Ok, this is my first review but a few people have asked for one of this particular model, so i'll do my best. FWIW This receiver is replacing the factory Rockford unit.
Items purchased:
Scosche Install kit model NN1661B
Wiring harness:
Receiver Wire Harness For select 1995-up Nissan and Infiniti vehicles at Crutchfield.com
Parking break bypass: ( I highly recommend this, as the relay bypass will not work with this unit. It requires you to set the parking break twice. You could just install a switch, and flip it twice, but this just wires into the back, and done, don't have to worry about it again.
Pioneer iPod/iPhone cable:
Pioneer CD-IU201S iPod and iPhone interface cable for select Pioneer A/V receivers (needed for Advanced App or AppRadio Mode) at Crutchfield.com
Axxess ASWC module: You don't need a link. Look it up you lazy bums.
Install: The install wen't pretty smoothly. All the wires with the radio were marked so it was easy knowing which wires to connect to the harness. I found that I really didn't even need to wire up that many wires, since the 4 RCA jacks handle all the audio.
The quality of the Scosche dash kit leaves a little to be desired. I mean, it does what it is supposed to do, but it just feels cheap. The factory dash piece is much nicer, but it's either this, or the ugly grey one Crutchfield offers.
Now to the radio. I will try and touch on every option that I use.
USB 1/iPod: This is the source you select when you have an iPod/iPhone connected. Now, I use an iPhone 5 as my daily phone, and as of yet, this receiver is not 100% compatible with it. I use the 30 pin to lightning adapter in conjunction with the Pioneer iPod cable (which is ridiculously big, I mean come on Pioneer....get your **** together). This radio actually lets you use certain apps on screen like the AppRadio does. However, the Apple adapter I use does not convert the iPhone 5's now digital video signal to analog, SO.... no video output is possible with the iPhone 5(at this time). Everything else works though. I opened up GarageBand and played a couple tracks I have recorded, and it played great. I could pull up the drums, and jam away in my truck! (although, there was a tiny amount of lag that I noticed when doing this)
I also tried using an iPhone 4 I have. It worked great with the radio, and video output function was great. I could even launch Waze (the best GPS app ever!) and view it on my screen. Free GPS! Screw the 300$ add-on!
HD Radio: Are you freaking kidding me? I had no idea FM radio could sound this good. I mean, night and day. Now, I haven't listened to FM radio in a long time, and still dislike the programming for the most part, but the audio quality is way better than regular FM. Unfortunately, most of the HD stations in my area are country (Nashville,...go figure), but I can still tell a quality difference. I'm even using a stubby antenna if that matters.
Bluetooth Audio AVRCP: iPhone owners beware, there is a bug in the newest OS that prevents AVRCP from functioning properly. (iOS 6 to 6.0.2) You can still play your music over bluetooth, but no music data shows on the screen, and you cannot control the iPhone from the screen of the head unit, which you should be able to. As far as I'm aware, Apple is aware, and hopefully a fix will be coming soon. My Droid DNA however, works great with this function.
USB 2 (External HD): Now this is what i'm talking about. I installed a 1 TB HD in my lower glovebox, plugged it in to the back of the radio and BAM! Every bit of music I own is on my radio. You can organize the HD folders anyway you wish, and using the radio's spotlight function can pull up your entire library, and search through you entire catalog. There is even a media button that lets you choose between Music, movies, and pictures, so it only shows that one particular media when you are searching. Watching video from the HD works great too. I don't think I will even use the DVD player much. The HD is Velcro'd into place, and I can easily pull it out and add/remove files in just a minute or two. For me, this is the bee's knees, and will be my most used function. I do have one complaint about this function though.... It takes a while before the HD is recognized each time you start the truck up. Usually about a minute before it will start playing music. Not that much of a buzz kill for me, but a slight annoyance.
DVD: Yep. It plays them. What more do you want?
SD Card reader: Umm.... it looks like it works. I honestly haven't used it since I have the external HD hooked up, but I'm sure it pretty much operates the same way.
Mixtrack: Lol, don't use it, don't care.
General observations: The resolution on this screen is crisp and clean. the touchscreen interface works smoothly, and with less lag than I have seen on a lot of other units. The touch seems responsive, and accurate. I believe there is even a way to calibrate it, but I haven't needed to. There has been once or twice when it seemed like the screen got a little laggy, but it only lasted a few seconds, and hasn't happened since the 2nd or 3rd day I had it installed. The EQ kicks ***, with a lot more control over the sound then the factory Rockford system. Audio quality is outstanding. everything is crisp and clear, and i even seem to get more punch on the high end from the two rockford subs. The level of customization for the screen/backgrounds/theme color is pretty awesome. I have the illumination dialed into to almost perfect match the interior dash lights color.
Now, I still to this point have not been able to get my ASWC to work correctly. I have checked, and double checked my connections. The ASWC gets power, but indicates I don't have it connected to the correct wires, which according to the instructions, I have the exact wires connected. I'll just wait a while, and maybe somebody else will install theirs in a '12 w/ Rockford, and then I can pick their brain. Besides, the unit comes with a remote, so I can just use that for the time being.
All in all I am extremely happy with this unit. As soon the iPhone 5 becomes fully compatible, I will be one happy camper, but like I said, I mostly use the external HD, so I'm not sweating it.
As long winded as this is, if there is something I didn't cover that you would like to know about just ask.
Andromeda, Rommie for short
Linear Mode
