Dual XHD7714 AM/FM/CD player and HD Radio Built-it iTunes Tagging

5 Reviews

1. aikesson says:

   August 30, 2009 at 7:22 pm

   I bought this unit primarily for its USB, Bluetooth, and HD radio functions as I do not own an iPod. Though far from perfect, this unit is a great bargain considering all the functions you get for the price. The breakdown, starting with what I use most:

   The USB functionality has great potential, but some blatant flaws is what ultimately reduced the overall rating of this product from five stars to four. I plugged in my USB and it instantly recognized it and began playing. Load times are slower than what I expected, but not so slow to make it unusable. Thereafter, the two most serious flaws of this unit came to light. First off, when scrolling through your library to find a song, the unit allows you to scroll through the songs in the current album or to go up one level and scroll through the albums; HOWEVER, it does not allow you to go up one more level and scroll through the artists, as you would in an mp3 player. As a result, instead of being able to search by artist (for example, instead of scrolling through “Aerosmith, Beatles, Coldplay, etc….) you have to search by albums (so the list would look something like “Greatest Hits”; “Permanent Vacation”; “White Album”; “Yellow Submarine”; “Parachutes”; “X&Y” and so on). This just makes searching take a lot longer, as you have to scroll through every single album instead of limiting the choices by the artist. The second serious flaw is that the unit displays the albums in the order they were copied to the USB device rather than automatically sorting them in alphabetical order. So, using the above example, if you were to copy a Beatles album first, then a Coldplay album, then another Beatles album, and finally an Aerosmith album, when you are searching/scrolling through the USB using the unit it will display the albums in the exact order in which you copied them onto the USB, NOT in alphabetical order (unless you copied them in alphabetical order). This means that if you want to go back and add more songs to your USB, you’ll either have to erase everything and copy everything all over again (in alphabetical order) or you’ll have to scroll through the albums in the order they were copied, and try to remember which ones you copied first and which ones you copied last. Both of these things can be highly annoying, and are really nonsensical. Those two things aside, the USB functions great. The sound quality is great, and it’s certainly easier than using a bunch of CDs. One more criticism of the USB is the pause function. Hitting the pause button will cause the sound to stop, but the song itself is still “playing” so when you hit play again you’ll find that you are not at the same point where you left off.

   The HD radio works flawlessly. It takes about three to five seconds to pick up the HD signal, and once it does it rarely ever loses it. I do, however, live in the Houston area, so I can not attest to the quality of the signal in rural areas. Keep in mind that the HD radio function in this unit is BUILT IN, which means all you need is this unit to listen to HD radio. Other units that state they are “HD capable” or something similar simply mean that you have to buy an additional, usually expensive, add-on to the unit to receive the HD signal.

   The Bluetooth functionality also works great. Pairing my phone to the unit the first time took a matter of seconds, and now as soon as I get in the car they instantly connect. As described, when a call comes in, the unit automatically mutes the music and allows you to answer the call using your car’s speakers and the built-in microphone. Sound quality was better than expected, and people on the other line reported that they could hear me just fine. You can also disable automatic pairing if you wish, so that it only connects to your phone when you want it to, and not ever time your phone is within range.

   I have used the CD functionality sparingly, and have not had any problems with hit. Functions just as any other CD player would.

   I have not used the auxiliary functionality as of yet.

   The unit itself, as others have mentioned, is made of cheap plastic. However, since it doesn’t feel so cheap that it might break at the slightest touch, this is irrelevant since the unit’s job is to play music, not feel good/expensive. The face plate is detachable, which is always a nice touch. It lights up well, but unfortunately does not have a dimmer.

   All in all, I feel this was a great buy. It’s a real bargain, and the unit works great, barring the two flaws I discussed regarding the USB functionality.

   Rating: 4 / 5
2. Southern says:

   August 30, 2009 at 10:07 pm

   On a 1-10 Scale:

   Overall: 9
   
   Ease of Use: 9
   
   Features: 9
   
   Quality: 8
   
   Sound Quality: 9
   
   Value: 10

   I’ve had this radio in my mustang for a month (stock speakers), and it literally blows me away. The sound quality is excellent, especially for the HD stations, and is extremely crisp & clear. The built in iPod charger/connection works great, and the ability to throw in a 4GB memory stick and play from that was exactly what I was looking for. Also, they must have fixed/revamped the display, because I find it perfectly readable even in direct sunlight (convertible, top down, sun overhead) – no trouble reading the display at all.(Some review sites have reviews that state the the display isn’t readable in direct sunlight, but I don’t see that issue with my unit.)

   It’s the best radio that I have found with the features & sound quality that it has without going up to a $350-$400 head unit. I’m going to buy another one of these for my wife’s car.

   If there were only 1 thing I wish could be better on this unit, it would be the faceplate itself.. The buttons do feel a little “Cheap”, and even after a month I have a little trouble putting in on in the morning as it doesn’t just “pop” in, it has to go on exactly in a certain way and you have to make sure the bottom tabs snap in.

   Other than that, no complaints about this unit at all. Sounds great, features are plentiful, and I find it compares very well even to higher priced units that don’t offer BT or HD except as “options”.

   Would definitely recommend this radio to someone looking for a feature-rich & good sounding unit.

   Rating: 5 / 5
3. J. Scofield says:

   August 30, 2009 at 10:16 pm

   Found this unit, and the reviews were very promising.
   
   Unfortunately, once I put it in, the FM tuner was weak. Much worse than the Saturn factory radio, which I believe is by pioneer (the tuner kings.) It has a lot of options, but they don’t make up for poor sound quality. It really only has the bass and treble adjustments, a couple of preset ‘EQ’ modes, but no actual EQ.
   
   The sound quality is muddy with mid ranges muted. It seems like there is a very bad crossover with a huge gap. The fronts have all the low end cut out, and most of the mid range. The rear has all the high end, and most of the mid range cut out.
   
   The CD player was a memory mode, like the old ESP features of portable CD players, but still manages to have a 1 second dead zone between each track.
   
   The Bluetooth is okay, but every one I talk to has a hard time hearing me. If I don’t lean down toward the radio, no one can understand what I say.
   
   The aux in works, but unfortunately has the same muddy sound as the rest of the unit.
   
   HD is okay, but most low quality stations have the digitized low bandwidth tinny sound that satellite radio listeners are used to.
   
   The radio has never received track data for me, I don’t think it works. The tag button does turn red indicating you could Itunes tag a song whenever it is on an HD station.

   I don’t like it. I’m sending it back and buying something with better sound quality.

   Rating: 2 / 5
4. Ronzie says:

   August 30, 2009 at 11:14 pm

   This car stereo was a breeze to install. There are several problems, however. The mounting sleeve has a lot of play where it attaches to the plastic adapter for the car. Hence, the radio jiggles whenever the car hits a bump. Also, FM and AM reception is not as good as the original factory radio. That being said, the bluetooth works well, conversations are audible. Sound quality from the ipod, from the bluetooth, and the CD are excellent. HD radio even in the NY metro area is totally useless and the difference between HD radio and regular radio is barely audible. Also, the HD radio signal is much weaker and drops back and forth between HD radio and regular radio every few seconds.

   Rating: 3 / 5
5. Keith A. Peterman says:

   August 31, 2009 at 12:27 am

   This radio is feature packed, and downright worth the money
   
   the blue tooth works well if the vehicle is not moving very fast as road noise in my noisy vehicle will drown out your speech input to the microphone and becomes nearly unusable around 35 mph unless I yell to the stereo.
   
   The HD radio is good sounding but the station coverage can get iffy when moving, I think that will only get better as HD radio becomes more popular and stations pick up there power?
   
   The best feature to me is the USB input I have several hundred songs on a single thumb drive that I use 98% of the time.
   
   I have used it for over a month and really like it.
   

   Rating: 5 / 5