Sony XAV V10BT

Key Features

The 6.2 inch LCD capacitive touchscreen is a dream look at as well as to use, especially compared to some of the other resistive or VGA based touchscreens available on the digital media receiver market today.

Sony makes high-end displays for all of their touchscreen products and it feels like this 6.2 inch screen is really going to keep carrying on that tradition. The resolution is razor-sharp, the touchscreen is highly accurate and very responsive, and everything “just works” in a way that feels intuitive and easy to get the hang of.

Physical buttons are included with this touchscreen system as well, not so much as a backup option (though they do allow you to control pretty much everything you can control with the touchscreen) but as an ergonomic option.

If you don’t want to take your eyes off of the road but still want to be able to manipulate your digital media receiver on the go – controlling everything from the media source to volume levels to your phone and more – you’ll be able to do so with these physical buttons.

Unlike a lot of other options on the market right now, the Sony XAV V10BT provides you with a USB input and full AUX input directly on the face of the touchscreen module. Other options talk these inputs into the rear of the system, forcing you to do a little bit of extra cable management to gain access to those capabilities. That isn’t ever going to be a problem here.

The unit has built-in high definition radio capabilities straight out of the box, but it also comes 100% Sirius XM satellite radio compatible. You will have to pick up a secondary tuner and subscription to add these capabilities to the XAV V10BT but it’s nice to have a “plug and play” kind of solution that doesn’t take much to get going.

Rearview camera capabilities can be taken advantage of as well, though you’ll have to purchase the actual camera hardware separately. This gives you a better freedom to find the right rear view camera option for your needs while still being able to plug it directly into the rear input for this system without a lot of fancy or challenging wiring required.

Sony went all out as far as the sound quality of the XAV V10BT is concerned. The Dynamic Stage Organizer proprietary feature from Sony allows you to create a virtual soundstage throughout the cabin of your vehicle, filling it with sound in a way that you wouldn’t have been able to with other digital media receivers.

Combine that with the built-in 20 W amplifier, a 10 band equalizer, high and low pass filters, and dedicated subwoofer controls and you’ll be able to really dial in the audio in your vehicle with no trouble at all.

Bluetooth 5.0 wireless connectivity options are available to help you make the most of smart phone and streaming media sources. You can also plug Android and iOS devices directly into this digital media receiver via USB and leverage Carplay and Android Auto that way as well.