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Valor do-it-all system installed


drdave39

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After 2 years and 35,000 happy miles on my 2005 5MT GT Wagon, I decided to treat myself. I thought I'd pass along my experience with my new system. It is a state-of-the- art integrated double-DIN system by a new company, Valor (evidently a big Chinese manufacturer). Model #NVG670WT

 

http://www.valordvd.com/product/productinformation.asp?productid=NVG-670WT

 

It has EVERYTHING:

 

AM/FM/DC/DVD/CD/CD-MP3, motorized 6.5: touchscreen TFT

iPod with full on-screen control

XM radio

TV tuner!

Full navigation using an SD memory card (the entire 48 states plus Canada will go on a 2 GB card! It comes with a 512 MB card and reader)

Bluetooth

6 Channel Dolby, 5x50 watt power

full touchscreen control

 

It will even support a second video monitor- you could listen to music up front while the kids watched a DVD in the rear! Since the navigation is on the SD card, it is extremely fast and shockproof, and you could fill up an entire DVD with music. I am going over to iPod so full iPod screen control was a must-have.

 

I was researching aftermarket Double-DIN systems and found Valor through an e-bay listing. The entire system was $1260 plus shipping. A word of caution- according to the company website, they don't provide support for e-bay purchases, but they have helped me with tech questions through their e-mail tech support just fine (I already downloaded and installed a firmware fix no problem) I just found the system for $1199 from an authorized distributor if you want to play it safe :

 

http://www.caraudioexpert.com/productView.asp?productID=4958

 

The system works perfectly and intuitively. I love the Bluetooth- you can be listening to music and an incoming call automatically mutes the sound and lets you talk hands-free. You can also program in a Nav destination and crank up the music, and the advance notice of turns cuts in.

 

I had the install done by Spade Kreations here in Cincinnati- they specialize in custom, high end installations (they do most of the Reds and Bengals players' cars)- the goal was to have excellent music and make it look like it came from the factory. The original plan was to "surgically" separate the factory stereo from the automatic climate control, but once they got the setup apart they recommended against it, suggesting we go into the cubbyhole instead. I actually like the height better as everything is at eye level. I miss the clock (although the display does show time) and the outside temp gauge, and I may ask them about creating some extra gauges. These guys can fab ANYTHING- when I came in to talk to them they showed me a customized Acura NSX owned by a local neurosurgeon- they have $200,000 worth of custom work with a supercharged engine, custom carbon fiber speaker/sub enclosures, and a completely digital touchscreen dash with total engine management (change your boost pressure to match your music?).

 

I went with their recommendations and added a power amp (Alpine MRVF545, 125 watts/channel) and upgraded the speakers to Alpines (SPX177R front, SPS17C2 rear). The power amp was installed under the front passenger kickplate- lost 1" of legroom but it is invisible! I decided not to add a boxed subwofer as I wanted to keep the entire cargo space clear. We considered an underseat setup but they suggested I try it without first as they didn't think any underseat subs would provide the clean bass I wanted. (they ran the cable if I want to add it). The sound quality is superb, and bass is tight and deep- I don't think Iwill need the sub.

 

I also had them install 4300 HID lights (with the fog lights converted to DRLs from directions I found here!) and hardwired the radar detector. The cable for the iPod is in the center console. As you can see the car looks totally stock. Total cost with all parts and labor was $3500. About $900 of that was labor- if you are very handy you could of DIY. The sound quality is fantastic and the features all work great. Comapred to other units I looked at (Alpine, Kenwood, Eclipse) the Valor has a lot more features for a lot less money. It doesn't have a hard drive, bit who cares when you could hook up an 80GB iPod? ROAD TRIP!

 

Dave

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the important thing is to let us know how well it holds up after a few months :)

 

from my experience valor isnt exactly a high quality brand, one of those throw together for profit cmopanies, so I am intersted in how well it goe in the long run

 

did this store "recommend" the valor unit??

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well rain on my parade... :(

 

Spade Kreations let me pick the stuff I wanted and installed it- I bought the speakers and amp from them (at less than retail) and I picked up the Valor off e-bay from a large electronics store in NY.

 

So far it seems very well-built- I like the fact that aside from the DVD drive and motorized screen, it really has no moving parts to go wrong! Since I am using the iPod for music storage, it basicallyhas no moving parts at all. The electronics store that sold it off e-bay gave a full 3-year warranty, so at worst I could simply pop in a new unit.

 

I get the sense that Valor is trying to move upscale- their service and support as I got it up and running has been first rate. We'll have to see...

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well, good luck to you for sure, but since i import my own line of LCDs ands tuff from asia, i have had experience with that unit valor uses, the main issue is actually screen motorization mechanism jamming, and internal drive failure...but that was a good half a year ago that i checked it out, so perhap they made some improvements...

 

but overall sound quality IMO just isnt that great at all on these units so...i personlly would go for say a pioneer d2 for around 1000-1300 bucks

 

butagain, if it works and lasts, and you like it, thats whats most important :)

 

b

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I confess I couldn't find any data on the Valor in terms of reliability, but then I couldn't find much on Kenwod or Eclipse, either. ..My thinking was that, with the iPod for music storage and the Nav on the SD card, the CD/DVD drive basically wouldn't be used, and the motorized faceplate wouldn't be raised very often. Obviously, these are both areas of potential problems in any unit- I had previously installed a Sony CD player in a BMW motorcycle, and learned a lot first about vibration and reliability.

 

So far, everything works superbly. The sound quality with the Alpine amp is excellent- my wife is the audiophile and she loves it, so that's what counts! I'll update folks if any problems develop.

 

Dave

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Install looks great. My one comment would be to see if your installer can tweak the mounting brackets for the HU to move it back into the dash a little further. Not sure if your HU is deeper than my Kenwood, or perhaps they didn't remove enough plastic from the cubby area to get the necessary depth. Anyway, that will give a little more stealthy finished look and will probably help a little with screen glare.
ignore him, he'll go away.
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