Well i went to circuit city with a DVD, DVD-R MP3 loaded, and a CD burned with regualar music.
I tried it on the Jenson 9511TS, the Sony XAV-A1 and the Pioneer 5700.
The Jenson. The screen did not work well with the DVD. Garbled and slow playback several times. It did play the MP3 DVD which was nice but the screen seemed non responsive most of the time.
The Pioneer. Played everything but the DVD MP3. Said it was a bad disk. Menus and options kinda boring.
The Sony. Played everything but the DVD MP3. I guess who needs that anyways when i have a 60gb IPOD. The menus were very intuitive and fast. Let me list the songs and touch on a specific song. It seemed to be the best.
ehhh I don't think you're getting the fullest of the results at the store. Just think about how many people have messed with the screens and stuff. After a month of customers messin with it, its bound to stop working so well. Personally I think stores such as circuitcity and bestbuy rip you off. Crutchfield.com is a very good site, cardomain is pretty good.
I'm not sure which one you would be happier with, because I have still yet to receive my jensen. I was just trying to show you that you could save some money by ordering online. Crutchfield gives you installation kits, wiring harnesses for your specific car, and instructions for free. Their customer service is amazing.
but wat exactly are you looking for? Depends on if you think you really need a tv tuner or not. Those can add up the price. For my self all I need is a dvd/cd/mp3 player. So I chose the jensen because the reviews on the dual were bad.
you certainly did the right thing in actually going out and testing the different options and it sounds like you made the right choice for you as the Sony offered you the best interface which is an under-appreciated aspect of choosing the right unit. Michael does make a good point in that in store models often don't represent the best quality of the units since they tend to get beat on pretty bad but from the results you mentioned, it sounds like you made the right call of the three. While I swore off Sony products years ago, I've been told that their newer models stack up pretty well while the Jensen screens have been pretty hit or miss from what I hear. I still don't think the newer Kenwood screens (kvt-617, 717, 817) get enough attention, but that's just me. And Michael's other point about saving a lot of money by buying online is true, though Crutchfield wouldn't be my first choice for an online retailer since they tend to be on par with retail stores in terms of pricing. They do offer some of the best service and research matierials on the web though. I got my screen brand new from ebay and installed it myself and saved about $400.
well i'm not sure now as i just found out that the sony does not have the IPOD interface. I specifically asked the guys at the store that it was important.
The sony is out now.
The pioneer 5700 you can only use either the IPOD or XM... as there is only one port according to the installer. bummer.
So it's the Jensen 9511TS for me. Wish me good luck as it's probably going to get installed this saturday or monday.
I now i can get the units cheaper by ordering them on line, but i'm an older guy that can't bend as much as i could when i was younger and have to rely on someone to install everything. I don't mind paying a little more for a good product. The other thing that the installer at CC told me is any of these units won't last more than 1 year.???? what???
Saying they won't last more than a year is probably selling them all a bit short, but Jensen certainly has longevity issues and the older Sony products didn't last well at all. I've had nothing but good luck with Pioneer but I've never used their screens. It was probably just an offhand comment, but be aware that you really are going to get what you pay for.
Also be aware that a lot of install bays will now put in equipment even if it wasn't purchased at the store, it just depends on the particular store. So if you wanted to ask if they'll do that and then buy from somewhere else it might be worth it.