Ok, I have decided to just start w/ deciding which head unit to go for in this whole upgrading my system mess.
I would like to have a LCD screen at some point to play DVD's so I have been looking at a HU that has the versatility and can play DVD's as well. That way, I can install a screen in the pocket where the factory navi goes. Is that a good idea? Or do people buy a seperate DVD player and mount it beneath the HU?

What is anyones opinion on the Alpine DVA9851 head unit? Is this a good HU for me to consider purchasing?
What are some other head units that are sweet for the Z?

Thanks............

 

A Farenheit T-7000MHR fits like a glove into a '03 cubby which is an easy install into the '04 and '05. Pull the dash open and remove four screws.

I bought a DVD/navigation system but it requires an external screen to watch DVD's while the car is moving. But doing that would just be silly

 

Alpine and Pioneer are the best in the head unit market, although the Kenwood DDX isnt a bad unit either. I wouldnt go with an Eclipse for an HU, theyre overpriced 90% of the time.

For what youre describing, I would save up the extra cash and get an all-in-one unit. Look at the Alpine IVA-D300 or the IVA-D900/901. Also, look at the Pioneer AVH-P6500, great buy. Only bad part about it is that its only 6.5". If the 6.5" bothers you that much, go with the AVH-P7500. Its an incredible unit, I have it in my Z.
Plan on spending 1000-1500 for one of these though.

If I were you, I wouldnt go with the AVIC N1/N2. Yeah, they come with Nav built in, but its kind of ghetto style. Like, you have to do a lot of cd switching, and that would **** me off. When you wanna use Nav, you have to take your music cd out, put the nav cd in, type your location, let the comp determine the route, and then you can pop the nav cd out and put the music cd back in.

If you are more partial to having a double din unit, the AVIC-D1 doesnt look bad. I dont have any personal experience with it, but it doesnt have the same cd switching annoyances that the N1/N2 have, however it doesnt play DVDs. The Kenwood DDX is a great unit and its cheaper than the D1, but it doesnt come with nav. Whatever your prefer really.


And what Paul said about not being able to watch DVDs when you are driving, that isnt true if the unit is wired correctly. A lot of times they want you to run a wire to the ebrake so that certain functions only work when the ebrake is up. Instead, you ground that wire so it has a constant signal and then you can do those functions whenever you want. Its called bypassing the unit (this is just one example of how to bypass it). You CAN watch DVDs on your main unit screen while driving, I do it all the time. Some units have more difficult and complex ways to bypass them, so if you cant figure out how to do it yourself most install shops know how to bypass most headunits.

 

Hey Srivero297Z, very helpful!! Thanks, going to do some research on those headunits.

Paul, thanks as well! I have been checking into the Farenheit screen, any recomendations where to get it?

 

also, im not really interested in the navigation at this point in time.

 

www.millionbuy.com has it at a good price.

 

Toss a 12-CD player in the luggage cubby or a 6-CD player in one of the pockets. The AVIC N2 will memorize the area around your location so that you can drive around with an MP3 or CD in the head end. My co-pilot not only can't drive but she can't read a map either ... I'm the kind of guy who attempts to make a short cut between LA freeways and ends up in Watts or South Central ... or in Chicago ends up near Cabrini Green

I discounted the Kenwoods because the menus look like CGA graphics and you couldn't change background images. Alpine wanted $2400 for what the $1400 Pioneer did.

Pioneer has ought thought the parking brake grounding. The AVIC N2 uses it's internal gyro compass (actually inertial sensors) to detect that the car is moving. Even if you disconnect the speed pluse sensor it gets you. Rumor also says that if you ground out the AVIC N1's parking brake for too long it times out and locks out the DVD for an amount of time too.

I haven't found a place on the Internet that will admit to defeating the N2's programming but I haven't looked in the last couple of weeks.

I can't imagine why they go through all the effort just to prevent people from watching movies while driving down the highways at 85 miles an hour.

 

Yes I know the Alpine you are referring to. It is quite pricey, but IMO it is better than the Pioneer. The quality of the Navigation that is. As for DVDs, once the movie starts playing they are all the same really.

Ive had experience with both Alpine and Pioneer.
My brother's M3>> Alpine IVA-D900 with nav addition.
My Z>> Pioneer AVH-P7500 with nav addition.

the combinations both ran around the same price, which was around $2400 like Paul said. (yeah i know the next question, why not the AVIC-N1/N2. Cause I didnt like the cd switching thing like I said, also its a 6.5" monitor not a 7" like those two I mentioned above.)

Anyway. Both are very easy to work with, both get you to your location easily, etc. I still like the Alpine better.

Cons: Alpine: not a touchscreen---the 900 that is. the IVA-D300 is a touchscreen but I dont have any personal experience with it. Also there is this thing when you first enter the Nav when the disclaimer comes up and you have to hit ENTER, but there is no ENTER key on the unit so you have to hit it on the remote, just a pet peeve of mine.
Cons: Pioneer: slightly more difficult to find your address, yet only slightly. Also, on the highway, it makes random waypoints that keep telling you to go straight (unless of course you are supposed to exit) every time there is a major exit ramp off to one side. So if you have to go on the highway for 20 miles, it will be like "in 5 miles, continue straight on XXX highway"

 

oh and the Farenheit T-7000... best price Ive seen them for is at discount jungle. $136 or something like that.

 

I'm also in the same jam, I wanted to get a Pioneer AVIC-D1, but I heard a lot of bad reviews so I'm getting something else. I'm really not a fan of the flip out screens, but I found one from Alpine (IVA-D310) and I think thats wut I'm gonna get. One more reason I want this is because of the I-pod ready feature. Good Luck Platinum. (Go with the D310, awsome reviews, u won't be disappointed, I hope)

 

Thanks MrGags, IPod ready is a nice feature!
Paul, defnitely going to consider that idea of putting a disc changer in one of those pockets.

Hey Srivero297, I checked out those HU's you mentioned and I want to try to stay away from a unit w/ a retractable LCD. I would rather place it in the above pocket. Any suggestions on a good HU that is capable to play DVD's?

 

Hmm.. I dont know any specific model numbers, but I know that I had 3 headunits like you are describing before my flip out. Like I said before, check out the Alpine and Pioneer websites. www.alpine.com and www.pioneerelectronics.com
They should have a pretty good selection and good descriptions of the units on the site.
Sorry I cant be of more help on this, all of the units I have personal experience with are a few years old by now, because recently all Ive been working with are the flipouts.

As for the LCD in the nav cubby though, as Paul said I definately recommend the Farenheit T-7000. Perfect fit, i test fitted one in there just for fun once (my friend has two T-7000s so i borrowed one to try it). I would have put one in my own car but the flip out LCD partially covers the cubby.

 

no, you have been very helpful. I weill check out these websites! Just curious, is there any advantage w/ going w/ the flip out screen rather than running it seperatley w/ a LCD?

 

I just think it is easier to have an all-in-one unit like that. Its easier to navigate and change functions and settings and whatnot. Here ill try to explain it this way:

a regular unit is built with the ability of ADDING ON an LCD.
a flipout is built SPECIFICALLY FOR an LCD.

what i mean is that all of the menus and stuff, how to change settings, to pick radio stations and all of that... you can do all of that through the LCD screen, and if its a touchscreen like mine, you can do it all with your finger.
Like I said before, I dont have personal experience with the added on LCD, so I dont think you could do that with the add on, but i MAY be wrong. I would guess that you could just play DVDs or Nav or whatever.

hmm.. go into a circuit city or something, or any audio store really. They will DEFINATELY have a flipout on display, some pioneer probably, lol. Play with some of the functions on it and see how you like it. That will give you a feel for it better than any post that I could write. Also while youre there you could check out some of the other units too. I wouldnt recommend buying one there though, circuit city will ripp ya

 

gotcha, thanks!!!

 

dont go pioneer

 

well, it looks like I finally decided to go w/ the Alpine CDA-9855 for the HU and using the Farenheit LCD. I haven't figured out what to do for the DVD player, but I cam acroos a Blaupunkt DVD-ME3. Which is inexpensive and offers the memory feature and a remote eye for the remote controller, so I may just use that. I like the cda-9855 especially cause it seems to offer a lot of options for expanding your system. I wonder if I have all of this stuff hooked up (DVD player, 2 amps, LCD screen and an Ipod) if that will take away from sound quality?
So what do you guys think of this set up so far?

 

If you're going to go with a seperate DVD player, why not just use a $150 Sony Playstation 2? You'll have video games AND a DVD player in the same system for much, much cheaper. The new PS2 is incredibly small, much smaller than any DVD player.

 

Yeah, that makes sense. I have not really thought about it cause im not familiar w/ them. Are they made specifically for cars? Easy to wire up?Also, where are people mounting them in the cars, especially w/ the wires/controllers?

thanks for the info!

 

Go with the DDX-7017 And Call it the day, 7017 now has H0Voltage preouts, I believe 5 Volts comapared to last years. We have done many installes with this unit and absolutely love it. We are doing one right now actualy.

Nazar