Thread: clarion vz309

post links for both stereos

Your best bet would be start by looking up reviews on it, see what others have to say about it.

Clarion makes good products, i prefer pioneer premier.. but from the specs on that... its a really nice deck IMO if you need all of that..6 outputs, usb slots etc etc...

not bad, crutchfield has it for 300 including the HD tuner, sonic has it for 250. personally, i think you could do much better. the sub output is only 2 volts and there is a recurring complaint that the screen is pretty sharp but has no other functions except the one you see in the pictures. Also another guy said it takes a long time for it to start up.

Keep searching, there's something better out there

Kenwood KDC-X693... That is what you want Kenwood Excelon KDC-X693 CD receiver at Crutchfield Signature

It's got all of the toys, 4 volt preout's, a lot of expansion options...

Originally Posted by whiney

Kenwood KDC-X693... That is what you want Kenwood Excelon KDC-X693 CD receiver at Crutchfield Signature

It's got all of the toys, 4 volt preout's, a lot of expansion options...

And to top it off it looks badass

that's not bad, i personally love kenwood's excelons

I didn't really know about it until I actually bought it. But there is so much functionality and things you can do with it, it's really cool. The pis's don't do justice of how nice and smooth it looks.

i had the kdcx791 and it worked extremely well with subs. the big deal you want to make sure of is 4 volt preamp outputs and that clarion didn't have it

My local audio dealer says the X993 has the best output from CD source vs. any other brands or models. However, I really like my CDA-9887 with all the DSP options.






It provides:

Time Alignment(T/A)
R/L 3-way active crossover with volume control (all 6 channels maintain independent output levels)
5 band Parametric EQ or 7 band Graphic EQ
MediaXpander (attempts to fill out compressed music)
Sub Phase 0 or 180
Full iPod control -- check versions tho
Internal amp or played as Dead Head
4v pre-outs (doesn't seem to matter these days)
Sub system to help fill out bass at low volumes
etc...i.e. MultEQ

It's basically designed as a H/U for sq enthusiasts. Most people have no idea what to do with all of its capability. It's being phased out here in the spring so you should find some decent deals. I grabbed one for $250 shipped. This unit competes against the pioneer P800PRS and I suppose that Kenwood Excelon. I haven't messed with the X693 but the X993 was pretty nice. Just too flashy for me. Any decent SQ oriented deck will have majority of these DSP capabilities built in.

The big negative against the 9887 is that the EQ is not R/L independent only R=L. It's also limited in bands. The PEQ is extremely nice but it's only in 1/3rd octave steps. The P800PRS has a 15 band R/L EQ built in but it's crossover capability isn't as flexible. i.e. 9887 will not allow you to go very low on the tweeter HP to try and keep you from damaging your speaker, but it will allow you to over ride that safety if needed.

Sum it up....

Pros:
Cross-over flexbility
Full speed iPod controls(typically considered better than most decks)
DSP

Cons:
EQ
No motorized face

My bad Sometimes I take it to the next level. The 9887 is something that can grow with you! If you wanna really get into it...you can. If just want entry level, then it does it well