crazzzycas

ok so im just gunna say it, i am probably the most incompitant person when it comes to anything having to do with electronics lol. i recently bought a new 08 Z base and am looking to do a few minor mods. one being a thumping system. but thats for a little fursther down the road. right now i just want a double din headunit and have no idea what all of the terms mean. for example wats the diff btwn a 2v and a 4v. also is 50 wats good? ive been told pioneer makes reliable units so thats wat ive been looking into. its gotta have mp3, ipod, dvd playback, and maybe nav.

my real question is- can i get a headunit like this now and then later on get my subs/amps/ new speakers? or should it all be done at once?

i know its probably a retarded question but im new to this all and would appreciate a few suggestions about which units you guys have that fit wat im looking into.

Goin' Sidewayz!

Of course you can buy a headunit now and the speakers later. My step-sister did that with her car in that she bought the headunit and the speakers, had them installed and then bought and installed the subs later on down the road. You should buy an Alpine because they the shiznit!

s31t8n8

iTrader: (12)

yep you can do that, thats exactly what i did. go with alpine, they make the best headunits, i have apline cda-9856 and i love it

crazzzycas

so no matter wat barnd headunit i get, i could get a different brand sub and amp right?

and wats the diff btwn the 2v and the 4v

down the road im looking to get 2 10 inch subs that give a lotta thump... i plan on doing this to the fullest but only this piece now, any ideas on which the best headunit would be iyp

seank426

iTrader: (1)

if your going to go with a more expensive headunit I would NOT go with alpine. I have heard A LOT of great things about pioneer though. I'm looking at the Pioneer. DEH-P980BT, however if your looking for a double din unit then kenwoods are great. Kenwood DNX 8120 are great but are also quite expensive. From what I no (I'm new to all of this as well) the difference between 2v,4v,5v,8v preouts is that the higher preout headunits don't requre the amp to be turned up as much which leads to less noise and a better SQ system. Weather you can actually tell a difference is beyond me.

35oZephyR

iTrader: (4)

Alpine, Kenwood and Pioneer are the most common and reputable headunits out there.

Alpines - great single decks, double dins are a little pricey.
Kenwood - great nav (paired with Garmin) but the actual H/U is dull in design.
Pioneer- Premiere line single dins are great. Known to be a great Double-din maker, but slipped a little last year with their F-series due to lag.

To my understanding:

2v-4v is the output going to your amp. The higher voltage gives a more powerful signal for your amp to use. Theoretically, your 4 volt input requires less gains on the amp to produce sound. Being that your system (full of wires) picks up intereference from your your alternator or other electrical systems. A 4v preout will be easier to tune out that interference (static, hiss, whine...etc..) because it has a stronger signal and doesn't require you to crank up the amp for a tune. (seank426 just beat me to the punch.)

crazzzycas

ok its starting to make a little sense. so im gunna want a 4 v then. ive been looking at the pioneer AVIC-F900BT. anybody have experience with it, i am hearing its got some lagtime, but the thing that selling me is the high res screen and the built in navi and bluetooth. sugg price is 12000 but im easily finding it for under 550.

aRYip

iTrader: (9)

I have Pioneer AVIC- F700BT which similar to F900BT without the DVD playable.
Overall, the lagtime is not that bad, especially you update it to 2.0.

350z 6spd

iTrader: (9)

I have the f900 and with the new updates it isn't too bad. I like the xm interface and the higher resolution screen. Also, to me the f900 just has a more finished and modern look to its interface (menus, ipod, etc.). If you want 4v outs you would want the premier version of the f900bt which is the f90bt.

crazzzycas

does anyone have pics of an installed F900BT on their Z?

TreeFiddyZee

iTrader: (19)

12000 down to 550? Quite a discount.

I've got the DNX8120 with stock Bose speaker, amp, etc. and think it sounds great. It has a massive number of sound adjustments, so you can really kick up the quality. Not the gazillion watts that a lot of people have mind you, but it still sounds a lot better than stock. It has a 13 band equalizer front and rear, plus crossover settings, plus bass boost settings ++++++ It has decent power if your not adding amps yet and has 5v preouts for when you do. It also has Bluetooth, Garmin nav and you can add lot of extras if so inclined.

crazzzycas

thanks for the info. the 8120 looks and sounds really good, but the price is up there. i like everything about it though. do u have any pics of it installed? and everyhthing like bluetooth, gps, dvd are all included in that one price right?

35oZephyR

iTrader: (4)

I have the F90BT which pretty much is like the F900BT and it was purchased with the 2.0 firmware. Lag time is not bad at all. The only "lag time" that is noticeable to me is at startup but by the time I get moving the hu is completely up and running. Sound starts pretty quickly and the backup camera works right away. I disabled the VR (voice recognition) so it works smoother since I don't use that feature. Bluetooth works great.

With Stock speakers:
When I first installed it, the paper speakers sound so much better with the new signal coming from the head unit. People thought I bought new components due to the new found clarity and bass.

With components:
The stocks were finally replaced with Premiere components and that was a whole 'nother league of kick @ss. I switched back and forth between really good expensive ARC audio amps and smaller conservative Alpine MRP's. The headunit had alot of tuning headroom with it's preouts and settings so I was able to achieve some good tunes.

Overall: Let's just say traffic is no longer stressful.

TreeFiddyZee

iTrader: (19)

Yeah. Looks good until you put a big gash in the screen. Doh!
Right. BT, GPS and DVD are built-in. It also has an awesome iPod interface. You have to buy a separate cable depending on what iPod you have. I have the "Classic" so it plays audio and video from the iPod.

Here's a few shots that I just took. They aren't that great, but it's COLD OUTSIDE!!! My dash doesn't really look that bad either. I guess the camera exposes everything.






Stealth. With tinted windows, you can't even tell it's fake. I might try to engineer it better to recess it all the way. When the unit turns on, it pops out so I can pull the face off. Magnets FTW.

crazzzycas

funny you brought up the F90BT bc i was just going to post that it looks worthwhile. i didnt even know about it until i jst stunled across it. i thought the 900bt was the top of the line.

the ONLY thing i wish was different is the screen size, do u wish it was an inch bigger or do you not even notice the difference?

also do you happen to have any pic of it installed?

thanks

crazzzycas

thanks for taking the pics for me, i appreciate it. it looks really good and seems nice and snug. kinda like it belongs there.

35oZephyR

iTrader: (4)

My opinion:
It's the perfect size for the Z considering how close the center console is, in relation to the passenger and driver.

Pros:

I've always been a fan of the side **** since the AVID D3. If you haven't noticed, Kenwood has adopted the same layout. It's nice to reach for it and have full control of the volume with a flick of the wrist.(The same volume control **** also bumps to the next or previous track if you push down, left and right.)

Plus, I was never too keen on finding the volume buttons on headunits while driving, just to furiously press to turn the volume up/down. Theres also a big "Menu" and "MAP" button above the volume **** that makes it easy to bring you back to the root menu without looking. Just my preference.

Also, it's nice to have a front loading CD/DVD slot as oppose to having the whole motorized screen go up and down.

Sorry no pics, I'll eventually get around to that.

crazzzycas

yea i absolutly need the volume ****. i think you sold me on this H/U lol.

fknrdqs

iTrader: (2)

here you go. i personally like the controls on this unit over the kenwood.
i can't stand how long it takes to boot up though, even with the 2.0 firmware.
i don't know how long the kenwood takes to boot- i tried to research before i got mine but never found out.

35oZephyR

iTrader: (4)

Someone else installed the F700BT w/pics...and some good info on the hardware bypass.

https://my350z.com/forum/audio-and-v...00bt-pics.html

Just imagine a shiny piano finish with gunmetal ****, also the word "Premiere" in gold and you'll have the F90BT.