Picking out my perfect double DIN?

[djeazie 10+ year member]

Avic D3 plays DVDs. I had 3 of them. I now have a DDX812. The D3 sucks compared to the Kenwood.

 

[ShiningBuick 10+ year member]

Can the Kenwood interface with steering wheel controls?

Also, how is the Eclipse AVN series? They look pretty good as well.. do they interface with steering wheel controls?

 

[Torgus 10+ year member]

avns are awesome but out of your price range. even used the cheapest will be around 600

 

[jluv 10+ year member]

The Alpine decks only dock the 2nd gen Blackbird. The combo is great. I'd recommend going with the 505 because it has a better, larger screen, and it has the USB connectivity you're looking for. The Blackbird does Bluetooth and comes with the mic and everything you need. Superb combo.

That head unit doesn't have any built-in processing, but you can do Imprint or run an H701.

This is starting to get way out of your original price range though.

 

[ShiningBuick 10+ year member]

Yea that Blackbird 2 is expensive!

What about the Alpine W200, with Blackbird/ Blackbird dock? From some research it looks like the PAC SWI-JACK will be compatible with it.. correct? And it'll only be about $100 above my price if I find people selling used it looks like.

 

[jluv 10+ year member]

I've had all of those combos. The 2nd gen Blackbird is leaps and bounds better than the first. I had constant problems with the first Blackbirds that came out.

The W200 was a great head unit. In fact, if you take away the ability to dock the Blackbird, the 200 was a better unit than the 205, imo, for two main reasons.

The W200 has a mute button. The W205 does not. I'm so glad they brought it back for the W505.

The W200, when matched up with the H701 and using the graphic EQ, displays an actual visual graph. Very cool. The 205 and 505 simply list the frequencies and values. Boring.

There are some other options now with the dockable navigation. If you don't want portability, you can get a cheaper alternative to the Blackbird. I don't know if it has Bluetooth, though.

 

[dcole18 5,000+ posts]

avns are awesome but out of your price range. even used the cheapest will be around 600

lies... i got my avn5435 for right at $400

and to the OP... i suggest you look into the panasonic strada

30 gig HD

navi

7 band Peq

5v pre outs

7" touch screen

goes for around $550-$600 new, alot less if you can find one used

 

[bamaboy 5,000+ posts]

eclipse needs to catch up with technology imo, sq is good but as far as everything else, just behind a little bit

panasonic quit making stuff for car stereo, so it might not be the best idea to go with a panasonic unit

kenwood and alpine unit are both great

 

[ShiningBuick 10+ year member]

There are some other options now with the dockable navigation. If you don't want portability, you can get a cheaper alternative to the Blackbird. I don't know if it has Bluetooth, though.

You mean a cheaper alternative for linking with the w200? I'm not so much in need of portability, I've got a Nuvi200 for that.. got more info on this?

 

[jluv 10+ year member]

You mean a cheaper alternative for linking with the w200? I'm not so much in need of portability, I've got a Nuvi200 for that.. got more info on this?

Well, I was referring to the NVE-P1...

http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=NVE-P1

But after reading more closely, it looks like it isn't compatible with the W205 for some reason. My bad.

There is another portable unit like the Blackbird that doesn't dock inside the head units, so you could use it with the W200, but not sure how it compares to the Blackbird.

http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=PND-K3

 

[drumman8524 10+ year member]

Normally id say either a pioneer or an eclipse and I know you guys might think in crazy, but this Dual XDVDN8290...is a great unit for the price...$499...100 dollars over what you wanted to spend, but this is brand new and has most of features you wanted...and the features this unit has are really extensive.....more than you would get with a pioneer or eclipse unit that cost 2 to 3 times as much....

has bluetooth, ipod controls, navigation with 10 million points of interest, sd card,

http://www.rickiesdiscountelectronics.com/dual-electronics-xdvd8290-car-multimedia-22116.html

Also you can read the reviews here at sonic electronix nothing but positive reviews from the people who have bought it

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_8447_Dual+XDVDN8290.html

Im not sure if you'd want that, but it seems to be worth the money from what ive read...and it has most of the features you wanted...

 

[5dollapizza 10+ year member]

i agree. buy the brand new dual unit. then when the touchscreen stops working three days after the warranty expires, buy the avn5435 that has already been suggested. you will not be disappointed.

 

[stl_style 10+ year member]

Yea that Blackbird 2 is expensive!
What about the Alpine W200, with Blackbird/ Blackbird dock? From some research it looks like the PAC SWI-JACK will be compatible with it.. correct? And it'll only be about $100 above my price if I find people selling used it looks like.

Not sure what the difference is between the blackbird I & II, but heres a link to a very reasonable blackbird. http://cgi.ebay.com/ALPINE-BLACKBIRD-PMD-B100T-PORTABLE-NAVIGATION-SYSTEM_W0QQitemZ300280447071QQihZ020QQcategoryZ156955QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1713.m153.l1262