Clarion VZ300 3.5" In-Dash DVD/CD/MP3/USB Receiver Review

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(More customer reviews)The two main features I use in the car work great: the radio and the AUX in line (for streaming Pandora from my phone). I haven't had a chance to try out the USB input yet, but I did try the DVD functionality and it works great too, although it does require the use of the remote for navigation. Here are my thoughts so far:
PROS
* Great sound
* Easy changing of audio settings
* Nice large display for displaying radio settings while playing the radio
* DIM function cycles through three settings great for day, night, and off
* Installation instructions were easy enough for me to follow
* Detailed instruction on how to connect hand brake wire (although the kit doesn't appear to include the right sensor)
* Lots of audio options: AUX in and DVD worked without any problems
* UPDATE: USB music plays fast with little delay
* UPDATE: USB music picks up right where it left off when you turn power on
CONS
* Lots of wires which make for a difficult installation into a standard stereo space
* DVD control requires use of the remote
* Display does nothing when in AUX mode (a screensaver or something would have been nice, not sure if that's legal though)
* UPDATE: Turning on power button in the dark is a guess game
* UPDATE: Navigation of USB music using remote is not intuitive (i.e. I have to read the manual)
* UPDATE: Received a USB Bad after leaving stereo off overnight
The installation for me went pretty smoothly. As mentioned above, the plethera of wires made sliding the stereo into place a pain. In order to get it to work, I had to pull out the DIN below the stereo and guide the wires down into the space below. Overall, I thought the installation instructions were good. They had the three most important items which are a step to remind you to disconnect the negative from the car battery, a diagram of the overall way the stereo is installed into a dash, and a wiring diagram. With those three I was able to do a standard installation (i.e. four speakers and the radio antenna) without any issues. By the way, this stereo was the first stereo I've ever installed.
By the way, another reviewer mentioned the audio would stop when they went into the settings. That may be true for USB audio or CD/DVD playback, but for radio and AUX in, the audio kept playing no matter what I did unless I hit the power button to mute.
UPDATE: USB functionality works great. You plug in a drive and it starts at the first song it finds. When you turn the power off and back on, it picks right up at the last part of the song you were listening to when powering off the stereo. I did receive a USB Bad error when turning the car on this morning, unplugging and replugging the USB in fixed the issue and it picked up at the last song it was playing. I haven't figured out all the details on navigating through the songs just yet, but with the remote it looks like you can search via artist, album, song title, etc. As the driver though, I'm expecting I won't be able to do much better than using the forward and reverse buttons (and the preview seek button) to navigate the music. Because of that, I grabbed some old 512 MB and 1 GB drives which I'm putting together different "mixes" that I can update at will and plug in as my mood changes.

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An affordable way to add multimedia to your vehicle, Clarion's VZ300 is anything but basic. It features a vibrant 3.5-inch LCD monitor, front panel USB input and iPod video playback (optional CCUIPOD3), an auxiliary input, and plenty more. The VZ300 is also HD Radio and Satellite Radio Ready if you choose to expand, and offers rear video zone entertainment. 40 Watts through four channels is a good start, but the VZ300 also features three sets of RCA preamp outputs, so you can build up anytime.

Enjoy a Wide Variety of Media The built-in optical disc drive is compatible with DVD-Video, DVD+R/RW, DVD-RW/RW, CD-DA, HDCD, CD-R and CD-RW, so you're assured access to a wide variety of visual and musical entertainment.
3.5-inch LCD Screen The 3.5-inch LCD displays operational status of your iPod, CD and DVD playback, radio functions and more. It offers maximum usability within minimum dimensions.
iPod Playback Just connect your iPod using the optional CCUIPOD3 cable to control your iPod from the source unit.
Front USB Input Front USB input is included. This is really convenient and just attach your USB Memory stick and USB Memory and enjoy your favorite music library.
Front Auxiliary Input Enjoy music from external devices such as MP3 players with this handy front-panel input.
HD Radio Ready Connecting the THD300 lets you enjoy listening to digitally broadcast radio programs with all their superior quality and helpful information.
Rear Vision Camera RCA Input VZ300 is equipped with an RCA type video input that accepts video signals from Clarion's rear vision CCD camera. This enhances safety by automatically displaying a live picture of what's behind you on VZ300's LCD screen whenever you shift into reverse, enabling you to avoid hitting objects even if they're not clearly visible in the rear-view mirror.
24-bit D/A Converter for Superb Sound Reproduction Fully enjoy the sonic impact of DVD movie soundtracks or music videos. 24-bit technology actually oversamples the digital signal, providing excellent results that just weren't possible with older 16-bit systems.
Built-in Low-Pass Filter For optimal subwoofer performance, Clarion equips its VZ300 with a built-in Low-Pass Filter. Offering users selectable frequencies at 50Hz, 80z, and 120Hz, Clarion's Low-Pass Filter stops mid- and high-range frequencies from entering the subwoofer output. This allows users to really dial in the bass so it hits harder and tighter.
XM Radio Compatible In addition to the many sources that can be connected to the VZ300, you can be connected with XM Radio. The VZ300 can be connected to the XM Direct 2 tuner for hours of entertainment.
6ch/2V RCA Output with Subwoofer Control With 3 sets of RCA outputs, you are free to add external power amplifiers to create a more powerful, sophisticated audio system. Also, independent volume control is enabled for the subwoofer so you can adjust the level of bass output to your liking at any time, regardless of the output level of the other channels.
What's in the Box VZ300 Receiver, Remote Control, Installation Hardware, User's Manual

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Dual XML8100 AM/FM Mechless Receiver with iPod Dock, BT Ready, SWI, iPlug, Remote (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)Most of the features of this unit are thoughtful and work well. When the face is closed, you have access to all the unit controls. Additionally, the front face swings open to present an iPod dock and a second set of controls that handle most of the unit's functions. The iPod dock is nice and sturdy; my iPod Classic fits in it better than it does inside a Bose Sounddock. It has an aux input and programmable subwoofer/rear output, as well as a spare preamp output.
The EQ settings are not as detailed as I would like, but they aren't bad. There's bass and treble settings, no mid. There is also no built-in crossover, which I would prefer to see in any head unit with a dedicated subwoofer out, but again, for the price, this is to be expected.
The big fault, however, is in the programming.
One of the nice touches on this device is that you can set the EQ separately for each input - radio, aux, iPod, or bluetooth. However, unless an iPod is set in the dock, the iPod mode does not appear in the audio settings menu, so you can't adjust the EQ for it that way. And the kicker? When an iPod IS docked, there is no way to access the audio settings menu; the only button for that is on the front panel, which does not function when the faceplate is open to allow an iPod to dock. Effectively, it is impossible to adjust the EQ for the iPod, with the factory radio.
I've figured out one workaround; if you purchase a dock-extender cable, you can plug in an iPod, and then close the front panel. Alternatively, you can set your iPod into the dock, then plug the aux cable into it and basically use it in aux mode - you'll have the ability to change the EQ, and your iPod will stay charged, however you won't be able to use the remote to control the iPod.
EDIT Added 2/20/11: As many commenters have now pointed out, you can adjust the EQ using the remote control when the iPod is docked. Press the Audio Settings button on the remote to cycle through each EQ setting, and use the volume buttons to adjust that setting up and down. I still consider this a crappy solution to a problem that should have been caught in testing, but I also consider it way too minor for me to buy a different head unit. I still like this one quite a lot, more than a year after first installing it.


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Dual Electronics 200-watt mechless AM/FM in-dash Docking Station for iPod and iPhone devices. Securely dock your iPhone or iPod in the dashboard of your car, enjoy the convenience of a \'control center" that is right in front of you for easy and quick access from arm\'s length and switch easily and safely from iPod to AM/FM mode and the touch of a finger.If you own an iPod touch or an iPhone, you can now safely enjoy all the cool apps in the car - from listening to Internet radio through car speakers while navigating to a destination and exploring an area for places of interest, to locating the best deal on gas, checking movie schedules in the nearest theaters and finding a restaurant for dinner. You don\'t need a separate windshield mount, and you won\'t drain your batteries. And if you just want to listen to your favorite tunes or audio books from your iPod player, the Docking Station lets you do so safely and easily. It provides a \'home" for your iPod in your car, and you can browse your playlists and choose music directly from your iPod menu using the familiar iPod scroll wheel.So check your CDs at the door, as only iPods and iPhones need apply. Stay tuned for news about upcoming accessories for the Docking Station such as apps, a GPS Receiver and a Memory Storage Module with arecording feature that allows you to record music you are listening to on the radio.

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Maxell CD-AUTO Automobile CD Lens Cleaner Review

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(More customer reviews)These brush cleaner CD's do work, believe it or not. Perhaps not quite the same as having your system professionally serviced, but why waste more money than you may have to. This is a worthy investment to look into first - because these do work most of the time (and it's always a good idea to have one for continued preventative maintenance anyway). If you're getting play errors or severe skipping of your CD's, you might be amazed at how much one of these can help.
But here's a few tips for those of you making audio CD's on their home computers and having trouble playing them on some machines... It may not be a defective or dirty player at all.
First, it may be best to turn off any other programs you may have running in the background. This will give your CD burner full resources to do its burning job. Also, make sure your screensaver is turned off. If it starts up in the middle of a job, the laser burn may be interrupted and cause errors. So shut down all other programs and the screensaver too.
Second, it may do you well to defrag your hard drive before starting a burn. If you have a pretty fast PC, this may not be a big problem, but it may adversely affect the read data process if your computer has to search all over the hard drive to find pieces of the media files before burning them on the disk. I personally have an auto defrag program installed on my computer that runs constantly keeping my system running at its optimum.
Third, I recommend NOT copying CD's "on the fly" (in other words, directly from disk to disk). Copy the audio files to your hard drive first. Most CD burning software have a "create image" option - use that and then burn the image to a blank CD. If your using Nero, just turn off the "on the fly" option and the music files will copy to the hard disk first and then to the CD automatically. By-the-way, you may want to read my review on Amazon about Nero. It is, in my opinion, the best burning software available! Since I started using Nero, I do not know the meaning of the word "coaster" or "frisbee."
Fourth, ALWAYS burn CD's in DAO mode (Disc At Once). This will insure there is no gap between songs(TAO - Track At Once - usually leaves a 2 second gap between songs and causes the laser to have to stop burning momentarily between songs), but more importantly, using DAO will insure that the laser continues to burn constantly throughout the whole CD copying process.
Finally, and most importantly (in my opinion), make sure you don't burn CD's at anything faster than 12x! In fact, if you're playing CD's on an older system, burn the CD at 8x or even slower. If you still have trouble, take the speed all the way down to 1 or 2x. It can make a big difference. Yes, I know it means you won't be using the full potential of your zippy 52x burner, but you just have to figure out what is more important - fast burning or being able to actually listen to what your burning?
Most newer CD players have very little or no problem at all playing CD's burned on a computer at the highest speed; however, this is not often the case with much older units. As a general rule it is always better to burn audio disks slower.
You may also want to make sure you're using Audio CD certified media. That may help a little bit too. The brand of media may be a factor also. Sometimes the cheaper CD's may have a higher failure rate. I've heard this from some people. Personally, I have not had too much trouble with cheaper CD's... Usually, if the steps I have already mentioned are followed, cheap media will work fine. That has been my experience anyway. But different burners may be a factor as well and you may want to try some different brands of media until you find one that seems to work best for you. Using quality name brand media is probably a safe bet and may be your best course of action.
Good luck! :)

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Maxell Auto Only CD Lens Cleaner 190055 Cleaning Kits

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