume and lets you scroll through menu options. I personally prefer the knob controller to a button, but that's me. On that same note, this unit also comes with a slim remote control that has glow-in-the-dark buttons. It is easy to use, and is small enough where you can store it out of the way with ease.

2) The white on black LCD display is nice and bright even in direct sunlight. This was one reason I didn't go with a comparably priced Pioneer (which is otherwise a great unit also). The design and the clear, crisp display of the Sony won me over. The red coloration of the face buttons at first was off-putting. It didn't match my green interior illumination at all. However, the illumination is subtle and attractive, and avoids turning my car into the 'Christmas car'.

3)It was pretty easy to install. Between the included instructions and those that came with my mounting kit, it was fairly obvious what I had to hook up. (I would recommend buying a cheap pair of wire strippers, as the Sony wiring harness does not come pre-stripped).

4) The features for the price are great. Beside the FM/AM radio and CD, you get an aux input so you can plug in your MP3 player (The main reason I installed an aftermarket stereo). You also get access to a full suite of pre-set equalizer settings and a custom setting so you can tweak the sound however you like.

5) The stereo itself has three port sets (not sure the technical term) in the back so you can hook up amps, subs, etc. It really supports you if you want to have an elaborate and powerful system, but is great if you're just replacing factory equipment (like me).

6) Radio reception is quite good. I can pick up all of the major stations, as well as the lower-frequency college stations around town.

7) There is a subtle feature this Sony has that I really appreciate: When you turn on the unit, it brings the volume up from totally silent to whatever your last setting was. It's a nice way to avoid getting jarred in your seat when you turn on the ignition. Not an advertised feature, but I like it.

8) This stereo comes with a card that you can use in various places all over the country to have it professionally installed. I really wanted to do it myself so didn't use it(must be a guy thing). But trust me: if I can install this thing successfully so can you! However, if you don't want to go through the hastle, it's nice to just drop it off soemwhere and have a pro hook you up.

CONS:
1) Some of the presets are kind of crappy. Some of the presets are way too trebble-heavy for my tastes (Space for example) so as to be fairly useless. (The one that I do like is 'Xplod' which really articulates and emphasizes the bass of a track but doesn't neglect the highs or midrange). Again, though, there is a custom preset so you can tweak the sound however you prefer. Or simply turn the EQ off which yields a pleasant neutral sound. The presets all have cheesy names like 'Gravity' and 'Space' and their differences aren't obvious just by reading them.

2) It would be nice if the remote buttons lit up via LCDs or something, as opposed to just glowing in the dark. But that's a minor niggle.

Overall, this is a great unit for the price, and I really recommend it despite some of the sub-par presets. To me, the pros outweigh the cons. Combine it with some nice speakers (and other items if that's you desire), and I think you'll be happy with your purchase.

I just bought the Sony CDX-GT330 in dash AM/FM CD Player and I have good and bad.

Good:
Installation in a 1995 Ford Tauras was perfect and a snap when using a Metra 19-1770 wiring kit.(Get the equivalent at Walmart for $7). This will allow me to put the old stock radio back in when I sell the car. The RCA pre-outs are handy for a active Sub-woofer. The sound is excellent and the CD plays MP3 and WMA files.
Sounds great with a Jensen ALX2000 100 watt RMS bridgeable amp driving a 15" sub-woofer. The removable face plate is nice. The adjustable equalizer (sub-woofer too) is nice.

BAD:
The radio gets damn HOT on the back. I'm talking 140 degrees F (no telling how hot after it is crammed into the close quarters of the dash and the car is sitting in the sun. This thing may not last long, since it gets that hot (1yr warrantee). I utilized the rear screw hole to install an old computer heat sink and its still red hot. I wanted to run a computer cpu heat sink fan but there wasn't enough room in my dash.

The little un-lit red labeled features above the memory buttons cannot be seen at night.

The illumination is either ON or OFF......does not dim.

All in all, I would buy again at $80.

Recommended:
Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 80

Update 9/13/09:
It is still working perfectly, hot as ever. The only thing to add is that you must be careful to TURN IT OFF each time you leave the car to avoid battery drain. The sound is incredible with stock 1995 Ford Tauras speakers and my bridged 100 watt 15" sub-woofer in the trunk to "feel" the music!!

Update 11/27/2011 Still working nicely.

Number One: Everything worked. We installed this car stereo ourselves in the cabin on our boat. It replaced an 11-year-old Clarion marine system that still worked but did not include a remote or an auxiliary input. The Sony wires were color-coded and to our great relief, matched the Clarion harness, so all we had to do was cut the Clarion plug off and splice in the Sony plug. Once that was done, we turned the system on and everything worked great. Number Two: Now we can listen to iPod music and to Pandora Radio from an iPhone, and I can control the system volume, fade, etc. (not the iPhone) from the helm, using the remote. The fade works great to move the sound fore and aft into the cabin or out in the cockpit or to provide equal sound all over the boat, depending on where we are. Further, the cabin speakers are positioned just right so now we can watch movies on a laptop at anchor with great stereo sound and with the picture in the middle. Of course the headphone jack on the laptop plugs right into the new Sony receiver just like an iPod or an MP3 player.Cables To Go - 21062 - 6ft 3.5mm M/M Stereo Audio Cable (Black) It all worked out just great. Number Three: To our pleasant surprise, the Sony also improved the quality of the sound coming from the existing Clarion speaker systems in the cockpit and the cabin. Eventually, we were planning to replace those speakers with better ones because, with the Clarion system, the sound was pretty flat and dominated by the midrange with brassy fatiguing highs and very little at the low end. With the Sony system, there is really no rush to replace the speakers. The low range is adequate and the high end cleared up and filled out enough that we can live with what we have. The cabin speakers really sound good; the cockpit speakers sound okay. Number Four: Amazon was the best place to buy. We researched a number of sources, all the familiar names, and Amazon had the best price plus free shipping. We buy from Amazon with confidence.

Good radio for the price. Plays every format of music I wanted. My only complaint is that there is no auto dimmer feature which makes the unit a bit bright at night and the manual dimmer is buried in the settings menu. Not enough of an issue for me to deduct a star; still a great radio.

I purchased this stereo to replace the stock radio in my 2004 Chevy Silverado.
The Sony is a breeze to hook up if you have the right Metra plug to use instead of hard wiring it into the truck.
Being 59, I am not into all the extras that this unit has to offer, just the cd player, and the radio is all I need. Having said that, this is a great unit! I've installed dozens of stereos in past cars and trucks over the years, and this is the easiest installation to date.
The sound is great, and there are many preloaded equalizer sets on this unit.
All in all, I was glad that I researched other radio/cd players, and purchased the Sony 330.

I have no complaints about this stereo. It looks and sounds great. I wish I had realized that I needed a separate satellite tuner, so I could have had them installed at the same time, but that was my fault.

I installed this into my son's 1991 Geo and found it to be a excellent radio overall. The wiring manual was good but with the diagram you can wire it without worry. One bonus is that the wiring unplugs from the unit itself. By using an aftermarket electrical connector letting you solder leads on the workbench vs upside down cutting of the harness and splicing of wiring. tidy work even for newbies.

I needed a replacement stereo for my pick-up and mostly wanted it for the FM radio. I liked this Sony because it also had a front mounted auxiliary jack I could plug in my iPod. It only took a few hours to install and I didn't have to take apart the dashboard. MP3s on a burned CD worked OK, but skipped on a few songs. This could have been a bad CD blank. Very clear sound and simple controls. Over all an excellent value.

This is a really great receiver for the money. Easy to use with large lit buttons to navigate in the dark. I swapped the stock Blaupunkdt in my Roadster for this and didn't have to use an adapter plate.

Great price for the quality of the radio, however one issue is whenever I turn off the car and turn back on the radio always goes to demo mode. I guess I have to read the manual to see if there is something I can do to fix, otherwise would recommend to others.