Clarion CZ500 Customer reviews
Ratings
Category: Electronics
Brand: Clarion
Model: CZ500
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Clarion CZ500 Reviews
Clarion CZ500 Review by Rowe Rowe "floydian" (PTown)
I bought this Clarion car stereo about 4 weeks ago. I installed it myself and have gotten used to the controls and the features within.
I can't stop thinking about how satisfied I am with this unit. For the money, this stereo has ALL of the bells and whistles of a more expensive stereo but the cost is "just right"...I smile every time I get into my car, snap in the faceplate and tunes start automatically streaming from my cell phone.
I initially wanted a stereo that had USB in the BACK so I can charge my iPod and playback music without the hassle of cables in the front, however Bluetooth streaming has changed the game in my opinion. Although I cannot store as much music on my cell phone, the addition of Pandora, Audiogalaxy and other streaming services completely change the way I listen to music. I no longer feel the need to store an iPod in the glovebox. So for now, the USB will be used to dock other devices that friends bring along for road trips or to charge my accessories that utilize USB. It's still a win but I had no idea how awesome Bluetooth streaming could be until now. There is a caveat though: The audio quality does suffer a bit when streaming. There is compression and it's obvious in the mid-range. Lots of sonic crashing in the mid bands when streaming from BlueTooth. I did a lot of testing and found that when I plugged my phone into the USB port, the same audio sounded clearer. For day to day driving, Bluetooth is just fine though, but if you want to stop and really listen to stuff, I suggest using the USB port or a CD/DVD for optimal quality.
PROS:
1) Ergonomics: The radio layout is fantastic. The ergonomics of the layout make sense and are easily found without having to constantly look down to adjust settings/volume. Of course, the included remote helps too (I velcro'd mine to the steering wheel...I know...ghetto)...Unlike other reviewers, I found the quality of the knob and the buttons to be quite nice. The response and texture of the knob and buttons makes it a pleasure to use because you do not need to look at the front to know where you are. The menu layouts are also quite nice. One minor complaint is that using the menus for finding artists/song titles is tedious but ... Can YOU think of a better way to search for songs using a 2 line text window? That shouldn't be a ding against the radio because it's a logic fault. Using Bluetooth streaming, you can control the music from your portable device without using the deck interface...WIN
2) Easy installation. I connected mine to a custom face on a '91 Mazda MX-6. There are a lot of cable junctions in the back so space could be an issue for some but I found it compacted nicely and the connections are all nice quality. The RCA connections to my amp were clear and simple. This unit has 2x SUB outs as well so I found that to be an amazing addition. All the cables were labeled clearly and connected to the factory connectors with ease. It wired correctly the first time and that was awesome. One small hiccup: There is a brown cable coming out of the radio that has no label and the instruction manual shows no such wire. ha ha ha...who knows!
3) It's LOUD! Even without an amplifier, the deck produces some decent audio output! The built in presets for audio tuning are crappy though so I found that the custom interface was the way to go. Each setting for bass, mid and treble have three EQ type settings. The manual does not instruct you how to use that so just tweak by ear I suppose and find what suits you best. But when that is all set, you will really enjoy the audio output when listening to CD's and/or a portable music device via the USB interface. It's pretty clean! The Volume control is smooth too. Unlike other decks, the lower volume controls are pretty fine, meaning you have good control over the lower volumes without the unit "jumping" too low or too high. Volume metric goes from 0 to 40 and I find 28-33 to be about the right volume when driving. Getting it to 38 will produce some minor distortions in the mid range if you are not using an amplifier but .. dang, it's pretty loud at 38 so ... unless you are in a limo or a giant van, I'm guessing you won't need it that loud.
4) Detachable Faceplate. Seems to me that feature is slowly going away for a lot of units. I love that I can remove the faceplate so bad guys don't break my car windows! It takes some getting used to lining up the sides. I still struggle a bit trying to get the right side hinge just right so I can snap it in. Also, when releasing, it has a secondary catch to it that makes me feel like I am going to break the unit when pulling it off. Not a complaint but I'm not sure if that is what they wanted by the design.
5) FEATURES: WOW! This deck is LOADED with features! SAT radio connections, HD Radio connections, Bluetooth Hands-Free with a built-in Mic (that you can replace with a higher quality mic), Streaming, DVD/CD audio playback, 4ch RCA to an Amplifier, AUX in the front, AUX/USB with charging capability from the rear and more. Honestly, feature wise, what more could you want? This thing is LOADED and for the price. The real difference is the USB in the rear. I did not find many units with this feature. I'm afraid that it is going away. I love the idea of USB from the back for a more quality looking connection without wires hanging out the front. That way you can run a wire to your glove box or center console for the aux input. It just looks cleaner and hides the gear from view.
6) Bluetooth Phone quality is decent. I put the mic on my visor and routed the wire though the interior plastic frame around the windshield for a clean look. The mic they give you is decent. It could be better but it works out of the box and that is fine. Whats great about this is that it's not wires INTO the deck so that means you can replace this mic with another higher quality one using a 1/8" mono cable/mic combo. Phone calls sound great and the other person can hear me just fine without having any issues with regards to call quality. Remember that most quality issues are with your cell carrier and not the device. Most of the time the mic is the weakest link in the chain but Clarion did a solid by providing a decent mic. It should be no farther than 12" from your face though otherwise consider getting another mic that is higher quality. The deck also features an address book which worked flawlessly with my phone and I was able to place calls using only the deck face, however honestly it's easier to initiate a call using voice activated dialing from the phone itself. It's still not a bad thing though because they at least offer the basic dialing controls from the interface, including hang up, etc. My only request would have been for them to include voice dialing technology inside the deck but .. I suppose most cell phones have this now which I can say works great with this deck.
CONS:
1) Bluetooth Streaming has a bug. Like the other reviewers note, there is a fix. For me, it took a few tries for the fix to take hold. It really annoyed me for a week but I finally sat down and did this:
a) UNPAIR your device from the deck
b) go to the bluetooth menu and turn OFF the autoconnect
c) turn OFF the deck
d) detach faceplace (Probably not required but I did it to be superstitious)
e) attach faceplate
f) turn ON the deck
g) go to the bluetooth menu and turn ON the autoconnect
h) turn OFF the deck
i) detach faceplace (Probably not required but I did it to be superstitious)
j) attach faceplate
k) turn ON the deck
l) PAIR your device to the deck
WOW..that sucks but only when I did it the way I outlined above did it work with my phone. That is a terrible bug. Oh and if you lose power to the radio from the memory circuit, you get to do this all over again. Grrr...But listen, it takes 5 minutes and it's an easily fixable bug so ... it's not worth stripping a star from the review over something like this. It's just...annoying. I paired it with an iPhone4, BTW.
2) Audio tuning presets are weak! You get three factory presets and each are terrible! One is DEEP bass, one is punchy and the other is excite. Gross, each is over-indulgent and in my opinion, not good in any setting. I cannot imagine that anyone would use these. Thank god they give you a custom setting. But good grief what a messy way to adjust your audio as each setting on custom has three settings per setting. It's easy enough to figure out but if you are picky on audio, you will need to spend a good 10-20 minutes tuning this thing for your rig. Again, it's something that everyone should do anyhow but ... they could have at least picked better presets.
3) Menu Settings: Like all things, it takes time to get to know them. The menu settings in this deck are a little different because they packed so many features into the unit that they had to use a menu-submenu-subsubmenu system in order to access them all. For most, that's a cumbersome way of getting to what you need quickly but ... It's a more modern way of setting configurations so I get it. It's similar to the way you control a printer for a computer in that you have only 1-2 lines of display to control a wide range of settings. With only a few buttons to control all of that, there has to be some give. So ... if you are a sensitive person that has trouble understanding "nested" menu layouts, you should be warned that this unit could take you some time to get to know.
4) The Clock: Yeah, it's easy to set but ... I do find it annoying that the main thing you want to display gets unset after time. I want the clock, not the track settings. You would think it could recall that setting and make it stick. Clarion is not the only maker that is guilty of this. Grrr...But lucky for me my car has a digital clock elsewhere so it doesn't matter to me but .... I still find that to be egregious on their part.
5) Not really a CON but it might be for some: The display is capable of showing you text from the artist/title/track. That's great and it scrolls when it's really long text. The downside is that when you are Bluetooth streaming, it does not do this. The display says "BLUETOOTH CONNECT" and that's it. Awwww...I mashed many buttons trying to get it to change but ... alas it will not. Maybe that information is not sent over the stream but it should be!
Well, that's about all I have to say. Even with the CONS noted above, I still cannot give this a 4 star review because this deck does 100% of what I want and does not disappoint. The unit feels sturdy, has nice controls, nice features and delivers audio in a nice way. Yes, it takes time to get there but you should do that anyway and not expect it to be perfect when it's taken out of the box. With little effort, you can have the perfect car stereo with all of the features you want. Why look anywhere else when it's right here in front of you?
Clarion CZ500 Review by Matt
This is all as it said it was have no complaints at all. Running my stock speakers off the deck and the sub out to an Alpine amp and JL 10. Sounds great and highly recommended.
Clarion CZ500 Review by Wayoffbase
pros- I bought this for the Bluetooth connectivity, and it works great with my android phone. I haven't had any complaints using the mic on calls, music streaming works well, and connectivity is fine. Radio reception is fine, and the display isn't too bright or garish.
cons- The buttons are all very small and stiff, so you definitely have to look at it to change anything. The most annoying thing is that the clock doesn't display by default. Every time you switch input, change radio stations, or even adjust the volume, you have to hit the display key to get the clock back. The clock has also lost 3 minutes already in two weeks; I have seen a lot of car stereos that had really cruddy clocks like this, but my factory stereo stayed accurate and I would expect a $100+ unit to not have this kind of issue.
More Reviews...
Clarion CZ500 In-Dash CD/MP3/WMA/AAC Receiver with USB and Bluetooth:: Technical Details
- Built-in Blutooth
- iPod or iPhone connect with USB (Audio) Built-in Bluetooth
- Front AUX Input LCD13 x 10 2-Line
- HD Radio Ready with THD300 (With iTunes Tagging) XM Tuner Ready with CCUXM1+ CNP2000UC
- Rear USB 18 FM / 6 AM
- Item Dimensions: 12 x 4 x 12 inches; 1 pounds
- Brand: Clarion
- Model: CZ500
- Product Type: Electronics
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