We picked a head unit from Sony's lineup and took it for a ride. Our criteria for the choice wasn't particularly stringent. We wanted a head unit that looked middling-upscale with a correspondent price, settling on the Xplod AM/FM/CD CDX-M9900. Installation was straightforward, after we bought a couple of universal wiring harnesses from a local 12-volt dealer that allowed a quick-click connection of the head unit into our truck's sound system. After installing the CDX-M9900, set up of the date and time was easy, via the Menu button on the head unit and navigating the simple menu. Then, we set the radio station presets and sat back to get a first impression of the unit.
If you look at many of the head units on the market, you can spot the ones that are designed to appeal to the bling-bling sensibility of a significant number of car audio consumers. Even the simple styling and refined lines of the high-end models targeted at the moneyed (older) class still sparkle with faux-billet cladding. But, some of us appreciate the stylish functionality of a head unit designed with clean lines and understated visual cues. The CDX-M9900's gray face blends in well with a stock, dark-gray dashboard, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't stand out. Rounded corners frame a prominent TLT display that beams a variety of cool-looking static and dynamic images in addition to functional alphanumeric text. Two large control knobs flank the sparse population of smaller-sized buttons on the faceplate. At night, the unit disappears behind the muted glow that highlights the knobs and buttons in a rich red that's reminiscent of the color in Sony's Xplod logo.
There is no detachable face for the CDX-M9900, a drawback for those who take comfort in hiding their pricey radio in plain sight of thieves. The unit does come with a black, plastic cover that obscures the unit moderately well, but its swoopy shape is probably as effective at drawing attention away from itself as a giggling three-year-old standing behind a lamp post during a game of hide-and-seek.