Anyone have experience with this unit? I guess you can get it with nav for some semi-reasonable price.
I'm looking for in dash nav with good ipod support (pick playlists, albums, see titles and such on screet, etc) at some reasonable price. There are not many good choices. The closest thing seems to be the Pioneer Z1... but it's way expensive and the iPod support is seriously lame for something so pricey.
Anyone have experience with this unit? I guess you can get it with nav for some semi-reasonable price.
I'm looking for in dash nav with good ipod support (pick playlists, albums, see titles and such on screet, etc) at some reasonable price. There are not many good choices. The closest thing seems to be the Pioneer Z1... but it's way expensive and the iPod support is seriously lame for something so pricey.
I have the P-NAV 6019. Got it on EBAY for 1200 shipped. I was going to install it today, but opted to wait for the trim peices I need. I could install it without them and do it later. I decided to wait. I will post pics and details after the install. I went with it because it uses a Garmin GPS unit. I already have Garmin software and I hope it is compatible for data upgrades. If not I trust Garmin anyway. Good luck with your choice.
I just had the Clarion MAX675VD installed (photos posted in another thread). iPod integration is good and has the added benefit of playing video off the video iPod. Get the head and nav unit (NX970HD) on eBay and you're talking around $1300.
We recently started carrying Kenwood, their Nav is made by Garmin (shhhhhh!) so how bad can it be, the screeens are ok, we installed one in the FJ for a Kenwood event, and i found the Pioneer and Alpine to be more intuitive, but it could just be something that takes time to learn to use.
If i remember correctly the streering wheel controls are not an issue with the kenwood, you can use the alpine direct connect piece. For the Clarion I think you need to use the universal IR controller, a little more messy and difficult to install.
The Kenwood set-up is really designed to compete with the alpine W200+nav. It's not really a fair comparison to the Z1, as it's more like the D2.
There is no question that the Z1 is not cheap, but there is a reason Pioneer can't keep these puppies in stock.
Jt's Cruiser is correct. Wired steering wheel controls can be used for both Kenwood and Pioneer. I have the IR control installed with the Clarion unit.
The Z1 is in a league of its own compared to the other units your a talking about. You are right though about the Z1 and the Ipod interface it does lack functionality but the reason for this is simple. I believe it is the only hard drive unit out of the ones mentioned therefor you can save all your music on it and not even need to use your ipod. The interface for that is great so they didn't spend a lot of time or money to make the ipod part great. You can get the Z1 off of ebay for a very comparable price also. I am getting ready to put this unit in my vehicle. There are people who said that they "hated" the Z1 but that is only because they didn't take the time to learn how to use it and let the unit get "smarter". Good luck to you.
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The Z1 is in a league of its own compared to the other units your a talking about. You are right though about the Z1 and the Ipod interface it does lack functionality but the reason for this is simple. I believe it is the only hard drive unit out of the ones mentioned therefor you can save all your music on it and not even need to use your ipod. The interface for that is great so they didn't spend a lot of time or money to make the ipod part great. You can get the Z1 off of ebay for a very comparable price also. I am getting ready to put this unit in my vehicle. There are people who said that they "hated" the Z1 but that is only because they didn't take the time to learn how to use it and let the unit get "smarter". Good luck to you.
I like the Z1 well enough. But the iPod interface is horrible. And that's really a key feature for me. Tell me where I'm going, and let me flip through my music. I don't see why that's too much to ask.
Here's the kick in the pants. My local shop was trying to sell me some speakers and they had just happened to finish up a Cooper Mini with the components I was looking at, so we got in so he could give me a listen. He was flipping through the guys iPod (via the head unit) looking for stuff to play, etc. It didn't occur to me until we were done, but it was a Pioneer head unit (don't know the model) and the iPod interface was lightning fast.
The hard drive doesn't do much for me. The only time I play store-bought discs in the car is when I buy one on impulse and want to listen to it in the car. But all CDs get ripped and iPod'ed and put in a big dust-collecting box. With the FJammer, I've been making WMA CDs after ripping, too.
Also, what does the Z1 do about album names and song titles? It seems as if it could only retrieve that information from CD-TEXT encoded CDs, which are not all that common.
We recently started carrying Kenwood, their Nav is made by Garmin (shhhhhh!) so how bad can it be, the screeens are ok, we installed one in the FJ for a Kenwood event, and i found the Pioneer and Alpine to be more intuitive, but it could just be something that takes time to learn to use.
If i remember correctly the streering wheel controls are not an issue with the kenwood, you can use the alpine direct connect piece. For the Clarion I think you need to use the universal IR controller, a little more messy and difficult to install.
The Kenwood set-up is really designed to compete with the alpine W200+nav. It's not really a fair comparison to the Z1, as it's more like the D2.
There is no question that the Z1 is not cheap, but there is a reason Pioneer can't keep these puppies in stock.
Hope that helps
Hey JT, can you give me some details about how well the iPod integration works on the Kenwood?
I'm looking to do what the Z1 does not - allow me to pick artists, albums and play lists more or less as quickly as I can do it on my iPod. I also want "next album" functionality (if it can do that in playlist mode, even better - the DICE unit does this, which is pretty close to the only thing it does right).
How much like other Garmin products is the Kenwood unit? I've used many types and generations of Garmin units since way back in the day. I have a 2610 now that I move between my car and motorcycle.
We have not played with the Kenwood Navi or IPOD interface enough to answer your questions just yet. Based on people I have talked to, the functionality is still not as good as the Alpine.
The irony of the Pioneer as you noticed is that the interface they have for their regular radios is faster than the one used by their higher end Nav units.
How about this for an idea, that is not too far off the Kenwood price, how about an alpine W200 in dash unit (everyone knows and loves the Ipod interface here) and use the portable nav dock with the full install kit for the blackbird. Not as good as the fully installed navi, but much cheaper, and you can take the blackbird with you.
I still like the Z1 the best, but based on how much you like your IPOD it may not be the best solution there. I really think, as someone stated, that since you get a 10gb hard drive built in, the Ipod features are secondary in Pioneers mind.
Quote:
ChrisInSeattle previously said:
Hey JT, can you give me some details about how well the iPod integration works on the Kenwood?
I'm looking to do what the Z1 does not - allow me to pick artists, albums and play lists more or less as quickly as I can do it on my iPod. I also want "next album" functionality (if it can do that in playlist mode, even better - the DICE unit does this, which is pretty close to the only thing it does right).
How much like other Garmin products is the Kenwood unit? I've used many types and generations of Garmin units since way back in the day. I have a 2610 now that I move between my car and motorcycle.
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