So is it worth the money?

[mj2351]

I am ready to pull the trigger on this but I want to make sure I won't regret spending this much money on a radio.......... I just need some final assurances on how sweet this radio is by some people who already have it.

Does anybody regret the purchase or once it's in you forgot about how much it cost....?

[ducatiboy]

Well, it's expensive. And there are some limitations. I think the biggest limitations are that things are locked out in motion and no ability to easily copy MP3's from your home collection to your hard drive in the Z1.

But the first is fixable by flashing your lights when you start the car. Or you can buy a couple PAC TR7's or one of my custom circuits to fix that.

And Pulp Fiction (and a few others) are working hard to see how to access the hard drive.

And there are other issues as well, not the best bluetooth implimentation, slow ipod access, I found the navigation of the menus not very intiutive (but after a few days you get used to it).

Overall I'm glad I got this over the Alpine and Eclipse units I was going to get.

I replaced the 4 speakers in my truck with some boston acoustics and kept the amp with sub. And with the digital signal processing of this radio I think it sounds really really good. I hated to spend all this money on it, but I'm happy I have it. My only regret is that I wasted $250 on a backup camera, which after the first couple times seeing what's behind me, the excitement wore off and it wasn't worth $250 in my opinion.

[Guest]

To me, it's definitely worth it. Much better than the Alpine, Kenwood and Eclipse units on the market that are right in the same ballpark price-wise. It's also better than the factory NAV system in my Lexus SUV. It's got so many 8) features that I haven't really even figured out how to work everything yet. I'd easily recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great aftermarket NAV/entertainment system.

[ImolaVirus]

I'll second what "Guest" said. It's a great NAV system, and a cool unit all the way around. I really believe that it's better than the Eclipse and Alpine units, & how cool is it that you can watch movies in your car....just not while you're driving, please.

[Guest guest]

First of all, this is just my personal opinion, the best nav out there is Alpine OEM in Acura, the next best thing would be Alpine after market especially if you can get the new one with HD radio (not available in most shops yet). TeleAtlas may rule in Europe, but in North America, you cannot get more accurate maps than Navteq (Alpine uses Navteq and Pioneer uses TeleAtlas). If I can get Alpine to fit in my car and can wait another month or two, I would definitely get Alpine. I got the Pioneer, which is still nice, but it's soley because I cannot wait for the new Alpine double din.

[Snake]

[quote name="guest"] I got the Pioneer, which is still nice, but it's soley because I cannot wait for the new Alpine double din.[/quote]

What's the model for the new double din from Alpine?

[ducatiboy]

[quote name="Snake"] [quote name="guest"] I got the Pioneer, which is still nice, but it's soley because I cannot wait for the new Alpine double din.[/quote]

What's the model for the new double din from Alpine?[/quote]

I believe it's the IVA-W200 and it looks real nice, but the nav system is not built in so you need to spend even more than the Z1 costs to have nav too and there are seperate units.
[url=http://www.alpine-usa.com/en/products/product.php?model=IVA-W200&lang=en&tab=F]http://www.alpine-usa.com/en/products/p ... g=en&tab=F[/url]

[HeavenSoldier]

[quote name="guest"]First of all, this is just my personal opinion, the best nav out there is Alpine OEM in Acura, the next best thing would be Alpine after market especially if you can get the new one with HD radio (not available in most shops yet). TeleAtlas may rule in Europe, but in North America, you cannot get more accurate maps than Navteq (Alpine uses Navteq and Pioneer uses TeleAtlas). If I can get Alpine to fit in my car and can wait another month or two, I would definitely get Alpine. I got the Pioneer, which is still nice, but it's soley because I cannot wait for the new Alpine double din.[/quote]

The AVIC-S1 usues Navteq so maybe pioneer is switching to Navteq for newer models?

[Guest]

[quote name="ducatiboy"]I believe it's the IVA-W200 and it looks real nice, but the nav system is not built in so you need to spend even more than the Z1 costs to have nav too and there are seperate units.
[url=http://www.alpine-usa.com/en/products/product.php?model=IVA-W200&lang=en&tab=F]http://www.alpine-usa.com/en/products/p ... g=en&tab=F[/url][/quote]

You get what you pay for, the Alpine nav has more features and built from a fast processor with 12 channels. I can't imagine a nav does not let you route by Latitude and Longitude, that means you can really go off road with the Alpine but not the Pioneeer. It has quite a bit more routing options with the Alpine. I've seen package deal with other Alpine head units but I only like the double din. Having said that, nav is not my priority so the Pioneer is fine, though I would very much like to have HD radio.

[Guest]

The alpine double-din has been out nearly as long as the Z1. It looks awful in the dash of most cars because it sticks out so much. Seems like most would be disappointed that they spent more $$$ than a Z1 and still got an awkward looking unit with a seperate nav. Not to mention you would still be short all the hard drive based features, and Alpine's voice recognition is garbage when you look at the amount of things you can control vs. the Z1. The Z1 is definitely not perfect, but nothing else out there is close, yet. Maybe next year at CES, or maybe the Z2 will fix our gripes

[quote name="guest"]First of all, this is just my personal opinion, the best nav out there is Alpine OEM in Acura, the next best thing would be Alpine after market especially if you can get the new one with HD radio (not available in most shops yet). TeleAtlas may rule in Europe, but in North America, you cannot get more accurate maps than Navteq (Alpine uses Navteq and Pioneer uses TeleAtlas). If I can get Alpine to fit in my car and can wait another month or two, I would definitely get Alpine. I got the Pioneer, which is still nice, but it's soley because I cannot wait for the new Alpine double din.[/quote]

[HeavenSoldier]

[quote name="Anonymous"]The alpine double-din has been out nearly as long as the Z1. It looks awful in the dash of most cars because it sticks out so much. Seems like most would be disappointed that they spent more $$$ than a Z1 and still got an awkward looking unit with a seperate nav. Not to mention you would still be short all the hard drive based features, and Alpine's voice recognition is garbage when you look at the amount of things you can control vs. the Z1. The Z1 is definitely not perfect, but nothing else out there is close, yet. Maybe next year at CES, or maybe the Z2 will fix our gripes

[quote name="guest"]First of all, this is just my personal opinion, the best nav out there is Alpine OEM in Acura, the next best thing would be Alpine after market especially if you can get the new one with HD radio (not available in most shops yet). TeleAtlas may rule in Europe, but in North America, you cannot get more accurate maps than Navteq (Alpine uses Navteq and Pioneer uses TeleAtlas). If I can get Alpine to fit in my car and can wait another month or two, I would definitely get Alpine. I got the Pioneer, which is still nice, but it's soley because I cannot wait for the new Alpine double din.[/quote][/quote]

Also check here this is the navigation unit for alpine [url=http://www.crutchfield.com/S-sRgoloIfKNQ/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=182450&I=500NVEN872]http://www.crutchfield.com/S-sRgoloIfKN ... 500NVEN872[/url]

Not a lot of good reviews, someone said it pauses at junctions, thats unacceptable. Z1 should work out fine, I hope.

[stryfox]

I would buy the z1 again and I think it is a good unit.
That is of course untill the z2 comes out...lol