Help me pick a double DIN
 

I have a 2008 Mazda3. I'm a noob when it comes to audio, all my stuff is pretty hand-me-downs. Been looking at Pioneer, JVC and Alpine's but after reading reviews I'm still totally lost.

What I'm looking for:
A really good Ipod menu (Album art and easy to use menus) since I pretty much only use my Ipod in the car
Navigation
MOAR power to drive my components (JL XR's)
Subwoofer input/control? (hate my LOC)
7" Screen

Budget
$1300..ish

I have an Alpine W505. The unit itself is pretty good, but Alpine Navi sucks to the bone. I would not recommend Alpine just for that. Ergonomics is pretty important, so make sure to try the unit out. I'm a big fan of rotary dials. I also like the clock to be nice and big. The Alpine fails at this too. In fact, the Alpine display (layout) is very, very dumb.

check this out

http://www.kenwood.ca/Car_Entertainm..._Video/DNX6140

or

http://www.pioneerelectronics.ca/POC...on/AVIC-X910BT

I'd recommend the kenwood DNX series.

Awesome bang for the dollar, IPOD integration is awesome, their navigation software is easy to use (GARMIN).

The Pioneer AVIC910BT is a great unit. Awesome Bluetooth (which is included), great mapping and a really easy to use Ipod Menu. I also like the features of the JVC KW-NX7000 but the Ipod search feature is a little slow. Bang for the buck the 7000 is teh balls. Its even got a removeable 7" faceplate!

I would suggest swinging by one of the sponsors to check out what they have. :)

Hmm I was looking more into 7" screens. I guess my budget falls within the <7" screen range. Thanks for the suggestions:D

Yeah I was checking out the DNX9140 and the DNX7140, they seem pretty similar besides the pre-outs (5v vs 2v). The DNX7140 is right at the top of my budget and the DNX9140 is $2000. . .

The JVC KW-NX7000 is actually ontop of my list still, but I can't really find reviews on the iPod aspects. But the price just wins it over for me right now unless someone has more cons about the unit

I was checking out the Pioneer Z110BT and its EVERYTHING I want but at $2000, it just kills my budget since I still have to get a dash kit + PAC unit for my steering wheel controls. I really like how the buttons can change color to match my OE buttons on the dash..

Any more input would be great. I want to visit you guys at the shops but my school schedule is just killing me :cry:

werd what orgasm said

NX7000 is the shit, i have the same deck

uploading hundreds of song off SD card can be a little bit slow if u searching thru albumns, but i usually go thru songs so its ok.

huge 7" screen, detacaable faceplate

:thumbsup:

I can give you a full review!
I removed this screen from my 350Z just last week in order to make way for the newest model coming out in 2010. I gotta have the latest and greatest! That said, I was reluctant to get rid of it. I was excited to actually replace it with the new Pioneer AVIC Z110BT but after installing one into a customer's car I didn't think it was really any better than the Z7000 especially for the price. Don't get me wrong, the Z110 is really nice...but I want moar betterer!

The Ipod search is basically slow. You search for an artist and although it is alphabetical it takes a few seconds to scroll to each page. You can sort of direct access it off of a little bar menu but its hit or miss if you get the right area of the alphabet. The mapping is pretty kickass. Its the only GPS I have ever seen that has gotten our local 'one way' Blue Mountain street correct. Its a silly little thing but a relief when it actually works. Screen quality is very nice indeed. Video bypass is better than Alpine, Pioneer or Kenwood - just one wire to ground (no switch).

Removeable faceplate is just the best. No other deck has this damn feature and I wonder why? Never had any problems with it either. The 7-band EQ is easy to use and all the menu stuff is really easy to get at. One drawback? It only has one mono subwoofer pre-out making it effectively 2.5 volts. Not a real big deal if you don't intend to compete. Radio reception is great, SD card slot works great and updating is pretty easy too.

Now I am just waiting patiently for its replacement for 2010!

^Hmm do you have any shots of the iPod menu and album art display? I'm kinda anal and picky about that lol ><. Usually my iPod is on shuffle so I think that searching for songs isn't really a big deal. I'm just surprised that a couple people here have the NX7000 and I barely found any good reviews :(

I don't have any pics.
If you set your Ipod on shuffle and all you do is choose playlists then this unit will work great for you. Searching specific artists and/or albums then it just takes a while.

Another wicked feature (which most people won't even need) is that on your dual zone output (for a second screen), it displays the song/artist/times in greater detail. I have never seen this feature anywhere else.

Here's what the Kenwood looks like

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/q...bumartwork.jpg

Displays the album art in the top left corner

Kenwood is one wire ground (no switch). Garmin Nav is the shizo. <- always will be updatable. Ipod integration is perfect. And one of the best parts is this new favorite thing Kenwood has done. With all the new features in these units there tends to be alot of menu stuff to go through so Kenwood made a favorite button that takes you directly to a "State" so a certain spot in the menus. The 9140 also has 13band eq 5.1 surround outputs (not that this matters for most installs) But they also have a digital out if you ever want to add a bitone processor or the like. Doesn't have a removable faceplate though :-(

We've sold a couple of the Kenwood 9140's but I find that their price scares people away. The JVC and Pioneer are both half the price more or less than the 9140. Still, its a wicked deck if you have lots of money to burn!

Lets look at the 7140 then. Much better price. All the same features, except for it only has 2.0 volt preouts witch will be plenty for most. A 3 band parametric eq. Not quite as high of resolution screen. But still has all the other bells and whistles. Tilt screen, ipod functionality, Garmin GPS, Parrot Bluetooth, ect... And I he said this was in the top of his price range.

Umm isn't the Z110BT more expensive than the 9140?

You can't compare a 9140 (7" navi) with a 910BT (5.8" LCD). The 910BT would compete with the 6140 (6.1" LCD). For the similar pricing, feature wise I think the Kenwood does more.

If anything Pioneer pricing scares people away. Although I do agree the top of the line models for Kenwood/Pioneer are pretty brutal.

Clarion has some very decent stuff now for the price. $1100 would get you 7" touchscreen LCD with Navi.

^Which Clarion model is that?

The Z110 retails for $1899.00 whereas the 9140 retails for $2499.00.

What does the 6140 do more than the 910?

Yeah, the 9140 is currently the most expensive DVD/Nav player on the market today - by a mile! The 910 is $1300 less than the 9140 so yes, can't really compare them as the Kenwood has priced itself out of the market.

I saw that Pioneer was having a $200 rebate on the Z110, but then I read the fineprint and it said US only :(
I think I want the Z110 because I found it cheaper then the Kenwoods. UGH decisions suck!

Well, I think you may be surprised at what price we can get you that deck for. Definitely less than retail :)

PM me or call me at the shop and we'll work out a great deal for ya!

mr. orgasm donor. pm for the pioneer avh4100 7 inch screen. :P its time.

Oh one more question. Does the Z110BT display chinese characters from the iPod? I was searching for that but came up with nothing.

Kenwood decks are awesome for GPS, Bluetooth and ipod control. The 6140 is good for the buck. The 9140 is a tad over kill but has so many add ons

I had a Kenwood and had nothing but problems with it - the user interface was awkward too. The new JVC is about the best bang for the buck out there with Pioneer following a close second.

go with JVC 720... all you need for a good price other then GPS