jtgs400

iTrader: (1)

Just a note...you probably won't be able to find one of these babies until the middle of next month as they are all on back order. I searched far and wide and was fortunate to locate a local stereo shop that had some in but being that it was sold out everywhere else they were charging retail for it. So I paid an extra $100 to have it right now plus I was selling my AVN5435 this past weekend so I couldn't do without a deck for the time being.

First off this is a very nice unit. The screen is sharp with a simple layout that isn't over crowded or with controls deeply nested. Like previous Alpine touchscreens it has Pulsetouch which will give a slight vibration when you press a button. It does not have integrated navi but a seperate navi system can be added later on at a premium ($1700). The blackbird portable navi system can also be connected at a much more affordable price($700).

Some of you might have read my other thread where I wasn't too happy with the MP3 section of the 5435. Well I can say I'm extremely satisfied with the MP3 section on this unit. Instant song skipping, well thought out search feature, and play MP3s on CDR and DVDR. The sound quality is also superb. To my ears I prefer this unit over the AVN even though it has less audio controls. Alpine's external audio processor can be added if you want even more control in your music. You can download wallpapers from Alpine's website and upload them to the unit. I haven't used the DVD section much but you can pretty much change all aspects of the video just like on a tv (sharpness, color...ect). You can also directly access the dvd menus from the touchscreen by touching each one. Another big plus is that it comes with a wireless remote (should reduce the wear and tear and fingerprints on the LCD screen). As expensive as the AVN is I'm surprise they didn't include a remote.

The installation is straight forward but you cannot bypass the video lock by simply grounding the parking brake cable like on the AVN. Even if you connect it following Alpine's instructions you can't defeat the lock by simply engaging the parking brake. You have to do some form of combination with the brake pedal and parking brake. You can purchase the PAC-TR7 trigger module to unlock this video lock so you don't have to do this little dance everytime.

From the picture it looks like it fits flush with the faceplate but it does not. It sticks out about 1". I am using the OEM Toyota double din kit from Carson. There is no adjustability on this kit unless I modify the metal brackets it comes with. It looks ok right now but no where as clean and stock looking as the AVN install.

That's pretty much it . If anyone has any more questions just let me know.

Havok13154

i'm buying a w200 on monday. dvdr it will read a 4.7 gig dvd full of mp3's???

damn i guess i'm going to return the ipod

88supramki

it's a pretty neat unit, we have one on display at the moment. haven't messed around too much with it though, sadly.

EXE.UCF10

iTrader: (3)

Fixed the link to show image instead of just a URL.

Havok13154

can you test a dvd full of mp3's on it for me please. everyone around me is sold out, so i'm buying mine online from a friend's company.

jtgs400

iTrader: (1)

As I have mentioned the MP3 section on this thing is excellent. It will play a dvd-r full of mp3s and wma's so that's like 800 songs or so. You can have them sorted in folders if you want. I just sort mine by genre, Rock, Rap..ect. There's a feature called Quicksearch where you press it and it will bring up a screen showing all the folders on the disc. You can then press > to play that folder or >> to go within that folder and it will display all the songs in that folder. Just press > and the song will start playing. This thing is insanely fast serching through songs and skipping among them. I can be listening to a song near the end of the disc and skip to a song near the beginning of the disc and in less than a second the song is playing already. It has full ID3 tag support so if the song has it, it will display the name of the song and artist.

You also said you have an Ipod. This HU has full support for Ipods too. So basically all the features you can do with the MP3 discs you can do with the Ipod.

Havok13154

well i'm returning my ipod because 4.7 gigs is enought for me to sort my music. i have about 60 gigs and about 20 i listen to normaly.