Best indash navigation?

I was kinda in the same boat as you. I was looking into the Kenwood DNX7100, Pioneer AVIC-Z2, Eclipse AVN7000, and Eclipse AVN5495. The Kenwood I didnt look much into for some reason, but the Pioneer I really liked, until I read about bypassing it which there is no complete way to do. There are backdoors so to speak, basically bypassing this unit thus far is a hassle. Also it only has a 3 band EQ. Then there is the 5495 and 7000 from Eclipse. The 7000 is a single din with a 20 GB hard drive for the maps while the 5495 is a double din with 30 GB (10 GB is for music with the Juke Box feature). The juke box allows you to put in a CD and it records the tracks to the hard drive. BUT, it has to be an audio CD, not an MP3 CD or DVD and you have to listen to the entire song since it records in real time. You can do the same with radio. The 7000 has a 7 band EQ and the 5495 has a 9 band EQ. Bypassing is as simple as grounding the parking wire. I myself am gonna go with the 7000 even though I can fit a double din. I'm just getting a good deal on it and it is cheaper for me than the 5495. Whatever route you go with, and if you're interested let me know. The guy I know has great prices on the new stuff with warranties. I dont wanna post dump or advertise so I'll leave it at that in case you are interested. I'll be ordering my Eclipse and getting it probably within the next 2 months. I was really gonna go with the Pioneer, but like I said, that was till I found out about the EQ. I have an Eclipse AV8132 (dvd unit, non-navi) and it has a 9 band EQ and for me, I find it very useful. I honestly think the Eclipse makes some awesome decks and if you want quality for sound and tuning, go with Eclipse. Some of the places I found more info are on these units were the Circuit City website, Crutchfield, and the manufacturer webpages. Reading some of the reviews on the CC and Crutchfield website were also useful. Hopefully this information is helpful to you. If you have any questions please feel free to send me a PM.

 
Are you looking for anything specific as far as features or just nav/dvd? I absolutely love my eclipse 6610 so i am biased towards that, but i know kenwood and pioneer have some good options, and alpine is always good.

 
Where can I see pics of these installed?
Also, what are the benefits of an indash navigation unit over like a Garmin?
Bigger screen and cleaner look are really the only two benifits imo. If your looking for the best possible nav, honestly a portable is the way to go imo. You have the ability to move it from car to car, better voice commands imo, USUALLY more pois, updated easier(new discs for in dash units are typically 300-400 dollars). Just depends on what your looking for.

 
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heres a few pics of the 6600 when i had it, I havent taken any of the 6610 yet but i will later and post em up

 
Niiiiice, alright then, I think I'll look more towards Eclipse and Pioneer. I had just heard from some people on avic411, that Eclipse doesn't show all of the roads on the map, and that their navigation interface looks a bit dated. The thing that I don't like about the Pioneers, is the fact that you can't bypass it to play a DVD while driving. Not that I'd watch it, but if it's a long trip and my passenger gets bored, I'd like to know I could put one in.

 
Niiiiice, alright then, I think I'll look more towards Eclipse and Pioneer. I had just heard from some people on avic411, that Eclipse doesn't show all of the roads on the map, and that their navigation interface looks a bit dated. The thing that I don't like about the Pioneers, is the fact that you can't bypass it to play a DVD while driving. Not that I'd watch it, but if it's a long trip and my passenger gets bored, I'd like to know I could put one in.
You can bypass the pioneers, its just a bit more involved. I will tell you also that going from eclipses 2.1( i think) disc to the 3.0 which is what came with my 6610 is like a night and day difference. I have yet to encounter a road that the eclipse didnt show. Not to mention the new disc as something like 8.5 million pois, vs the i think 4 million the old disc had. Dont get me wrong i like the z1 it is a GREAT looking unit and many people love it, i just prefer the simplicity of the eclipse to the z1. As a matter of fact i went into a local shop today and played around with the z1 and the lag that it had still bugged me a good deal. I would definately try and actually play with both of the units before you buy, because the lag that the z1 has would drive me nuts, especially going through my ipod. Im sure youll be happy either way though:)

 
Just to show you a comparison, this is a pic of the avn 6600(with the old disc) and the 6610(new disc). Both of the pics were taken at my house, so you can see the difference in detail just in my neighborhood. The top is the 6600 and bottom is 6610, sorry for the crappy pictures but you can still get an idea. And those are both at 300 feet. The old disc was missing some roads, especially when you get into neighborhoods and subdivisions. The new one is right on though.

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Would you recommend the 6610 over the 5495?
Personally yes. I mean it is a more expensive unit, and for what? I looked at getting a unit with a harddrive but my ipod can hold more music than what that harddrive could, plus its easier to load music on an ipod than onto a harddrive. The ONLY thing i wish the 6610 had that the 5495 does, is the ability to search using the points of interest category. Its not a huge deal, but it would be nice to have. Other than that there is nothing i would change about the 6610. And even though it doesnt sound like much, the 7 inch screen is really nice to have compared to the 6.5 inch for the nav, movies and ps2. Do you have anywhere you can go look at some units?

 
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