Phendo Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Can anyone who has the unit comment on the quality (responsiveness, speed) of the voice control? Particularly, I am interested in controlling my iPod without hitting buttons while I'm driving. I'm considering switching from a Kenwood to the Z140BH. (I was hoping Kenwood would improve voice control for their units this year, and instead they did away with it completely.) Thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VBLUE42 Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 and instead they did away with it completely.) So did Pioneer. The 130 is your unit if you want VC. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Phendo Posted May 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 The Z140BH still has voice control for iPod and other functions (it's in the manual). You press the voice button and say "play playlist..." and such; this is what I was asking about. It does look like Pioneer did away with voice control for navigation. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VBLUE42 Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 As I understand it you can only use voice control for hands free calling but I could be wrong. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VBLUE42 Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Nope, looks like you are right. My mistake. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VBLUE42 Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 I know when I had my 120 it worked very well. So I would assume it still works at least that well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grimlock Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 It definitely has voice control, but it is useless in my Z06. I am guessing the exhaust is too loud or something. It never understands any commands I give it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LS3 MN6 Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 It definitely has voice control, but it is useless in my Z06. I am guessing the exhaust is too loud or something. It never understands any commands I give it. This is why I never tried the VC on my GTO either and why the loss of Nav VC on the 140 which I have in the Corvette didn't bother me. I don't think either would work well with my loud exhausts. When I make phone calls I have to close my windows and people still say they hear the car in the background. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grimlock Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 This is why I never tried the VC on my GTO either and why the loss of Nav VC on the 140 which I have in the Corvette didn't bother me. I don't think either would work well with my loud exhausts. When I make phone calls I have to close my windows and people still say they hear the car in the background. It only lost VC of POI searches and entering addresses I believe. So even if it did work in my car I don't think that the difference would be a big deal. The new maps would be more important. I can't imagine ever needing to do a VC POI search. I haven't done a single POI on my Z140 yet to begin with! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ABAvalanche Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 either way the VC seems to suck - the manual says you can still use VC for NAV but it does not seem to work, the VC in general seems like 1st generation stuff. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spender Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 I agree. I used to have a Z2 with Z3 firmware in my car, and it was better in every way. The Avic Z140BH is probably the worst consumer electronics product I have ever purchased. Pioneer obviously does not care about its customers if it releases half-finished garbage like this. Other than slighly better visuals, it is a downgrade in every possible way. I'm actually seriously considering getting my Z2 reinstalled, and just selling the Z140BH - at a loss. What a waste of money. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grimlock Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 I agree. I used to have a Z2 with Z3 firmware in my car, and it was better in every way. The Avic Z140BH is probably the worst consumer electronics product I have ever purchased. Pioneer obviously does not care about its customers if it releases half-finished garbage like this. Other than slighly better visuals, it is a downgrade in every possible way. I'm actually seriously considering getting my Z2 reinstalled, and just selling the Z140BH - at a loss. What a waste of money. If you are that unhappy, I don't know why you would want to keep the Z140. Personally I love mine, but I never owned an earlier version. And I honestly could care less about the loss of voice commands. It seemed like a silly gimmick to me. I would much rather have the better Nav that supposedly the Z140 has. But once again, I don't own an earlier model to compare it to. I hear the new Kenwood Navs are nice too, so maybe try them if you are that unhappy. Why did you even upgrade if you were happy with the Z2? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VBLUE42 Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 Personally I love mine, but I never owned an earlier version. Then you truly have no clue as to the garbage level of navi in this unit and quite frankly you are lucky you don't know. If you love it then you are the better off. I hear the new Kenwood Navs are nice too, so maybe try them if you are that unhappy. Like night and day difference. The Kenwood navi is far superior. Why did you even upgrade if you were happy with the Z2? Because it is natural to assume it would be a substantial upgrade. And when it comes to the AV side it is. But on the navi side, the new units are complete dogs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rocketvette Posted May 13, 2012 Report Share Posted May 13, 2012 This is why I never tried the VC on my GTO either and why the loss of Nav VC on the 140 which I have in the Corvette didn't bother me. I don't think either would work well with my loud exhausts. When I make phone calls I have to close my windows and people still say they hear the car in the background. The instructions indicate that Voice Navigation should work. However, I get nothing. Voice Command works on the other things? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LS3 MN6 Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Then you truly have no clue as to the garbage level of navi in this unit and quite frankly you are lucky you don't know. If you love it then you are the better off. Like night and day difference. The Kenwood navi is far superior. Because it is natural to assume it would be a substantial upgrade. And when it comes to the AV side it is. But on the navi side, the new units are complete dogs. Kenwood uses Garmin right? They make the best navigation so that's not a surprise. However the AV on the Kenwoods isn't as good as Pioneer. Second, the Navteq maps are quite good on the Z140BH. I can think of only Garmin systems being better, either stand alone or OEM. In regards to OEM solutions the Z140 is way better (With the exception as mentioned of OEM's using Garmin). I take it if you think the Z140 Nav is bad then 95% of OEM navigation must be atrocious to you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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