Need help choosing components
03-19-2014, 02:38 PM
#11
Thanks for the info Chris, after doing my research I've decided your camera is the one I want to go with. Going to put it on my birthday list for the wife to pick up, but I just tried to enter the discount code for the forum (F150Forum) and it says the coupon has reached the maximum redemption limit. Will this be available again?
Regards,
camera-source.com
414-939-5226
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hckymeyer (03-19-2014)
03-20-2014, 11:23 AM
#12
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Decisions have been made, thanks everyone for your help.
I decided to go with the DDX5901, Maestro RR and the camera from camera-source. Just need some last advice on purchasing and install.
I was going to purchase the deck and Maestro from Crutchfield since they give you the wiring harness and mount for free plus 50% off all the accessories needed including the Maestro. Total would be under $600 for everything (excluding the camera which will be a birthday present). I have no inclination to install this myself, can anyone recommend an installer in the Twin Cities, MN? Any guesses as to how much an install like this should cost? One place quoted $300-$350 and I have no idea if that's in the ball park of what it should be.
I decided to go with the DDX5901, Maestro RR and the camera from camera-source. Just need some last advice on purchasing and install.
I was going to purchase the deck and Maestro from Crutchfield since they give you the wiring harness and mount for free plus 50% off all the accessories needed including the Maestro. Total would be under $600 for everything (excluding the camera which will be a birthday present). I have no inclination to install this myself, can anyone recommend an installer in the Twin Cities, MN? Any guesses as to how much an install like this should cost? One place quoted $300-$350 and I have no idea if that's in the ball park of what it should be.
03-20-2014, 04:59 PM
#13
Decisions have been made, thanks everyone for your help.
I decided to go with the DDX5901, Maestro RR and the camera from camera-source. Just need some last advice on purchasing and install.
I was going to purchase the deck and Maestro from Crutchfield since they give you the wiring harness and mount for free plus 50% off all the accessories needed including the Maestro. Total would be under $600 for everything (excluding the camera which will be a birthday present). I have no inclination to install this myself, can anyone recommend an installer in the Twin Cities, MN? Any guesses as to how much an install like this should cost? One place quoted $300-$350 and I have no idea if that's in the ball park of what it should be.
I decided to go with the DDX5901, Maestro RR and the camera from camera-source. Just need some last advice on purchasing and install.
I was going to purchase the deck and Maestro from Crutchfield since they give you the wiring harness and mount for free plus 50% off all the accessories needed including the Maestro. Total would be under $600 for everything (excluding the camera which will be a birthday present). I have no inclination to install this myself, can anyone recommend an installer in the Twin Cities, MN? Any guesses as to how much an install like this should cost? One place quoted $300-$350 and I have no idea if that's in the ball park of what it should be.
Before you purchase from Crutchfield, I would highly recommend you talk to local radio shops. If you purchase it directly from a local installer, it is possible that you will get an overall price break vs. buying equipment and paying an installer for a complete package. You'll just have to give them the camera.
I don't know that a local store would give you as much "care" if you bring all of your own equipment?? And as an example, I was at my local Audio shop just today pricing the DNX691HD and DNX891HD. With the Maestro RR and the Ford Cable, the 691 was spot on with Crutchfield's price and was $150 less for the 891. Again, this was with all of the cables and everything needed to install, minus the bezel and antenna adapter. The bezel Crutchfield supplies is just ok IMO, the Scosche Bezel fits around the radio is so much nicer and the antenna adapter is cheap anyways.
Lastly, if you were to have a problem with the Maestro or HU, you can then just drive to the installer and say "fix it". If you bought from Crutchfield, you're going to have to RMA, wait, etc.
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hckymeyer (03-20-2014)
03-20-2014, 05:15 PM
#14
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Before you purchase from Crutchfield, I would highly recommend you talk to local radio shops. If you purchase it directly from a local installer, it is possible that you will get an overall price break vs. buying equipment and paying an installer for a complete package. You'll just have to give them the camera.
I don't know that a local store would give you as much "care" if you bring all of your own equipment?? And as an example, I was at my local Audio shop just today pricing the DNX691HD and DNX891HD. With the Maestro RR and the Ford Cable, the 691 was spot on with Crutchfield's price and was $150 less for the 891. Again, this was with all of the cables and everything needed to install, minus the bezel and antenna adapter. The bezel Crutchfield supplies is just ok IMO, the Scosche Bezel fits around the radio is so much nicer and the antenna adapter is cheap anyways.
Lastly, if you were to have a problem with the Maestro or HU, you can then just drive to the installer and say "fix it". If you bought from Crutchfield, you're going to have to RMA, wait, etc.
I don't know that a local store would give you as much "care" if you bring all of your own equipment?? And as an example, I was at my local Audio shop just today pricing the DNX691HD and DNX891HD. With the Maestro RR and the Ford Cable, the 691 was spot on with Crutchfield's price and was $150 less for the 891. Again, this was with all of the cables and everything needed to install, minus the bezel and antenna adapter. The bezel Crutchfield supplies is just ok IMO, the Scosche Bezel fits around the radio is so much nicer and the antenna adapter is cheap anyways.
Lastly, if you were to have a problem with the Maestro or HU, you can then just drive to the installer and say "fix it". If you bought from Crutchfield, you're going to have to RMA, wait, etc.
04-02-2014, 12:47 PM
#16
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Let me know how well you like the 5901. Previous Kenwoods were really slow to boot up and the responsiveness of the touch screen was pretty poor. Apparently the 2014 models have a faster processor to increase the performance. I'd also be curious to hear how well it integrates with the phone and shares the phone screen on the HU. I'm looking at the 5901 since it now has HDMI, which allows you to use the Navi on your phone and display it on the HU. The majority of the complaints on the Kenwood forums is due to Navigation and sluggish boot/responsiveness (which I think are directly related since Navi is tasking on the processor). I'm thinking that by getting the top tier non-Navi head unit, it will be speedier and the inconvenience of the phone Navi is worth the cost savings.
I've been debating the Pioneers and Kenwoods for my truck. The one thing I dislike about the Kenwood GUI is in order to switch audio sources (from USB to radio for example), you have to hit the menu button and then scroll over the list of inputs to find the one you now want to listen to. On a Pioneer, when you are listening to the radio at the left side of the screen there is a list of audio sources. One button press and you are now listening to the USB source. Its not that I'm lazy, its just less of a distraction while driving.
I've been debating the Pioneers and Kenwoods for my truck. The one thing I dislike about the Kenwood GUI is in order to switch audio sources (from USB to radio for example), you have to hit the menu button and then scroll over the list of inputs to find the one you now want to listen to. On a Pioneer, when you are listening to the radio at the left side of the screen there is a list of audio sources. One button press and you are now listening to the USB source. Its not that I'm lazy, its just less of a distraction while driving.
Last edited by buening; 04-02-2014 at 12:50 PM.
04-03-2014, 08:19 AM
#17
F150 Forum
Let me know how well you like the 5901. Previous Kenwoods were really slow to boot up and the responsiveness of the touch screen was pretty poor. Apparently the 2014 models have a faster processor to increase the performance. I'd also be curious to hear how well it integrates with the phone and shares the phone screen on the HU. I'm looking at the 5901 since it now has HDMI, which allows you to use the Navi on your phone and display it on the HU. The majority of the complaints on the Kenwood forums is due to Navigation and sluggish boot/responsiveness (which I think are directly related since Navi is tasking on the processor). I'm thinking that by getting the top tier non-Navi head unit, it will be speedier and the inconvenience of the phone Navi is worth the cost savings.
I've been debating the Pioneers and Kenwoods for my truck. The one thing I dislike about the Kenwood GUI is in order to switch audio sources (from USB to radio for example), you have to hit the menu button and then scroll over the list of inputs to find the one you now want to listen to. On a Pioneer, when you are listening to the radio at the left side of the screen there is a list of audio sources. One button press and you are now listening to the USB source. Its not that I'm lazy, its just less of a distraction while driving.
I've been debating the Pioneers and Kenwoods for my truck. The one thing I dislike about the Kenwood GUI is in order to switch audio sources (from USB to radio for example), you have to hit the menu button and then scroll over the list of inputs to find the one you now want to listen to. On a Pioneer, when you are listening to the radio at the left side of the screen there is a list of audio sources. One button press and you are now listening to the USB source. Its not that I'm lazy, its just less of a distraction while driving.
With either radio choice you can also change source from your steering wheel if you have buttons.
