Sony CDX-GT410U Car CD/ MP3 Player

I was after a Sony car cd/usb system. Sony because in my opinion they produce the best quality and value for money systems you can buy. On top of that their systems are long wave compatible. In other words if you're an old fart like me and you like to listen to the cricket and TMS then Sony are one of the few companies who cater for 'proper sports'.

I was a little concerned by the official Sony website in that they weren't clear as to what types of USB device were compatible with this head unit. I needn't have been too worried though, the seller confirmed that I could plug in just about any kind of USB storage device and the head unit would recognise it and play it.

I have plugged in all kinds of USB devices and the head unit has recognised them all, from cheapo MP3 players to big name memory stick jobbies. Absolutely brilliant.

I bought this head unit for my wife to put in her Morris Traveller. As soon as I had fitted it (1 hour including soldering!) I inserted a CD and headed for the nearest level crossing. No jumping, absolutely perfect. In fact so good I'm going to get one for my Land Rover.

To conclude, this is (in my opinion) superb value for money for a big name head unit. USB compatibility, Long Wave (for real sports lovers),easy to use (wife's car don't forget), IPod compatible as well but not tested 'cos I don't have one. But above all, excellent sound reproduction and radio tuning. I am very impressed.

This cd player is my best investment in a long time, The sound is excellent and clear (4x50rms) The equiliser adgustments are really good and simple. The appearence of it is a looker and the displays are good and clear. The bestest bestest thing about this cd player is you can listen to music on pretty much everything, I CONNECT MY PHONE TO THE AUX PORT, MY IPOD, THE USB PEN TO THE USB PORT AND MY WALKMAN STRAIGHT IN THE USB PORT!!! YOU CAN CHANGE THE SONGS VIA THE HEAD UNIT UNLIKE SOME WHERE YOU HAVE TO USE TO DEVICE CONNECTED!!!! all this and for amazing value (Mine cost £70 off ice-clearout on ebay) and by a trusted manufacture SONY to give you peace of mind that it isnt going to blow up!!

Great item, great output 4 x 50 watt - with the right speakers it puts out incredible bass and a sound quality that is amazing. Would recommend this product to anyone or since it is no longer made new, the 2008 version of it in any case. Do you ever change the settings on your sound equalizer and wonder what difference it had actually made? Press the button on this baby and you can instantly hear the difference in terms of bass treble and mid range depending on which setting you are on. Sound quality at is best with Sony XPLOD. What more can you want.

Excellent headunit having all the features you'd need and the usual Sony quality. Best features are the USB and auxilary inputs on the front face for iPod's etc. Also has 50W per channel and a rear output which can be set for both full range and sub use. CD changer control available and includes a remote control. All in all a very well spec'd package

This is an extremely well priced stereo. Perfect for those who already own an mp3 player and several USB sticks. Very easy to conenct and good sound.

Excellent quality, super sound, looks well in situe. This is a quality product with good value for money.
A nice looking radio/cd player.

Saw this cheap mp3 player/usb mp3 player on e-bay for small money.
Got it fitted at local car hi-fi specialist for £20= I would definately recommend +200 tracks from usb mp3,and 120 tracks on cd mp3,makes this a winner,getting amp and sub fitted next week.

great price good functions work well sounds great like the usb funtion as i can plug in my usb stick and down load exactly what I like
thanks

Another great stereo from Sony, this is not my first and will not be my last. If you want a reliable, well constructed stereo then buy Sony.

Only gave it a 4 rating as the rubber bung to cover the usb hole would be easily lost as its not attached, this minor problem has been cured on the higher models by a different fitting. But then the usb ports on your computer aren't covered so shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks Sony.

Good Points:

Easy to fit
Good variety of features
Good sound
3.5mm & USB input

Bad Points:

None that i've found so far!


The car stereo is a great item that is extremely easy to use. It has plenty of equaliser settings, all of which can be changed to suit your wants and needs. I mostly use it with ,y ipod through the 3.5mm input at the front. I tried using the usb input but the ipod stores tracks in random folders and not by album, artist or playlist.
You can get a little box that plugs into the back of the stereo that allows you to control the ipod from the stereo, but i've found this to be slow, clumsy, and generally not as good as controlling from the ipod itself. I'd recommend connecting it through the front.
The power output and sound quality is more than enough to power a set of 6x9's or other speakers. I even found that the original speakers in my S reg saxo sounded a lot better with this stereo that with the original one which sounded rubbish! I do like my music loud though, so opted for a set of middle-of-the-range 6x9's.

All in all, this is a great stereo which i picked up for a great price.
Comes hughly recommended for those that want an improved sound and volume but don't want to spend hundreds of pounds on a system...

Likes: USB, Different sound settings such as cruise, xplod etc.
decent piece of headunit, value for money and does the job. sounds excellent with a sub system.

Great item and nice people to do business with good communication and very accomadating as far as pick up

Fantastic stereo, with huge range of features. USB input and CD player both read incredibly quickly compared to other models. Easy navigation between albums and tracks.

Excellent quality sound and wide range of options to equalise it.

Not used the Aux input (for iPods and other MP3 players).

I bought this because I wanted to listen to MP3's in the car and the FM transmitters for mp3 players are very poor (the ones ive tried anyway).
First off it looks very nice, has 2 different colour led lights, possibly has too many buttons to be a bit of a fiddle while you're trying to drive. For example trying to find the shuffle button out of the number keys is tricky whilst you're going along.
I found it much harder than I thought to swap the radios over, I have removed and replaced a car radio before but found in my 02 Astra it was hard to get the metal surround out, mostly because I couldn't see where the nuts/holding strips were on it. I realised eventually that right at the back there was a large hex nut or something holding it in. This is probably much easier if you are experienced doing it and varies by car.
Another thing I was a bit annoyed about was that the steering wheel controls didn't work with the new radio, I kind of expected that but it was still a bit annoying.
I bought one of the slim mini USB sticks from Sony to go with it, forgot the name. It works well as it doesn't stick out too much and I could leave it in the unit all the time.
It's probably something in the way I have set it up but it doesn't remember the time when you take the key out the ignition. Doesn't really matter as have clock in dashboard but would be nice. It also doesn't seem to remember if you set it to shuffle tracks on the usb so every time you turn it on and switch to usb input it starts playing the first track. This can become very tedious and quickly puts you off the first track of your collection. As I mentioned before you then need to find the shuffle button and also select the next track, and hope you haven't pressed the wrong button or otherwise you quickly start getting fed up of the second track too. A bit picky I know but it's the things you notice.
I may have not plugged the aerial in securely enough into the back of the unit but it has much worse reception than my previous radio. It is something I haven't got round to checking yet. Once it's in you tend to want to leave it there incase it causes as much hassle as the first time.
Overall playing back my song collection through this player it sounds amazing compared to the radio, really top notch sound quality but then it would be compared to the radio which I had been used to. Would recommend it if I was sure the reception was down to my poor installation.