I have narrowed it down to 4 units I think.

Poineer AVIC z120bt

JVC Kw-nt3hdt

Alpine INA-W900BT

Kenwood Excelon DNX9960

So far I am leaning toward the Alpine, but the JVC has a removable face plate. And the Kenwood has the best NAV (I hate Kenwood normally but...) I would have considered Eclipse but they are out of business so... I am interested in the Pioneer as well...

What I am wanting is EVERYTHING... well

1. Bluetooth
2. Navigation
3. Sound Quality
4 Good User Interface and FAST response time
5. Definitely interested in the Backup Cam

Anyway, if you guys would chime in, I am all ears.

I am sure this topic has been done to some extent, but I could not find anything particular after 3 searches.

Any of you that have any of these units or have a friend who does, that would be great. Good bad and ugly, I wanna hear it.

Thanks in advance.

 

Well, they all have #1, #5 and #3, so that puts navigation and UI.

Looking at video of the Alpine in action, it looks like trash.
JVC's navigation has 1/2 the POIs of most other headunits.

So it comes down to 2 and 4.
Kenwood wins at #2.
Pioneer wins at #4.

JVC wins if you need a detachable face above 1,2,3,4 & 5.

 

Sounds like I am still unsure. How is the Poineer Nav? I was under the impression it is not so great.

Do you have any other suggestions for a great all in one double din?

 

With the Pioneer, as with any headunit, navigation quality is largely dependent on the map data. The navigation itself is very fast at recalculating and such, and supports voice search.

As for the 9960, I wouldn't buy that one, unless you really like the way the Kenwoods do voice control. I personally can't stand it, and greatly prefer the Pioneer voice commands.

If you're not after voice control or the "free" ad-supported traffic on the 9960, get the 7160.

 

There isn't one that does everything great

The pioneer ipod interface is best, but it's sound quality falls short..which is funny since the p99 is the best of the best u can get in sq right now.
Alpine has the best bluebooth and sound quality..
Kenwood has the best navi.

 

eggyhustles, whats that p99? Poineer?

I think you guys are right, I hate Kenwood. Anyone familiar with JVC stuff? I am liking the removable face plate idea. But sound quality and Nav (for this kind of money) should be good. when I am talking about quality of NAV mostly I want accuracy, and ease of use and speed of the system to not be too fussy. I want the NAV to look freakin awesome! Which one looks good? When I go to Bestbuy or where ever to look at them, the GPS is always not working (no signal in the store) it is hard to tell from the junky ones in the store.

Anyone know anything about the Clarion NX700 or Sony XNV-770BT?

Maybe I should just build a CarPuter... They got some really cool software called Centrafuse. Anyways...

 

Go to youtube.
Search the model + navigation.
Watch people reviewing, showing off and otherwise using the unit's features in question. This will at least let you know which models you don't want before you try out in person.

I considered doing a carputer, but the extra complexity wasn't worth the minor increase in features over good headunits, and the lack of any sort of HD radio tuner pretty much scrapped any plans for such a installation. If you want internet in your car, get a smartphone. If you want navigation in your car, get a garmin... Now, if you're planning to get USB-operated relays to control your locks, windows, power seats, lighting, GPS tracking software and datalogging all accessible via a 3G data connection you can access from any computer in the world, then I can see justification for doing a carputer.

Being able to show off a carputer is not reason to get a carputer.

 

Showing off... funny. Well partially, but not the real reason at all. I am a computer tech for a living, so I guess I just like that stuff.

I did go to youtube and looked up all the models I have mentioned, but a video does not do compare to hands on. To tell the truth the Sony looks rather promising (I know Sony hasn't made good car stereo stuff for over a decade) it has Tom Tom gps, and all the other features, and the interface looked decent, 4volt pre outs, and kinda snappy. AND I can get one on eBay for less than $700 new (well one model dwon the 660 same thing 6.1" screen). Hard to figure out which deck is best...

I was looking at the Eclipse (avn76 or something) looks OK but it is last year model, and 2011 models will be coming soon as well, so it would be 2 years old by the time I get it installed. The clarion looked OK too.

I was hoping to talk to folks that had them installed already.

The JVC looks OK too, then I start to think, "quit cheapin out get a Pioneer" but ...

 

There's a Pioneer X920BT that was for sale (brand new in box) in the marketplace for $650 if it's still there.

 

Is the 920 worth getting... is it slower?

I guess I just want to be really sure I am getting a good unit before I shell out all this dough.

I am leaning toward a the Sony XNV-660BT right now, not 100% sure it has steering wheel controls, or support for my android phone though.

 

I searched high and low for a double din unit that didn't have a major fault and came up empty. Spending over $1k for a unit that takes 30-60 secs to boot is worse than my carPC! The OP should add quick boot up time to the wish list. That will eliminate a lot of high priced units!!!

I've run a carPC with StreetDeck for some time, but I'm going to a JDM DD and a JVC AVX77 (single din touchscreen), so that sound isn't dependent on the carPC and starts immediately. Not only is a PC complex, but it can be flaky, and I really would prefer to just use it as a virtual gauge display, be able to send alerts, data logger, etc. One nice benefit of a single DIN unit is that I have space for more gauges. This JVC unit does not have navigation, but StreetDeck has navigation and that will remain on the PC as the screen for that is up high in the cubby. Garmin PC based navigation software is only $60 so I might switch over to that.

 

The navigation on the Sony looks good, but the rest of the UI of the unit looks painfully slow: Check out at about the 0:35 sec mark, it takes about two seconds to get to the source menu after touching it. Oh, and that navigation box? Do you really want that thing on your dash, with at least the mount for it with the wires visible 100% of the time?

Now compare that to about 0:40 seconds into this video of the X920BT:

Here's the DNX9960: , not horrible, but if you're interested in voice control of the iPod at all, pay attention to 4:50 - 5:30. Forty seconds to start playing music, and a lot of commands that require you to look at the screen. Yes, he has to repeat himself once, but he also picks options from the first page. When you've got about 20 artists per letter, chances are you'll have to go through a couple pages to get to the artist/album you want.

Voice control on the Pioneer AVIC systems (F90BT as I couldn't find good videos of the X920BT, but it's faster on the X920BT):
From 0:33 - 0:49. One command, none of which require looking at the screen.


Speaking of boot times:
Z110BT (same hardware as X920BT) boots to navigation in 21 seconds. It starts audio playing on radio or iPod faster than that.

Every time I compare new units I am reassured that the X920BT and Z110/Z120BT are the best units out there in every way *except* navigation.

 

The KW NT3 is supposed have a 400mz cpu, so it makes sense that the NT1 is fast too, interesting stuff you got here.

I didn't notice that you had to keep the sony gps unit out.

I can get a z120bt on amazon for $950 WITH a $100 mail in rebate right now... food for thought. I appreciate your input Wrathernaut, REALLY thanks.

 

I was an alpine fanboy for 15 years but damn I love my Kenwood 8120

 

What is so good about the Kenwood?