Need some advice

[Lucky_Bagota]

So im in the boat right now for a new radio and i can't decide what to go with. I currently have it narrowed down to 3. I realize this is a avic site so the general responses may be skewed towards a pioneer but then again being a former pioneer owner i had some issues with my previous radios so not all of them i would recommend. Anyways moving on. To give a little history ive beenin car audio for about 10+ years. During that time ive owned nothing but high end screens dvd players etc. Previously i had the Avic-Z1. Had that for a couple of years doing the software upgrade to z2 then z3 then moved on to alpine which is what i currently have. The three units i have in mind right now are the alpine ina-w910, Pioneer Avic z130Bt and the Kenwood dnx-9980hd. They all have their pros and cons. My biggest gripe with the alpine is the nav is a f****n joke as far as the gui is concerned as well as the speed of the unit (How fast it processes and reroutes) and the ipod interface isn't exactly the best which say alot as seeing how its their media server made for ipod works with blah blah blah. Other then that even the sound adjustments i had to buy an extra processor to get the 4 volt preouts and sound adjustments. The only reason i would consider another alpine is that i already have everything in the alpine so it would just plug up and work. Now the z130bt couple of things with that one from the few i've installed the ipod use to get on my nerves with the updating vr catalog (which as i recall the voice control didn't work to well on my z1). I read in the manual that can be turned off. I would like to know how the navigation is as far as accuracy. I remember on my old z that thing would tell me i've arrived at my destination and i'm still like a block or two away. The only other hold up with me getting a z130 would be if you look at pioneers update cycle going back to the first n series it was n1, n2, n3 (n4 Probably doesn't count as that was more of an update with the maps) moving on the d1, d2, d3, z1, z2, z3 etc. With that being said this is the 3rd in the z100 series so one of my concerns is that next year there's a new one out not just a software upgrade but a full on hardware change (With that said i know their announced in january and usually released between march and june). Which lastly brings us to the kenwood. First ill say i cant believe im considering the kenwood as having played with them @ work their incredibly slow from the load up time (Average 30secs) to even just doing everyday stuff changing sources tracks etc. The sound processing outputs never impressed me on the kenwood but not a problem as ive got external amps to handle all that as well as high end speakers in there now. The Nav on the kenwood is a garmin which means it has good backend support (Map update) but i don't like how they have advertisements on there. I haven't seen the traffic on there so i don't know how it is let alone i've yet to see anyone rate the traffic tuner with the z130bt. 2 Things that i like about the kenwood which is why it's even on my list is 1 the reverse tilt. My radio sits kinda high in the dash at an angle so that would help with viewing it and 2 it has 2 usb ports on it. i always questioned that feature, but i find myself with an iphone and a droid so having both plugged up at the same time does sound appealing but not necessarily a deal maker right there. So there you have it. Any advice or recommendations on any of those unit would be greatly appreciated. Price is really not a factor so take that out the equation. I just want the best. Thanks.

[dellsam34]

Not to be rude but I don't think anyone has time to read your 2 page question.

[Camelonian]

I've got a Z120 (same hardware as Z130) and I thoroughly enjoy it. Best unit i've had.

 

Yeah, you need to space that out some. At least toss in a paragraph break in there or something, it pretty much forced me to skim because that giant wall o' text punched me in the face.

[Lucky_Bagota]

So im in the boat right now for a new radio and i can't decide what to go with. I currently have it narrowed down to 3. I realize this is a avic site so the general responses may be skewed towards a pioneer but then again being a former pioneer owner i had some issues with my previous radios so not all of them i would recommend. Anyways moving on. To give a little history ive beenin car audio for about 10+ years. During that time ive owned nothing but high end screens dvd players etc. Previously i had the Avic-Z1. Had that for a couple of years doing the software upgrade to z2 then z3 then moved on to alpine which is what i currently have. The three units i have in mind right now are the alpine ina-w910, Pioneer Avic z130Bt and the Kenwood dnx-9980hd. They all have their pros and cons. My biggest gripe with the alpine is the nav is a f****n joke as far as the gui is concerned as well as the speed of the unit (How fast it processes and reroutes) and the ipod interface isn't exactly the best which say alot as seeing how its their media server made for ipod works with blah blah blah. Other then that even the sound adjustments i had to buy an extra processor to get the 4 volt preouts and sound adjustments. The only reason i would consider another alpine is that i already have everything in the alpine so it would just plug up and work.

 

Now the z130bt couple of things with that one from the few i've installed the ipod use to get on my nerves with the updating vr catalog (which as i recall the voice control didn't work to well on my z1). I read in the manual that can be turned off. I would like to know how the navigation is as far as accuracy. I remember on my old z that thing would tell me i've arrived at my destination and i'm still like a block or two away. The only other hold up with me getting a z130 would be if you look at pioneers update cycle going back to the first n series it was n1, n2, n3 (n4 Probably doesn't count as that was more of an update with the maps) moving on the d1, d2, d3, z1, z2, z3 etc. With that being said this is the 3rd in the z100 series so one of my concerns is that next year there's a new one out not just a software upgrade but a full on hardware change (With that said i know their announced in january and usually released between march and june).

 

Lastly brings us to the kenwood. First ill say i cant believe im considering the kenwood as having played with them @ work their incredibly slow from the load up time (Average 30secs) to even just doing everyday stuff changing sources tracks etc. The sound processing outputs never impressed me on the kenwood but not a problem as ive got external amps to handle all that as well as high end speakers in there now. The Nav on the kenwood is a garmin which means it has good backend support (Map update) but i don't like how they have advertisements on there. I haven't seen the traffic on there so i don't know how it is let alone i've yet to see anyone rate the traffic tuner with the z130bt. 2 Things that i like about the kenwood which is why it's even on my list is 1 the reverse tilt. My radio sits kinda high in the dash at an angle so that would help with viewing it and 2 it has 2 usb ports on it. i always questioned that feature, but i find myself with an iphone and a droid so having both plugged up at the same time does sound appealing but not necessarily a deal maker right there. So there you have it. Any advice or recommendations on any of those unit would be greatly appreciated. Price is really not a factor so take that out the equation. I just want the best. Thanks.