[Peleg]

Originally Posted by Randry

Hmmm, sounds like I am going to have to take a trip to the store before I order anything...

I can not stress enough how IMPORTANT it is to go to the store and play with as many units as you can before making any purchase decision

I made that mistake on Ebay last night, and luckily was able to correct it.

[Peleg]

From what I gathered so far, the 2 main issues I ran into are:

1. Either a particular system doesn't have all the features that I'm looking for.

2. The particular system has issues reported by other consumers.


So far, the Pioneer Avic F90BT seems to be the leader of the pack. There were issues with this unit and Pioneer released a free firmware update to address freezing, ipod and audio quality issues. This was a recent release, like July 22nd I believe.

I'm trying to find some people who have used the system, but so far it seems like this system is pretty new and hasn't spend too much time on the market.

As far as the Kenwood, it uses the Garmin Software for the navigation. If you ever used Garmin, you'd know it's very easy to use and works great. It's too bad the rest of the system wasn't very attractive.

[Randry]

What are the differences between the Kenwood 7120 and the 8120? I think I would miss a volume knob.

[couchflambeau]

Originally Posted by Randry

What are the differences between the Kenwood 7120 and the 8120? I think I would miss a volume knob.

Believe the 7120 has only a parametric EQ, 8120 has a lot more tunability with a graphic eQ plus parametric bands.

Dolby processing.... the 8120 has an onboard 5.1/DTS processor.

But really not worthwhile unless you consider a center channel.

Doublecheck the eq stuff though, crutchfield should be a good source for info on the 7120 but I can tell you what the 8120 has since it's identical to my DDX812, but my nav is outboard via an KGA-510

[xcritic]

I've got the pioneer f700bt which is pretty much the same as f90bt minus dvd playback the msn thing and 3d landmarks. I've been pretty happy with it, especially now that the firmware has been updated. ipod controls are good, I use the ipod to play video so dvd playback isn't necessary, bluetooth is good. All in all I'm happy with the unit and since it only cost $696 when purchase from alandeds.com using the avic411 forums discount it was well worth it.

[Randry]

Originally Posted by xcritic

I've got the pioneer f700bt which is pretty much the same as f90bt minus dvd playback the msn thing and 3d landmarks. I've been pretty happy with it, especially now that the firmware has been updated. ipod controls are good, I use the ipod to play video so dvd playback isn't necessary, bluetooth is good. All in all I'm happy with the unit and since it only cost $696 when purchase from alandeds.com using the avic411 forums discount it was well worth it.

I think I am leaning towards the Avic F series also. Did the firmware update fix the slow start up problem?

[Peleg]

Originally Posted by Randry

I think I am leaning towards the Avic F series also. Did the firmware update fix the slow start up problem?

I don't think the firmware update will speed up the system. This is due to all the features the system is trying to handle, however the firmware update fixed the bluetooth and freezing issues from what I read on the internet.

To be honest, I don't mind waiting for a 1+ minutes for the NAV to be ready. The car needs to be warmed up anyways and I don't just gun it to 6,000 RPM's when I leave the garage so it's not big deal for me to wait a few minutes.

Kind of me reminds me a track version McLaren F1 on 5th gear:

"You can't just get into the car and go. First, activate the main relay switch, then flip this switch for the ignition, then flip this switch for the fuel system, then put the key in and press this button" Ok...I can hear the engine now.

[xcritic]

Starup did not change, however it does start playing music during startup, so its not like your sitting in silence during it. I'd say you start hearing xm/sirius/FM with 5-10 second, ipod within 30 seconds and cds within 10 seconds. You then have controls within a minute to minute and a half. Like peleg said the firmware fixed bluetooth sound quality, system reliability, a couple funny things with the nav, ipod connectivity, and a couple other things.

[Peleg]

Can't wait to have this baby installed!