Clarion CX305 Installation Package for 2004-2008 Mazda RX8

Pure crap

Had this professionally installed only to find out the next button does not work and the source button only works when you push it 20 times if your lucky. So now I have to remove it. So I guess I should have paid more money at a local stereo shop to leave with a deck that works. Also the Clarion cx305 feels and looks cheap. You can't even read the screen in the sun. Don't buy this

very satisfied

The only criticism I have with this unit is it has so many features that it has a bit of a learning curve. It works as advertised - good value for the price and once you figure out which button does what it is enjoyable to operate

Dont buy if you want "American Made"

Well I needed this product to finish my project on my sons Mazda RX8. We were installing a Double Din stereo system in his car that he got for Christmas. First off the High Gloss face plate did not fit the radio. Metra's answer to the problem was to grind the NEW part and make it fit. Also on four sides of the box it says "made in the USA", of course to my surprise every item in the box said Made in China. Metra answer for that, "Well it was assembled in the USA". The main mother board did not even last during the instillation process. I had to get another one to finish the project. Thank God for Sonic and the great service I got from them. Replacement part sent, installed and worked great. Sonic saved the day. Overall I was not pleased with Metra, and many reviews say the same thing, Poor customer service. However, two thumbs up for Sonic, great customer service and backing of the merchandise they sell.

Rx8 dash kit

The kit fit great . I had to modify the dash behind to fit the module that runs the heater and clock system but other than that looks great and functions well. When I was looking for this there was an option to buy just the bracket alone. make sure you buy the kit as with out module the car will not function proporly and it also e plainer the two price differences between the to products .

Not for Australia

I was happy with this product, price, speed of delivery, quality. The only problem I had was when I went to have it installed it was not suitable for Mazda RX8's in Austalia, therefore unusable.

Love it!

I had bestbuy install this in my 2004 RX8 and it looks great. Cannot tell its even aftermarket.

Nice looking, simple remote, complex functions, many features, sounds great!

The sound is great! I thought a simplified remote would indicate simplified setup and operation but not so. Less buttons means more variations of combinations. It sounds great though. A remote with more buttons would actually be better. The sound is great and the installation was almost flawless. The blue wire has to get connected to the red wire to power on. Tech support quickly pointed that out in a few minutes (cudos) and it came up working. The clock was difficult to set the time but using a combination of the remote and face plate buttons I finally got it. Read the manual. It might help to post the manual as a PDF online so people can see what is involved in operation and setup before deciding to buy. My wife likes it so far so that is good. The automatic station search is a great feature and the bluetooth pairing to phone was easier than the clock setting. Did I mention it sounds great in my wife's Saturn L200? Oh, if installing in a Saturn you may want to get some fillers for the sides since the unit is not as wide as the factory model. Also, be sure to save the mounting brackets. I did not and had to get some aluminum pipe straps from the hardware store and cut them to similar shape for mounting. I soldered all the wires so that took some time but still it was only about 2 or 3 hours for it all. Probably would not take the average person that long. I'm an analyst so you know I have to analyze everything first.

Love it!

Easy to install, high quality sound, and fits perfectly! I initially forgot to tell the sellers the name and year of my vehicle and they shipped out the installation package immediately at no extra cost. One of the most pleasurable on-line purchase experiences I've ever encountered.

Aftermarket & the RX-8

Before purchasing this product I had to choose between having my head unit installed or having working HVAC controls. I thank Metra for solving this issue, which I wish Mazda never would have created in the first place.

Buying from Sonic was great, and they had the lowest price I could find. Product was well packed and everything was included.

I am very satisfied with this product as it does what it claims. I do have a few nitpicks though. For one the instructions seem to end before you are done with the installation. They do cover all the important and tricky stuff, but they miss some simple things. There are tabs included that go onto the back of the plastic trim ring that snap and lock it to the dash. I had to take the dash back apart to put these in as they are not mentioned. Also, I had to find additional screws to mount my radio. My other complaint is both cables that plug into the control box have the exact same connector. The labels on the box are black text and the box is black. So it is very easy to hook them up wrong, and there are warning about his in the manual. They could have made the connectors different or had color coding or something. The last slight complains is that the finish is very good, but not great on the plastic. Some people sand and refinish theirs, I haven't yet.

Now I am currently using this with a single DIN stereo until I buy a double DIN. Because of this I have some fitment issues which is not Metras fault. The stereo sits too deep. I am going to try to solve this, but in case you are like me and are doing things in stages know that could be an issue you'll have to adjust for.

Overall this is highly recommended. There is only one other solution out there, but it is way more expensive. Thank you Metra, and thank you Sonic.

Great value!

Compares to the more expensive stereo's!
Great product. Easy to use and install. Has everything
I wanted for a remarkable price