Does the display show up good in the day time or get washed out by sunlight?

 

Also, do you find the controls easy? About all I ever do is switch between the preset stations and volume. Are those functions very easy on this one while driving? I really like the look.

 

I thought I'd chime in here about aftermarket stereo. I considered the Clarion but could not locate one to match the CF green dash illumination. Found the Kenwood KMR-D558BT. Has a variable color illumination. Variable color until you find the output color to your taste. Has Bluetooth, external mic, CD drive, USB and micro plug all on the face of this Marine unit. The silver is a perfect match. I use an iPhone, syncs no problem. Sound seems fine. Purchased through Crutchfield in which I highly suggest, they offer lifetime tech support. Worth the extra $50 that I could have saved purchasing through ABT Electronics. The tipping point for me was to find the green illumination to match the existing CF dash lights. Clarion? Not bad.

 

What I installed was the 558bt, silver surround and the green illumination looks like the receiver was made for the car

 

Here is a Crutchfield comparison of the two :


Clarion M502 vs Kenwood KMR-D558BT

 

More why I like the kenwood better

 

I have a Clarion M303 installed but you are right, the blue illumination does not match. The other problem with the Clarion is that it was very difficult to get the unit all of the way into the dash there is so much "stuff" coming out the back. How deep is the Kenwood ?

Any chance of a picture of the installed kenwood ?

 

I have pics in this thread I made toward beginning of the year.
It was a little cramped getting it in, but no more than others.
They should be the same depth.
https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...505_215512.png

 

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...-d558bt-3.html

There is the right link to the page.

 

I fitted my Clarion M502 at the weekend , yes it is tight to push it in but a firmush and it locks ok into the opening. The display is very clear even in bright sunshine. The color of the display is not green I agree but the actual radio is a perfect match for the crossfire color. It even has the ridge in the middle like the rest of the center console. I love it.yes the menu takes a while to get to grips but not too bad in the end. I love the blue tooth and hands free calling and auto answer for phone calls. Don't even have to touch the radio. Pandora plays seemlessly from my iPhone. I love it.

 

Hi!
This is my contribution for this thread, i bought the same model but in black color and for car and its a very good product !
Name is : Clarion fz502e
Everything is included (bluetooth, usb, jack) and very easy to use.

I recommend it!

 

I have the same head unit. It works like a charm most of the time. My only complaint is that sometimes I will be using Bluetooth to listen to music from my cell phone and when I try to charge my phone by connecting a USB cable to the head unit it'll cause the Bluetooth to stop working. It'll change the source from Bluetooth to USB and when I go back to Bluetooth the music starts coming from my phone speaker instead of the car speakers even though the head unit indicates that it's still connected to Bluetooth. The only fix I have found for this is to turn my car off and unplug my phone from the USB cable - simply turning the headunit off and then back on doesn't seem to resolve the issue.

 

Hi!
This doesn't happen on mine, or i just need to unplug and plug the cable again. Then select bluetooth source. It keeps charging and play on bluetooth.
I have an iPhone 5C for information.