| Clarion DXZ945MP - 12 Volt Tuning
What do you get when you design products and listen to customer feedback for many years? You get the experience and knowledge that allow you to create new products that stand out from the crowd because of their elegance, excellence, and ergonomics. The new DXZ945MP deck from Clarion is just such a product.
The first thing you notice about this deck is that there are very few buttons and knobs (one knob and five buttons to be exact). This is made possible by the use of touchscreen technology for navigation and selections. The display is deeply recessed with a rounded silver trim ring that doubles as a guide for your fingers when using the touchscreen. Each of the five touch zones is surrounded by a semi-circle in the trim ring, making them easy to find without looking. The faceplate is motorized and removable, and the CD slot lives behind it. Also behind the faceplate is a blinking LED (you can turn it off if you want). Another security feature called CODEMATIC can be enabled, requiring that you press the touch zones in a user-defined sequence before the deck will operate.
The LCD display itself (dubbed Optimedia by Clarion) consists of a sixteen layer matrix of 320 x 64 pixels. The layers provide sixteen levels of brightness for each pixel, giving the images a unique quality not normally seen in LCD displays. Adjustments for contrast and brightness along with a dimming feature that kicks in when it's dark (or when you turn on the headlights, your choice) give you a highly visible display in all lighting conditions. The multiple layers also make it possible to detect a finger sliding to the left or to the right across the display with great accuracy, and the unit makes heavy use of this for scrolling through menus and selections. It turns out to be extremely intuitive and easy to use, after the initial few seconds of getting used to it. And if you don't find it as easy to use as I did, you can switch to a "simple mode" that is more like the traditional touchscreen that responds like a pair of up/down buttons. This concept of simple vs. "pro" operation appears in several functions of the deck, and is a welcome idea that allows you to decide how complex and detailed the operation will be.
Clarion's AC-Processor III is an impressive set of functions for control of the audio after it leaves its source and before it reaches your speakers. There is a Dolby Pro Logic II decoder that retrieves 5.1 surround sound from encoded stereo recordings, and creates 5.1 surround from normal stereo sources. The Position menu gives you various delay settings to provide the best sound at each listening position in the vehicle. You can use the basic presets, or switch over to the mode that allows you to enter the delay for each speaker yourself and save up to five custom alignments. A function called VSE (Virtual Space Enhancer) compensates for the small size and parallel surfaces inside the vehicle; this feature also has basic presets and custom user presets you can set yourself. Finally, an internal three-band parametric equalizer gives you fine control of the frequency response. Once again there are factory presets and user-customizable memories for the equalizer, or you can even disable it by switching to a simple set of Bass and Treble controls. Each of the bands can be set to any of the ISO 1/3 octave center frequencies (the same center frequencies that you see on real time analyzers), with 12dB of gain in 1dB increments, and five different "Q" settings (width of the filter). All of these audio adjustments are saved separately for each source.
The internal CD player supports playback of MP3, WMA and standard CD audio files on CD, CD-R, and CD-RW discs. You can even play multi-session discs that have both data files and music files. Even with the compressed formats (MP3 & WMA), fast forward and reverse are audible and the track time indicator works, unlike many less sophisticated decks. ID3 tags are supported, and you can choose the scroll speed of the text. A single press on the touchscreen steps through display of the folder, file, album, artist, or track title. There is another audio processing feature that was developed specifically to overcome the shortcomings of compressed formats, called ADF (Anti Distortion Filter). It is something like a loudness control, in that it increases the apparent volume of the low and high frequencies. But it does this by using frequency-dependent dynamic expansion instead of a simple equalizer filter. The result is MP3/WMA playback that rivals the quality of standard CD audio.
AM/FM radio duties are handled by Clarion's MAGI-TUNE+ circuitry, with three bands of 6 FM stations and one band of 6 AM stations. You can memorize your own favorite stations, or use the auto-store function to find the local stations for you. The handy ISR button pulls up your favorite station no matter what source you are listening to, and a second press sends you back to the previous source.
Many optional accessories can be connected via the proprietary CeNET bus that connects to the rear of the deck. CD and DVD changers, TV tuners, a Sirius satellite tuner, and an optional external decoder for Dolby Digital and DTS tracks are all available with control support already built-in to the deck. There is a 2-zone capability, allowing you to enjoy separate sources in the same vehicle.
Besides the CeNET interface, there are analog inputs and outputs galore. Line level stereo RCA connectors give you front and rear plus subwoofer outs, or you can reconfigure the jacks into a 5.1 surround system. When using standard front/rear configuration, there are highpass and lowpass filters that you can use as a crossover. Another pair of RCA jacks is dedicated for the two-zone output, and finally there is a pair for auxiliary input. Four powered outputs can be connected directly to speakers, or you can disable the power amps if you don't need them to reduce noise and heat.
This is a fully-loaded unit with extremely good specifications and great sound quality. With the ability to choose the level of complexity, it will satisfy both the hardcore gear freaks and the people who prefer to listen rather than spend all day tweaking. I recommend spending some time with this deck if you get the chance.
Clarion dxz945mp Pros & Cons+Pros·DSP (digital signal processing) - control of amplitude, time, and frequency·Powerful internal audio adjustments·Plays MP3 & WMA files, with audible FF & REV·Touchscreen interface with easy menu structure·Supports many optional devices
-Cons·DSP limits overall bandwidth to 20kHz·Multi-tiered menus could be difficult for some·Deep recess can obscure display at extreme viewing angles·Some operations on touchscreen require too much finger sliding·No control of tuner auto-scan start frequency
Clarion DXZ945MPLine Outputs:Frequency Response: +0/-0.62dB 20Hz-20kHzOutput Level: 4.2Vrms (< 0.01% THD+N)Distortion (THD+N, 1kHz): < 0.01% Signal to Noise ratio: > 104DbStereo Separation: > 91dB
Power Amps:Maximum Continuous Power: 21W x 4 (4 ohms, 3% THD+N)Distortion (THD+N, 1kHz, A-Weighted): 0.1% (4 Ohms, 14W)