petemoss

Ok...this is my setup....I have an 140bt, running pre-amp outputs to a 4 channel infinity kappa class d amp running polk mm series speakers.  Also a boston acoustics A/B amp running dual 10" jl audio subs in a Toyota solara convertible.  

I used to have a 910bt in the car with all the same equipment and it sounded amazing...i loved everything about it.  the 910 died and i tried a clarion but that sounded so bad i returned it and bought the 140bt which sounded much better than the clarion.  BUT is doesn't even come close to the 910 I had.  I understand the 140 and the clarion both have hotter preamp voltages.  I set the gains on the pre-amp using sine wave cds and and oscilloscope.  Using full range sine wave at near max volume i adjusted gains so the sine wave was clean on the osciliscope (clamped to speaker outs) and also using my ears.  

It sounds good but not great...a bit edgy and sharp but also, more annoying is that during complex music is just sounds very muddy and looses all clarity.  The only things I have changed in all this is the head unit and pre-amp gains on the infinity and Boston amps...everything else is the same the entire time.

Does anyone know if there is some difference in the audio sections of the 910 and 140 that would cause this.  I am so dissapointed....I have lived with the 110 for almost a year and still am not happy at all.  I am considering pulling it and tring something else....ug ...this is getting expensive.

Any suggestions ?

Thanks all.

Run away from the 140...thats my opinion....I had the 910bt (6.5" unit) and went to the 140...what a dissapointment.  ...  I regret it every day.   Sound quality is worse (in my opinion)...UI worse...nav worse.  To be fair there are some definite improvements but not worth what i paid.  Hopefully the 150 is better...it seems to be a new platform.  

Why is there no way to turn off my 140bt? Sometimes i would like it totally off....

Please post the results...i would surprised if the HDMI to RCA cable does anything as HDMI is digital. The Samsung cable is interesting....pre-order. There is very limited info on it. I have the MVH adapter and use it at home with my TV. It does work quite well.

OK, I did it...i bought a 140bh and installed it today. The instant i turned it on it sounded sooooo much better. The place i bought the clarion was kind enough to refund me minus 5% which is totally fair!!!

Sound it fantastic...I am glad I did it...but boy....do i miss the IGO nav from Clarion. Shame on pioneer! And yes...it is worse than before. I cant believe they dont have speed limit data! I was hoping with the new naviteq data that they would add that....it embarising in this day and age. Oh and with my 910, it always thought I lived on the other end of the block (5 houses down)...i had hoped that the new data would fix that....nope...no change...I still dont live where I actually live!...And one more gripe....It has a speed sensor hookup..so why no auto volume control based on speed...my base $15K mazda stock head unit had that. Shame shame.

Anyway...sound is good and there are many good things about it so I am happy.

Glad its not just me....I love the clarion, as you said, for UI and Nav (the nav is soooooo much better). And your right, no community.

As for bypass...i ended up purchasing something on ebay or amazon (a small widget that you tie to the amp on signal, gnd and parking brake signal...I think is just adds a bit of delay to the parking break signal...$20 or something like that (total rip but it works fine).

Hi All...

I owned an 910bt and it recently broke. While i loved the sound quality, the ui and navigation left much to be desired ... along with all the bugs and other anoyances. After much research I purchased a Clarion NX602 and was blown away by its UI...very nice, the IGO navigation was amazing...however, I cant get over the sound quality of it. I have Polk M series speakers, infinity kappa amps and sub and the pioneer always sounded amazing. Try as I may, i cant get the clarion unit to sound anywhere near as good. i am an engineer and in the audio bus for many years. I hauled out my scope, use reference tones and set levels appropriately but the clarion sounds a bit harsh and gives me ear fatigue after a while. I have a convertible and when the top is down the volume needs to go up so I do listen at higher than normal volumes but the pioneer always sounded much warmer and pleasing to me.

While i love the clarion's user experience and GPS, the bottom line is that it has to sound good. I dont mean to knock clarion...I just personally dont like the sound of it. So.....i am considering a 940 (i use android and want the capabilities it has). From a 910, will i be happy with the 940? Has the user experience improved?

I know there is alot of negative posts about the navigation and I agree, the pioneer's navigation is sub par (slightly better than my toyota factory navigation but not much). However, it is sub par in terms of user experience, but the bottom line is it always got me where I needed to go....so I have no great expectation there. I am just hoping they fixed many of the bugs.

Also, is bluetooth any better than it was?

Has anyone compared the sound quality of Pioneer vs others...any suggestions.

I have the following setup...an Avic 910 nav unit running into an Infinty Kappa 5 channel Amp powering polk speakers. The Infinity Amp is in the trunk with a 4 guage wire connecting directly to the battery and 4 guage ground to the car chassis via a big bolt. The RCA are long, but good quality (I think they were monster cables).

I am getting a high pitch alternator whine (varies in frequency and amplitude with engine RPM). The Volume does not change when I change the volume of the radio...ie if I turn the radio volume to 0 I still hear it as loud as when the radio is on full. With Music pretty loud I cant really hear it but any thing else I can. It does NOT make the noise with the car off and on Accessory (of course the engine is not running).

I tried the trick described in these forums to ground the RCAs to the chassis of the radio. This made no difference. I tried to run a ground strap between the radio and the amp, again no difference.

So I am at a loss here and it is driving me crazy. I dont really know if it is the radio or the amp to be honest. I was wondering if perhaps it is the AMP...is there something else I can do here? Could it be on the 12 volt line to the amp? Is there some filter i can add...would one of those big capacitor help?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated