Customer Reviews

Clarion CZ100 In-Dash CD / MP3 / WMA / AAC Reciever

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Looks and sounds great, and the build quality is very good. Has a bunch of options for tuning your sound. The built in low pass filter and subwoofer controls are great. I have this powering the Pioneer TS-A6872R 6-Inch X 8-Inch 3-Way 240-Watt Speakers (Pair) and it sounds great. The FM reception is extremely good. The only reason I give this 4 stars is due to the fact that the clock will not display unless you push a button. If you take any other action you must push the same button in order to make the clock display. There should at least be the option to have the clock be the default display.

UPDATE: I'm now using a JVC KTHDPK1 / KT-HDPK1 / KT-HDPK1 Transportable HD Radio Receiver with Car Kit with this head unit and it sounds like the band is in my car. Also using a JVC KS-AX3002 Compact 2-Channel Power Amplifier with 370 Watts Max. Power Output (Black) to drive the the Pioneers I mentioned above.

UPDATE 2: There is now a newer version called the CZ101, might want to check that one out too

I've had this head unit for about a week and a half so far in a '93 Honda Civic CX. Hooked to it, I have a pair of 5 1/4 Pioneer TS-G1343R speakers. I am very impressed with the combo and the sound coming from my speakers. This head unit adds an extra something to the sound that seems to be missing in other budget head units. Something that makes me want to keep listening to the music, instead of just turning it off. I suppose that can be good and bad, since I have to move on with my life. Honestly, this head unit is a bit ritzier that what I need, and has blue illumination that is very fancy. Some of the buttons are a little hard to press and will need a bit of wearing in. The navigation is not completely intuitive, but close enough. The EQing options are quite impressive, giving you the ability to tweak the frequency and Q of the bass and midrange, and just the frequency for the treble. If you are getting older and you have lost your ability to hear around 15 kHz (the highs cease to sound crisp to you anymore, but rather they sound tinny), no problem. Just turn the treble frequency down to something in the 12 kHz range, or even lower. If you know how to use a detailed EQ, it can really work to your advantage.

You get 18 watts RMS per channel, which isn't bad, but Clarion certainly has head units that are much higher if you shell out the $$$. You get 4 RCA outputs, which rivals most head unit's 2 outputs. If you have a car with steering wheel audio controls, there is a connection in the back of this head unit for that, which is uncommon for head units that are this cheap.

The radio sounds great on many channels, and this head unit seems to really reveal the bad EQing and poor signal quality on certain FM radio stations. Whereas, on my old Pioneer most channels sounded pretty good, on this head unit, certain channels sound awful and other sound excellent. But one major drawback is that this tuner does not pull in the channels as well as many other similarly priced tuners. Even though it can sound good, it just doesn't pull in channels like my old Pioneer. It occasionally skips pretty strong channels, and I have to rescan to find them, and it is not uncommon to have the signal go in and out when driving under trees and through certain areas. So if you need stellar, perfect signals that don't go in and out once in a while, you might look at some other head units, or even some higher level Clarion's. I've never had a problem with the tuner in Pioneer's though, as they've really gotten it down to a science. However, I have never had any problems with AM reception on this head unit. AM signals come in perfectly fine, and maybe better than my old Pioneer.

The fit and finish of this head unit is pretty good, but I'll have to see how it holds up over time. I had a Pioneer DEH-P6400 head unit that I paid $300 for back in the day, and it was wonderfully built and only started having problems ejecting cds after about 7 years (but you could still get them out with a little work). I don't really feel like I've downgraded too much with this Clarion, although I don't think it's going to be as fit and finish as my old Pioneer. But for the price, this head unit is great so far. And it sounds a little better than my old Pioneer. Can't put my finger on why.

Excellent choice to buy a reasonablly low-priced, great-quality car stereo.
Easy installation, manually perfectly explained with the necessary details.

I bought this stereo as a replacement for my wife's Jeep Wrangler stock / OEM stereo. Had I known this stereo did not display a clock by default, I would not have purchased it. I will be looking for a replacement soon.

This stereo is great for the money but fm leaves a lil to be desired but that is what the cd player is for!

Worth every cent. Good features, quality product, sounds fantastic, plenty of clean power output for my four 6.5" 3-ways. Installed in a 93 Cherokee and I did not expect such a difference in sound clarity from the stock stereo. SUPRISE! Playing the same CD's through the same speakers is now a world of difference! Cleaner, crisper, and louder without distortion. I searched far and wide before I decided on this Clarion, but for the money, it can't be beat. As a bonus, the super-hilarious instruction manual obviously written by the Chinese is great entertainment. "Fast volumes could damage your hearings" and other interesting translations are a comedy treat. Buy it and enjoy!

I love this head unit. I got it for $50 shipped and it arrived right on time. It has all of the features of the more expensive units like a fully custom EQ, remote, 4 channel rca out, mp3 playback, aux in, and more.Plus it looks awesome. I have gotten many compliments on the looks. I didnt think it would be nearly as good as it is. Install was pretty straight forward. It powers the stock door speakers nicely, even pushed the aftermarket door speakers pretty well after i got them installed. But i have since upgraded to a seperate amp for mids and highs. Also hooked up to a planet audio BB2400 pushing an fi btl 12. This head unit is perfect for the job. I would definitely recomend this.

as far as looks and function are concerned, you can not beat this item. figuring it out is a little more difficult. the booklet it comes with is vague in the means of how to work this equipment, thought the wiring diagrams are great. if you have the time and the patience to sit down and get to know the stereo, this is the unit for you. if not, I would stil recommend it. it looks and sounds great.

This Radio is a great buy for the Money. It's really a high end product without all the bells and whistles except excellent output options and sound texturing capability. it sounds really good, works great and I recommend this radio highly!

so i've purchased this headunit a couple of weeks ago and i've got to say im pretty pleased with it. I had a jvc kd series in my car and it made my pyle 6.5 4 ways and 6x9 8 way speakers sound like crap. this clarion is like night and day. i hear everything much clearer. I wasnt expecting so much out of a lower priced headunit but it does the trick. I can play CDs and have mp3 memory. also i can hook up the Ipod. or in my case my cell phone. its got a full adjustable feature. you can adjust the sound of every corner and speaker you have hooked up. as well as adjusting the output of the aux jack and thats where i personally recondmend everyone doing if they want the best performance out of the stereo. the clock feature that everyone talks about is not a bad thing. honestly if u read the manual and adjust the time and turn off the screensaver thats be set as default you'll have no problem with the clock. after u turn off the screen saver just press display and dont touch anything else. if you mess with the volume control or change a station you'll have to press the display button again. but never the less i aint worried about it cause i got a clock in my car. but over all this headunit gets a 5 star rating. its very easy to use for a beginner and easy to tune to get the best out of ur speakers. strongly recondmend this to anyone on a budget. this headunit actually acts and feels and sounds like a top of the line headunit.