Why do they not offer really nice double din units in the US?

I keep seeing these nice Eclipse, Alpine, etc. units from Japan on ebay. Then you really can't buy them because you need a device to convert the signal to American frequencies and what if the thing is broken? It's kind of hard to sue someone located 8,000 miles away...

 

It all depends on your priorities I guess... The stock unit is pretty damned ugly as well.

Personally, I can't see Navigation in a truck... I like them in luxury cars, but I prefer a rugged feel to my truck (it's kind of why I drive a lifted truck ). After all, I can't count the number of times I have been lost my entire life on even one hand.

 

Me too, but this is $300 vs. $900+ for a flatscreen with Nav.

 

I'm just about to buy one of these 301's. It looks like a great unit. Hopefully there isn't any complications installing in my 98. The factory unit is a double din with a ~single din case.

Can someone tell me how the sat.radio's ready units work? just need a subscription and antenna? how's the quality? and can you use the subscription with other units?

 

Just ordered a 501. I've always been a strictly Eclipse or Alpine kind of guy, but Navigation is a bit pricey and the single DIN conversions never look right IMO.

 

I agree. Dat tang tis hideous. Its got "wanna be touch screen" all over it.

 

I plan on getting the 501. I would rather have the touch screen but I can't see paying that much for one and I really don't need DVD or Nav either so its more or less a waste of money for me.

For those questions about sat radio, from my understanding on from crutchfield.com is that it is ready for either xm or sirius, all that is needed is to buy the apropriate equipment for either sat companies and you will be ready to go. Its all at crutchfield so you can check it out there.

 

Anything that isn't stock ruins the look of the dash... I've always been an Eclipse fan, but the AVNs are just as butt-ugly as the afforementioned Kenwood unit...

If your vehicle didn't come with NAV from the factory, it just looks like you're a "wannabe" period. My '05 Maxima came with full NAV and I can't even count the times I've used it on one hand. However, it's at least a finished looking unit that lets me know that my car was at least on a luxury level where it belongs...

 

has anyone installed the 701 yet? i wouldnt mind getting one of the kenwoods, i like the way they look. just like the double din dvd radios, im worried about theft. i wish they had a removable face plate. anyone have anymore pictures of the 301,501, or 701.

 

What would be really nice is if that USB port would let you play MP3's off of a thumb drive. No iPod, no CD's, re-writable flash that's cheap and easy, now that would make it hard for me to pass up.

 

That's the entire purpose of the USB drive...

I literally have a thumb-drive sticking out of the head unit and I can scroll through about 65 mp3s I loaded to the drive (it's only a 256MB drive). I don't even own an iPod or portable MP3 player...

The screen will display what the artist, song, or file name is. Also, if you want to "browse by genre" or "browse by artist" there is a female's voice that announces each change.

I was scrolling through and heard a woman's voice say, "Jazz", then "Pop", then "Punk Rock," and I was absolutely blown away!

I'll post some pics of my 501 when I get home tonight.

 

i was also wondering about the display of these units. i heard that the kenwoods, especially the screen on the 701, are hard to read in the daytime.

 

I can't speak for the 701 or the 301, but the 501 is easy to read all of the time. Of course, the tinted windows help out a little.

 

I was wondering with the USB port that can't you just plug your ipod into that and control it through the head like if you had a jump drive. Then you can forget about the whole ipod adapter and save a $100.

 

I wish I could answer that, but I don't own an IPod. One of those things I have been meaning to do and not gotten around to yet...

god, I feel old now...