The JVC Arsenal AR260 in-dash CD player: The perfect choice for price, performance and style!
Written: Aug 14 '05 (Updated Sep 13 '05)
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Pros: Great looks, low price, and very easy to use and install.
Cons: Picks up flaws on disks a little to easily.
The Bottom Line: The JVC Arsenal AR260 is the best we have used to date. Easy to use and it works like a charm!
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| christian921's Full Review: JVC Arsenal KD-AR260 Car CD Player |
We recently purchased several new trucks at work and none them have installed radios. We need to pick up some radios that perform well in a noisy environment, easy to use, and are able to grab signals even when out in the country side of Nebraska. We need to do this all and keep the price affordable. After talking to a few people and doing a little research I decided to give the JVC Arsenal KD-AR2600 a shot to see how it would do before fitting our entire fleet with it.
The Basics
The first thing you will notice about the JVC Arsenal 260 is the face of the radio. It is laid out so that things are easy to find. The buttons are spread out a little; this will help you avoid hitting two buttons at the same time by mistake. On the left hand side of the face you will find a large silver knob that controls the volume. It is very easy to find and turn without having to look at the dash.
The whole lay out of the JVC AR260 is very easy. There are buttons to select from CD to FM/AM of which the AR260 carries three sets of six FM band presets and one of AM. The power control is high left near the CD inset slot. There is an EQ button that allows you to go through the five preprogrammed sound presets as well as your on programmed custom equalizer. There are buttons to control the CD player functions that double up to help scan through stations on your presets while using the FM radio.
The backlit LCD display is blue with near white lettering. The off white display is large and very easy to read though some of the other information displays are a little too small to read without looking. The backlighting of the display can be manually changed by paging through the mode button. The faceplate is also detachable for security. You can choose to permanently attach the faceplate with a provided screw that keeps the button from being pressed to release the faceplate.
There is also a remote that comes with the JVC Arsenal AR260. From the remote you can power the unit, change the EQ presets, control the volume and either run through the FM/AM presets or control the CD player. The remote itself is rather small, about the size of a Zippo lighter but can be attached to your key ring.
The backside of the JVC Arsenal AR260 holds the standard connections as well as two gold plated RCA leads for any amps you might be using. As the unit sits it runs 18 watts by 4 with a maximum of 50 by 4. This is enough power for normal uses but not near enough if you have large speakers or like it really loud.
The head unit is preinstalled with Sirius satellite radio controls as well. You will need to get the antenna and receiver unit but the JVC Arsenal AR260 can control your satellite radio too.
The JVC Arsenal AR260 carries a two year warranty. You will be able to play nearly all CD formats such as CD, CD-R, and CD/RW but this unit does not support MP3 or dual disks.
Personal Impressions
I already stated why I purchased the JVC Arsenal AR260 and what I needed it to do. I have purchased three radios for the trucks so far and this is the first JVC. So far I have been really impressed with it and among my drivers it is preferred over the Alpines I am running in the other trucks.
The biggest thing about the unit is how easy it is to use going down the road. I am not saying that there is any less to pay attention to driving your car everyday but let me just say driving a tractor-trailer that weighs 80,000 pounds does demand you full attention. Having a radio that requires a degree from MIT would not work out well for us. The JVC AR260 works flawlessly in this sense.
The head unit looks very nice too. Powered off the unit is clean looking. The primary color is black with only the large silver volume button and several smaller controls disturbing the sleekness. All the buttons are where they feel they should be. The controls are also raised and textured slightly so that you can feel where you are without looking. Powered on the unit comes to life. The display remains clean looking and uncluttered. This allows you to read what station or track you are on with ease.
Even in the abusive environment of the truck the CD tracks smoothly in the player. Compared to a few other players we have used the JVC is a little pickier about the cleanliness of the disk. Dirty or scratched disks seem to have a more problems playing in this unit compared to others as the player skips on the scratches.
The remote for us is pointless. I see it as a nice feature for some but it does nothing for us. We tried attaching the remote to the steering wheel so that the driver would not have to move his hands from the wheel but the remote needs to face directly at the faceplate. It simply did not work for us.
The JVC AR260 is running through a set of Kicker DS60 6.5 inch speakers. The JVC puts out enough power to allow the Kickers to make good sound. The doors are hollow so the sound is mushy but it is not the fault of the speaker or the head unit. The Arsenal AR260 grabs FM signals very well and a lot better than the other radios we have already used.
I have been very impressed with the JVC so far. The manual is very nice and easy to understand. The installation was very easy for me but if there were any problems there is a phone number to contact JVC for any technical help during your install if you need it. The unit has performed great so far and we have been very happy with it.
If I weigh the satisfaction of my purchase against the unit's cost and performance I will say that the JVC AR260 is the best radio purchase so far. I recommend it, even if you just want to put it in your car!
Other notes: For those who do not know, the radio in a big truck is just like it is in you car. So don’t be put off that I’m using this one in a truck, it will fit in your car (though you may need an installation kit but you might need that anyway)!
DIN Size: 1
FM Sensitivity: 11.3 dBf
Signal to Noise Ratio: 80 dBa
Power Output: 18w RMS x4, 50w max
CD Formats supported: CD, CD-R, CD/RW
Other Electronics Reviews:
Alpine CDE-9841 in-dash CD player
Zen Touch 40GB MP3 player
Eclipse CD5405 in dash CD player
Thanks for reading,
© Christian921 2005
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 129
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christian921
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Member: Christian Stanley
Location: A country mile north of Omaha, NE USA
Reviews written: 117
Trusted by: 35 members
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