Source/Head Unit Comparison

Last night I scoured the manuals for a few of the 'flagship' head units and made a comparison excel table. My completely subjective and unscientific findings are below, maybe it will save someone else some time. My priority is in multimedia playback versatility so take that into consideration...

All these devices had 24bit signal processing, voice controlled bluetooth, manual 7-band eq, steering wheel integration, pandora, native navigation, backup camera input, and are satellite radio ready unless otherwise noted below.

JVC kw-nt800hdt - clear winner to compare with that Ingenix unit. It supports an amazing 4-way usb hub into the back, each with their own usb-powered hard drive containing a maximum 9999 folders and 999 files per folder. Supported audio is all the standard plus FLAC:mod: Also the video playback via SD/USB and bitrate is allowed up to 8mbps in divx, avi, mpg, and h264. That they even bothered to detail the playback bitrate tells me this unit was made with users like me in mind.

Ingenix PNX-761 - no manual online but their website claims specs almost identical to the JVC. They specifically state that a usb-powered hard drive up to 250gb is supported though they fail to detail the required bitrate. Also does not include satellite radio capability but might be overlooked for a roughly $400 price difference. Also to be considered is that Power Acoustik/Soundstream/Boss/Farenheit (all the same company with different branding) has put out some shoddy products in the past. Buyer beware but the price is nice and specs look competitive.

Kenwood 9990 - only allows a maximum of 5000 files via usb with a maximum of 250 files per folder, plays all standard audio formats, does play divx and h264 via usb. No info in manual about bitrate or maximum SD/HD size is concerning. Also reviewers say the startup of the unit is laggy.

Pioneer AVIC-Z140BH - Highlights are that it has an auto-EQ function with a detachable microphone that looks pretty cool. Also allows for voice controls in switching A/V source in addition to the standard bluetooth control. Unfortunately USB only allowed 2500 files, bitrate is 1mbps, no mention about size limit of SD/USB. Limited playback for different video formats.

Sony NXV77bt - liked that they give 4 free map updates via tomtom during the first year. Then I saw their usb only allows 2000 files total which is a dealbreaker for me. Stopped looking after that.

Alpine INAW910 - Bottom of the barrel. 500ma power consumption max on the usb (standard is 1a), no info on supported video formats, bitrates, sd or usb size limitations. If they fail to even address those points in their manual or FAQ, I'm inclined to think they weren't given due attention during product development.

Clarion NX702 - no manual online.

If anyone else has input on a primo multimedia source unit please pass info along, thanks.