Sony XAV-W1

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CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
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Product summary

The good: The Sony XAV-W1 features a crisp, wide-screen display, a broad range of media-playback capabilities, and a user-friendly selection interface.

The bad The bad: The absence of a front-mounted auxiliary input jack or USB port restricts the ability of drivers to take their generic MP3 players on the road.

The bottom line: The Sony XAV-W1 is a stylish new entrant into the aftermarket in-car audiovisual market. Its SACD-playback ability will interest serious audiophiles, while its stunning display and intuitive media-selection interface will attract anyone looking for a user-friendly in-car media player.

Specifications: Product Type:Form Factor: In-dash; Monitor:Type: LCD monitor; Product Type:Type: DVD player with LCD monitor and AM/FM tuner; See full specs

Price range: $575.35 - $899.99

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Kevin Massy
Reviewed on: 09/11/2007

The XAV-W1 is Sony's first in-dash audiovisual media player and it looks set to raise the bar in the aftermarket car tech segment. The system's WVGA LCD display is one of the brightest, clearest, best-rendered screens we have ever seen on any in-car video display. In addition to its stunning visual reproduction and well-designed menu structures, the XAV-W1 supports a large number of media sources as standard, and has a good range of expandability options.

Design
Like other in-dash video systems such as the Eclipse AVN5510 and the Panasonic Strada CN-NVD905U, the XAV-W1 has a very simple faceplate design. With just five hard buttons along the bottom of the bezel, the system maximizes the amount of screen real estate in the double-DIN-size slot, and for most functions, the XAV-W1 relies on "soft" touch-screen buttons. However, in contrast with some other touch-screen devices, the XAV-W1's menu structure is extremely intuitive, with drivers given the choice of just three buttons on the top menu screen. Adding to the system's ease of use is the outstanding resolution of the display and the crisp menu buttons of the onscreen menus.

Audio
The XAV-W1 supports a wide range of audio formats including Red Book CDs, MP3 and WMA discs, and Sony's Super Audio CDs (SACD), all of which make use of the system's single disc slot behind its drop-down motorized faceplate. With external modules, the system can also be used to pick up satellite and HD Radio, and to play music from iPods.

The XAV-W1's source list includes six options: tuner, disc, aux (via one of the three AV RCA inputs on the back of the system), CD changer, iPod, and satellite radio. (The latter three sources require additional Sony modules.) To our disappointment, unlike Sony's most recent single-DIN stereos, the XAV-W1 does not come with either a generic line-in auxiliary input jack or a USB port, meaning that drivers are restricted in the number of portable devices they can attach to the system.

With any of these audio sources selected, the system responds with a pop-up menu that makes use of a dynamic, Flash-based animation, which adds to the system's visual appeal. When playing disc-based audio, the bottom quarter of the display becomes a touchable control panel with the major controls (such as play, pause, and skip) permanently visible. With an MP3 disc in, the driver is given a crisp readout of ID3 tag information for track, album, and artist, while the bottom control panel includes a dedicated button for skipping between albums in addition to the track-skip buttons.

When playing compressed digital audio discs, the XAV-W1 provides a useful means of navigating audio tracks via its List function, which displays the titles of five folders or five tracks at a time. A single-touch scrolling button allows drivers to skip through long lists of tracks quickly--a feature that we particularly like when navigating large disc-based libraries. However, one of the few criticisms we have of the system is that drivers can't browse other tracks or albums on a disc without stopping the playback of the current track, meaning that you just have to sit there in silence while you search for your chosen music.

The XAV-W1 list function provides a useful means of navigating MP3 and WMA discs.

Along with the MEX DV2000 and the entry-level MEX-DV1000, the XAV-W1 is one of only three in-car media systems that can be used to play discs encoded with Sony's proprietary Super Audio CD (SACD) high-quality audio format. When playing an SACD disc, the system provides a number of options for audio quality, with drivers given a choice between two-channel (stereo) and multichannel (5.1 audio) playback, courtesy of a built-in multichannel decoder. As we found with the MEX-DV2000, the audio quality for SACD playback is stunningly clear with a greater dynamic range, resulting in the ability to play audio at a higher volume than CD output without distortion.

For our test of the XAV-W1, we attached Sony's XT-100HD module, which gave us HD Radio reception. The first thing that we have to note is that the XT-100HD is very difficult to install in a car's dashboard. The module is wider than a standard DIN slot, and so it must be inserted diagonally into the stereo opening, and even then, it is so voluminous that it is extremely difficult to find a place for it--and the stereo itself--inside the dash.

With the module finally installed, we were able to use the XAV-W1 to pick up HD Radio stations: an HD icon appears in place of the satellite radio icon on the main source screen to inform drivers that the tuner is correctly connected. As with other HD Radio receivers, it takes a few seconds for the XAV-W1 to lock onto the HD signal from a specific FM radio station. With the HD signal detected, the screen displays information on channel name, song title, and artist title; users are also given the chance to browse any multicast HD channels on a single frequency.

To play HD Radio, users need to add on Sony's clunky XT-100HD module.

One of the XAV-W1's most attractive features is its wealth of audio-customization settings: with all audio sources apart from SACD, users can tweak the acoustic output using one of seven preset EQ configurations, plus a custom feature, which enables them to set their own EQ curve using a seven-band equalizer. A Listening Position Select feature enables drivers to further fine-tune the acoustic sweet spot via a beautifully designed graphic interface. Further audio tweaking can be done via separate settings for a standalone subwoofer and a center speaker, a 5.1 channel speaker level setting, and a control for low- and high-pass filter customization.

See more CNET content tagged:: Sony Corp.,; album,; playback,; touch screen,; control panel

User reviews

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0.5 stars

"At Least It Has Surrond Sound"

by Norman 100 on January 23, 2008

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3.5 stars

"Where is the Bluetooth"

by kSGx on September 17, 2007

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