Clarion cz702 vs Clarion cz505

[MmatsDude 10+ year member]

Cannot deside witch head unit to buy

They both are at the same price range

Any advice you guys can give me as to witch is the better option would be great

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[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Since I own the CZ702 (its in my other ride) I can say that's the best one out of the two simply because it has way more features and tuning options available. Got if for 120 bucks new from Ebay. I see them for about 150, and starting to become hard to get because of it's discontinuation.

 

[MmatsDude 10+ year member]

Since I own the CZ702 (its in my other ride) I can say that's the best one out of the two simply because it has way more features and tuning options available. Got if for 120 bucks new from Ebay. I see them for about 150, and starting to become hard to get because of it's discontinuation.

I was also looking at the alpine cde 151 it’s going for 100 bucks on eBay.

I was thinking of pairing the head unit with the clarion equalizer eqs 755 for its better signal pre out voltage capabilities

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

I was also looking at the alpine cde 151 it’s going for 100 bucks on eBay.
I was thinking of pairing the head unit with the clarion equalizer eqs 755 for its better signal pre out voltage capabilities

Dont put in a clarion EQ, you will just compromise the signal. Keep the signal line minimal, Higher pre-out voltages wont net you any sound quality or loudness at all if your head unit already does a 4 volt pre-out. The clarion EQ also doesnt help the sound at all, causes far more sound issues than it solves. Cuts all frequencies, doesn't target the frequency you want but kills off the details because it affects the frequencies around it too much. The head unit EQ is WAAAAAY superior than that clarion garbage.

This head unit blows everything you've mentioned out of the water audiofeatures and SQ wise, 13 band EQ, 24 bit dac, time alignment, 4 volt pre-out, NETWORK mode. clarion only has a 5 band EQ, ewww. I've tried both the clarion and this head unit and this head unit outright sh*ts on the clarion. That alpine you listed is junk with zero audio tuning features. those particular clarion and alpine models are both outright horrible buys compared to today's head unit standards.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-aiOkx8pxtQg/p_105KDX340B/JVC-KD-X340BTS.html

PS this is not JVC's unit its actually kenwood based so expect kenwood quality.

 

[MmatsDude 10+ year member]

Dont put in a clarion EQ, you will just compromise the signal. Keep the signal line minimal, Higher pre-out voltages wont net you any sound quality or loudness at all if your head unit already does a 4 volt pre-out. The clarion EQ also doesnt help the sound at all, causes far more sound issues than it solves. Cuts all frequencies, doesn't target the frequency you want but kills off the details because it affects the frequencies around it too much. The head unit EQ is WAAAAAY superior than that clarion garbage.
This head unit blows everything you've mentioned out of the water audiofeatures and SQ wise, 13 band EQ, 24 bit dac, time alignment, 4 volt pre-out, NETWORK mode. clarion only has a 5 band EQ, ewww. I've tried both the clarion and this head unit and this head unit outright sh*ts on the clarion. That alpine you listed is junk with zero audio tuning features. those particular clarion and alpine models are both outright horrible buys compared to today's head unit standards.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-aiOkx8pxtQg/p_105KDX340B/JVC-KD-X340BTS.html

PS this is not JVC's unit its actually kenwood based so expect kenwood quality.

How about alpines most recent flag ship model the alpine cde-hd149bt I could get it for 200 bucks at a local dealer seems pretty neat for all the feautures it has

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

How about alpines most recent flag ship model the alpine cde-hd149bt I could get it for 200 bucks at a local dealer seems pretty neat for all the feautures it has

depends what kind of front stage setup you want to do. That alpine is not active capable. The 164bt is the only alpine capable of active networks.

200 is way overpriced for the 149bt it should be around 160 by now since its a super old model. New it was 180.

 

[MmatsDude 10+ year member]

depends what kind of front stage setup you want to do. That alpine is not active capable. The 164bt is the only alpine capable of active networks.
200 is way overpriced for the 149bt it should be around 160 by now since its a super old model. New it was 180.

The reason why I wanted to install an eq signal processor is because I want superb sound quality and more control over the sound spectrum.

That’s why I was leaning towards a cheap head unit and the zapco ASP-Q1 - Zapco 6-Channel Analog Signal Processor along with my zapco st4xp 4 channel amp. That zapco asp q1 looks promising for a nice sq set up. Any tweaks you would suggest for this set up? Or just do a nice head unit that’s costs around 200-300$? I’m really interested in trying out that zapco asp q1 though

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Jeff may have a better idea when it comes to HU nowadays. What he mentions is great idea's, and more more value too. With today's HU offering more features than ever, a separate EQ is unnecessary once you fine tune the sound you want.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

The reason why I wanted to install an eq signal processor is because I want superb sound quality and more control over the sound spectrum.
That’s why I was leaning towards a cheap head unit and the zapco ASP-Q1 - Zapco 6-Channel Analog Signal Processor along with my zapco st4xp 4 channel amp. That zapco asp q1 looks promising for a nice sq set up. Any tweaks you would suggest for this set up? Or just do a nice head unit that’s costs around 200-300$? I’m really interested in trying out that zapco asp q1 though

you want a digital sound processor instead if you want superb sound quality. Stop looking at dinosaur equipment. lol. The JVC I mentioned does all the superior tuning over the whole sound spectrum then anything you've listed especially that weak analogue signal processor and clarion EQ. Those things belongs in a museum. Literally the head unit i listed has MORE EQ bands, Q factor, Network mode and slope adjustments, time correction and everything anyone needing superior SQ needs. You really need to know what all those does because you are looking at way inferior options right now. Head unit technology has advanced that much in 2017 bud. You are kinda stuck in 2012.

The next step up is a A pioneer 80 prs. the next step up after that is a digital sound processor which has 31 bands of parametric EQ. however thats the deep end of the pool where you'll need a real time analyzer(RTA) to tune the setup.

Again are you running an active setup in network mode or are you just slapping a pair of components on an amp?