Hello Maxima.org members,

I've been lurking on the A/E forum as well as a few electronics sites tonight and I really want to get a double DIN deck to replace the BOSE headunit. I've already eliminated the Pioneer F-series and the D3, and I don't think I want to get a Kenwood.

I'm leaning more towards a Clarion or an Eclipse (AVN 5500 or 5510).

A couple of quick questions (tried searching):

Has anyone here used a Clarion MAX385/MAX685BT or anything similar from Clarion? Any positive/negatives to them? They look really sharp, the displays look good and according to some reviews the only gripes were button placement (minor).

And how about the Eclipse AVN-20D? Is that missing something critical that the 5500/5510 have? I couldn't find any reviews on it so some insight would really be helpful.

And in your opinion, is Eclipse > Clarion? Or is it the other way around?

Thanks,

Moncef

 

 

eclipse avn > everything else

 

How about the AVN-20D?

What's the difference between that and the AVN-5510?

These are two models I'm considering, but I'm not sure what the main differences are besides the price and screen size. Are the displays lower quality on the 20D? Does it play DVDs? Is it iPod ready still?

Help

EDIT: I'll probably be doing 5510. What's the diff between the 5500 and 5510? Are the displays pretty high resolution?

 

Eclipse > Clarion. I used to be a big fan of Clarion decks, they used to have great features and control layouts that I loved, but I've had to many durabilty issues with them to keep using them.

 

i would go with the pioneer avic-900fbt, but the jvc is nice also it comes with a detachable face which is an good for the safety of the system

 

the pioneer avic f900bt (or f90bt) just had a firmware update, which greatly improved 99% of the problems it had. So it's a pretty solid unit now, I'd say.

I have been looking at that and also the Kenwood DNX8120. I will probably get either one of these, but the hard time i'm having right now is to find an a/c control unit to put in the old bose stereo hole (a/c was on my stock nav)

 

Yeah, initially I was looking at the 700BT, since we carry it at Best Buy, I can get like a $200 discount on it.

But I jumped on AVIC411 and found it riddled with issues...and honestly I don't wanna risk it, Eclipse 5500/5510 is what I am looking for.

And it is still cheaper than the 700BT even with Best Buy's employee discount and works better than any deck on the AVIC line, except for maybe the four-figure pricetag Z series.

 

Just received the AVIC-D3 as a gift. Hope to install in a 2005 Maxima. Any information on what I'll need, i.e., double-din kit, wiring harness, etc. will be greatly appreciated.

 

i just installed my pioneer f90bt last night, love it!

 

Stay away from Clarion.........these damn things have given me countless headaches with cd's not spinning up, not ejecting, whole units just plain dieing, etc etc

 

Get the pioneer Z3 it will be the best double din for the price. It has a 30gb hard drive and you can put a cd in and it records it in the the player. you will never want to change to another cd player once you get this one. I think it is about $800 dollars but it was worth it.

 

Now you need to install the Red Light/ Speed Cam feature MOD that the guys over at Avic411 found. This is one of the features that makes the Pioneers better than the others IMO. Why Pioneer chose to hide this feature is a mystery to me.

 

Get the pioneer F-900, trust me you'll be satisfied. It has everything you need, just got a firmware update so it's response time is way quicker, bluetooth, msn direct which is great for traffic problems and weather, has everything you need. you can get on around where i live for probably $600-$650. If your interested let me know.

 

I finally got my f900bt installed. It went pretty much without a hitch, maybe a little hiccup. That was quickly resolved though. I didn't have to do any
by-passing of the "bose" sub or anything thing like that, just plug and play.

I used the Scosche adaptor and I must say that I don't quite like it. The color is slightly different and it is annoying the **** out of me. It's a nice tight fit, just the wrong color. I'm going to hit the salvage yards up and see if I can't find an OEM double din, along with some other parts I need (can you say blower motor?) I gotta have the clean install look, and I'm just not getting it with the Scosche. The wiring harness and antenna adaptor worked very well and the Tech guys at Scosche were very helpful with my little "hiccup" Kudos to them. I'll put some pics up.