Almost perfect...
Written: Feb 05 '04
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Pros: Dot Matrix display, Electronic Skip Protection, convenient sub volume adjustment, Sirius Radio controls
Cons: Bulky Remote, Poor Random Play, Title scrolling
The Bottom Line: This is a head-unit with great sound, a good display that will match most interiors, and some nice bonus features. Avoid only if you are a Random Mode fanatic.
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| biggrigg's Full Review: Clarion Sirius DXZ-735MP Car CD/ MP3 Player |
I've had this unit for five months now. I primarily chose this one because it would match my interior with a black face and red backlighting. If you want a blue display, you'll need the higher level model, the DXZ835MP.
When I first put it in my car, it was difficult to read the display, I had to turn the contrast all the way down for it to look right. This is with a basically level mounting position.
The dot matrix display looks pretty good, it can do lower-case letters and other special characters. It can display 10 characters at once, but there are gaps between the character display areas which makes it looks kind of odd as it scrolls across one dot at a time. It can display folder name, file name, or ID3 tag info (Artist/Album/Song). The file name displayed is limited to a length of 64 characters.
You can select whether the display scrolls continuously, or only once. I wish it had a "smart-scroll" that would only scroll the title if it was larger than 10 characters. A four-letter title scrolling continuously looks odd, so I have it set to scroll once. You have to choose whether the title or clock is displayed, I wish it could display both at the same time.
This unit does not do random play well. For one, if you're in random mode and don't like a song, when you hit "next track" it doesn't go back into random mode, it actually goes to the next track. Also, if you turn the car off and back on, random mode will be turned off.
The pre-amp output from the unit has an adjustable low-pass filter for a subwoofer, and also has a volume control on the right side of the unit, which is handy. No going through menus to tweak the sub volume.
The remote is bigger than any car stereo remote I've seen before, but I never use it, so it's not an issue for me.
It has Sirius satellite radio controls, and Dual-Zone ability (if you have a DVD player in the back for the kids), but I haven't used those. The electronic skip protection works well, I've never heard it skip once since I've had it.
Overall I'm pleased with the Clarion DXZ735MP, it's not perfect, but it's close.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 210
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Epinions.com ID:
biggrigg
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Reviews written: 2
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