Clarion CZ500

Clarion has released a new wave of car stereos for 2010. The CD player line includes the CZ500, CZ300, CZ200, and the CZ100. The CZ500 being the most expensive of the group at $249.00, but also the fanciest.

The features of this model include:

• CD Playback—Plays your regular CDs, burned CD-R/RW discs, as well as data discs of MP3, WMA, and AAC music files.
• iPod and iPhone connectivity through USB cable (Music Playback only)
• Integrated Bluetooth connectivity for PDA devices, MP3 players, and mobile phones.
• HD Radio available through the THD300  radio module (Comes with iTunes Tagging)
• XM Satellite Radio Tuner: CCUXM1+ CNP2000UC
• A USB Port
• AM/ FM radio
• 3.5 mm Auxilary Input
• LCD Screen: A 13 segment 10x2 line display
• BeatEQ—Clarion’s customizable equalizer
• 6 channel / 4 V RCA Output with Subwoofer Control
• Package includes a hands user’s manual, installation hardware, visor microphone, and a Remote Control.

The USB connector can be used to connect your iPhone or iPod. In addition you can connect USB flash drives to playback MP3 and WMA files.

The Bluetooth supports the A2DP/AVRCP audio streaming profile, the HSP/ HFP hands free operation profile, and the PBAP phone book access profile.

Are fancy light up displays on stereos still popular?

In the late eighties and throughout the nineties, the fancier stereos had elaborate light up displays. These included bar graphs that changed as you adjusted the volume, speaker balance, base, and treble. Today, you don’t see as many of the large home stereos. Everyone has moved onto the computer and MP3 devices for their music. You can still get CD’s, but that market is getting weaker and weaker.

The car stereos I used to see in the stores also implemented the fancy colorful light up displays. Some had flashing designs that went along as the music played. Much like what you see on when playing music on Window Media Player. Though lately, it seems that the market has gone back to the simpler designs. My sister got a new car last year, and the stereo is just a basic LCD display. Just shows numbers and text. I guess now if you want something fancy, you need to go for the in-dash navigation systems. These can be a GPS, DVD player, and a car stereo. But even these are losing popularity as the proliferation of GPS apps on cell phones increases.

So is it simply just a change caused by new technology, economic consumer shifts, or economic stereo company shifts. It is probably a mix of the three. People are cutting back on some novelties like fancy stereo equipment and expensive car units. Maybe people are realizing that if something works the way it is supposed to, it is good enough.

I will miss all of those flashing lights. I know they are still out there, just not in the number that they once were. You still see the big CD stereos here are there, but I, like most people, don’t have the space for it.

Losing a Car Stereo Faceplate and Stereo Theft

The theft of car stereos used to be huge common place crime back in the early 1990’s. As of now, the reports say that car stereo theft is a rare crime and on the bottom of the list of things that would be stolen from your car. There are a few reasons why this seems to be true. In the past, stereos that came with your car were garbage, so people replaced the factory stereos with after market items. The problem with this was that they were easily transferable from car to car. So a thief could easily steal your stereo and find another buyer who could use it in their car.

To help prevent theft, car stereos went through some portability fads. Car stereo units were made removable, so that the owners could pull out the radio unit and carry it with them. This eventually evolved into the removable faceplates that we still have now. The problem with the pull out radio method was that people would forget to take the unit with them or they would misplace it. When you are busy in your travels, people can easily set things down and walk away without thinking about their items. The removable faceplate faced similar obstacles, but at least it can be easily locked up in the glove box. And if your faceplate gets stolen, you still have the stereo unit. Though, you are still stuck without a faceplate.  The debate will then be to figure out if you can just buy a new faceplate, or if you have to still replace your whole stereo.

The cure seemed to be when car makers decided to start installing quality car stereos in their vehicles. Stereos became more permanently built in and factory specific, which limited the chances of transferring the unit from car to car. The cost of a better sound system was passed to the consumer, of course. But the results appear to be worth the cost.

Are Car Stereo’s Doomed To Fall To Our New Everything Devices?

In the past you had your radio, your cell phone, your GPS, and many other individual devices. But as all of these multi-capable machines are being released to the public, which is the next doomed device? We have already seen how landline telephones have lost a lot of their foothold to cellular phones. We saw how MP3 players took a huge cut of the Compact Disc market. Now we even see new devices that are already looking to make the products of just a few years ago obsolete. With the rise of the iPhones, smart phones, and other such devices, the usefulness of having a bunch of different items is disappearing.

Around Christmas time, there were reports of the GPS market falling down because of the GPS mapping programs available on Cell phones. Some of these phones also double as MP3 players, which cut into the standalone MP3 player market. Many MP3 players also come with radio tuners, and many people play their MP3 players in their cars. So if their device already comes with a radio tuner, will they need a standalone radio in their car? True, not everyone has all of these devices, but it is getting to that point. We have seen some pretty fancy head units for your cars that integrate with your other tech devices, but how far away are we from just having one device that does everything? Everybody will just have one box that is a phone, radio, MP3 player, GPS, etc. Are the technology companies dooming their industry?

How popular are multiple disc CD changers? It seems that they would have been replaced by all of the available MP3 player setups or just MP3 CDs for that matter. Both of which can hold the content of numerous CDs in one place. Though now I assume that you can load a CD disc changer with MP3 CDs and have a huge collection of music in the CD changer. A CD changer does offer the convenience of not having to change a CD while driving, but then again so do the MP3 player options.

This video shows the basic hookup of a CD changer in a BMW 5 series. This car is already wired for a CD changer, so the set up work was already done for this installer.

I've mentioned installing car stereo speakers in previous post. I've come across a little video on the topic that I like. This man demonstrates removing of your car door's electronic connections, removal of the door panel, removing the old speaker, and installing the new speaker.

What to look for in a car stereo head unit.

There are a lot of fancy stereos with lots of features. But ultimately you need to decide on what features of a stereo you would mainly use. So set yourself a budget and look for a suitable stereo.

Here are some tips to help you along:

1. Set yourself a budget and stick to it.
2. Decide on what kind of connectivity you want. Are just going to need a cd player and radio? Or do you want to connect your MP3 player.
3. If you plan on using your MP3 player, you need to get a stereo unit with an audio input jack. Your other choices would be one of the more expensive systems with integrated ipod connector. Or look into getting a FM transmitter, if you don’t get a stereo with the audio jack.
4. If you don’t want to deal with an MP3 player, some of the stereos now come with USB connectors and SD card readers. Having music on these devices will ideally act the same as having music on an MP3 player. This would be good, if you don’t want to risk keeping your MP3 player in your car. And SD cards and USB flash memory is relatively inexpensive now.
5. There are stereos that play CDs with MP3 files on them. So you can have hundreds of songs on one CD. Though these can be hard to navigate. This was out before the addition of USB and SD cards. But they’re all similar.
6. Look for a unit with the best functionality, and not just the one with the prettiest light display.
7. Do your research and select the best choice for you.

So read reviews online, go to stores and play with the stereo setups. All in all have a good time.

Pioneer has come out with another All-In-One in dash car stereo. The unit features a built in GPS System, voice command interface, Touch Screen, customizable touch screen menu, and other assimilation with compatible devices. The AVIC-Z110BT offers connectivity for MP3 players, iPods, iPhones, SD cards, and compatible phones ,Bluetooth and USB devices.

I am probably not doing it justice, but this sounds like a pretty extravagant device.

And if you want it, be prepared for its hefty price tag. The lowest price I am seeing for it right now is $1,156.30 on Amazon.com. DVD playback is cool, but I am still not a fan of having DVD players in cars that are visible to the driver. I would rather have them focus on the road. But I guess any screens can be a distraction, even if someone is just navigating the menus.

From the reviews I’ve read installing the device can be tricky, if you want to hook up all of the features. You have to install a microphone near the driver to use the voice command system. And I guess to solve my DVD complaint; the video function only comes on when the brake sensor is hit. So you must connect the stereo to those sensors in your car, which cause extra work than just plugging in the usual antenna and power cables. To get any signal with the GPS, you must keep the antenna mounted in areas with clear line of sight to the sky. If you want more information, check out the Pioneer website. As well as the other review sites out there.

It looks like another story about Florida. I'm starting to see why they're making laws about the volume limits of car stereos.

A man in Florida has created a 154 decibel capable stereo in his car. He claims it is the loudest vehicle within a 500 mile radius.

I couldn't imagine hearing this car, or being able to hear after I've heard this car.

You can read the story here:

Man claims loudest car stereo in a 500 mile radius

Florida lawmakers have made it a crime to have your car stereo music playing too high. If you play your music too loudly you can get a $100 ticket.

Read about it here:

http://www.cfnews13.com/Politics/FloridaDecides/2009/9/30/crank car stereo down or face the music