bob stone Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 hello all , first post here. mostly out of all the gps units I like the f series look the most ( I am really big on how it will look installed ) but I see so many issues. honestly should I wait till they update it or just get one now and wait for a firmware update? are they likly to change the hardware is a better way to put it. and I noticed at least one person has a jetta, I got a 07 wolfsburg, it has the basic stock single cd player with 10 speakers. I have never had a car newer then 94 and no more then 4 speakers before so will this player be able to properly drive the speakers, will it be better sounding then stock or same or worse. I have no idea how many watts the stock system puts out so cant even try to compare, all that I have read about newer cars tho lead me to believe that they have higher watt ratings then back when( as an addition to that I do plan on getting good component speakers all around with an amp sometime in the future ) finnaly OMG map updates are over priced on the d series, can i expect this on the f series also, and if only for that reason should I wait till they update it before buying just to get the new maps ? Thanks Bob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shock_Resist Posted July 2, 2008 Report Share Posted July 2, 2008 I'm in the same predicament. But, will most likely wait. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
z06 Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 My advice, don't rush to buy one, like Pioneer rushed to get it on the market. Buy something else and look again in a year or 2. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HiFiSi Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 If you're on the edge, just wait until they put out a fix, then decide. I'm sure another month or so with whatever is in your car now won't hurt. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dgoody Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 IMHO, You pretty much have to answer a lot of these yourself. I was very pissed at first, but after messing with my F90BT, I am starting to get used to it and really like it. - Yes, it should be able to drive all of your speakers in your Wolf. And, yes, my factory Honda Civic speakers sound much better with the 4V outputs. - XM radio works well and sounds great. - CD's and DVD's will play no problem. - The iPod interface is fine -- as long as you don't have an iPhone or an iTouch (and then you won't get video). With my iPod Classic, I do have to re-connect it every once in a while after a re-start (seems random). The iTouch never had that problem (but I sold it to get video options with the Classic). - The navigation maps are pretty darn new. There's a freeway interchange and a few roads just built in my neighborhood (open in the last 9 months) that are already in the F-series map database. And the navigation is fairly smooth. Not perfect, but I would love to find someone who says their nav system is PERFECT. I tried a back roads shortcut to my house the other day and after my second turn off the main road (all nav systems try to get you to go back to the main streets), the system nailed my "off-the-beaten-path" route. - Navigation updates should be cheaper - or at least easier to download and load into your radio -- since you'll be loading them via SD-cards and not waiting for CD's to be mailed to you. The things you'll have to decide about (at least until the firmware fix): - Bluetooth blows. Forget about using it to make calls. Some people only have the problem periodically. My BT is useless. - Phone Contact Voice recognition. The system will not recognize "Call John Smith". Which isn't that big a deal since you can't make a BT phone call that someone can hear anyway. I just disabled BT on the Pioneer and went back to my headset. - Extremely slow startup time. Especially if you have an iPod connected. Expect at least 30-45 seconds for a normal boot-up and an additional 2-3 minutes to catalog your iPod. - Skipping / pausing / etc. when trying to play music / video from USB hard drive / thumb drive or from SD-card. Seems like the system is running out of memory. - My final bitch. Which is probably worse in my car because of the install angle, but the touch-screen display is very "glare-y". It is unreadable during the day if the sun is shining in on it. Especially if you're wearing sunglasses, too. There is no way to adjust it any brighter. I had a touch-screen Garmin and it was hard to see in direct sunlight, too, but this is much worse. There are other gripes, but I have managed to either work around them or get used to them. I guess you have to decide whether you actually believe Pioneer is going to do ANYTHING about these issues. So far there's been little information. [/i][/b] Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HiFiSi Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 my factory Honda Civic speakers sound much better with the 4V outputs Are you running the factory speakers off an external amplifier??? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobsyouruncle Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 I was wondering the exact same thing... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dgoody Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 nope. maybe the output voltage doesn't matter. I'm not a techie. I do know that it sounds significantly better than my factory stereo whatever the reason -- with no changes to the rest of my system. (I was pretty much tapped out just buying the radio - first things first.) Sorry for the confusion. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HiFiSi Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 Well yeah, the internal amp pushes probably twice the wattage of the stock Civic radio, but then all 3 of the F units have the same amplifier output. The 4V outputs only come into play if you are using external amplifiers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jan_VTEC_Mini Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 I have read this forum, good and bad, finished my install yesterday, tested it out, and yes, it is a real cool unit, takes a bit to boot up, but besides that, is awesome Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dgoody Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 That's why I should never listen to the guy at the store... He led me to believe that the 4v outputs were going into my stock speakers and would give me a cleaner sound. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
916Kev Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 That's why I should never listen to the guy at the store... He led me to believe that the 4v outputs were going into my stock speakers and would give me a cleaner sound. Hi-Volt (4.0 V) Pre-Outs If you decide to connect an amplifier, the three Hi-Volt (4.0 V) pre-outs will deliver a clean, powerful signal path. The higher the volts that a pre-out provides, the better the signal strength to your amp, and then your amp doesn't have to work as hard. These Hi-Volt pre-outs help give you better dynamics, crisper highs, and big, deep bass.Hi-Volt pre-outs help give you better dynamics, crisper highs, and big, deep bass. Straight from Pioneer's website. I've got a JL 300/4v2 powering my Infinity/Pioneer speakers and they sound so clean and don't distort when I turn it up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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