Contact person: Kevin Chen
I bought and installed the Sony XR-C210 (Stereo/Cassette/CD controller) and CDX-51 (10 CD changer) this weekend. Here's the lowdown...
Price: I bought both units together at Circuit City. The changer was priced at $284 and the head unit at $229. I was able to get them to drop the price of the head unit to $199 and had them give me 12 months of interest free payments (Best Buys was running this promo, so they matched it). Oh, the mounting kit and wire harness was $25 for the pair.
Installation:Remove existing stereo. Take the ashtray out and remove center bezel cover by giving it a firm tug. Remove the two bolts holding the existing unit in place. Unplug the two wire harnesses and the antenna cable. Unscrew the ground wire. This should completely free the unit.
Preparing the new head unit. The wire harness I bought made wire connection very easy. All but two wires were easily connected by crimping with a pair of pliers. The remaining two wires simply needed to be stripped back, twisted and taped. Follow the directions that came with the mounting hardware as it may be little different from the one I bought. Ok, set the head unit aside for now.
Finding a suitable location for the changer. The CDX-51 will not fit under the front seats. I choose to mount it to the back of one of the back seats. I used the "60" of the 60/40 split because the smaller split was not wide enough to accomodate the changer when the RCA and controller cables were attached. This location works out nice for me because I can lean my seat back, pull the split down and access the changer without much effort. If anyone finds a better location, please let me know.
Installing the changer. Simply screw the mounting brackets to the unit and than screw the mounting brackets to the back of the seat. Make sure the two dials on the side of the unit are pointing in the proper direction.
Running the cables. Ok, this was the hairiest part of the procedure. I'm sure there are numerous ways to run the cables, but this is the method I came up with. I pulled up the back seat (grasp the front corners of the seat and yank). I then detached the center floor console (4 screws in the storage bin and one in each cup holder). Attach the RCA and controller cables to the changer. Run the cables through the bottom corner of the seat back, underneath the carpet by the back seat, along the front of the back seat (still underneath the carpet), along the center "hump", under the center floor console (you can come up from under the carpet now, but make sure you don't interfere with the e-brake cables or anything else vital), out the front of the floor console and into the back of the stereo compartment. The only exposed cable is from the changer to the corner of the back seat. If you lay the cables carefully, you shouldn't even be able to feel them beneath the carpet. Wait to test the unit before replacing the seat and floor console. If you have pulled the floor console all the way up, you will really need to pull the e-brake handle up to slip it through the hole.
The final stretch. Attach the wire harness, antenna cable, ground wire, RCA cables and controller cable to the back of the head unit. Slide the unit and secure with the two bolts that were pulled out earlier. Snap the center bezel back into place. Replace the ashtray. Throw a couple of CDs into the changer, pop the face onto the head unit, cross your fingers and turn 'er on. ( you may want to test before securing everything back).
Total time: about 4 hours, but would be much less if I knew where I was going to mount the changer and how I was going to run the cables.
The verdict. Sounds good enough (factory speakers (6 of em)) and does not skip even over railroad tracks and pothole ridden Connecticut Ave in DC. Though the head unit is considerably smaller than factory, the finish look is nice. I haven't gotten used to the button layout, though that's just a function of time. I did hit the release button once when going for the volume button which is located right above the release. The changer is a bit bulky, but it is a 10 CD changer and not a six. I choose Sony over Alpine mainly because of price. I trust both systems but the system I bought was considerably cheaper. Also, Circuit City would not sell anything Alpine without doing the installation themselves.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments.
Kevin Chen