Clarion DXZ785USB

Below average? NO!

Please do not listen to James. Oh wow, it's made in China and that lowered your expectations? Kind sir, you have no idea what you're talking about. As long as you're buying from an authorized dealer/reseller, you're fine. What's a "crisp" sound even mean?

The USB design is GREAT. You don't have to worry about the input being in the front, which may lead to snapped flash drives and things of that sort.

6v pre-outs that actually do rated voltage at this price? Almost unheard of.

If you have kept with HUs lately, you'd know this is THE best bang for the buck out there. What other HU will let you do active crossovers for under $250 new? That's right, only this guy, the JVC KD-AR8500, and mayyyybe a couple others (not sure about the new Kenwood-X993), but this one is significantly more affordable.

Granted, the EQ is not the best. But for this price and being 3-way active capable and having many options to customize the sound like T/A and stuff, you'd be nuts to say this is "below average".

You know how to deal with the slightly limited EQ bands? You buy good speakers.

Absolutly Average...

First I must say that I thought the unit would be a little more high quality. I new that Clarion is a Japanese company but was surprised and disappointed to find that this unit is made in China. This fact alone lowered my expectations.

The design and buttons are OK. I like this feature more accurate than the “the one dial does all”. I find the buttons and sliders to be easier than trying to push a large dial to the right or left without triggering the center command, like found on Pioneer.

The sound is good, although I have difficulty telling one unit from another as well as one song from another. Some songs, depending on how they were recorded, will make all units sound good or bad… Overall the sound is crisp.

I like being able to set up the RCA’s and then insert one plug in the back of the unit. This makes installation easier. Except they made the rear USB port a permanent connection, so you have to hold the head unit in one hand, or lay it on your lap, and run the USB wire through to the front with your other hand. Poor design.

The display, granted you can change colors, is very poor. And the features… Is anyone out there really going to spend time inserting music titles? Please! Why can’t one turn off the NO TITLE line? Screen savers – Lame.

EQ features and adjustments – Lame.

Overall – Average to below average unit.

worth the money when i bought it for 200 before xmas

this little gem is biggest bang for your buck hu ive ever seen. xover controls with TA and eq make this perfect for a 2 way active plus sub situation or a 3 way front stage. the controls are great aswell

only con is the display is hard to read if there is a bad glare on it.

Nearly perfect.

Let me say that for the auto sound enthusiast this head unit is a deal that can't be beat. The features are beyond rich, what you get for the price is ridiculous really; True active crossovers that are thorough and easy to use, 24 bit DAC, Time alignment, individual speaker gains, USB input, 3 band PEQ, actual 6v pre-outs... I could go on and on. This is high end stuff at budget prices.

The screen that everybody complains about doesn't seem to affect me. I adjusted it to some nasty green which matches my dash, adjusted the contrast, have tinted windows and live in cloudy Seattle. Never a problem. The screen and unit look and feel nice to me, although some say it's ugly. The look will grow on you and it does blend in well with a modern dashboard. Above all, the style of face plate does make it easy to use and adjust. I have no problem with it aesthetically.

It is not without issues however.

Like it or lump it this head unit has an artificial sound coloration in the 1600-2000Hz range. Actually, since I can't EQ it out at the 1600 or 2K bands allowed by the PEQ I believe it to be somewhere in the middle. It's artificially boosted internally by the manufacturer, my guess is 5-6db, and I know it's to make this unit seem more crisp to a listener who is A/B testing head units side by side on a dealer demo board. This has a big impact, an unpleasant ear piercing impact, on singing voices from the likes of Rush, Journey, Yes, etc. It makes much music I like unlistenable. If I EQ it out by playing with 1.6 and 2K the music sounds lifeless and dull. My original set up, before this head unit, was passive with a Pioneer HU. Same drivers, same location, same amplifier, same wiring. The sound was much more neutral in this frequency range before. I even went so far as to line out the head unit to my home system consisting of Marantz monobloc amplifiers and PSB Stratus Gold speakers, the unnatural boost was still there.

This flaw is most unsettling to me because it hurts the most important part of any source unit, the sound quality of transparent reproduction of music. This unit is not transparent, it adds sound to the music and that just isn't right.

As much as I love everything about this deck, and as high as I'm forced to rate this deck based on features, design and value I do regret buying it and wish I had gone with the Alpine or Pioneer active deck instead.

You can't go wrong with this

I absolutely love the way it sounds, and the capability to match my dash illumination. I used to be an Alpine die-hard, but this unit changed things for me. The slidetrak design is also unique and captivating.

Great Source

Great head unit at an awesome price! :D

Excellent Source Unit. Awesome for Active Sound Stage!

I've owned both this unit and its predecessor(775usb). The sound quality is excellent and the build quality is very solid.

This unit has LOTS of features and is VERY customizable.
If you run an active setup, this unit is a godsend. Crossovers are implemented very well and have a plethora of adjustments. Time alignment, speaker gain, its all there. One unique feature is setting the unit in 3 way active mode which sets the pre-outputs to Front-High, Front Mid, and Sub. No rear fill. Of course there are settings for more conventional sound systems as well... but for the enthusiast, the important features are there.

USB implementation is good. Boot up times with over 80gb of music on a portable harddrive is very fast, especially in comparison with other manufacturers.

The only gripe sometimes is that the display can be difficult to see in direct sunlight, as with MANY screens found on source units. The only exception to this is usually the units with the bright white display on black background. With that said, the customization of being able to make not only the display but the button illumination whatever color you want is great for making a seamless integration into any car. It drives me nuts seeing a car with a red interior and a big bright blue colored head unit... Not only does it look out of place, but it draws more attention to the unit, which might sound good now, but wait till you've been robbed!

Slide-track controls are very easy to use. Feels more sturdy than most companies flimsy round dials. I kind of prefer there being a button for most functions right on the face rather than needing to shuffle through numerous menus to do what needs to be done.

Over-all, I think this unit is great. I can't wait to see what Clarion replaces it with. I used to be a old school high end Alpine guy... And still like Eclipse... but I've been more than happy with everything I've had from clarion the past few years.