Clarion FZ709 MP3/WMA/AAC Receiver with USB Port

by Clarion

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6 x 7 x 6 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 10 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001OQEBZ4
• Item model number: FZ709
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #40,521 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

If you've given up CDs for the convenience and economy of MP3, WMA or AAC files, then Clarion's future-forward FZ709 is for you. Why bother carrying around CDs if you've already ripped them to your PC anyway? The FZ709 does away with the standard CD player and instead offers a USB port for direct control of your iPod or streaming of your digital audio files from a USB device. Connect your iPod or thumb drive and enjoy hours of music and a clean touch-sensitive interface. What's more, the FZ709 features built-in Bluetooth, for hands-free calling or streaming of audio from compatible devices. Expand your options even further by adding SAT radio, connecting your steering wheel remote, or adding more power via the three preamp outputs. And if you really want to spin a scratched-up old CD, connect a portable player to the unit's auxiliary input.

Cutting edge features and looks to match. Click to enlarge.

Touch sensor operation with only the buttons you need displayed.

Connect your iPod directly and enjoy the tunes.

Stream music from USB devices.

Includes wireless remote.

Sleek Touch-Sensitive Front Panel
The FZ709 features a clean, multi-line OEL (Organic Electro-Luminescence) display that responds to your touch. Only the buttons you need for your current task are displayed, so there's less fumbling for the right button.

Digital--Not Physical--Media
The FZ709 plays MP3, WMA and iTunes AAC Compatible files directly from USB devices, complete with ID3-TAG display for track information like artist and song title.

AM/FM Radio
No matter how futuristic everything else gets, sometimes you just want to listen to the radio. Store your favorite radio stations on the 18 FM and six AM presets.

Built-in Bluetooth
Connect with various devices such as mobile phones, PDAs and MP3 Players via the unit's built-in wireless Bluetooth interface. Supports popular Bluetooth profiles including A2DP/AVRCP for audio streaming and HFP/OPP for hands-free operation, so you can easily communicate and listen to your favorite music to your vehicle�s audio system. Wired microphone is supplied for crystal clear telephony.

Direct USB iPod Control and USB Audio Streaming
No adapter box required. Just connect the USB cable that's included with your iPod to the Clarion source unit's rear USB input and you get complete control of your iPod including genre/album/song title search using iPod's control wheel, with high quality sound reproduction through the car speakers. The same connection can also be used to play back audio files stored on USB memory.

What's more, using the optional CCA723 iPod video cable and additional monitor, your passengers can enjoy iPod video.

BBE MP for Better Sounding MP3/WMA/AAC Files
BBE MP (Minimized Polynomial Non-Linear Saturation) Process improves digitally compressed sound such as MP3/WMA/ AAC by restoring the harmonics that are lost through compression, thereby reproducing the warmth, details and nuances that you would otherwise miss. BBE MP enhanced harmonics even serve to make regular CDs sound better.

Beat EQ for User Customizable Sound
In addition to providing 3 preset equalization patterns--BASS BOOST, IMPACT, and EXCITE--Clarion's BeatEQ even lets you freely customize the level and range of the bass, midrange and treble portions of each pattern. You can tune the sound to your liking, depending on the category of music, for a more fulfilling listening experience.

Auxiliary Input
With a rear auxiliary input, it's easy to plug-in a portable audio device, portable satellite radio, or other external audio gadgets (yes, including CD players) for instantaneous enjoyment.

Built-in High Pass/Low Pass Crossovers
Crossover settings of 50Hz, 80Hz and 120Hz are available, letting you optimize the signal for high or low frequency reproduction when a subwoofer or tweeters are part of the system.

Ready to Expand
The FZ709 gives you a 50W x 4 built-in amplifier to begin with, but if you'd like to add additional power to your system, three RCA preamp outs are provided.

It's also ready for an OEM steering wheel remote or XM/SIRIUS satellite radio, or Bluetooth to enjoy crystal clear sound and hands-free calling with supported devices.

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

What's in the Box
Clarion FZ709, trim ring, wiring harness, remote control, wired microphone for Bluetooth, installation hardware, owner's manual, installation guide.

Product Description

If you've given up CDs for the convenience and economy of MP3, WMA or AAC files, then Clarion's future-forward FZ709 is for you. Why bother carrying around CDs if you've already ripped them to your PC anyway? The FZ709 does away with the standard CD player and instead offers a USB port for direct control of your iPod or streaming of your digital audio files from a USB device. Connect your iPod or thumb drive and enjoy hours of music and a clean touch-sensitive interface. What's more, the FZ709 features built-in Bluetooth, for hands-free calling or streaming of audio from compatible devices. Expand your options even further by adding SAT radio, connecting your steering wheel remote, or adding more power via the three preamp outputs. And if you really want to spin a scratched-up old CD, connect a portable player to the unit's auxiliary input.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great looking with great features., September 11, 2010

By 

Brian Jagielski (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Clarion FZ709 MP3/WMA/AAC Receiver with USB Port (Electronics)

UPDATE 2: If you own an Apple product, iOS 5 breaks bluetooth compatibility with this unit.

UPDATE: After using this for a week I had to lower my review by a star. The lack of physical buttons has really made this receiver difficult to use while driving. With no station preset buttons you have to fumble around with the controls in multiple steps just to change the station. Unfortunately, you won't find a cheaper receiver with bluetooth and A2DP streaming. There's no dedicated Phone button, so once again you have to fumble around to make a call and because of the lack of a control knob, dialing a number is a lesson in frustration.

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This receiver is an unbelievable deal. Everywhere else it's almost $300 but I got it for $129 here.

This is a cd-less receiver and because there are no moving parts it generates little heat. I have not used a CD in years and I bought this unit because of that and because it has A2DP wireless bluetooth audio streaming. No more wires connected to my iPhone! If you have an internet audio App (I use TuneIn Radio) you can listen to any station on the internet.

It looks great and there are no physical buttons but unfortunately you have to actually look at the unit to see where the volume control is. I would have appreciated some sort of tactile feedback such as a texture so I can keep my eyes on the road.

As with most receivers these days, the FZ709 comes with a pointless remote control. What are you supposed to do with it? Tape it to the steering wheel?

Pro's: Great-looking, a bargain, sounds fantastic, A2DP bluetooth wireless audio streaming, no mechanical parts to break, packed with features.

Con's: No physical volume knob, can't change the OLED color to match your gauges, "buttons" are sometimes unresponsive, can't change the display during A2DP streaming, clock is barely visible.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bluetooth is great, that's about it, October 24, 2010

By 

Thomas J. Hennen III (Baltimore, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Clarion FZ709 MP3/WMA/AAC Receiver with USB Port (Electronics)

The Bluetooth support on the FZ709 is great. I was easily able to stream audio from my Droid Incredible. It worked great for phone calls too. It sounds like you've got the phone up to your face, i.e. not like you're talking on a speakerphone.

The touch screen is a bit hard to use. One of my biggest issues is that the buttons are a bit slow to respond or don't register your first few presses. As a result you find yourself pressing a couple times, wildly trying to get it to respond.

The biggest problem for me was that the FM tuner had very poor performance. With my stock stereo I can get stations from my city and the nearest neighboring city. With this unit I could barely get stations from my city (which were fuzzy). On my drive to work outside the city the radio basically became unusable. If you only plan to use this with some other media player, that might be fine, but it's a deal breaker for me. I returned this unit and will be looking for something else.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite out of the park, December 1, 2010

By 

John - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Clarion FZ709 MP3/WMA/AAC Receiver with USB Port (Electronics)

The FZ709 does a few things amazingly well, but stumbles so hard in some areas it's hard to forgive it.

***Update at Bottom***
What it does well:
A2DP Bluetooth - Flawless. Pandora from my Android phone has never sounded better.
Hands-Free - Also perfect, pairing is a cinch, the remote microphone works really well - callers sound great and say I am as clear as if I had the phone up to my face.
Interface - I've seen a lot of the other reviewers take issue with the touch screen but mine works really well, even when driving - very responsive and easy to navigate (unless you are doing a complex operation like setting the EQ or trying to make a phone call).

What it doesn't do well:
FM Tuner - It sucks, period. I went from a Pioneer with Super Tuner III that makes this radio sound embarrassing.
Volume - It doesn't have much. I can hear clipping from the internal amp when I know my speakers have plenty of headroom left. Total lack of low-end pretty much guarantees you are going to be adding a subwoofer to your system with this deck.
Dimmer - Worthlessly dims only the OLED display and not the insanely bright LED's that make up the touch interface. Big distraction when driving.
Dialing - Yeah right. Unless you want to end up in a ditch you have to dial directly from your cell-phone.

Even with the drawbacks this is still a good buy at this price point. I purchased it because I was looking for an elegant solution to streaming audio from my cellphone and a way to avoid wearing a headset while driving. The USB connection is a bonus but it seemed like a hassle to use from the brief testing I did, I didn't make any attempt to connect an iPod. One other issue I have had with my unit is that the bezel came broken and was so brittle it ended up in about 20 pieces after I took it off for installation. I'm not sure if this was just my deck or a common problem though.

***Update***
I thought I would share why you should reconsider this deck unless you plan on installing a subwoofer. It has NO LOUD BUTTON - Why would that matter? Loud buttons should really be called depth buttons because they boost the frequencies (low and high) that the human ear is less sensitive to at reasonable listening volumes. If you own this deck you can simulate the effect of 'loud' by boosting the gain of 100hz(bass) and 10khz(treble) in the custom EQ settings but you will have nasty distortion at higher volumes. Quality head units with this feature will dynamically adjust the amount of 'boost' throughout the volume range to reduce distortion. I think Clarion must have omitted the feature because they though at the $350 MSRP their average buyer would have a complete system and wouldn't want it('loud' buttons are undesirable in systems that incorporate subs and are listened to at high volumes). The smoking gun here is that this head-unit incorporates a feature called 'Magna-Bass Ex' that works like 'Loud' but boosts 60hz instead of 100hz - Most speakers in cars do not reproduce 60hz very well if at all, even Clarion's own products. Subs are great at 60hz. Buy this deck if you have a sub or plan to get one, otherwise skip it.