Pioneer F700BT in-dash Vs. Kenwood 5120 in-dash

[seattleMS3]

i am debating on which in-dash unit to buy. both do navigation (kenwood is through Garmin, while the Pioneer is its own system i think), Ipod, and USBs.... but the kenwood plays DVD's, and the Pioneer has a built in bluetooth function. the pioneer is $50 cheaper, and the main drawback is no DVD, but it can play movies/videos through my Ipod. while the Kenwood's drawback is the fact that it doesn't come with bluetooth, and to buy the bluetooth it costs almost $200 more.

the Pioneer is considerably cheaper at around $1150 after install, the Kenwood with the Bluetooth is $1300

does anyone own either of these units? and can tell me a little about them from your own experience? thank you
all input would be appreciated.

 

[mp3-79bronco]

i have the ddx 512 kenwood, and i love it...i payed 380 for it without gps, but the version with the gps is like 600, and i looked and the bluetooth is only like 70 bucks more for it

 

[Euphorism]

the place i work at has those 700bts on clearance for like $599 and we are selling the display for like $499.. so they can be had for a lot cheaper than you are finding. and we are an authorized pioneer dealer.

 

[seattleMS3]

the place i work at has those 700bts on clearance for like $599 and we are selling the display for like $499.. so they can be had for a lot cheaper than you are finding. and we are an authorized pioneer dealer.

i appreciate the offer, but i am asking differences in quality, and preferences.

 

[TheRealDefman]

I had a 5120, just replaced it with a 7120. The 5120 was a really nice unit and no major complaints, it had a problem updating the Garmin maps but Kenwood repaired it quickly and ran the upgrade for me. I just wanted the bigger screen and Text-To-Speech the 7120 offers.

You can find refurb'd 5120's on eBay for ~$400 and add a 2 year Square Trade warranty for additional piece of mind for less than $100.

Either way, do yourself a favor and get the Kanatechs piano black install kit (assuming your factory HU is piano black), it's totally worth the $140!

 

[BillTheCat]

Sorry I cannot offer advice on performance of the 2 units, but FYI, there is another thread where it was pointed out that Amazon is selling the F700bt for $399.

Frankly, the DVD feature is nice, but in reality, how often will most people use it? I think the built-in Bluetooth of the Pioneer is much more useful feature.

I was previously considering the F700bt/F900bt, but at $399, I think I'll get the F700bt, splurge on the Kanatech piano black dash kit & DIY the install.

 

[TheRealDefman]

I'll also add that Garmin updates their maps yearly and the DVD from them is about $77, you can sometimes find them on eBay for $50 though. I don't know how Pioneer handles their updates or what they cost, but that's something to consider.

 

[strmtrooperMS3]

if the f700 is anything like my f90, then i would say go for the kenwood. I'm from Seattle too and my unit keeps giving me really bad directions. The start up lag time is quite lengthy as well even after the firmware update. the unit also freezes up my ipod from time to time to the point where i've ditched it for a usb drive. if you are from the 206 and want a demo, send me a pm.

 

[Pondo]

I have an Alpine-IVA D300 sitting pretty on my desk if you're interested.

 

[speeedbump]

I've got the Kenwood 5120 in our Odyssey and am very happy with it.

FYI, you can get the bluetooth adapter for the Kenwood for $87 at Amazon.