Sony's XAV-W1 head unit: SACD in your dash

For the handful of audiophiles who simply cover their ears with their uber-expensive cans when the rational crowd invites them to stop hoping for SACD to take off, here's to you. Sony has launched the "world's first" (we believe it, actually) in-car head unit that supports 5.1 SACD. The double-DIN XAV-W1 touts a seven-inch WVGA LCD, SACD / CD / DVD playback, Dolby / DTS support, 3.5-millimeter auxiliary port, seven-band equalizer, 52-watt x 4 internal amplifier, a trio of AV inputs, an image viewer, MP3 / WMA compatibility, and comes ready to play nice with your iPod and satellite / HD radio receiver. Granted, this thing will run you more than some in-dash navigation systems, but paying $800 for this sure beats retrofitting a traditional universal player into your glove compartment.

[Image courtesy of Krunker]

[Mark @ Jul 29th 2007 10:43PM]

HAhahaha audiophile listening in the car. If you're not in a Lexus LS460 or something, there's no point in getting audiophile equipment for your car.

[Amani576 @ Jul 29th 2007 11:05PM]

Hardly. There are things such as sound dampening foam, padding, and sprays. If an audiophile will spend the money (likely) to have their car retrofitted with very nice sound proofing (Or, for the DIY Audiophile, do it them selves), expensive speakers, high-quality speaker wire, and a nice amplifier and subwoofer... audiophile-grade music and sound listening in a car is possible.
Hi-fi equipment isn't cheap... and the same goes for cars. Never think those people won't pay the money to have a comparable system in their car as at home.
GR

[letstakeawalk @ Jul 29th 2007 11:32PM]

I see nothing wrong with wanting the highest quality recording playback available in my car. SACD is a great format which has many benefits over CD and DVD-audio. For $800, it's really not that expensive either, considering it will play any format disk.

[Cash @ Jul 30th 2007 4:06AM]

Uh... what?

Obviously no one ever told you that a Lexus is nothing more then an overpriced piece of Japanese garbage. A car is no better then it's components, be it powertrain, suspension, or audio. With an F1 system from Alpine and a fair amount of dampening mats, a Pinto could beat a Lexus easily in the sound quality department. And while european luxury cars with *always* beat out the asian luxury autos in audio fidelity, a well designed aftermarket system can easily give both a run for their money. If you need proof, try checking out an audio competition sometime. And I'm not just talking bass either. Being able to rattle the windows of the car next to you just means you were fine spending 2k on amps and subs, but were too cheap to spare a benny for a layer or two of accumat.

[Ebbi @ Jul 30th 2007 6:24AM]

Cash, Lexus' are overpriced piece of Japanese garbage? funny how in many reviews iv read, and latest Lexus LS has been getting rave reviews for its audio system. Funny how Lexus are topping the vehicle satisfaction surveys. Nah, but theyre still overpriced pieces of garbage arent they, coz its Japanese made!

[Cash @ Jul 30th 2007 3:21PM]

Ebbi-

No, because they are overpriced pieces of garbage that no auto enthusiast would be caught dead in. The nation that builds them has nothing to do with it, but that was a cute jab at imagined bigotry. Swing and a miss.

Pound for pound and dollar for dollar, they don't even come close to competing with BMW, Mercedes, Audi, or Porsche, and the only reviewers that consistently place them higher then the competition do so from middle-of-road viewpoint, not highend. Comparing an asian luxury car to a european luxury car is like trying to compare the original Hummer to the redesigned Hummer, H2, and the like. While the newer versions are more reliable and more accessible to the average buyer, the original is superior in every respect that defines what people imagine a hummer to be. The same goes for west vs east in the luxury car market, which is why you shouldn't put much stock in what Consumer reports or Car and Driver have to say about the matchup, as they clearly don't understand this.

As far as customer satisfaction goes, it's tricky at best to use that as a factor in this comparison. I'm extremely happy with my 05 F-150, and have never had a problem with it nor do I regret buying it two years ago. That doesn't mean there aren't technically better trucks out there though, and when stacked next to 08 F-250 turbo diesel with Lariat trim, DVD player, crew cab, sunroof etc etc, she starts to look a little puny. It also doesn't make my truck better then 911 Turbo next to it at the stoplight because who's owner's satisfaction isn't as high as it could be because he just doesn't like the cupholders. While I have the higher satisfaction, his is clearly the better car. Finally, regarding the stock audio satisfaction you mentioned: I paid for two years of college working in a highend car audio business, and while Lexus' and Infiniti's were a common sight in our install bays, the only real business we got from Audi, Porsche, BMW and Mercedes owners were those interested in autostarts or headrest LCD's for the kids. Aftermarket signal processors like Alpine's audiohub system were one of the most popular with luxury car owners because it integrated with the built in screens, gps etc while completely bipassing the obviously less then adequate stock sound setup. This doesn't prove inferiority, but I'd say it's a pretty telling pattern. I think I covered all your points, and if you want to continue the technical discussion then go for it, but if you're just throwing attitude because the first line of my last post offended you, don't waste my time or yours.

[james @ Jul 31st 2007 1:00AM]

You need to stay far away from car audio. With comments like that, it truly is evident you know very little about this realm.

Quality sound, and a quality system is not dependent upon the car, nor a single piece of equipment. Quality is based on the install. Plain and simple. I can take the Lexus' stereo system (without hearing it) and spend no more than $1000 and a weekend and crush that sound system, as could many others who know the importance of install.

People who are narrow-minded and think that just because you own $10,000 in stereo equipment that their system is supreme would be in for a rude-awakening when they head to an SQ competition and see others there with far less MONEY in a car, but rather time and patience in the "audio engineering" aspect.

Plain and simple? The car, the equipment?...doesn't matter NEAR as much as the install.

[PDCant @ Jul 29th 2007 11:00PM]

When the kiddies find out what a separate LFE channel does for their subwoofer(s), they'll blow their trunks off.

[Jim @ Jul 29th 2007 11:01PM]

Do you know ANYTHING about car audio?

[MarkZ @ Jul 29th 2007 11:10PM]

A clock, an appointment calendar, a notepad... and would you believe it, REVERSI! YES REVERSI!

[Matt @ Jul 29th 2007 11:45PM]

Sony also released the MEX-DV1000 and DV2000 units, they also do SACD, the MEX-DV2000 doing full DVD playback and 5.1 channel decoding, basically the same electronics as the unit in the article, just without the touch screen. The DV2000 can be found on eBay for about $200. I just put one in my car, and even on my factory stereo, the highs sound so much clearer compared to CD.

[JediFonger @ Jul 31st 2007 10:01AM]

thx matt4info. i had been searching for sacd =P. i never knew it existed. do you know if they have made a true universal player that plays DVD-A MLP AND SACD in 1 or double din? or do i have to install TWO separate head units?

[Matthew @ Jul 30th 2007 12:13AM]

Nice to see Sony finally entering the in dash car video scene. I wonder how this will compare to my Pioneer AVIC D3

[c. baines @ Jul 30th 2007 12:18AM]

IIRC, double DIN head units are with a full screen are quite popular in Japan.

[threenine @ Jul 30th 2007 12:56AM]

I am so tired of Sony pushing useless, superfluous formats on the public; confusing the marketplace with substandard nonsense, and dragging everything else down with it (DVD-A). Recording studios gave Direct Stream Digital the finger and so will I.

[Jimmy @ Jul 30th 2007 1:53AM]

You are so right ThreeNine - I wish those silly companies Sony and Philips would have just kept these discs to themselves. Come to think of it I wish they would have kept their other disc to themselves too. What was it called???? OH Yeah - the CD.

Yes, Recording Studios do not use DSD; however, SACD was never meant for studio masters. The 1 bit encoding does not work for multi-track recordings that need equalization and tweaking. SACD was meant to be a higher quality CD it was not designed to be a studio replacement.

Furthermore if you really want uncompressed PCM all you have to do is look into Blu-ray layer 3. Layer 3 BD is an audio only format and with it you get 36 Mbps instead of the 9 Mbps that DVD-A gives you.

[letstakeawalk @ Jul 30th 2007 3:32PM]

I felt the same way when everyone started to get all excited in the 90's about MP3's. I already had a Minidisc player - why did I want another format, especially one that sounded like crap compared to the original source. I bought an SACD player for my home because I like it, and I appreciate the higher-resolution sound it. It's no surprise that the cheaper formats (usually lower quality) have more commercial success because they can be afforded by a larger market. There will always be a demand for higher-quality on the upper end, and the move to HD video is a great example. My RCA tube set has a better picture than most sets I've seen, and untill I buy a source that requires 1080p resolution, it its a waste of money for me to buy a high-def set. My speakers, and amplifiers, already were high-fidelity, so it made more sense to buy the highest quality sound source I could. DSD is a different encoding method than PCM, and to me it sounds more analogue than a CD - that is smoother and more real.

Although Jimmy's comment about Blue-ray layer 3 is news to me. If that's true, it might lead me down that road...

[b3ta @ Jul 31st 2007 2:55AM]

Agreed completely. I pray sony pwns nothing.

[zed @ Jul 30th 2007 3:56AM]

So...SACD did win.Watch out HD-DVD you will have the same fate as DVD-A (In 2017)

[zargon @ Jul 30th 2007 8:41AM]

Not at all, neither format won. It is just Sony pushing it formats, nothing more, nothing less.

[ypod @ Jul 30th 2007 8:45AM]

Tempting, but I'm gonna hold out until the release of the Super Mega Audio CD Asymmetric Sonic Solution format: S.M.A.C.D. A.S.S. Or the long anticipated "INSERT BUZZWORD HERE" CD format, you know it will be worth it...

[Jeff @ Jul 30th 2007 9:53AM]

Hey, engadget, do you guys have a legal team? I imagine you must. Tell them to head on over to http://tech.promaxum.com/?p=3553. And please let me know how it goes, because, man, that shit pisses me off.

[Jeff @ Jul 30th 2007 9:57AM]

OMG, I'm clicking the links and the whole freakin' site is just a direct copy of this one. Like, word for word. WTF?! I highly suspect there isn't, but please tell me there's something you can do about that.

[Emmett Maguire @ Aug 28th 2007 7:00PM]

I only wish that the units included DVD-Audio. The only music I will pay for and have paid for in the last five years, is 5.1 or hi rez stereo. This is 2007 and the public settles for mp3's?

If the only music available comes as a cd or mp3 then I would be forced to copy before I'll pay for this garbage.

Rgds
EJM