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"How many actually own this product?" on by thriceguy
Pros: Does everything I could want it to do.
Cons: People think its crap because its a Jensen and remote buttons are small.
Summary: All the reviews so far are from people that just think everything is crap from Jensen, which I think is wrong. I have had the model vm9411 which is the same as the vm9511 except it isn't touch screen and the navigation module is not compatible. I have had many car stereo setups with JL, pioneer, and all the other name brands so I am aware of Jensen's reputation. I was very reluctant to purchase it as well because the name Jensen envokes thoughts of bad craftsmanship. I decided what the hell and purchased it anyway since I was looking for a in dash dvd below $1000.
The main thing that draw me too it was the price and that it supported the IPOD video. You can hook up your IPOD Video and watch all your videos through the ipod cable which is great. The screen is nice, the ipod integration is very easy to use and responsive, and it sounds good. The tv atenna doesnt really work that well as expected but you can always add a better antenna if watching tv is your deal.Ive had the unit for three months now and I couldnt be happier with it. -
"Both the VM9021TS and VM9511TS are outstanding" on by fraleywp
Pros: Support nearly every format and media, TV tuner and Ipod controll bundled
Cons: No Sirius tuner, main remote buttons too small
Summary: I have been installing car stereo systems since the early 80s(only for myself and friends). I have owned many brands from Kraco to Eclipse. I have also owned several flip-out and in-dash mutlimedia systems. I have owned 4 Eclipse, 3 Pioneer, and now a Jensen. The feature set and compatibility of the Jensen is second to none. I used to be of the Jensen=junk crowd. I first noticed the VM9511TS at Circuit City. When I looked at what it offered I was amazed. I decided to take a leap of faith and give Jensen a shot.
I prefer double-din installations so I ended up buying the VM9021TS. It offers pretty much what the VM9511TS does.
The most amazing thing to me is the built-in amp is definately up to the task of powering full-range speakers well enough to keep up with amp powered subs. I guess CEA 2006 power ratings are more realistic. I have 2 MTX Thunder 4500 12" subs running off of a JL 500/1 and the HU has no trouble keeping the full range speakers up to par with them. I do plan on installing some MB Quart PSD216 6.5" components in the near future. At that point I'll install a 4-channel amp.
The most surprising thing for me is the sound quality is very good. The pre-outs have good output and provide a clean signal to the amps.
The HU controls are more than adequate and there are many things that are so much better thought out than any Pioneer or Eclipse system I have owned. The ability to establish a preset turn-on volume is one of those features. The multi-zone setup and source select screens are well layed out and easy to read. The MP3 screen is very informative. The iPod control is unprecedented. The ability to display Photos and Videos on the screen is a huge step forward in iPod to car integration. I really think that Audiovox has stepped it up a notch with the current Jensen line.
The only real complaint I have is the XM support is not nearly as good as the iPod support is. The text for song and artist does not scroll and does not show the full text. In addition, the preset text is too small and makes it hard to select the channel from the touch screen. A Sirius option would be good as well. I also think that Audiovox should have required Circuit City to offer the NAV100 as a package. As it is now, you have to get the NAV100 module from somewhere other than Circuit City.
In summary, I have to admit I was extremely skeptical of buying a Jensen product. They have been very bad for a long time. If Audiovox continues along the path they are taking Jensen right now there will only be good things to come. I challenge anyone to find a comparably priced system that matches the Jensen products feature for feature. -
"Good product" on by scottycock
Pros: Not too bad a learning curve required, many features.
Cons: Placement, FM stations, and the media module
Summary: When I first bought this product, I was VERY skeptical. I thought this product would be total crap, but the guy at the audio store insisted that this would make me happier than the pioneer system that I was also looking at that was almost the same price. My only first gripe was the placement. In my Audi A4, the unit sticks about 1/2 an inch out of the dash. This makes it look incredibly ugly when the screen is not up. When the screen is up, however, it looks great. The unit doesn’t interfere with anything on the dash because of its weird placement. The FM stations in my car went to crap after this installation. This is said to be because of the antenna being placed inside the rear window of my car, and the radio not being able to pick up signal because of the smaller number of transistors in my new head unit compared to the stock one. I purchased an XM kit and couldn’t be happier. In response to ZZZED, I agree the screen takes a little bit of time to respond, but it is definitely bearable -maybe 2.5 seconds. In the ipod selection you can not scroll through the songs easily but can drag the sidebar through the amount of pages that have the content- takes a day to get used to, then can find most any song/artist in maybe 8 seconds. The ipod control did not work on ZZZED's customers unit most likely because the customer had the multi zone selection on, in order to have the ipod work, the multi zone selection has to be on standby (it took a while for me to find out why my ipod wasn’t working!). Overall, thus far, this head unit has been great. The screen looks good when scrolling through the menus, and great when watching videos. I would recommend people to at least consider this head unit when searching for a nice one, for it has many good features, as well as some bad ones.
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"Great Stereo packed with features!" on by GVCatalano
Pros: Media compatability, $Price$, Ease of Installation, XM Ready, iPod Ready, Good power, User Friendly U/I, Remote Control, Nice Display, Hackable Brake Wire Codes available,
Cons: Non-detachable faceplate, iPod interface only plays back alphabetically, length of media cable for installation in trunks!
Summary: I have the Phase Linear version of this exact radio. For those who dont know who P.L. is...they are the sister company of Jensen with the exact same product lines. They are warrantied by Jensen too!
I think these units are abolutely stellar for the price range and actually offer much more than comparably featured units with much higher price tags.
I have installed this radio into my Alfa Romeo Spider with a 1200 watt 5 Channel Amp, 1 - 12" Subwoofer, 2 - 6x9 Sony Speakers and 4 - 5.25 Sony Speakers and could not be happier with its performance. I also added the XM radio for about $60 + $200 for the subscription.
The unit is very nice and the screen is very sharp and vibrant! The touch screen controls are very well laid out and sensitive to touch commands. The response times (probably due to fewer clock cycle speeds of the actual processors) is a little sluggish at times but from what I have read about other much more expensive models they are all about the same anyways. This technology is far from perfect and I suspect that all cars will be standard with something like this by 2010. Expect drastic improvements in touch screen controls over the next few years.
There are a few things to learn and I wouldn't try learning to manipulate any controls while driving. I don't want my kids (or yours) to get hit by a driver that was paying attention to their radio over the safety of people in the streets. Go sit inside your garage, grab a beer, and learn your new radio BEFORE you drive around showing it off...because there is a lot to learn!
I was provided a Jensen override code used by engineers to program the codes before the radios are shipped. Using it, I blindly hacked (meaning I never connected the infamous "Pink Wire" to my brake therefore had no screen to view any chages from) the radio's security features so that I can view DVDs driving down the freeway if I wanted to do so. The truth is, I only have that feature turned on so my passengers (uh, wife) can view a movie when we're driving because I certainly dont want to take my eyes off the road one second here in Ft. Lauderdale! Since I dont have a back seat to allow passengers to sit in the back and "legally" view a movie from another monitor, I chose to hack the system with a code sequence designed to bypass the programmed security feature. doing this changes the DVD Region code to ALL instead of just Region 1 (or whatever corresponds to your country). This means that I can play all the bootlegged DVDs from China too...if I had them, I mean! This system plays DiVX, AVI, and DVD. I was very pleased with the video...crisp, good sound, and good resolution.
I dont use the iPod adapter and probabaly won't because I can create a gigaDVD with all of the MP3's I want and be alright with that. From what I have seen on my sisters radio though (same model), the iPod plays all of the songs in a user-created playlist and sorts them in the U/I in alphabetical order even though they aren't set up that way in the iPod itself. Meaning, if you want to listen to a song that starts with a letter Z, be prepared to scroll through EVERY song title to get to it! Imagine going through 80GB of music manually! I feel they should shoot the engineer that came up with that stupid bit of code!
There is a separate "Brain" that accompanies the actual Single Din unit and it makes installation a bit more tedious, the unit a bit more bulky, and wiring a bit more complex (did I mention more expensive if you have someone else install it?) but is still very simple to do yourself. This additional brain CANNOT be mounted in the trunk or rear speaker box (if you have one like I do) because the media wire is just too short...and I even drive one of the smallest 2 seaters ever made! Most people install the brains under the dash or passenger seat due to this drawback but if you own a convertible, the first thing we do is PROTECT OUR STUFF so I knocked points off my review for Jensen's oversight. Its funny though, the universal XM tuner comes with a 20 foot cable but understand this...the XM box plugs into the Brain, which makes 19 feet of its cable useless.
Other noteworthy mentionables...these units are in severe need of detachable faceplates. I made a fiberglass cover to make it appear from the outside as if a faceplate was already removed so that when I exit the vehicle, I just place it over the existing face and it looks like the stereo is detached. My creation will be available on eBay soon for $30.00 as soon as I run off about 100 molds and sign/secure the necessary patents.
Also, the car industry is too locked into blue LED for everything now. I dont mind blue and actually like it but I like options more than a color and would prefer that the backlights of the radio come with more color options to suit the taste and theme of the car. I own a RED/Black car and the ONLY blue thing in it is this radio at night. Red/Green/White LED would have been a nice touch for almost little change in the cost of manufacturing or MSRP! -
"EXCELLENT!!" on by elnetitojr
Pros: IT HAS EVERYTHING I WANT , in a really good price,
Cons: SD card reader everytime u turn on ur stereo starts from the beginning
Summary: well i owned this product, paid 600 for it , and so far i've been so happy with it,at the beginning i was a little aware because it was a jensen, but now i know i did the smartest choice, love their ipod and mp3 formtas, perhaps the only thing i dont like about it is the sd card reader like i already mentioned, so if u want QUALITY AND PRICE this is the choice u need to get, dont just go over brand names, u will ended up paying more for less.
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