Hello all I know this has been discussed on more than 1 occasion but I do want to get all my information in 1 place before I pull the trigger on a new head unit. I’m torn between the d3 and z2 and here is what I gathered so far. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Avic-Z2

Pros:

Wider screen

Dual Zones

Text to Speech

Voice Commands

Hard drive Navigation

10gb Music storage

Cons:

No illumination choices

Slow ipod controls

Price

No ipod video

Avic-D3

Pro's

Illumination choices

Good ipod control w/video

Price

Cons:

smaller screen

no dual zones

no text to speech

no voice commands

disc based navigation

A couple of questions I do have:

Does the z2 have more POI's being that its 20gb of info compared to the d3's 9.6gb disc?

About the Z2's voice commands; for example can I say radio and the unit changes to the radio and say ipod and the unit changes to the ipod? How intuitive is the voice commands? Can I use them to select playlists, tracks, POI's, etc? What exactly will voice commands get me?

About text to speech; If I understand correctly with this feature the z2 will say for example "Turn left on Broadway street" while the d3 will say turn left (the d3 doesn't say street names or POI's)

How well is the speech relayed to me. I have a system in my car now (6 channel amp, 2 10" subs mids, tweets, etc) If I’m blaring my tunes while getting directions does it attenuate the music to give me the direction or do i have to turn my music down to hear the next step?

Thanks for all your help and I hope to contribute well to this forum once I make a decision!

i currently work at best buy and we have the d3 on display. I also have the Z2 in my car. I love the z2, the quality of the screen is much better then the d3.

The ipod interface although doesnt do video. I feel it is better than the d3. It is jus a lil bit slower but looks 10times better.

And as for the voice command u have to first push the VC button on screen and depending on what screen u r on u can control it. If you are in nav mode you can push the VC button and set your destination via address book. I havnt tried inputing a address by voice yet. you cant do much for ipod via VC either but i dont use VC much anyway since there is too much road noise while driving. When i was parked at home, the VC worked beautifuly and with the Text to speech. It is like any other unit on the market. It doesn alright. depending on the street name. It may not get the pronunciation correctly. but it gets the job done

Don't forget with the new ipods, the video out of the dock connector has been disabled (Fuck you apple) so if you hav a new ipod and video is the deciding factor then well it's gonna be the same for either the d3 or z2.

Thanks for your reply.

As far as the ipod is concerned I use playlists mostly so I dont think speed is going to be much of a factor. I have seen screenshots of the ipod control for the d3 but not the z2 - If anyone has screenshots that would be great.

The price is not much of an issue for me as is the functionality of the unit. Im leaning towards the z2 for the voice command factor and text to speech however, I dont want to be frustrated with slow ipod controls and unresposive voice commands

What is leaning me towards the d3 is video from ipod (I have a few music videos on my ipod) and good ipod control. If what you say is true about the ipod interface on the z2 being better looking and its not that much of a hassle then I might get the z2.

Edit (prev post): - my ipod is a 5g 160gb classic - i suppose I cant send video to the d3 via dock connection. It appears the z2 is becoming more appealing.....

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So does the z2 have more POI's?

How well is the speech relayed to me. I have a system in my car now (6 channel amp, 2 10" subs mids, tweets, etc) If I’m blaring my tunes while getting directions does it attenuate the music to give me the direction or do i have to turn my music down to hear the next step?

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any other persuasive arguments either way?

Either system can be setup to mute the sound system while giving directions.

Bet that helps you decide not at all

!Warning! Thread hijack below,

Out of curiousity do you HAVE to mount the mic? I really hate voice commanding (don't try and change my mind, I don't like it and won't use it) but I don't want an alert popping up every five minutes telling me I don't have it connected.

Thread hijack end.

I don't have the mic connected to my Z2. No warnings, but the AVIC will not display the VC icon.

I just want to say thanks to everyone that has helped me in the process of getting and setting up my new nav system. This has been a great resource with very friendly and helpful people. I decided to go with the avic-z2. Received the unit and installed it last night in the dark. What can I say im as impatient as a 2 year old . Everything is working great so far and I love the unit. Now I just have to hook up the Reverse lead and vss wire.

Thanks again everyone for all your help!