So im down to these two systems...either the Eclipse AVN5435 or the Pioneer AVIC D-1. Now, my main concern is the speed/load time of the DVD Maps as well as the loading sound (i dont want no Sony Playstation sounding unit). I dont want to wait 30sec for the freaken map to load...i also want a good GUI (graphics user interface) nothing plain. Finally, i beleive the two units are similarly priced, so whats brand reliability like? I have never owned neither eclipse or pioneer...any advise would be helpful! Thankz!

 

Eclipse is good in my opinion or I have the kenwood touchscreen and voice commanded nav. it is really nice because it also has the 3d birdseye view. GUI is very nice and it is really easy to use. I like it most because i can tell it through the voice command what to do. I am actually having to sell it now because we are moving into a new home and I have to buy a bunch of crap. PM me if you are interested

 

still selling the HU? how much?

thanks

 

If you are looking at avoiding the problems you listed, you might not want to get the units you are looking at. Those are not full time navigation systems, which simply means the Navigation disc does not stay in the unit all the time. If you want to avoid the problems you listed get a dedicated navigation system and a seperate monitor to controll it. Kenwood, Alpine, and Pioneer make stand alone Navigation systems. It will cost more money, but you will not deal with the problems you listed.

 

The Pioneer AVIC N2 has built-in memory that will hold +140 square miles worth of map without the disk installed. I added a 6 disc CD player so I don't worry about playing with the head end unit and leave the navigation disc in except when I'm playing a movie or MP3. When I do drop the navigation disc in it takes but a few seconds to come up - no where close to 30 seconds.

 

It does have a memory, but if you want to input a new destination or it has to reroute you must reinsert to navigation disc. Usually not a big issue, but as he stated he does not want to deal with those issues.