Clarion CX609...

Will be receiving the Clarion CX609 tomorrow, I will post some pics and thoughts on it for those who may want an aftermarket double-din radio with the matching illumination capability.

Link from where I bought it with specs, etc:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_17681_Clarion+CX609.html?gclid=CMDh3vK7hp4CFQk75QodxBcWoQ

I went this route due to Pioneer not having the color match option (at least on the unit I wanted) and the same for Alpine (which would have been my first choice). Alpine did have a single din unit with amber lighting but some features were not available that I needed on it.

Here is a quick pic taken with my Pre.



Just some minor details on bluetooth connection but was able to get my phone paired and works great. This unit is Bluetooth 2.0 and Pre is 2.1 so some items are not compatible yet until Palm patches for backwards compatibility (I guess).

I will just post this one as some of ya hate the looks of it anyway.

 

that is an ugly ass radio. sorry

 

i have the AVIC F900BT..its a DVD/Nav unit and it allows you to change the lights, i have mine set to the amber to match the rest of the dash lights....

btw...the 1920s called, they want their radio back

 

HAHA! Thanks for the compliments! No one will want to break into my truck to steal it then (maybe just to get rid of it for me)! It will do what I need, and cost less than one with a screen for now.

 

why do you want that radio? id rather have the stock radio.

 

Dude look at the Vx709...it is marginally more expensive and it won't look like...that.

But anyway after you get it, please post how you like the bluetooth and the ipod, I am looking at the 709 and got a feeling they are the same internals.

 

I will check out that unit. I wanted to keep the stock unit but the cost for ipod integration cost about the same as a good aftermarket radio. I am probably gonna comb the black friday sales for a good 32gb thumb drive to leave on there.

 

How have you liked the CX-609 so far? I posted a "what do you think of this head unit" thread a while ago and got similar feedback...no one likes it.

I'm not a big audio guy but this h/u gets plenty of of love here:



Doesn't look that much different than this one to me:



Maybe it's just me...

 

Man I love my radio, it does have some little quirks but the good outweighs the bad. I wanted a head unit that looked OEM and to me my Clarion does. I have a two friends that have the Pioneer and if it was able to color match I would have bought it.

I will say that my radio was able to play some digital files that the Pioneer radio was not. that almost drove my friend nuts. Mine played them just fine via USB drive. One of them with the Pioneer had a Mustang and color matched everything to the Pioneer, now he has a Titan and is amber colored on his cluster display.

I asked him why he hadn't moved over the Pioneer and it is because it will not color match the amber and did not want to mess with the LED deal for color matching. His Mustang had the ability to change colors from the factory on the dash, not the Titan.

The bluetooth pairing was a pain to mess with but I figured it out and works like a champ, I have a Palm Pre. Like I said it does have quirks but I can deal with it for the features and color match. Plus if I decide to do the LED change on my cluster I can change the head units color scheme

Anyway, I recall reading your post too, if you get this unit PM me and I can try and explain some of the quirks for you. Also, I recommend the Scosche kit, the Metra one makes the unit stick out a bit, as it does with the others I have seen on this forum. I know most like the Metra for the texture, but the color does not match that well and it squeaks when driving. I have seen the Scosche and like it, hard to find a black one and I think most paint it and sell it. It does not have the texture but has the indentions on the top similar to the OEM radio.

I do not want to mention the 2010 Frontier but the new ones have a radio that looks like the Clarion and as if it had the Scosche kit. This gave me an idea of how it would look when I get my Scosche kit. Anyway man, try it out, I love mine and have had compliments outside of Tacoma World LOL, just PM me and I will try and get back with you ASAP.

Sorry it took a bit to reply.

 

does it sync your phonebook from your pre? I can't get it to grab mine from my iphone.

 

Yup, sure does, works good.

I will try and work up a walk through for you if you keep having problems, let me know via PM or post. Unless you have something installed differently than I do. Mine works even with the Palm Centro I have right now. It can be quirky but most bluetooth devices can be. Let me know man!

 

I think it is an iphone issue. I haven't read anywhere that anyone has got their iphone phone book transferred. How many contacts do you have? I think the limit is 100 or 250 based on the phone book type you set.

 

Yea 250 is the max I beileve, I do not have that many. I have an iPhone but at the moment it is on loan to a friend till he gets his repaired or I get my iPhone 4

I can see about trying the iPhone but I think I read on their site that the address is not compatible or supported on Clarion's site. I will see if my friend will let me try it out.

 

I went with the Alpine, I switched to single din for better sound quality.