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I'm tired of Sony (1 Viewer)

Barton Lynch

Stunt Coordinator
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Sep 15, 1999
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Barton Lynch
Sorry for for my complaints, but I needed a shoulder to spill my anger and frustration. I've had it with Sony's lack of reliability with their products. Once a brand name I considered one of the best, is now no different, in terms of quality, than the cheapest and cheesyest corean and chinese brands.
I recently contacted Philip Hamm, a long time Minidisc supporter (damn, and I love MD too), and he too was a little frustrated with his experience with Sony's crappy quality with MD decks. He also considered on dumping the format for good, what!? Philip dumping MD!???. I understand him. I am going on my 4th model and my lattest one, the MDS-JB940 stoped recording after a month of being purchased and I thought that this pseudo-ES model would end this trend. Do I have to mention all of the Sony products that have failed on me within the past decade in less than a year of mild use? Like Laser Disc players, Discmans, portable systems, receivers, etc. And I always choose the best model available if not the ES version, not the run-of-the-mill ones.
But, except for my 5 disc carrousel ES CD player, no one has ever passed its first year of life! What is wrong with you Sony? Can't you get it yet!? Not a single one of my other equipments show this kind of unreliable performance. Heck, neither one has even failed at all! That includes brands like Yamaha (my receivers and DVD), Pioneer (DVD and LD), Panasonic (TV and VCR), Toshiba, Denon and JBL (all of my speakers). I ended "trying" these brands after a defective and glitchy Sony counterpart, only to find out that they were in fact a LOT better (like Yammaha, Denon and Pioneer) So, or it's a damn bad luck trend or Sony's ass. Sorry about that last one, but I am pissed. Any one feel the same? Or had any dark experience with Sony? I'll check your responses after I come back from the Sony service center (once again) and see what's going to happen to my "new" MD deck. Thanks for reading.
Remember: "It's a SONY" shhheeeeee...it
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Barton Lynch
...nothing can stop me now
 

KeithH

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2000
Messages
9,413
Barton, sorry, but that makes one of us. Check my equipment list and you will see that I have piles of Sony equipment, mostly ES. All of my Sony components have performed flawlessly. As for minidisc, I have a Sony MXD-D3 CD/MD deck, MDS-JB930 (predecessor to your 'JB940), and the MDS-JA555ES. All have been perfect in every way. The 'JA555ES is in my main system, and the 'JB930 is in my second system. Before getting the 'JA555ES, I had the 'JB930 in the main system and a 'JB920 in the second system. I sold the 'JB920 when I bought the 'JA555ES in June. The 'JB920 performed flawlessly as well, but I no longer needed it when I got the 'JA555ES.
I hope Philip enters this discussion because I am surprised to hear of his frustration with Sony MD decks. He recommended the 'JB920 to me last November when I was putting together the second system. In fact, he went so far as to give me a source to get a brand new one very cheap. At the time, he was so high on the 'JB920, that he had one both of his systems.
Sony 'JB' MD decks are very well regarded, and are close to the quality of the ES models. I bought the 'JB930 in June 2000 for $320 from J&R Music World and feel it was a steal. Build and sound quality are first-rate, and I have heard the same about the 'JB940 (the 'JB920 was very similar to the 'JB930). Now, I know that Sony has had some problems with past mass-market MD units, such as the 'JE510, however, I have not heard about reliability issues with more recent mass-market ('JE') models.
Sorry to hear about your bad experiences with Sony components, but they certainly are not general.
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KeithH: Saving the Home Theater World Before Bedtime
 

David_D_C

Agent
Joined
Dec 27, 2000
Messages
29
I used to be an ardent Sony supporter. Everything I owned was Sony, from clock radios to cordless phones to computer monitors. With the exception of a computer monitor and a transistor radio from the 60's, everything else of mine has died only a few years into it's life. My $100 clock radio died 2 months out of warranty and the "Sony Store" that I bought it at, nor Sony Canada would even consider fixing it under warranty. Since then, i've completely abandoned Sony and it's to the point that I won't even consider a $20 walkman made by Sony.
Good bye and good riddance!
$0.02
 

JohanK

Second Unit
Joined
Jan 22, 2000
Messages
478
I've had good luck with Sony 'run-of-the-mill' stuff; 2 tube TVs (3 and 7 years old), a DPL receiver (4 years old), the 300 DVD player (3 years old), a carousel CD player (1 year old) and 2 VCRs (3 and 6 years old) all still work fine.
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http://www.hometheaterforum.com/bbs/equipment/28687.html
 

Keith_R

Screenwriter
Joined
Jun 16, 2001
Messages
1,184
Location
FL
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Kyle
I've had good luck with Sony stuff. 1 Trintron TV 5 years old, Discman 3 years old, and a Sony HTiB 5 months old.
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-Keith-
 

Jim A. Banville

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 20, 1999
Messages
630
I've got a 10 year old 27" Sony TV that still works like new. I had 2 Pioneer car CD players that died at about 1 year each
frown.gif
I had a Pioneer LD player arrived DOA. I fixed it by connecting a wire that the factory left hanging loose. Most people wouldn't have bothered. I had a Mitsubishi VCR that wouldn't erase. I opened it up and discovered the plug for the erase head wasn't plugged in!
 

ChrisAG

Supporting Actor
Joined
Aug 26, 2001
Messages
503
I am also wary of Sony audio products, after having a laserdisc player, boom box, clock radio and tape deck malfunction soon after getting them. However, I think they make good TVs and camcorders. My own personal motto is, if it's a TV or camcorder, Sony's one of the best. If it is an audio product, I wouldn't buy Sony even if it was offered to me at 50% off.
 

KeithH

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2000
Messages
9,413
ChrisAG said:
My own personal motto is, if it's a TV or camcorder, Sony's one of the best. If it is an audio product, I wouldn't buy Sony even if it was offered to me at 50% off.
That's funny, but that's how I view JVC. I would throw VCRs into the list of things JVC does well. I've owned JVC audio components (two receivers and a CD megachanger) and have sold all of them after only a few months each. I won't buy JVC audio components again.
By the way, I have heard that Sony laserdisc players were not particularly good. If you want laserdisc, Pioneer is the way to go.
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My:
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KeithH: Saving the Home Theater World Before Bedtime
 

Jeff

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Messages
949
Their DVD players have gone down hill. Sony used to be at the top of my list when people asked me which DVD player to buy. Now it's down there with cheap bargin brands. This is excluding the DVP-S9000ES.
Jeff
 
J

John Morris

Keith H: This would be a wonderful time for you to help get an obvious/potential Sony loyalist equipment fixed. I don't use MP3 stuff but can imagine that a "Sony fixed it" type of letter or listing would be quite positive!!!! Anyway, who are you Keith? If you are not related to them.... tell us the complete story as to why you would buy only their stuff and as to why you only recommend their stuff????
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Take Care,
merc
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God Bless America!!!
 

Barton Lynch

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 15, 1999
Messages
116
Location
Venezuela
Real Name
Barton Lynch
KeithH and Johan K, you are right, my vision can not be general. But my frustration and other's is quite similar. One point a have to clear, I am talking about Sony's recent lack of quality. I too have old (I mean old) Sony products functioning today, like the kitchen TV and a very old concrete-based turntable not in use, but they work. This is about Sony's built quality in the mayority of it's line during the past 5 to 7 years.
One Sony product that I have and forgot to mention is my computer monitor, thank God it's been flawless. So, an exception to this is everything Sony makes with a trinitron tube. Yes, Sony tube-based sets (including Wegas) are top-notch. But it's the audio equipment that suffers, including DVD players.
KeithH, Philip also mention me that he has two 920s but he told me that one failed not long ago. We both shared our experiences with the terrible MDS-JE510 and opted for the JB line to stop the faulty trend in the JE line and whitout spending too much on the JA line (ES). But as for yesterday, my JB940 refuses to playback recorded tracks and erases all the disk after rewriting the TOC! I am going to the service center after breakfast. Thanks again and wish me luck.
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Barton Lynch
...nothing can stop me now
 

Leo Kerr

Screenwriter
Joined
May 10, 1999
Messages
1,698
Remember, Sony is a four letter word...
Actually, I like their picture tubes - at least, their older ones. (Haven't seen a Wega worth the time of day yet. Nice idea, crappy implementation.)
So far, my LDP-455 is still working without problems, and my old STR-150 (or some such) is doing just fine as a cheap, not overly stressed, subwoofer amp. (It got demoted when I discovered it couldn't hope to drive a pair of NHT SuperZeros. Woof!)
And I really like their 24" 16:9 computer display (W-900 or something,) and their 20" regular computer display...
Leo Kerr
[email protected]
 

Matt Gordon

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 21, 2001
Messages
534
Barton, I completely understand your frustration with the situation. When I was in radio, I went through countless pairs of Sony headphones, which constantly broke. They lasted a few weeks at best. Then I bought Sennheiser... :)
I suggest moving on to different brands, as you appear to have done. Some people just don't ever have good luck with one particular brand or another. Hang in there!
Matt
 

Rutledge

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jan 28, 2001
Messages
93
I have had great luck with all of my Sony stuff. The only problems i have had is a 7 year old 27" TV whose tube went out and a mid 80's receiver that needed to have it s ground wire resoldered.
I do want to agree with you that they are not built as well as they used to be. Especially in the last 2 years.
The DVD players that they sell now can't hold a candle to my '99 530D in build quality.
They are also using cheaper power supplies.
Sony was always more expensive than other brands. In the '90's they decided to compete with them in the interest of higher sales. Quality has suffered.This is also noticeable in how the rate their amplifiers. It used to be
X watts from 20hz-20khz at .02 % distortion. Now it is X watts @ 1khz with .8% distortion. Pretty lame if you ask me.
 

Kevin P

Screenwriter
Joined
Jan 18, 1999
Messages
1,439
Sony's been a mixed bag for me. In '88 I bought a high-end cassette Walkman which only lasted two years. In '92 I got a ProLogic receiver (STR-AV1070) which started getting flaky in '95--though I now attribute this to damage sustained during a move rather than a build defect. A cordless phone bought in '96 was a POS. I swore off Sony for good at that point, or so I thought...
In '98 I went to Kmart to get a small boombox to listen to music in my cubicle at work in. The one that had the features I wanted was a Sony. I figured I'd take a chance, since boomboxes are cheap, when it breaks I'll just toss it. Three years later that boombox is still going strong.
Next, I get a Sony car stereo with MD head unit and trunk mounted CD changer. No problems, yet. Then a DVP-S9000ES DVD player, that thing is built like a tank. Works great. Next, a digital camcorder. A nice piece of gear, and no problems yet (though it's less than a year old). Finally, a MXD-D3 CD/MD deck, but it's too new (three months old) to determine how reliable it will be.
So in my case, my Sony luck changed from bad to good. All because of a boom box. :) Every brand has its lemons. Take Panasonic for example--I've always been impressed by their reliability, but anyone whose had a A110 crap out on them isn't likely to agree with me. I've known people who have had Pioneer receivers die on them, but my 8 year old Pioneer LD player is still going strong.
KJP
 

Barton Lynch

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Barton Lynch
Rutledge you are right on every aspect. Leo to correct the LD model it is MDP-455 wich I know very well, it failed me after 5 months, got a Pioneer CLD-D606 now (much better), and those 24" 16:9 Sony computer monitors make me drool, dwarfs my 17" 4:3 Multiscan 200sf
wink.gif
. And Matt, Sennheiser rules!
Sure, my ES CD changer is built like a tank, but so is this JB940 MD deck. Well, time to leave to the service center now (takes deep breath and exhales), Damn I hate this! Wish me luck folks.
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Barton Lynch
...nothing can stop me now
 

Allan Jayne

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 1, 1998
Messages
2,405
I have mixed feelings about Sony although lately "It's a Sony" goes on the minus side when I make a list of pros and cons before buying something. Maybe the best way I can say it is that Sony delivers good consumer grade products as opposed to good videophile grade products.
My 19 inch Trinitron is 20 years old and still working, although the convergence is now way off (2 scan line error) in the lower left corner. I suspect it was somewhat off since day one but I don't recall.
I have a 16:9 LCD RPTV from Sony that I think of as having skimpy engineering and design. It has stereo sound but only one woofer. It has a 1068 x 480 LCD system but the AVIA resolution test pattern shows only 640 x 480. It takes progressive scan input and has a built in doubler but I "see scan lines" and a strobe wheel suggests that the display itself is interlaced. On the plus side, it has essentially perfect convergence and weighs just 110 pounds for 49 inches of screen. But when I bought it nothing else suited my needs.
I still see Sony TV's in the stores with bad convergence, somehow I think Sony is below average in this regard for sets just out of the box.
More video hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm
[Edited last by Allan Jayne on October 08, 2001 at 10:02 AM]
[Edited last by Allan Jayne on October 08, 2001 at 10:06 AM]
 

KeithH

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2000
Messages
9,413
John,
I am not in any way affiliated with Sony. Must I be because I like Sony products? I have bought many Sony products basically because I have had no reasons not to. To my mind, Sony makes many great components that are well-built, have great features, and simply, are great performers. Furthermore, Sony products are available at significant discounts from authorized dealers. I also appreciate the five-year warranty that comes with all Sony ES products in the US. Few component manufacturers offer such coverage. Despite all the positive attributes, not everything I own is Sony. I have a JVC S-VHS, Pioneer LD player, Pioneer Elite CD player, Pioneer cassette changer, Harman/Kardon CD recorder, Technics DVD-Audio player, Denon CD changer, a tube CD player based on a Marantz unit (Ah! Njoe Tjoeb 4000), two NAD integrated amps, and two Philips-Magnavox TVs. Like everyone, I buy the best components for me in terms of performance, features, ergonomics (build quality, remote, etc.), and price. It just so happens that Sony fits the bill for me more often than not. I don't question it.
Here are some reasons why I have bought Sony, and I think they are pretty good ones:
1) When I was in the market for a DVD changer last fall, I went with the Sony DVP-C670D because no other changer at its price point or less (or more in most cases) had as good a remote or as many features. It has performed flawlessly, and the picture quality is excellent, in my opinion. I don't consider the picture to be "soft". I have no complaints with the 'C670D.
2) When looking for non-mass-market CD megachangers, I had two choices as far as brands that were easy to find in stores: Sony ES and Pioneer Elite. I went with Sony ES because I could get their models cheaper than the Elite units from authorized dealers, the build quality is very good, and the sound is good as well. Some people complain about megachangers breaking down (Pioneer has had problems, not just Sony), but my CDP-CX333ES units have been perfect. When I moved recently and had them unplugged for six weeks, the memory was not erased.
3) When it comes to SACD, there are currently three realistic choices: Sony, Philips, and Marantz (the latter two are no longer affiliated). Let's not even consider the two-box Accuphase SACD system for $30,000. :) The Marantz players are quite costly, and it is near impossible to find them discounted from authorized dealers. Finding them to demo in the first place is very difficult. My local high-end dealer that sells Marantz has no SACD players available to demo because he says there is no demand for them. I can, however, find Sony SACD players at Tweeter, Circuit City, and Best Buy. As for Philips, they have put out one unit, the SACD-1000, which has garnered only so-so reviews. It lacks bass management, which all Sony multi-channel SACD players have. Furthermore, Stereophile only placed the '1000 on its 'B' list of recommended components, which is disappointing for a $2000 component that had a lot of potential (multi-channel SACD and progressive-scan output). That leaves Sony. Sony's SACD players have continually been rated favorably. Look at reviews of the SCD-1 and SCD-777ES on audioreview.com. Stereophile rated them as 'A+' components. Furthermore, Sony's SACD players can be purchased at significant discounts. I laughed when I saw the '777ES in Crutchfield catalogs for $3500 (a lot of money, especially for a new format with around a dozen discs available at the time). However, when Oade Bros., an authorized dealer, had it for $1500, I laughed no longer. The '777ES was a steal for that price just as a CD player. SACD was a bonus (and was a more mature format when I jumped in). Same goes for the SCD-C333ES I bought for my second system for $600. Whatever anyone may think of Sony, throw it out the window when looking at their SACD players.
4) I really like the minidisc format. Sony invented it and offers the greatest selection of players, many of which are outstanding, in my opinion. As I said in my original post here, I have three Sony MD decks and have never had a problem with any of them either recording to or playing MDs. The MDS-JA555ES, which I purchased in June, is an incredible machine. The sound quality, while not quite up to CD, is very, very good, and the player weighs 33 lbs. It is very well designed.
So, Sony makes great components for me. Some may not like Sony products and may strongly disparage the company, but I will continue to share my positive experiences with Sony to balance the discussion a bit. One's experiences, whether mine or someone else's, and whether dealing with A/V component manufacturers, restaurants, cars, etc., are not general. Finally, one's loyalty to a company should not be mistaken for nepotism.
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KeithH: Saving the Home Theater World Before Bedtime
[Edited last by KeithH on October 08, 2001 at 01:25 PM]
 

KeithH

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2000
Messages
9,413
Rutledge said:
quote: Quality has suffered.This is also noticeable in how the rate their amplifiers. It used to be
X watts from 20hz-20khz at .02 % distortion. Now it is X watts @ 1khz with .8% distortion.[/quote]
Go to Crutchfield's web site and see how Sony rates the power of the STR-DB1070 and ES receivers. The quality of Sony's DB and ES receivers has not suffered as you describe. Sony's DE receivers are nothing special, but neither are comparably priced units from Technics and JVC. Even the power rating for Sony's STR-DE1075 (and 'DE945 before it) is respectable for the price.
Kevin,
I put a Sony CD head unit and ten-disc CD changer in my new car back in July. Neither has skipped or had any other problem. I had an Aiwa CD head unit in my old car that performed flawlessly too.
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My:
HT Pics ; Equipment List ; DVD Collection ; LD Collection
KeithH: Saving the Home Theater World Before Bedtime
[Edited last by KeithH on October 09, 2001 at 06:29 AM]
 

Shanthi

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Aug 6, 2001
Messages
109
Sorry to hear that Barton.
I have Sony TV, RPTV, DVP, CD, Tape and Sat reveiver for a long long time and never had any problem.
 

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