stikillller

iTrader: (9)

how come the 55xx is more $$$ than the 6600???? anyone know? if the 6600 is the newest one, why are there other eclipse units that are more $$$~?

MBaran

iTrader: (2)

the 5495 is more than the 6600 cause it has a hard drive. but with 2 dvd slots on the 6600 i didnt think the HD unit was necessary. On the pricing list, the 6600 was 2nd in price to the 5495. The 5500 is priced the same as the 5435.

krazzyr

Payment sent please add me to the list! :P

zstryder

iTrader: (19)

Hm, Rich is MIA? hehe..

I went to read some reviews on the AVIC-Z1 and things seem to be mixed overall... for one thing,a lot of nav options/functions are disabled while you are driving. Plus, you can't copy MP3s directly from CD -> hard drive, you have to "rip" them from an audio CD at 4x. LAME. That effectively destroys almost any incentive of getting a HD based system, unless nav is significantly faster via HD vs through DVD. Anyone know if competing HD based systems behave the same? If they do, I might stick with a two disc system like the Eclipse 6600 of or the AVIC-D2..

For those of you that are getting 2-Din all in one systems, what is everyone planning on getting? Has anyone tried Alpine's IVA-W200 system?

NVMYEAGLE

I am going to go with either the Avic-z1 or the D2. My wife has Pioneer navigation in her car and the pioneer nav software is alot easier to use than any of the other ones I have used in other peoples cars or have bought. I say the Z1 because of the learning capabilities and the bluetooth technology. I used alot of navigation type units including the Army's multi-billion dollar setup and it has never done me wrong. My Evo will look good with the new Z1. Well hope he comes back soon to add me to the list. Just want to see my username on the list.

yellowEVO21

iTrader: (24)

Indeed, I was planning on selling my kenwood ddx7017 and upgrading to the z1, and I read some of the poor reviews and I think i might hold off and wait, at least until more people review the z1, or review the eclipse.

i just wish the screen on the 7017 wasn't so boring

cletus323

iTrader: (1)

I have the IVA-W200, what do you want to know? The iPod interface is awesome btw. My mp3 cd's are all going in the trash.

zstryder

iTrader: (19)

I did hear iPOd interface is great on the Alpine, but I'm not an iPod user so it's a bit moot for me. But how is everything else? Is the user interface snazzy? Is it quick? Do you have the optional nav and how has it been for you so far? My main concerns are difficult to use mp3 navigation and boring UI. Does it play DVDs as well?

cletus323

iTrader: (1)

That is what the typical display looks like although you can download a bunch of other cool backgrounds from alpines website. The unit is very fast and has the cool pulsetouch feature so you can tell when you have actually hit a button or not. The navigation is on order so I cant tell you anything about that, but they have a good flash demo of it up on the alpine website. It does play DVD's but like all alpines you have to buy a PAC TR-7 bypass module($20) so you can change settings or play dvds while in motion.

Here is a screenshot from the manual that shows how the search function works when playing an MP3 cd. It is basically exactly the same as the ipod navigation where it displays the folder level and lets you drill down and use a scroll bar to select the song/playlist. LINK

If I had a car to put it in at the moment I would show you in person since you are local, but alas

zstryder

iTrader: (19)

Cool, thanks for the info! I think I may end up choosing between this or the Z1.. aesthetically the Eclipse units just don't do it for me.

cletus323

iTrader: (1)

No prob!

Also I hope that everyone realizes that the bluetooth is not actually integrated into the Z1 but is an add on module (The ND-BT1) just like for the IVA-W200. The only part that is integrated is the voice recognition.

MBaran

iTrader: (2)

i ended up hooking up the 6600 last night to test all of the functionality. I mounted all of the antenna, the control boxes and its basically plug and play for my din kit. since the car will be in the shop for the next 3 weeks, no radio wont kill me.

the ipod nav is really nice on the eclipse, i can search by album, artist, track, playlist, etc, and it plays beautifully and it navigates rather quickly as well.

the nav was also spot on, and disabling the motion was as simple as grounding the parking brake line.

onesicklambo

iTrader: (8)

+1 got the same unit..its BAD. Only prob is to change the backgorund you only get whats on alpines website. By this i mean you cant d/l your own pic(ex. your evo) to the background

cletus323

iTrader: (1)

There is a guy working on it here.

So far the only personally created one was by some guy trying to screw with people, ie the wallpaper was the goatse

EvoG8r

iTrader: (31)

They had the Alpine screen at Best Buy. That pulse touch is pretty trick. I may need to order one. Anyone know where the best prices are for this Alpine? I just want the screen right now. I'll add navigation later.