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Sony XNV-770BT - Customer Ratings & Reviews



5 star
35%
4 star
20%
3 star
30%
2 star
0%
1 star
15%



Durability
3.5
Value
3.8
Features
3.6
Design
4
Usability
3.2

Customer Reviews

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Not great, but a good buy!

I purchased this unit from SonicElectronix on April 12, 2011 and its been good to me. It does have some flaws. The radio station has presets, but it will display the artist of the last song you listened to while on the station. Stupid to me. And the display has all the information displayed on one line that scrolls while displaying the info. Touch screen reacts a little slow to touch, but its not too bad. Thats why I rated it low for the design. It does have plenty good things. The picture quality is bright and colorfull and the dvd's look great. I don't bother with cd's or Ipods, I have an 8g flash drive with over 1000 songs. The display shows the Artist, song and album titles with the album art. The bluetooth sounds crisp and clear during phone calls. I even use the bluetooth audio to play YouTube and other media from my phone through my stereo and it sounds good. I purchased the Sony SiriusXM tuner and antenna and have satellite radio. I love the programming. The navigation from Tom Tom is also great. I've heard all the bad reviews but I've had no problems with it at all. I hook it up to my laptop and download all the updates. The Tom Tom site actually lets my computer know when an update is available when I log on to the internet. The only thing I don't have is the back up camera and I'm planning on getting it and installing this summer. I love my Sony 770 BT. Does it have flaws? Yes! But, it's nothing to make me feel like it wasn't a good purchase.

By Metch on June 1, 2012

21

found this helpful.

this thing is perfect!

If you are looking for the perfect navi unit, this is it. I never would have thought to buy Sony car audio, but this is great. It seems that Sony must have hired some great new engineers.

By Ben on May 25, 2011

19

found this helpful.

All in one stereo

I love the look and functionality of this unit. I have had a couple of issues that I've had to deal with. The first is when I turn on the car it is not always on the station I was listening to when I turned the car off. The other issue is the RCA outputs. When I connected them to my sub amp, it wasn't putting out a lot of bass. I ended up putting a line out converter with level adjustments to get the sound I want. No major issues, but it's good to know what you're dealing with before hand.

By Kedian on March 15, 2012

18

found this helpful.

disapointed with video options/format

Video formats are very restricted. And radio frequencies not supported for eeuropien and African market. Works by 200 MHz and maps cannot be uploaded but downloaded and when it gets to maps not available. Its a waste of money nevertheless. Sound quality is excellent including other features.

By Ralph on November 16, 2011

18

found this helpful.

Overall, a good product

The screen on this is beautiful. Videos look amazing on this. I haven't had any GPS problems. The only thing I hate is the ipod UI. It's pretty bad. No option to search and once you pick a song to play and go back to select another one you have to go all the way back and start the whole process from the beginning. Much easier to just control the ipod manually. Overall though this is a nice product, especially at the price.

By Kobe Bean on April 30, 2012

15

found this helpful.

Horrible UI design, drives me nuts!

The unit itself is alright, probably on par with other similar devices in this price range (from JVC, Pioneer, etc) but the user interface is incredibly stupid! It looks as though Sony UI developers have been living in a vacuum. It does not support internalization at all, so playing an mp3 with asian, arabic or cyrillic ID3 tags brings the unit to halt by trying to read the file. After about 10 minutes of unsuccessful read attempts, it just shuts off. Also keep in mind that if you're into long mixes over an hour long, the speeds of fast-forward and Rev are extremely slow (x2 max) and there is no control over the progress bar like you have in winamp. Second, it does not have any codecs what's so ever. So if you're planning on watching .mp4, .avi or .mov movie, you might as well take a laptop. I bought this particular model only because of TomTom, but even that gave up on me. I had instances when I was driving for an hour(!) and it was still not able to find any satellites. And lastly, the overall hardware design is pretty flimsy. It might just be me, but there are some loose parts in the screen that constantly rattles when you hit a bump. After such a horrible experience, I decided to build my own carputer.

By Josh on September 10, 2011

16

found this helpful.

AWSOME!!!!!

I love this Sony head unit. Works great so far. This is a great buy.

By Steven on June 13, 2012

15

found this helpful.

Not the best bang for your buck.

Horribly slow, Features are okay but takes forever to get to where you need to get. Best thing about the deck is the Tom Tom navigation + The Graphics, Its a really clean design.

Not a lot of video files are supported. Conclusion, sent it back within a month and bought a Pioneer Z130BT.

By Ryan on January 5, 2012

15

found this helpful.

Awesome in-dash stereo

I recommend this product because its easy to install and has many different features that come in handy. I bought this product about six months ago and i still love it.

By Flavio on November 5, 2011

15

found this helpful.

great product

Its is big monitor with easy to use function.tom tom navi is quick and accurate,and Sony product last long and I would recommed this unit.

By mohan on July 4, 2012

15

found this helpful.

This GPS is a great value & is even better than advertised!

The unit works very well, easy to us and the large screen is great.

By Charlie Brown on January 27, 2012

13

found this helpful.

One of the best in-dash units

This in dash unit is great. Not a bad start up time. I love the way the face folds down. DVD picture quality is sharp. Gives your factory sound a great boost. Bluetooth is crisp and clear during calls. The aux and Ipod jacks are handy. I also bluetooth my audio through the system from my phone. I don't use CD's anymore. I have 1,000 songs on my 8g flash drive that I connect to my radio's USB port. It plays all of my mp3 songs. The radio station presets are not that great, it displays the last song played on the display for the station I.D. between the time you leave, then come back to the station. The navigation is good as well. Tom Tom does need to update their maps with the new areas where houses are and development have finished. It's behind and doesn't find some of the newer communities streets. The remote would be handy but, I have the steering wheel control so I adjust the controls from my wheel. Overall, great buy for the price. I found it to be more expensive at other shops.

By Keith on October 12, 2011

13

found this helpful.

Good value, adequate unit

There are no perfect head units imo, but this unit is decent and presents good functionality. User interface however is not too logical and the processor is too slow to register commands. I used to have an OE Navi unit in my Acura, and when I bought this for a Toyota, I bought it with the intention of keeping it even after I sell this vehicle. No comparison to Acura's, but I won't mind keeping it until it busts.

By Pranny on August 8, 2011

13

found this helpful.

good unit with flaws

I own this unit, but did not purchase it from Sonic.

The XNV-770bt is a great first try and double din nav for sony. However, it has its short comings. I for one, find the display quality to be top notch. Movies looks great and you can see all the little details on your album art. The layout is easy to maneuver around; even while driving. Its a little bland looking, but I think its a good thing. I checkout kenwoods line up and there is no way I could navigate that while driving. It looks pretty but its only practical if your sitting still.

It has many great features for the price. Not alot of sound tweaking features. Only high pass crossover for speakers and low pas for subs. No active tuning but it does have a 7 band EQ and T/A which is great. Also, I like its radio/CD interface. But I dont like the RDS info, or lack there of. It only shows like 10 lines of text at a time. A big chunk of the screen isnt utilized.

There are major issues with the TomTom nav. It is a known issue that after awhile, these units will lose satellite signal and rarely be able to get it back. Mine worked for 3 months before I lost signal and I didnt get it back for two weeks. I had no luck resetting the unit to fix it. Only connecting it to my computer and using up and update fixed it. For now...... knock on wood.

I also had to RMA my first one because the tomtom voice didnt work. Wasn't a settings issue, it just didnt work. No sound.

Overall, I think it was a good attempt. I like this unit alot. I just wish the radio RDS showed more than a few lines of text and that tomtom would get their act together and fix their gps.

By jacob on November 3, 2011

12

found this helpful.

Tomtom vs Garmin

I bought this stereo to consolidate my radio, gps, hands free and MP3 player.

The stereo works fine, but the screen/button layout is boring. Simple monochromatics controls. For having a beautiful 7" screen why does it only display 15-20 characters of the song artist/title.

MP3 player, when it finds my iPod it works great. Doesn't always find the player and loses its place when disconeccted.

Tom Tom GPS. Recalculates faster than my previous Garmin. It has some nice features, but takes to many steps to enter a destination. Point of Interests is not very user friendly. Internet updating for Tom Tom is nice. GPS receiver does not always connect with satelites. This is very frustrating.

So far I have not be able to get the DVD player to play video.

Bluetooth/handsfree functions work great. Good sound and pickup for the phone. Streaming music from phone works great. Phone book is clumsy to use.

By John on October 2, 2011

12

found this helpful.

Perhaps a little too ahead of it's time.

I purchased this unit to use as many functions as possible. I have the Sony back up camera, too. The unit was professionally installed by a great fellow at B*** B**.

The iPod USB and the need for in-dash navigation were the catalysts for choosing this unit. As stated in the other reviews of this deck, the iPod menu is maddening. I hate, Hate, HATE that I have to go back to the top search menu when selecting music. Why couldn't they integrate the Voice Control as the blue tooth phone link uses? I either have to pull over, wait for a traffic light, or risk a collision to use the touch screen and it's very small function fields, in addition to the constant need to press twice or three times before the command takes. Ugh!

DVD sounds and looks great (when the parking brake is applied). Tom Tom is awesome...but since this is my first car navi, is it common for the unit to lock up waiting for a "valid GPS signal". This has become more common after a month of ownership and I am having quality concerns. The backup camera is cool, but, once again, I hate, Hate, HATE that I have to ask the damned unit's permission to view by pressing a "usage agreement" button, BEFORE I can see my rear view on the monitor. BTW, the startup of the unit and subsequent agreement buttons take longer than starting the car, putting on seat belt and waiting an addition few seconds so I can use my expensive, fancy piece of showy tech. The awesome Tom Tom also requires a usage agreement before you can use. SUGGESTION: Once I install the navi-deck that I purchased and have used daily for several weeks, how about the first time I agree...that's it? Why must I ask constant permission to see where I going? Jeez! Also, you have to remove the iPod or USB music memory every damned time you shut off the vehicle!!! The music with appear on the touchscreen just as when you left the car, but will have no sound until you turn the unit OFF and ON and THEN plug the iPod/USB music back in in order to hear. Ugh, UGH!

So, in short, the unit has a number of electronic gremlins that come and go. The stereo sounds amazing, once the ladder menu gets me to my selected tunes. The radio interface is great, but Sony should make better use of all that screen space. Very dull. I'm not looking for a distraction, but a wallpaper, or something akin to a screen saver graphic would serve the technology and consumer better. Even $150 units have active electronic EQs or graphic using only LED screens. What gives, Sony?

This was a unit that was clearly rushed to market without adequate testing. I look forward to future models that speak to these glaring oversights that I found after only a few hours of use. I would rather navigate my music through my iPod. Do you know how embarrassing it is to try and impress a girl on a date when your glitchy car audio/navi system is requiring all your attention?

Don't get me wring, I like this unit, and hope it won't screw me over on my summer road trip across the desert SW. I'll still take my Road Atlas, but that kind of defeats the purpose. There is still trust to be earned by this unit. We'll certainly see.

By Tyler on June 4, 2011

12

found this helpful.

Pretty sweet 'till it broke.

The good:

* sound- used in hybrid sound quality install - works for me (by hybrid sound quality install I mean it's a SQ install with a navi unit; not a pure SQ install if using any navi unit is my take)
* navigation- works well, nice looking, easy to update GPS and maps
* video- looks good, big screen
* starts up quick

The bad:

* slow response to finger presses (you have to press firm, slowly)
* i -pod menu access slow and always goes to back to beginning
* Sense me feature and included i-pod video cable incompatible
* Not free maps for life (some tomtom's give you that)
* No live traffic report
* It broke! (don't know if this is more common for this unit vs. competitors, but sux for me!)

Not a bad unit, I was happy enough with it. My advice is buy the extended warranty. My unit broke after 30 days now I have to wait for repair.

By Chuthlu on May 18, 2011

13

found this helpful.

I will never buy another Sony product again

I wouldn't recommend this product to anyone that wants to experience and use an actual unit that will work. I have installed the unit and I have had it in my vehicle for 2 days and the unit is defective out of the box. I have come to figure out that the unit has been discontinued (I CAN TELL WHY) and the unit is one of the worst units I have ever installed or dealt with. I was a certified installer for 7 years and I am currently a mechanic. I have installed 100's of units and this is by far a let down. I am not impressed at all. I had the opportunity to use my unit twice since I have installed it and I have spent the rest of the time starring at a black screen. AWESOME! NOT!

By Ryan R. on March 8, 2012

11

found this helpful.

hi there

I am very satisfied whit my sony it works perfect.

By Steven on October 5, 2011

9

found this helpful.

Follow up review from Tyler

OK...so I took the family on a 5200-mile road trip around the desert southwest for three weeks in July and I am ready really review the Sony Nav unit. Watch out, there's strong language that follows.

As we all enjoyed looking at home video taken by my son while I was driving through colorful Colorado, I was 'booping and beeping' (code for pressing endless buttons to work the tedious menus) and muttering on the video over the damned worthless navigation menu while trying to trick the navigation into finding that elusive "valid GPS signal" during a clear blue day at the top of the Rocky mountains". F&&&%%g piece of s*&t! hung me out to dry for three days before it "found" it's next signal..by which time I was already back to relying solely on the atlas. More reasons for using a physical map over this unit later.

The iPod-based music developed an incessant hiss during music play that about drove me to pull my hair out. Cycling through three different MP3 players confirmed that the issue was coming from the deck, not my iPhone, or the Zune, or that cheap Wal-mart Mp3 player.

Before I forget, I will point out two significant failures by the navigation. And yes, I understand that Tom-Tom disclaims any responsibility for both wrong directions and missed short-cuts. The trek to Carlsbad Caverns had 40 miles (one way - 80 freaking miles total) added to it since the Tom-Tom didn't recognize the highway that cut across rather than send us way north to the town of Carlsbad (the navigation was set to the National Park, BTW). The second and last failure before this POS blanked out for a week occurred in the remote village of Los Angeles, California, once again, during perfect weather and while acknowledging over a dozen satellites in the GPS menu. While seeking an evening at the Griffith Observatory, the navigation insisted that we turn into an incorrect neighborhood at dusk, not the giant city park, and even gave us specific verbal directions through scores of switchbacks to get as high up the ridge as possible before we reached the dead end next to someone's house. I don't mean to go on, but you've heard of this place, right...Griffith Observatory, like in about 50 movies? Well, "Jane" the British chick's voice that directed us through this bourgeois neighborhood, became something of a joke for all of us before I just shut her off for good. I still find humor in letting her direct me home from my office 8 miles from home when she decides to find a signal...which is two or three times a week. She still wants me to go 5 miles out of the way to the Interstate even when I am within a mile of home. Last month she worked every day for two week straight!!!...not enough to rebuild the trust lost out on the open road when she was needed. Oh, gosh, that totally reminds me, "Jane" took a three day vacation while we were in Denver...so we weren't actually led astray, just forgotten. During an intense thunderstorm, I couldn't locate a shadow to find east to get to Aurora and Jane sure as hell wasn't around to help. I did what every new owner of this unit would do in this situation. I pulled over and asked for directions and bought a city map. F*%k you, Jane!

So, I guess it's fair to say, I'm unhappy with this unit. The DVD is great and the radio works, but so what? I dropped over a grand between this deck and installation to avoid the issues that were actually compounded by having this pile of junk clogging up my dashboard. We actually laugh about it now, since the impact was negligible and we used our other resources to navigate around the Tom-Tom (pretty funny, huh?). But really, what the hell is the point if I can see 14-16 satellites on the configuration screen, but the GD Tom-Tom can't seem to triangulate a signal. And I really got pissed when, while driving, I looked over at the light to some college student on a 1980's Toyota looking at clear directions in his 2" screen Tom-Tom windshield unit while my crazy-expensive unit was OOO. I honked my horn and asked him what he was using, just to be sure. I have been to several forums and have found that this was the biggest issue with these units in Europe BEFORE they were made available in the US. So, with full knowledge of this problem, Sony decided to drop these defective units on folks like me. I'm not sure is my warranty is still good, and I have no idea how I would replace the old CD player since the entire dashboard came off for the install.

I'm feeling pretty boned and disappointed. But, I don't want to come across as a total whiner, but I have seen dozens factory of in-dash navigation units, and not one has these problems. I though I was making a keen decision to put one in my 8-year-old car. Talking about this unit makes me sad, so I'm going to stop now. It should have been really cool, you know?

Do not buy this hunk of garbage. Once the bugs get worked out, navigation signal loss, iPod navigation menu, whatever that hiss was, and the other breakage problems I have read about, it should be state of the art. Until then, stay away! I wonder if the Alpine is reliable? Thoughts? comments?

By Tyler on September 11, 2011

9

found this helpful.

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