- 6.2-inch Digital WVGA Touch Panel LCD Monitor. CD/MP3/WMA/DVD Playback. Built-in Parrot Bluetooth Interface (HFP, HSP, OPP, A2DP, AVRCP, DUN, PBAP). Built-in Microphone and External Microphone Ready with Optional RCB199. 2- Audio/Video Inputs.
- 2-Zone Entertainment: Front and 7Rear Separate Source Control. Rear USB Port with iPod Direct Connect Capabilities. iPod Audio/Video Control with Optional CCA748 iPod Interface Cable. Rear Vision Camera Composite Video Input.
- Built-in SiRFprima GPS Receiver featuring TeleAtlas Mapping Coverage of US 50 States, Canada, and Puerto Rico on Preloaded Micro SD Card. 15 Million Points of Interest. Text to Speech for Street Announcements. Sirius Direct Connect Ready.
- HD Radio Ready with Optional THD400. 50 Watts x 4 Built-in Amplifier. 8-Channel / 4 Volt RCA Output (2-Channels Rear Zone). Subwoofer Volume Control. Built-in High and Low-Pass Filters. Magna Bass EX Dynamic Bass Enhancement.
- Beat EQ for Sound Adjustment. OEM Steering Wheel Remote Ready. Wireless Remote Control Included.
PROS
Gorgeous interface
Swiping / Scrolling is seamless
iPhone like usability
Comes with Sirius, BT, Nav, and iPod cables !
CONS
My issues are:
1) The Clarion advertised RCB199 external microphone does NOT work with the unit. This was confirmed by Clarion's technical support themselves. The gentleman on the phone said that an engineer is making a hardware change to fix the issue. Even so, it is unacceptable for Clarion to advertise this optional mic if it does NOT work with the unit. What were they thinking? I spent hours trying to figure out how to get it to work all to find out that they lied in the product description!
The internal BT mic picks up too much road noise on the highway and is unusable.
2) If you do not shut off the unit while on Sirius, then Sirius will NOT work when you turn on your unit (most of the time). You have to hold the power button down and reset the unit to reset Sirius. This is a major inconvenience. Clarion technical support said that "they are working on it" but it is "a problem with the Sirius tuner" and a software update "probably won't fix it." This is a major inconvenience.
3) My navigation antenna broke after 6 days. I pulled the cord out and it was not pinched or damaged in any way. Clarion offered to replace it (if I paid shipping) but this was my last straw and I decided to return the headunit. Why should I have to pay for shipping and send a part back if it's 6 days old?
4) Here and there, the iPod jitters and has a 1/2 second lag. It disrupts the song. This has been reported on other reviews. I have tried three iPod cable and another iPod with no success. It is most definitely a software error.
5) This headunit is BLUE. Absolutely everything is blue. For a retail price of $1,000, I should be able to adjust the color to match my dash. When the unit boots, the LEDs turn red so they actually used multi-color LEDs but didn't give us the option of changing them. In addition, you CANNOT change the wallpaper for iPod, Sirius, BT, etc. You can only change the source wallpaper which you are never on. Also, if you import a wallpaper and select a default wallpaper, you automatically lose you imported wallpaper forever. I called Clarion and they said no update is planned--Blue is here to stay.
6) Dimming works fine, but you cannot dim the buttons. At night the bright blue buttons are distracting and strains your eyes.
Minor issues:
It takes 4-5 clicks to change the subwoofer level. This is dangerous if you want to turn it down for a bass-intensive song while driving.
You cannot change the splash screen.
Nav is slow to start (music starts very quickly)
The previous model, the NX500, has no firmware updates so I doubt Clarion will fix these issues with their new model. I'm looking into a competing product (X930BT, NT3HDT, DDX series) and will never consider Clarion again. That is how disgusted I am with all of these issues.Originally posted on crutchfield but they won't let me edit it or update my comments.
I love this head unit. It sounds fantastic has all the options i wanted the navigation
features and speed alerts come in handy, I've had it installed for 3 weeks and Just really
got used to the menus. Would have gotten 5 stars except today the navigation function
wont load. i was out using the system it was finding all the places i needed to go
but on my 3rd stop of the day after i started my car the nav software loaded, asked
me for the language preference and when i selected English it proceeded to boot
then hung and rebooted the entire radio.
I have reset defaults, disconnected the power to try and reset no go. Everything else
still works only the navigation wont load. I am restoring my memory chip (made a backup)
hopefully it's just the chip (windows reported an issue when i plugged it in) if that
dose not work i will be calling clarion and square trade to see what's up.
Update
Restoring the original micro sd programing from the backup I made resolved the problem. The radio and navigation has worked flawlessly since then as long as I did not try to apply the updated map pack. Every time I tried updating the micro sd chip file system becomes corrupt. And I am unable to create a new backup and the nav function stops working again.
This unit seems to be very sensitive to usb thumb memory as well. It has been about 4 weeks since I resolved the navigation issue and after switching from a 8gb mushkin usb (exfat) thumb drive to a larger 16gb centon (fat32) data stick pro the unit reboots every 6 or 7 min min. It works fine with the 16gb chip disconnected or using my 8gb or 2gb lextor. I'm going to try formatting the chip to exfat and try a different stick maybe I got a bad one (I have 2)
Other issues. On power up the head unit misreads the usb drive contents and shows it as blank. Resulting in having to turn it off or select a different source then reselect usb audio to reset the file lists.
The random function only plays the files in the current folder randomly so unless you lump all your tracks in one folder you have to navigate to other albums manually As other users have noted navigating the menus while driving to select songs is somewhat buggy and takes a bit of practice, it would have been nice if the remote up down and left right toggles could navigate the folders. I used to do that with my previous clarion radio and the wireless wheel remote. Attached to my stick shift, But the remote won't do that.
updated, reboot issues were due to 2 defective usb keys, they have been replaced with a different brand and no issues. interface issues still remain after updating all firmware to latest versions. overall im very happy with the unit, if just still needs a bit of refinement.There were mixed reviews on this unit, but I've been pretty happy with it. It is more responsive and not quite as laggy as other units I've researched. The maps are decent, but not quite as detailed as I would like them to be. The startup time could be greatly improved in my opinion, but I have a remote start on my truck, so that tends not to be a problem for me.
The thing I absolutely hate the most is that when you are navigating somewhere, the music just cuts out, then you hear the voice guidance with the faint sound of your music in the background, then the music comes back on... then two seconds later, another prompt comes up in the same manner (if you are approaching a turn or exit). It wouldn't be nearly as bad if the music was mixed with the voice prompts in a better fashion.
If you buy this, be sure not to put anything on the SD card that came in the unit, you will then need to buy a new one from Clarion. You cannot, as far as I know, use your own SD card with loaded content (media/music), you would need to use a USB drive or iPod.
My iPod hooked up nicely, and the unit supports music out of the box through USB. You will need another adapter to get the iPod/iPhone video working.
The unit played DVD's fine, and while the DVD menus are not touch capable, controls will pop-up when you need them.
I have a steering wheel and OnStar adapter (Axxess) hooked up and they both work great. The radio lacks some common steering wheel input commands, but the basic functions are there.
I got the unit from Amazon as it was the cheapest place I could find. Shipping was quick and the product was problem free... so far.
I would recommend this unit to those that are looking for an alternative to the common Kenwood (slow), Sony (buggy) and Pioneer (crappy interface) units.The NX501 has been installed now for three weeks. I'm using the GPS, HDTuner and External Mic. I also installed the Steering Wheel Controls and a SW Relay.
Installation took about 3 hours in my 2008 Tacoma. Configuration of the settings was very straight forward. I'm streaming Pandora from my BlackBerry and also have a USB drive in the glove box loaded with 4 GB of audio.
Bluetooth for both audio and phone are very clear and syncing is very simple. It was worth every penny even though I only budgeted $400 originally for the head unit.
Audio is clear, it switches between functions seamlessly and the touch screen is very functional. There are two issues that I'm working on: 1) Nav audio seems muted even though the audio setting is turned up all the way and 2) The head unit dimmer doesn't seem to integrate with my truck even though there is a wire for dimming...
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I was so happy when I bought this. I snagged it for $630 and it was worth every penny. The UI is great, the feature list is deep, and the performance is stellar. The GPS is the best I've ever used, and that's coming from a Garmin Nuvi which I didn't think could get any better. The sound is incredible. My stock speakers in my Ford Explorer sounds so awesome now. I can only imagine what it would sound like if I had good speakers. If you buy one, make sure you get a new version. Major fixes to the problems that other reviewers have mentioned have been implemented.FIXES:
I bought this about 4 months ago when it first came out and the external mic from Clarion did not work with it. I had to send it in and they replaced it with a newer version. The external mix now works and it is perfect. I haven't had a complaint yet from people on the other end.
There has been a firmware update. Before, if you turned off the radio when the input was NOT Sirius, you had to reset the unit after turning on again because Sirius wouldn't work. Sirius now ALWAY turns on, no matter what the input was.
General Bluetooth connectivity is much improved.
CON
The only real con I have is the screen. While gorgeous, especially at night, it is HIGHLY reflective. I've had to experiment with the angle of installation in order to get the best viewing angle. With my polorized sunglasses on it was almost impossible to read. Now it is passable. Granted, it isn't ALWAYS in bright light, so that is not the worst. This is the only reason I gave my review 4 stars. If the screen was a little less reflective, 5 stars easily.
This is really a great radio. I couldn't be more happy.
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