From: jeh@cmkrnl.com
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: Sony CDP-X111ES
Date: 23 Dec 92 19:39:04 GMT
Organization: Kernel Mode Consulting, San Diego, CA

In article <1992Dec18.084412@trc.amoco.com>, znpt01@trc.amoco.com 
(Norman P. Tracy) writes:
> JEH is ready to damn all Sonys because his won't track one esp. difficult
> scratched CD. 

Not at all.  I didn't mention the other three Sony players that have been
through my office system, each of which had occasional skipping problems that
are not related to problems on the discs (ie the problem is not repeatable on a
given spot on a given disc).  Repair and adjustment efforts were unsuccessful.  

(In case you're wondering, I keep getting Sonys because these are loaners which
are in effect not costing me anything... if I was to go out and buy a new home
CD player it would be almost anything but Sony.) 

Nor did I mention the Sony XBR tv sets, 27" and larger, which are among the
highest priced in each size category but which can apparently absolutely NOT be
adjusted to eliminate pincushion distortion.  (ask on rec.video)

Nor did I quote the dozens of articles that appear here describing problems
with Sony gear.  (It has been asserted that *every* Sony CD player with the
"linear tracking" mechanism will fail earlier than it ought to, due to problems
in this component.)

> I would like to advance the notion that the reason you see so many complaints
> re. Sony reliability (the stuff of net "legends") is that Sony sells so much
> product.  There failure rate % could be lower than a smaller company but

You have a good point, but...

Nor did I quote the Consumer Reports reliability survey results which 
consistently show Sony to be among the worst brands.  

Nor did I mention the problems which my friends in the audio repair business
have getting parts from Sony. 

> because they sell so many units it translates into a greater number of people
> with problems.  And we all know somebody with a bitch is much more likely to
> post a slam than somebody who's happy as a clam will post a praise.
> 
> Also keep in mind we're discussing a company here whose product range goes
> from $9.95 Wallmart headphones to million dollar plus CD mastering factories.
> Norman Tracy
> znpt01@trc.amoco.com

This also is true.  As I mentioned, I have a Sony cassette/tuner head unit
(XR-7280, if anyone cares) and accompanying CD changer in the car; couldn't be
happier with them.  (The RF performance on the tuner is nothing short of
amazing -- in fact if you are looking for a home tuner that's good at
weak-signal reception + adjacent channel rejection, but you don't want to break
the bank, I'd seriously suggest that you look at one of Sony's better car units
+ a 12-volt power supply.)   Ditto for the 75ES DAT deck.  Ditto for the D-160
CD player which still works reliably, even though it rode around in my car and
suffered all kinds of abuse for something like five years before I got the
trunk-mount changer, 

Back to the downside: To be fair, I should also mention that my friend who's in
the used-equipment business is getting pretty discouraged about many of the
Japanese brands, not just Sony.  As long as the stuff works it works fine, but
when it breaks, it's a bear to fix.  Parts availability alone is a major
problem.  Companies will say that a part "is on backorder" for months, and then
ship the wrong part, and then will only issue a credit (not a refund) when the
part is returned. ease of servicing has gotten much worse in the past few
years. 

> Like any product you have to look at the individual unit and decide for
> your self if it has the quality you desire for the price you are willing to
> pay.

Unfortunately, reliability and repairability are not things which can be
evaluated when you're buying.  Manufacturers (not just Sony) have learned how
to build equipment with subtle external cues that say "this unit is well made"
to most shoppers, without necessarily building a reliable, repairable product.

	--- Jamie Hanrahan, Kernel Mode Consulting, San Diego CA
Internet:  jeh@cmkrnl.com, hanrahan@eisner.decus.org, or jeh@crash.cts.com
Uucp:  ...{crash,eisner,uunet}!cmkrnl!jeh