Double Din Units - Clarion Vs Alpine Vs Kenwood

[RiseofBrutality]

I'm torn between a few different head units

I was hoping a few people here have used some of these models and can give me some feed back, good or bad

Clarion NX701A

Kenwood DNN/DNX series

Alpine INE series

Thanks in advance

[SMOKEYV35]

I would have a look at the pioneer avh range. I have these in both my cars (4500bt and a 2450bt).

The app mode stuff is a wank and I never use it - but the Bluetooth is great, connects as soon as i am in the car, picks up all song info etc. I listen to spotify through Bluetooth and that's pretty much all I use it for.

Has great tuning features for SQ.

But compared to the others you have listed, I think the pioneers have the best GI (graphics interface) and that's ultimately why I went with it.

Buy from the states - they're much much cheaper. One of mine is local and one is from the US. The US one works perfect, no radio issues or anything.

[RiseofBrutality]

The only problem with buying from the states is the navigation side. I would have to upgrade the firmware and maps to australia

[SMOKEYV35]

Pioneer AppRadio feature uses google maps, nav free, or the pioneer app - they all sit on your phone, not the unit, so you're sweet. Just plug in the supplied cable and that's all - Australian maps.

[cree]

Are you going to be running amps? If so I would look more into the alpine and kenwood units as they have a higher voltage RCA output and will give better sound quality.

[GTR-N1]

Hi Adam,

1) I had an Alpine INA-W900E Navteq, DVD, iPod,iPhone & Bluetooth. It worked perfectly but it wasn't cheap. Installed in my BsB V-Spec II.

2) My EVO 8 has a new Android Parrot Smart. Bluetooth can connect with 2 phones simultaneously. Voice Command is terrific. Volume control is easy via swiping the screen. Picture quality is good. Half the price of others. You're welcome to try mine out whilst at the Putty meet.

[RiseofBrutality]

Are you going to be running amps? If so I would look more into the alpine and kenwood units as they have a higher voltage RCA output and will give better sound quality.

I should of mentioned this in my original post, I will be running a full system down the track

The rest of the gear that I plan to put in will be alpine type-x

Hi Adam,

1) I had an Alpine INA-W900E Navteq, DVD, iPod,iPhone & Bluetooth. It worked perfectly but it wasn't cheap. Installed in my BsB V-Spec II.

2) My EVO 8 has a new Android Parrot Smart. Bluetooth can connect with 2 phones simultaneously. Voice Command is terrific. Volume control is easy via swiping the screen. Picture quality is good. Half the price of others. You're welcome to try mine out whilst at the Putty meet.

How was the navigation side of the alpine? A couple of people I've spoken to have said the picture quality is a bit blocky and slow

[GTR-N1]

The Alpine Adam was a very very 'busy' compilation of info what with traffic congestion updates mixed in with the rest. Quite clear though - that model. Very satisfied with it.

[Chris Rogers]

I sell clarion.

The nx702 does a lot of things well. Voice control works well. Navi is igo based and fairly quick. BT is parrot based and on necks immediately. The only niggle I had with them was iPhone 5 . Clarion did a patch for it and the BT stream worked properly.

Pioneer ap radio requires you to load their app for it to work. The navi that is recommend for $80 sucks.

If you are buying local clarion has the better warranty. 3 yrs if dealer installed.

My 2c.

[SMOKEYV35]

I sell clarion.

The nx702 does a lot of things well. Voice control works well. Navi is igo based and fairly quick. BT is parrot based and on necks immediately. The only niggle I had with them was iPhone 5 . Clarion did a patch for it and the BT stream worked properly.

Pioneer ap radio requires you to load their app for it to work. The navi that is recommend for $80 sucks.

If you are buying local clarion has the better warranty. 3 yrs if dealer installed.

My 2c.

As I said, you can use google maps or navfree as your navigation software on the pioneer - both are free apps. Work fine.

Perhaps one of the cooler apps though is the DashCommand app, that uses a wireless OBD2 dongle to transmit all vehicle information onto the screen in cool graphs etc. Good for a performance car, pointless in my Pathfinder.

Anyway, like I said, for me the features weren't as important as the GI, and everything else I demo'd looked like ass. Aside from that I don't think it's quite there. If I were doing it again I would do a ipad mini based install.

[RiseofBrutality]

I sell clarion.

The nx702 does a lot of things well. Voice control works well. Navi is igo based and fairly quick. BT is parrot based and on necks immediately. The only niggle I had with them was iPhone 5 . Clarion did a patch for it and the BT stream worked properly.

Pioneer ap radio requires you to load their app for it to work. The navi that is recommend for $80 sucks.

If you are buying local clarion has the better warranty. 3 yrs if dealer installed.

My 2c.

A mate of mine has the nx501 in his GTR and I'm impressed with the GUI and features it has. Navigation is smooth and the parrot BT is nice as well.

That's why the nx702 is on my list. Mine will be BT to a Samsung Galaxy 4 instead of an iPhone

As I said, you can use google maps or navfree as your navigation software on the pioneer - both are free apps. Work fine.

Perhaps one of the cooler apps though is the DashCommand app, that uses a wireless OBD2 dongle to transmit all vehicle information onto the screen in cool graphs etc. Good for a performance car, pointless in my Pathfinder.

Anyway, like I said, for me the features weren't as important as the GI, and everything else I demo'd looked like ass. Aside from that I don't think it's quite there. If I were doing it again I would do a ipad mini based install.

For me, there needs to be a nice blend of features, functionality and a nice GUI.

[SMOKEYV35]

I have had a play with the nx702 - it's definitely a nice bit of kit, but it would want to be for the money.

[lucas neil]

Kenwood is one of the leading manufacturers of car audio equipment and they have earned a great reputation for making reliable and very good functioning car stereo systems. This one  does nothing to hurt that reputation. It is an excellent piece of car audio equipment.

[Stagea_Neo]

I can vouch for Clarion's longevity and functionality, have a DRX9675z since 1995 and still going strong.

Also compatible with ipod/iphone (30 pin) which did not come out until 2001 thanks to Ce-Net adapter that was released around that time.  

[niZmO_Man]

On 17/02/2017 at 6:24 PM, lucas neil said:

Kenwood is one of the leading manufacturers of car audio equipment and they have earned a great reputation for making reliable and very good functioning car stereo systems. This one  does nothing to hurt that reputation. It is an excellent piece of car audio equipment.

lol
what about the bunch of head units that were blowing up because of shitty earth tracks?