Clarion CX609 2-DIN CD/MP3/WMA/AAC Receiver with USB Port

by Clarion

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4 x 7 inches ; 4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001OQ8KB0
• Item model number: CX609
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,260 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description From its symmetric design with large rotary volume control, to the illumination accented dark color scheme, the 2-DIN CX609 offers dynamic looks that blend into your car interior. And with features like built-in Bluetooth, Direct iPod Control, streaming audio from USB devices, and more, this receiver's a pleasure to use, see and hear.

A pleasure to use, see and hear. Click to enlarge.

Built-in Bluetooth for hands-free calling and music streaming.

iPod USB Direct for playback through USB cable included in your iPod.

USB Connector even supports playback of WMA/MP3/AAC files.

728 Variable-Color Illumination
You're free to select the exact color you want, to match your car's instrument panel or match your mood today.

Built-in Bluetooth
For wireless connection with mobile phones, PDAs and MP3 Players. Supports Bluetooth profiles A2DP/AVRCP for audio streaming and HFP/OPP for hands-free operation, so you can easily communicate and transfer digital music to your vehicle's audio system. A wired microphone is also supplied.

CDs and Beyond
This receiver will play your CDs and CD-R/RWs, but burn a data CD with your favorite MP3/WMA or iTunes AAC files and the fun begins, with hours of music on a single disc. You can also play the files back from an inserted USB thumb drive. The device will display ID3-TAG info like artist or song name for your added convenience.

AM/FM Radio
Sometimes you just want to listen to the radio. Store your favorite radio stations on the 18 FM and six AM presets.

BBE MP (Minimized Polynomial Non-Linear Saturation)
By restoring the harmonics that are lost during digital compression of MP3 and WMA audio files, BBE MP reproduces the warmth, details and nuances of sound that you would otherwise miss. Effective for digital audio files and CDs.

Beat EQ with Parametric Equalization
In addition to providing 3 preset equalization patterns, BeatEQ even lets you freely customize the level and range of the bass, midrange and treble portions of each pattern with a 3-band parametric equalizer

Direct USB iPod control
The USB input on the rear of the CX609 lets you connect your iPod directly without an expensive adapter. Just use your stock iPod cable, and you'll enjoy your favorite iPod tunes, along with complete control and battery charging of your iPod. The unit also supports title display for the tracks playing on your iPod.

SAT Radio Ready
Clarion gives you the choice of XM Satellite Radio or Sirius Satellite Radio. Choose either system and you can connect a Satellite Radio receiver with Translator connected via Ce-NET. Enjoy over 150 channels of music, news, talk shows, sports and traffic information with CD quality sound.

Front Panel Auxiliary Input
Connect MP3 players or other external audio devices in a snap with the 3.5mm front auxiliary input.

Room to Grow
The CX609 gives you a 50W x 4 built-in amplifier to begin with, along with two RCA preamp outputs (F, R/SW) for system expansion.

Remote Control Included
Control the action with the included wireless remote.

What's in the Box
Clarion CX609, trim ring, wiring harness, remote control, microphone, installation hardware, owner's manual, installation guide.

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description From its symmetric design with large rotary volume control, to the illumination accented dark color scheme, the 2-DIN CX609 offers dynamic looks that blend into your car interior. And with features like built-in Bluetooth, Direct iPod Control, streaming audio from USB devices, and more, this receiver's a pleasure to use, see and hear.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good all around with some annoyances here and there., May 15, 2009

By 

K. Forti - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Clarion CX609 2-DIN CD/MP3/WMA/AAC Receiver with USB Port (Electronics)

I purchased the CX609 for my 2008 Nissan Frontier. Having high end audio systems in my past two cars, I initially was going to just leave my truck stock, but then I got a new phone (Samsung Omnia) on which I can store 16 gigs of music, and the Bluetooth audio bug bit me hard. I picked this stereo because it does everything I want it to do (I will discuss the functions in detail later) and it's Double Din, so it fits perfectly in my dash. In fact, its worth noting that I didn't need an install trim kit to fit this into my dash. Despite Crutchfield telling me I'd need a $20 Metra kit, I found that all I needed to do to install the chassis was to unscrew the 2 brackets from my stock HU and screw them onto the Clarion. Clarion's install instructions clearly explain how to do this for Nissan and Toyota vehicles, although I did not use the thin spacers that the instructions said to use. Didn't need them as the stock and new HU chassis were both exactly the same width (I believe Clarion makes the stock HU).

The main reason I bought this unit was for the Bluetooth abilities, and because in addition to hands free functionality, it also supports A2DP Bluetooth audio streaming, so I can play music from my phone right through the stereo with no wires. I am really impressed with this technology. I did some testing with a CD burned from MP3s, and with the original MP3s streamed via BT. I honestly can't hear the difference. When connected, the HU controls the phone by changing tracks, pausing, playing, stopping, and it also can FF/RW through tracks, which is something my BT headphones can't do.

The CX609 works well as a hands free unit as well. When a call comes in the HU pauses the music and rings through the speakers. I ran the microphone up through the A pillar and headliner and popped it out next to the map light/sunglass holder. This is about where a stock MIC is found on a Frontier with factory BT, and it works fantastic. Everyone who I've spoken to says they can hear me better on the HU than on my phone. The MIC gain can be adjusted easily from 1-5, but I found the stock level of 3 too soft, and my preferred level of 4 is just a bit too sensitive. I just need to speak at a normal conversation levels rather than "yelling" into the BT which is what I often tend to do. Once connected, the stereo is ready to take calls in any mode. To initiate calls you are supposed to be able to browse your phonebook on the stereo (I haven't loaded mine yet, and might not bother), or you can enter numbers directly, or of course use the phone, which is how I do it.

However, all is not perfect. My major gripe with the HU is also Bluetooth related. The HU can be set to auto connect to the phone, or do it manually. Autoconnect works great, and if you want to listen to the phone right away, it handles everything for you. The problem is that if you are listening to any other source, it goes to Bluetooth mode every time you turn it on as soon as the phone connects, and you need to switch back to your old source. If you shut auto connect off, it stays on the previous source, but to connect you need to switch to BT and go through a menu to select the phone as there is a disconnect button, but no connect button. If you don't connect it, you don't get hands free capabilities if you get a call, so its kind of a no-win. For now I just let it connect (which it does VERY fast) and then switch to another source if I don't want to listen to the phone.

The attatched USB cord is very cool and allows you to connect your ipod up without an adapter (haven't tried it), or plug in your thumb drives and stream music off of them. I plugged a Kingston 4gb micro SDHC chip into a thumbdrive adapter, loaded up some albums, and plugged it into the cord (which I snaked into my glovebox), and it works great. The read speed is almost instantaneous, and it navigates folders easily. Very cool.

The stereo works fine, although as the less than stellar FM sensitivity specs would suggest, it doesn't pick up stations quite as well as the stock stereo, but out on the road its fine. In my basement garage I was able to pick up all the stations I would expect, although 1 came in scratchy until I pulled outside. It does not have RDS or HD radio, which would have been nice, but you can program station titles which in a way is better because you don't end up with your stations named incorrectly the way many RDS receivers do it.

CDs play fine. I haven't tried an MP3 disc yet since I have the phone and USB port, but it does read track titles off my CDA discs... cool.

Overall sound quality is good. I still have stock speakers so I can't say for sure how good. The preset sound schemes didn't please me, but the custom function works well. You can set your low, mid, and high levels, and for each you can select the frequency center and Q ratio (I believe this means how wide your adjustment is). I believe lows can be set at 50, 100, or 200. mids at 500, 1000, or 2000, and highs at 5000, 10000, or 15000. Q settings are .7, 1, 1.4, or 2 for each. I prefer smaller Qs. While it's nowhere near as nice as the 12 band EQ I had in my last vehicle, it does work pretty well. It also has a Bass Expander and BBE processing - but only for CDs and MP3s. I wish you could use BBE on everything.

The display is ok but not as high end as it could be. The color on black screen looks good in some of the colors, but not all. My interior lighting is amber but the amber looks bad on the display, so I set it to Red which I find is easier to read. Ford owners with green illumination would like the green, and blue looks cool but it doesn't match my car. You can customize your color (R0-8, G0-8, B0-8), but most colors are pre programmed. My HU is mounted right at 30 degrees, so I need to crank the contrast to be able to read it at that angle... but it works.

The remote that comes with it does enough, although it wont navigate menus which might be more useful than anything. Warning... when installing make sure you plug the MIC into the correct port. It also fits in the remote port which is the same size. I made that mistake and only figured out the problem after the MIC and IR remote both didn't work. This suggests to me that the IR remote may not function if you hook up a steering wheel adapter... although I can't be sure.

Overall, for $230 + $25 in harness and antenna adapters, this radio is an affordable unit that really does the trick, especially if you want to maintain a stock look. You can get much flashier units in a single DIN, or go with a touch screen DVD player for more money, but to have a radio that looks like it came in the vehicle, but does stuff that most factory radios cant, look no further!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Really like it, December 7, 2009

By 

S. Franklin "MusicDad" (Charleston SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Clarion CX609 2-DIN CD/MP3/WMA/AAC Receiver with USB Port (Electronics)

I've had mine for two weeks and have really learned to like it. Unfortunately, it does not have a way to initiate voice dialing from the head unit. As a consolation prize, it is pretty straightforward to transfer my phonebook from my phone (Note - I use the 'selected categories only' option from my Blackberry so I only transfer over about a dozen. Any more than that and it gets tedious scrolling through the entries - and dangerous.)

Pros:
Nice double din size to fill the dashboard
Can change display color - more fun than I expected
Bluetooth telephone and Bluetooth audio work great
USB connector from rear of unit allows iPod to be stored in glove compartment.
ISR Button allows 1 button to select favorite radio station
Can enter radion station names into headunit.
Navigation through the Bluetooth Phonebook and iPod Playlist is easy.
Incoming Bluetooth phone calls will activate the unit even when it is in 'off' mode (note - car has to be running or in ACC mode).

Cons:
Can't initiate voice dial from head unit
Also another quirk is that if I initiate voice dial from phone, subsequent voice dial attempts are muted. Voice dial still works, but you can't hear the prompts (Resets itself next time you get in the car.) Odd, but consistent.
If Bluetooth Audio is set to autoconnect, then the unit will automatically switch to it as the source when you start your car. If you were listening to the radio and stop your car and get out, when you get back in a start the car, you will hear the radio for about 5 seconds, then the Bluetooth audio will connect and automatically switch over. Again, odd but consistent.
Display screen is execellent when viewed straight on and loses contrast when viewed from angle. Driver and front seat passenger generally have an angled view that can make the display difficult to read depending on your car/seating/dash configuration.

I would definitely buy this unit again. Sound is great. Bluetooth is easy and reliable. If voice dialing could be initiated from the headunit, this would be a 5 star system.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good factory replacement, May 25, 2009

By 

Matt (MO, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clarion CX609 2-DIN CD/MP3/WMA/AAC Receiver with USB Port (Electronics)

Overview - the great Blue-Tooth sound quality, the nice factory look, and ease of basic use (due to button layout) are the main reasons why I would recommend this product.
I basically wanted to add Blue-Tooth, USB, and MP3 player AUX in to my factory stereo, and this unit did the job (it says that it can control an I-Pod plugged into the USB input but I have not yet tried this). This unit looks just as good as a factory installed unit in my Toyota Sienna. The basic operations are easy to use (because they provide enough actual buttons that you are not constantly stuck reading a context-sensitive-menu while you are trying to drive).
Music audio sound quality is fine, I did not need a unit with a huge amp, (I still have the factory speakers installed) so this unit is great for my purposes.
Blue-Tooth - My mic is placed next to my garage door opener and the phone quality when using Blue-Tooth is great (all cords were completely hidden so it looks professional). The pairing process was a bit clunky, I had to read the manual as it is not intuitive. I have only 1 phone paired to this unit and so far everyone I talk to says that it sounds good from their end, and I can hear them perfectly.
Playing MP3 songs via the USB input is very good, this player displays the folder name when you select a folder which makes it easy to pick what folder of music you want to play (the no-name brand stereo in our boat does not display folder names, so I really appreciate this unit in this respect). We removed MANY of our CDs from our car since we already have them loaded on our USB stick, that will help keep our CDs from getting scratched.
Radio - Sounds as good as my factory radio for AM/FM stations. One neat feature is the ISR (Instant Station Recall) button, program your favorite station to this button and you switch to that station with a single button press (as opposed to doing "source select" until you are at radio, then pressing "Band" to choose AM/FM, and then choosing your preset 1-6), so this is a nice shortcut for the 1 station that you listen to the most.
The display - one of the nice features about this unit is also its worst feature. The good part is that it lets you choose from many different display colors so that it will go nicely with any vehicle, what a cool feature. The bad news is that the display is simply not bright enough, this is the reason that the unit did not get 5/5 stars. During the bright daytime the display appears washed-out, and I ended up picking a bright display color instead of the display color that matched my vehicles color scheme.