Customer Reviews

Sony XA300 UniLink Auxiliary Input Adapter

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

 

 

Well, I've read some of the previous reviews about this unit, and it seems some people just need to do a bit more in depth research before making a purchase. I did so with my Sony head unit.

I knew it was Unilink compatible, was able to run a CD changer directly from the head unit. In my case, I bought a MiniDisk changer due to its compact form factor and my entire music collection on MD (That's how long ago I bought this stereo, you know, that very small slice of time when MiniDisks emerged). Well, times have changed and my stereo is running perfectly!

Although the bulk of my collection is still on MD, I currently own a large collection of MP3s and want to cut down on clutter, so I'd like to use my phone's A2DP Bluetooth compatibility. I'm in the market for a Sony 16Gb Walkman, but I'll deal with the wonkyness of my phone. So, the only way to have the best of both worlds, plus have additional inputs for a computer (An OQO 2 or an EEE PC come to mind) and another analog source, is to get the XA-300! You really can't go wrong, you just need to have a little bit of experience connecting automotive stereos.

"But this doesn't have Bluetooth!" you say. No problem! Just get a Sony HWSBTA2W Bluetooth Transmitter/receiver and connect it to the XA-300. I highly recommend using a Sony automotive power adapter though. I bought a Radio Shack brand that created so much noise, it was unbearable to listen to anything. Luckily, I had a Sony DCC-E345 power adapter. It works flawlessly! Other than the phone I'm using...

OK so this device has other features but what most people buy it for is to enable the aux inputs on their Sony headunit so they can connect an ipod etc to the car stereo

The aux inputs are already there mind you, but Sony chooses to disable them for all but a Sony changer.

So, for an extra $100 for this device on top of what you paid for the headunit in the first place, you can use the aux inputs that came with it.

Way to go Sony. Glad to see you really have the customer in mind.

This is a must have if your Sony stereo receiver does not have a built-in jack for external devices, such as an mp3 player. It works seamlessly with my XR-F5100 receiver. XA300 comes with all the cables you need, except the one to hook up your mp3 player or other external devices. To hook up my Creative Zen I had to purchase an audio cable with 1/8" stereo plug at one end and dual RCA's at the other. XA300 comes with two auxiliary inputs; I can hook up one more device to it. The USB is not powered and can be used to connect a laptop computer. I have not found a use for it yet. Auxiliary input #1 also has a headphone jack with a volume control knob. It could be useful to some; especially if the driver does not want to be distracted while the passenger is listening to the stereo. Plugging a headphone does not disable audio output to the receiver; you can listen through the headphone and the car speakers at the same time. For private listening, just turn off the speakers. Operating instructions can be found at this link:[....]

This has been a great addition to my car's stereo system and lets it play my handy mp3 player during my long and otherwise extremely boring commute every day.

Pros:
works with FLAC and other formats through USB port
flexibility with multiple inputs, headphone jack, and volume control
powered through UniLink connection

Cons:
awkward to mount
won't allow clock to display when in use
USB port disconnecting when other inputs are used may cause computer software to misbehave


The USB port is the main reason I wanted to get this box instead of the off brand cheaper versions. I was happy to see it installed as USB speakers without additional drivers on the two XP laptops I tried. What this means to me is that audio formats are being decoded on the computer, not the XA300, so you can use whatever audio format you like, for me, FLAC. Using the USB port should alleviate concerns of cheap, noisy analog circuitry in your computer, likely a laptop for your car, which has fewer options for a nice sound card. However, on the laptops I tried, the sound was very good when using the laptop headphone jack output and the analog input of the XA300.

When switching through the inputs on my CDX-C6850, the USB port disconnects when it is not selected, which causes an interruption on my media software. Even when I switch back to the USB input on my stereo, the music will not start playing until I restart my media application on the computer. On one of the laptops I tried, the disconnecting USB port would require a media software restart when quickly turning the ignition key from "on" back to "accessory", such as when turning off the engine but wanting to hear the stereo. On another laptop I tried, this was not a problem. Regardless of the display mode on my stereo, the clock will not show when using one of the XA300 inputs.

Some aspects of the XA300 make it seem like it was not well thought out. It is primarily needed to activate the auxiliary inputs on Sony car stereos, but it is too large to mount hidden away for some cars, and the included cable is too short (about six feet) to put the XA300 in the trunk. There is a volume control on the front, making it seem like the XA300 should be accessible and visible, yet the only mounting hardware included was velco strips, which isn't an attractive way to mount something that can be seen.

I very disappointed with sony corporation becacause since this is an must have to run a cd changer. It should automatically be sold with the sony cd changer.

I purchased this unit hesitantly after reading some other reviews by people bashing Sony for their lack of flexibility in respect to upgrades or add- ons. I specifically contacted a Sony online tech rep to confirm what I assumed but did not find reference to in any of the other reviews- the usb connection for an auxiliary input. I have had my sony head unit for some time (about 2 years) and refuse to part with it because of it's awesome sound tailoring, but was looking for an easy way to hook up my digital files. I even bought another deck that had a front panel usb input which was great for capability with my 8gb corsair thumb drive (killer storage by the way- big, tough, and fast) but the deck only had a 3 band eq. No loudness, no bass, no treble control. I swapped the old deck back in after a week. So the draw on this unit was obviously the usb input, which I was assured by the tech would do the exact same thing as the usb deck, i.e., read & play a thumb drive and display all info on the deck face. Instead, you get a NON-POWERED usb port with- get this- a type B female connection (like a printer) so you need at the very least a cable adapter, and ONLY A LAPTOP will run through it. Yes- Sony expects drivers to lug a laptop computer along to listen to music files. Awesome. Either wait for something better or look elsewhere- It's a shame because Sony has been head and shoulders above anyone else in every other feature.