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Thread: Looking for insight on dbl din hu's

  1. #31
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    I have the Clarion MAX675VD & love it so far. The IPod interface is the fastest & easiest to use I've seen so far.

    I've tried posting pics a couple of times but when I do, nothing shows up; not even my reply.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gvit
    I have the Clarion MAX675VD & love it so far. The IPod interface is the fastest & easiest to use I've seen so far.

    I've tried posting pics a couple of times but when I do, nothing shows up; not even my reply.
    try a photo hosting site.. like www.photobucket.com

    My friend got that deck for his Benz but has yet to install it...I like the looks alot but have not seen in in a F150 yet..

  3. #33
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    Gvit

    Your posts didn't show because you have less than 5 posts and the spambuster hides your posts until we OK them. I removed all of the duplicate posts and approved one. BTW hosting images elsewhere will still trip the spambuster if you have less than 5 posts.

  4. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gvit
    I have the Clarion MAX675VD & love it so far. The IPod interface is the fastest & easiest to use I've seen so far.

    I've tried posting pics a couple of times but when I do, nothing shows up; not even my reply.
    that look very nice

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    Quote Originally Posted by BigD
    Gvit

    Your posts didn't show because you have less than 5 posts and the spambuster hides your posts until we OK them. I removed all of the duplicate posts and approved one. BTW hosting images elsewhere will still trip the spambuster if you have less than 5 posts.
    Ahh.. I did not know that...

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    I have a DDX6019 in my 2003 F150, it was definitely interesting getting it in there. A lot of cutting had to happen. Had to do a lot of sanding, had to use fibertech, rage, and still haven't gotten the paint to the color I want.

  7. #37
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    There are plenty of good units out there for the money, but it's your perception of value versus the cost the manufacturer and retailers assign to the product. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for...which is why the Excelon Kenwood, Pioneers and Eclipse decks are consistently rated pretty highly.

    IMHO there's not much out there that can compete with the Pioneer Z1 (and forthcoming Z2) in terms of functionality and feature. You get a 7" screen, which is anywhere from 1/2" to 1" bigger than most. It handles glare better than most too. The Z1 also has all the navigation built on to a HDD, with 10G of that drive usable for music storage. Music stored on the drive is detailed by GraceNote, which automatically identifies the album title and track information. Pioneer provides free updates every 6 months for this feature on their website. We've got odd collections of music at the store and it's recognized every one. In terms of navigation Pioneer chose TeleAtlas because they update it regularly and can map down to the medians at most intersections. On the new Z2 it can even determine which lane you ought to be in to make your next turn, prompting you with that information. Paired with NavTraffic from XM (an option) it can help you steer around traffic jams and accidents well before you hit back up. I have this feature on my Avic-N2 and it does work for me when I drive to Washington D.C. It will learn what roads you travel most on and try to incorporate those into any navigation directions. The navgiation also sports a voice-operation mode that doesn't require you to talk like a robot. If you're missing street-address information but have a phone number, it can find your destination that way too. It's also set-up for two-zones, so the people in the back seat can watch a movie on an overhead or headrest monitor while the driver listens to another source. This is a great feature with kids, get them to wear headphones for the movie and you can listen to something on the HDD, XM/Sirius or the radio.
    Pioneer makes a 6-disc DVD/CD changer that can be fully controlled by the deck, particularly good for long trips. Another cool feature is Pioneer's back-up camera, it works VERY well with a wide-view lens and excellent night vision. My camera's mounted right above my license plate and I can see the edge of the bumper in both directions and about 10 feet behind me clearly.

    From an installation standpoint this deck fits VERY well into the F-150 and Superduty trucks. The front-face of the deck is thinner than most other models meaning that it sits more flush with the radio bezel. Nothing will fit inside the trim ring as the factory did, because the face needs to move, but this is pretty close, particularly if you have an installer that knows what he's doing and is willing to take the time to do it right. Alpine's IVAW200 and new 205 are the worst culprits of thick face plates.

  8. #38
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    Ive got the Alpine Dbl din and love it!!

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    Quote Originally Posted by 2TonHog
    There are plenty of good units out there for the money, but it's your perception of value versus the cost the manufacturer and retailers assign to the product. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for...which is why the Excelon Kenwood, Pioneers and Eclipse decks are consistently rated pretty highly.

    IMHO there's not much out there that can compete with the Pioneer Z1 (and forthcoming Z2) in terms of functionality and feature. You get a 7" screen, which is anywhere from 1/2" to 1" bigger than most. It handles glare better than most too. The Z1 also has all the navigation built on to a HDD, with 10G of that drive usable for music storage. Music stored on the drive is detailed by GraceNote, which automatically identifies the album title and track information. Pioneer provides free updates every 6 months for this feature on their website. We've got odd collections of music at the store and it's recognized every one. In terms of navigation Pioneer chose TeleAtlas because they update it regularly and can map down to the medians at most intersections. On the new Z2 it can even determine which lane you ought to be in to make your next turn, prompting you with that information. Paired with NavTraffic from XM (an option) it can help you steer around traffic jams and accidents well before you hit back up. I have this feature on my Avic-N2 and it does work for me when I drive to Washington D.C. It will learn what roads you travel most on and try to incorporate those into any navigation directions. The navgiation also sports a voice-operation mode that doesn't require you to talk like a robot. If you're missing street-address information but have a phone number, it can find your destination that way too. It's also set-up for two-zones, so the people in the back seat can watch a movie on an overhead or headrest monitor while the driver listens to another source. This is a great feature with kids, get them to wear headphones for the movie and you can listen to something on the HDD, XM/Sirius or the radio.
    Pioneer makes a 6-disc DVD/CD changer that can be fully controlled by the deck, particularly good for long trips. Another cool feature is Pioneer's back-up camera, it works VERY well with a wide-view lens and excellent night vision. My camera's mounted right above my license plate and I can see the edge of the bumper in both directions and about 10 feet behind me clearly.

    From an installation standpoint this deck fits VERY well into the F-150 and Superduty trucks. The front-face of the deck is thinner than most other models meaning that it sits more flush with the radio bezel. Nothing will fit inside the trim ring as the factory did, because the face needs to move, but this is pretty close, particularly if you have an installer that knows what he's doing and is willing to take the time to do it right. Alpine's IVAW200 and new 205 are the worst culprits of thick face plates.
    Have you dealt with the Jensen decks at all? I wanted a Kenwood but they were above my price range..

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    The company I worked for dropped the Jensen decks despite their being a decent seller at high margin. The biggest reason (I believe) is due to failure and service issues. I can't count how many of those my installers had to swap because of a customer service issue. We then send the units to our service department for repairs, which means that the store foots the bill come P&L time. It got so bad that my car audio manager pulled the deck from the floor because of the disappointment and the fact that my installers were working for free by removing and reinstalling these all the time. Meaning he'd rather NOT sell it because of the headache.

    The Alpine decks are very nice. The faceplate that slides down is just deep, which can make the unit stick out a bit further than some would like. Personally I don't care what it looks like as long as it provides good sound quality and decent functionality.

    I'm actually considering purchasing the IVAW205 myself, as I could buy the Blackbird portable navigation piece that docks inside the head unit too and take that out when I'm in a different vehicle or traveling. Neat concept actually.

    It just seems that customers who end up buying the Alpine end up having to buy additional pieces to make it work and sound better. Particulary the navigation drive, which costs another $1400+! Nobody likes the external dock for the original Blackbird, thankfully something Alpine addressed when they made the new 205 and smaller/dockable Blackbird. A lot of people will look to the Clarion MAX675 and AVIC-D2/D3 for the same money. Keep in mind that the AVIC-D3 has NO motorized faceplate and still comes with the navigation built-in for a sub-$1000 price tag.

    Almost every person who's bought it comes back pretty quickly to buy new speakers AND outboard amps because they want more sound at a higher quality. Then they end up buying the PXAH700 processor to improve the sound quality to outboard amplifiers by upping the voltage of the line-outs, particularly to a weak sub-out. As a side benefit the surround and time-correction processing really improve the overall sound quality, particularly in cab like ours with the angles and reflectivity from the console and dashboard. If you pair the processing of the PXAH700 with the new PDX amplifiers it makes for a nice sounding and potent combination.

    The downside is that most of my customers aren't happy with it right out of the box, and although add-ons sales are nice for a commissioned salesperson I make a point of telling my customers about other customer's feedback to prevent returns or exchanges. Customers that want to make a whole system out of it, amps, speakers, processor, et al, are fine with that.

    But there are just as many who aren't into the whole car-stereo thing and are just looking to expand on their functionality. I run the risk of not making a paycheck if these things boomerang on me, so I'll pitch units like the Pioneer and Clarion in those instances.

    My advice is to take your future purchases and/or budget into mind when purchasing a higher-end piece, as the mod bug is JUST as addictive for sound as it is for go-faster goodies.
    Last edited by 2TonHog; 03-08-2007 at 03:55 PM.

  11. #41
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    Quote Originally Posted by 2TonHog
    The company I worked for dropped the Jensen decks despite their being a decent seller at high margin. The biggest reason (I believe) is due to failure and service issues. I can't count how many of those my installers had to swap because of a customer service issue. We then send the units to our service department for repairs, which means that the store foots the bill come P&L time. It got so bad that my car audio manager pulled the deck from the floor because of the disappointment and the fact that my installers were working for free by removing and reinstalling these all the time. Meaning he'd rather NOT sell it because of the headache.

    The Alpine decks are very nice. The faceplate that slides down is just deep, which can make the unit stick out a bit further than some would like. Personally I don't care what it looks like as long as it provides good sound quality and decent functionality.

    I'm actually considering purchasing the IVAW205 myself, as I could buy the Blackbird portable navigation piece that docks inside the head unit too and take that out when I'm in a different vehicle or traveling. Neat concept actually.

    It just seems that customers who end up buying the Alpine end up having to buy additional pieces to make it work and sound better. Particulary the navigation drive, which costs another $1400+! Nobody likes the external dock for the original Blackbird, thankfully something Alpine addressed when they made the new 205 and smaller/dockable Blackbird. A lot of people will look to the Clarion MAX675 and AVIC-D2/D3 for the same money. Keep in mind that the AVIC-D3 has NO motorized faceplate and still comes with the navigation built-in for a sub-$1000 price tag.

    Almost every person who's bought it comes back pretty quickly to buy new speakers AND outboard amps because they want more sound at a higher quality. Then they end up buying the PXAH700 processor to improve the sound quality to outboard amplifiers by upping the voltage of the line-outs, particularly to a weak sub-out. As a side benefit the surround and time-correction processing really improve the overall sound quality, particularly in cab like ours with the angles and reflectivity from the console and dashboard. If you pair the processing of the PXAH700 with the new PDX amplifiers it makes for a nice sounding and potent combination.

    The downside is that most of my customers aren't happy with it right out of the box, and although add-ons sales are nice for a commissioned salesperson I make a point of telling my customers about other customer's feedback to prevent returns or exchanges. Customers that want to make a whole system out of it, amps, speakers, processor, et al, are fine with that.

    But there are just as many who aren't into the whole car-stereo thing and are just looking to expand on their functionality. I run the risk of not making a paycheck if these things boomerang on me, so I'll pitch units like the Pioneer and Clarion in those instances.

    My advice is to take your future purchases and/or budget into mind when purchasing a higher-end piece, as the mod bug is JUST as addictive for sound as it is for go-faster goodies.
    I always have higher end decks in the past but for the price I figured I'd try this Jensen out...if it sucks..I'll sell it and should not lose much really. It looks way better in person than I expected. I got the double din 9020TS.

  12. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigD
    Gvit

    Your posts didn't show because you have less than 5 posts and the spambuster hides your posts until we OK them. I removed all of the duplicate posts and approved one. BTW hosting images elsewhere will still trip the spambuster if you have less than 5 posts.
    Thanks!
    I'm a member of several different forums & I couldn't for the life of me figure out what I was doing wrong.

  13. #43
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    so I finally got my pioneer Z2 today. First one in Orange County I think and installing next week will post pics.

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    Quote Originally Posted by 87national
    so I finally got my pioneer Z2 today. First one in Orange County I think and installing next week will post pics.
    Hi ...So tell us how is the Z2 working for you ?
    your feed back please ...the good & the bad/ no good

  15. #45
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    I love my Z2. It does everthing I expected to. Im able to load my personals pics, control my i-pod and watch my videos from my I-pod. Im able to control my headrest monitors from the touch screen and can even listen to my own music or movies while the people setting in back are watching their own on the monitors. Only thing I dont really like is when Im searching through my ipod playlist its a liitle slow when I scrow down to the artist. other then that I highly recommend and you wont be disappointed. Any questions or more pics let me know. Oh yea you can also receive and dial out call threw your bluetooth phone with voice command
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by 87national; 04-14-2007 at 01:19 PM.

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