cpkdude

cool - thanks

While all those things are interesting, I still don't think they are as important as badly imlemented Bluetooth or FM. It appears both companies have addressed the iPod interfaces well. As far as the GPS goes, Garmin's hard to beat.

What Pioneer seems to offer is a very inexpensive unit in comparison to Kenwood. As technology changes quickly, the Pioneer may be a good stop-gap unit for me.

What I'm learning here from others helps me to learn about myself. In the beginning, the iPod interface was my main concern. However, as "owners" add comments, I am also becoming concerned about other factors I hadn't considered. I value owners comments, since "reviewers" don't usually get stuck with a unit they don't like. The Pioneer is still my leading candidate, primarily because I am having a hard time justifying the cost of the Kenwood line (to get VR in a Kenwood, it would cost nearly $1000 more). I've noted, seen and read your various videos and entries in various places, as you know. Keep up the good work, as lots of people with limited resources can gain from them.

I had the z110 and now the dnx7160.

I really miss the speed of the pioneer, but that's about it. The kenwood is very laggy.

Laggy how-so? So I take it the Bluetooth quality (aka what people hear who call you) is better on the Kenwood?

I unhooked everything a couple times till i got it to not do it, So I'm guessing my connections just weren't clean enough, the only problem i have is if the volume is down and i accelerate you can hear it in the speakers. But it's only when the volume is below 3 thats it's able to be heard.

i had accelerator whine in my mazda 3 until i put in a ground loop isolator, then it dissapeared

that doesn't sound good, no pun intended. and considering the Pandora link, it would appear they must have used an iPhone at some point in the design process. Sounds like an epic fail.

I've got a 2007 Audi A4... cabin noise is almost non-existent and the handsfree is almost unbearable with the mic mounted just above my rear view mirror completely exposed pointed directly at my face. I couldn't possibly get it any close to my mouth unless I wore it on my lapel.

excellent info

In hopes of tracking down the best info, when all you helpful folks discuss Bluetooth audio noise problems, would it be possible to state your vehicle make, model and year? I know my Mazda 3 is noisier inside than my wife's Jetta wagon is. That kind of info is usefull, no?

its good, i was just trying to see something, but i got it figured out, thanks.

what was the solution?

Downloaded and installed, I have about 2 more days to test with this update before my return window is up.

 

Number one on my list of things that the unit may go back for is that the BT quality is dreadful and just keeps getting worse, I had my F700BT and mic in the same location for almost 2 years and while people griped a bit, they didn't constantly bitch that they couldn't hear me the way they do with the X920BT.

what phone are you using again?

The issue is that they're not really comparable units, the X920BT has been going out the door with rebates, discounts, and deals, for an average of about $500 lately, and that's when I jumped in for one, the Kenwood is no where near that cheap.

 

Unfortunately for me, the killer may be poor Bluetooth quality on call, I use the unit every night on my commute home to take care of talking to people, and since I went to it just under 3 weeks ago I get constant complaints.

 

Do I think the Kenwood is a better unit? unsure, it probably is, but the poster of that thread is our own VBLUE42, and he's been pretty up front here about the pros and cons, you just need to dig in to some more of the threads here.

 

You may want to use the Z series threads since there's more in common as far as the OS with the Z120 then the older F-series upgraded X units.

Hehe - I've been reading till my eyes hurt. The Bluetooth and FM RDS were the two things that worried me also. Have you tried switching microphones? Actually, the price-point IS what's making the Pioneer attractive. At even prices, the Kenwood is a superior unit. For $400 less, I can bank that, wait a year, and put it towards Google's Android Car System (it's a dream I have).

Do you think the skimpy RDS implementation can be improved via firmware? RDS and Bluetooth -those are really the two things that make the Kenwood seem better to me, and they aren't even on the list, so to speak. Any Android phone can give me maps to challenge the Garmin, so that's not as important.

Did you just come here to stir things up?

Considering the post is less then 2 months old, I can't think Pioneer has jumped all over making usability complaints the top corporate priority, some of the bugs are actually a PITA but old.

 

Did you happen to notice the poster and what their user name was? did that look a bit familiar?

These are known issues, and as far as I can see, nothing that hasn't been mentioned here in discussion, there isn't anything there that was never said over here.

 

Sounds like you just want to cause trouble to me.

quite the contrary - I have narrowed my search for a unit down to two units, the X920 and a competing Kenwood. I was just about to purchase the Pioneer (lots of sales at the moment) when I came across that entry on the Kenwood forum. The way it was written certainly seemed to be favoring the Kenwood - I was hoping some Pioneer owners would jump in here and defute any parts that may have been "over the top", so to speak. I met the Pioneer rep in a shop a few days ago, hence my leaning toward the X920. The main point is, what on that list is truly a "deal breaker", and what isn't.

For example:

-no power on/off button - seems stupid, but can it be rectified with a switch in the glove box, or a firmware update?

-plot several points with VR? Neither can the 6960 - no big deal here

-only 100 POI's? How many speed cameras do you intend to pass?

-no wireless remote? yawn

-no 5.1? in my CAR? double yawn

-lack of dual-USB? snoozing still

see, all of those are pointless to me - I want see what is pointless to other owners, and what they like

This report certainly makes the Pioneer X920 / Z120 out to be a far-lesser unit than the Kenwood. I wonder how many items have been corrected since this link was published - or, how many may be in the future. Can some AVIC owners chime in here . . .

http://www.kenwoodforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=897

granted, it did come from a "Kenwood" forum, however, if true, it makes the difference between the manufacturers' products quite expansive to say the least

First off, I owe a huge thanks to everyone on this board for all the great topics here. Lots of great info. So, I am having what seems to be a common issue. There is a hiss coming from all the speaker when any source is selected. When the music is paused, silent break on the radio, or between songs there is a very prevalent hiss. It gets louder with the volume. I have unplugged everything. All that is plugged in is the necessary wire harness. No amp, antenna, gps, a/v inputs, removed the hard bypass nothing works. I have tried connecting the ground to the chassis and no luck. The odd thing is I have went through 3 systems prior to the pioneer and none had this problem. Stock, kenwood ddx-512, and JVC NT1. No wiring was changed at all. I sold the later two because they had horrible interfaces. Thanks in advance for any help.

did you get this fixed? How?

Anyone have any opinions?

I was just about to buy the 920, but then started reading this forum - problems with AV hiss - bad bluetooth reception audio - navigation unit not finding addresses..... is all of this the norm, or are most of you x920 / Z120 owners pretty happy?

My main use will be iPod, then Nav, then Bluetooth

The 'hiss' and Bluetooth reception problems concern me the most

I have the bypass and the update had no affect on it.

 

Also I highly recommend doing the update, while it doesn't magically fix every annoyance this unit has it does have some pretty major ones. VR alone is almost (except for the voice) passable now.

as an X920 owner, can you tell me something I can't find online: can you fast-forward either iPod audio files or audio podcasts?

The manual shows forward-rewind arrows for iPod "video", but not for "audio" files.

I listen to alot of long podcasts - and if I can't fast-forward through them, well, that would be bad.

Thanks

UPDATE: I found a dealer (not close, but worth the drive) and you CAN FF audio files. The catch is, not from the screen, but from the hard buttons on the left. For some reason, they forgot FF software controls. Maybe next time.

Don't you just press and hold the next track button, not sure about the A book

one report said there's no way to do it - we need an owner to voice-in here.

I've watched some youtube demos, but haven't seen how you fast-forward thru ipod songs or audio podcasts. With video, an on-screen icon appears.

However, I don't see how you do it for audio sources.

What's the trick?