Aftermarket Stereo

[Foques]

that explains a lot, I was just born in the middle of that time frame. lol

it is a Pioneer's flagship, top of the line head unit.. Or so they say.
950 is a decent deal, many stores sell it for 1200+..

The way i see it, if I spend 400$, and get an "ok" head unit, i'll have to upgrade a year or so down the road.. with Pioneer quality, I know things are going to work well, and I won't have to worry about any issues.
Plus, it has all the features i'm looking for, so it is worth it to me... But then again, when i'm done, total investment into the sound system will be close to 2-2.5K, I think..

 

[Johnny Utah]

Ouch. What happened to the days of the $400 top of the line HU?? LOL

You guys make way to much $$. lol

agree that the units are expensive. But, $400-$500 will get you a top of the line head unit, but, it wont get you a double din, touchscreen/dvd/with navigation unit, in addition all the Bluetooth and iPod control features on top of it.

for those features i'd expect to pay at least $1k to around $1500

I remember getting an eclipse head unit in high school that cost $500, and that was just a motorized flip down CD player!

 

[Johnny Utah]

In full disclosure, I use Kenwood head units because of the Garmin navigation.

that sounds like you install kenwoods or something? Like you have installed multiple of these units? I agree that the garmin integration does sound pretty sweet.

When i get ready to do this, i'm going to check out all the brands

 

[4ShoreRunner]

dammit. Don't tell me that. In regards to the navigation is that just because of the area we live in, and there is pretty much congested traffic at all hours of the night, OR have you driven with it for a bit and have seen the unit take you on weird turns/u turns, etc, etc?

Every trip I've taken where I've tried to utilize the navigation In DC, MD, VA, PA, NC, WV....without fail has tried to put me on weird ass side roads for what appears to be no reason. My guess is that it literally finds the shortest route distance wise...I've been lucky to always have a general sense of where I am going so I've never listened to it, but I'll be sorry the day I get lost. I've tried messing with all the different settings (tolls on/off, speed vs distance) and checked out all the different route options it gives me, but they all suck.

I'm happy with the head unit otherwise, and am glad my droid has built in navi.

 

[Foques]

^^
there are a few different ways how you can tell nav to calculate the route - shortest distance, time or main road... in 130BT, you can also build your route based on traffic on route

 

[harper7]

Every trip I've taken where I've tried to utilize the navigation In DC, MD, VA, PA, NC, WV....without fail has tried to put me on weird ass side roads for what appears to be no reason. My guess is that it literally finds the shortest route distance wise...I've been lucky to always have a general sense of where I am going so I've never listened to it, but I'll be sorry the day I get lost. I've tried messing with all the different settings (tolls on/off, speed vs distance) and checked out all the different route options it gives me, but they all suck.

I'm happy with the head unit otherwise, and am glad my droid has built in navi.

That's the Tomtom software that Pioneer buys off them, about the same as in the Toyota oem nav as they use Tomtom's software also. I've always had Garmins and they are alot better for nav IMO. I still keep my trusty Garmin Nuvi 670 in the glove box. There's only the big 3 nav software companies that I know of and they all have their quirks. The Garmins"Recalculating" used to drive me nuts sometimes.

Drove over 6000 miles on VC last year with the Pioneer Z120BT using it's nav and it got me lost twice.Those were rural addresses. What I found funny is if it doesn't know the address and can't find it,it takes you to main street in that little town. Pulled out the Garmin and wala I was found and led me on my way. You might check your settings as It did great job on major highways and intersections and such.

The big trade off in the Kenwood's is you will pay at least $3-400 more for their flagship nav. For that price you can just buy a Garmin. The AV interface is way slower and clunky compared to the Pioneers especially if your schooled on the ways of Apples Ipod touch and flick interfaces.

I have a 160gb Ipod classic connected in the glove box with all music at the touch and flick of my fingers.There's 122gb of music and 29,500+ songs on it. A good friend of mine is in a music sharing club over in Atlanta and sends me music all the time. If I'm not listening to my music I use the Pandora app to stream music from my iphone.And when my daughters are in the truck they can just plug their ipods in to listen to their music.

So in my book it came down to what was more important to me........Navigation with the Kenwood being king or Music with the Pioneer and the best interface,fastest and ease of use. Considering I rarely use the nav and already own a Garmin ,it was a no brainer for me.

Best to go to a Car Audio shop and try them for yourselves if anybody is trying to decide. Alot of videos on youtube too and of course their is a forum for each! I've had my Pioneer Z120BT since May of last year and wouldn't trade it for anything but a new Z130BT. It's something I enjoy on a daily basis.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Every trip I've taken where I've tried to utilize the navigation In DC, MD, VA, PA, NC, WV....without fail has tried to put me on weird ass side roads for what appears to be no reason. My guess is that it literally finds the shortest route distance wise...I've been lucky to always have a general sense of where I am going so I've never listened to it, but I'll be sorry the day I get lost. I've tried messing with all the different settings (tolls on/off, speed vs distance) and checked out all the different route options it gives me, but they all suck.

I'm happy with the head unit otherwise, and am glad my droid has built in navi.

That's the Tomtom software that Pioneer buys off them, about the same as in the Toyota oem nav as they use Tomtom's software also. I've always had Garmins and they are alot better for nav IMO. I still keep my trusty Garmin Nuvi 670 in the glove box. There's only the big 3 nav software companies that I know of and they all have their quirks. The Garmins"Recalculating" used to drive me nuts sometimes.

Drove over 6000 miles on VC last year with the Pioneer Z120BT using it's nav and it got me lost twice.Those were rural addresses. What I found funny is if it doesn't know the address and can't find it,it takes you to main street in that little town. Pulled out the Garmin and wala I was found and led me on my way. You might check your settings as It did great job on major highways and intersections and such.

The big trade off in the Kenwood's is you will pay at least $3-400 more for their flagship nav. For that price you can just buy a Garmin. The AV interface is way slower and clunky compared to the Pioneers especially if your schooled on the ways of Apples Ipod touch and flick interfaces.

I have a 160gb Ipod classic connected in the glove box with all music at the touch and flick of my fingers.There's 122gb of music and 29,500+ songs on it. A good friend of mine is in a music sharing club over in Atlanta and sends me music all the time. If I'm not listening to my music I use the Pandora app to stream music from my iphone.And when my daughters are in the truck they can just plug their ipods in to listen to their music.

So in my book it came down to what was more important to me........Navigation with the Kenwood being king or Music with the Pioneer and the best interface,fastest and ease of use. Considering I rarely use the nav and already own a Garmin ,it was a no brainer for me.

Best to go to a Car Audio shop and try them for yourselves if anybody is trying to decide. Alot of videos on youtube too and of course their is a forum for each! I've had my Pioneer Z120BT since May of last year and wouldn't trade it for anything but a new Z130BT. It's something I enjoy on a daily basis.

thanks to both of you for taking the time to write up your thoughts on your nav. I'll have to go play with one at a store and see how they look.

Thanks again fellas.

 

[Foques]

what harper pointed out is also a common consensus on Avic411 boards.
Pioneer units seem to have far superior interfaces/gui, but are lacking in nav department comparing to the other brands. please note, Lacking is used loosely here

 

[Johnny Utah]

what harper pointed out is also a common consensus on Avic411 boards.
Pioneer units seem to have far superior interfaces/gui, but are lacking in nav department comparing to the other brands. please note, Lacking is used loosely here

i wonder why pioneer doesn't switch to garmin software

 

[Foques]

i'm thinking because of contracts and hardware they are using.

 

[Johnny Utah]

i'm thinking because of contracts and hardware they are using.

oh, i'm sure they are locked in with TomTom for awhile, but, surely they have heard the complaints with the software from the consumers, I hope they have at least looked at the feasibility and cost to switch to garmin software.

 

[Johnny Utah]

I wonder what the differences are on the Z120BT vs the Z130BT

 

[Foques]

i know what you mean.

the difference between the 130 and 120 isn't huge.
130 offers traffic notifications and HD radio. they do have different circuitry and software as well.

 

[snomobile]

wish it were not true!

Really? My system has received a lot of compliments from my other buddies, some of which think the bass in my truck sounds clearer than thier aftermarkets. I know that for me, at least, it sounds pretty decent and I'm not really willing to rip out the NAV and all my speakers (not to mention fabricating custom brackets) to change it. I have seen some really sick systems on here, but mine does the job for me and I have no real complaints.

I've adjusted all the various levels, and the DSP modes. Have you tried adjusting the sound levels snomobile? You can set them all independently. (ie.. CD/SAT/AUX/BT etc) Just hit the "sound" button from your touch screen (hit AUDIO first if your looking at the nav map) and then adjust it accordingly.

Hubby and I have gone thru everything even adjusted the bass to max and almost nothing. His 03 silverado pick up Bose system blows the doors off the 4runner. I will have to take it somewhere to someone to fix the problem. My 08 JBL system in 08 limited was so awesome shame its not in my 2011!!!
Glad to hear yours is fantastic must be a glitch in mine

 

[kingpin748]

Hubby and I have gone thru everything even adjusted the bass to max and almost nothing. His 03 silverado pick up Bose system blows the doors off the 4runner. I will have to take it somewhere to someone to fix the problem. My 08 JBL system in 08 limited was so awesome shame its not in my 2011!!!
Glad to hear yours is fantastic must be a glitch in mine

You should get it looked at. I mean it's not like we've got two 12's or anything but it should make some decent noise. If you haven't already try a CD as not all MP3's are created equal. I've always found my iPod has less bass than a burnt CD no matter how I adjust it.

 

[Foques]

^
I agree.
With my aftermarket stereo, the stock base hit hard enough to rock my rear view mirror.

 

[Johnny Utah]

i FINALLY bought the avic z130BT. kinda excited for it

 

[Foques]

congrads!

 

[Turn_down]

Ouch! 1500 bucks?? That hurts my wallet too much. lol

 

[Foques]

well, what's the point for someone to spend 300 on some crappy head unit, and want to replace it within next couple of years?

my z1 (later, upgraded to z3 software) lasted me for 5 years, and was worth every penny.