me2 wrote:
I've never had an aftermarket tuner work as well as an OEM tuner. I spent a lot of time on the road over the past 8 years in very rural areas in Superduties and Impalas. I had Pioneer and Kenwood radios in some of these vehicles and none of them would receive distant radio stations as well as the OEM units. Not even close.
I've got a Kenwood XCD998 sitting on the shelf. I should install it and see if it works any better than the Jensen. It isn't very user friendly for my family to use.
Well, then you are the odd one out..
Had lots of OEM radios and so far none are able to hold a candle to a better quality after amrket.. Now you might notice, I do not lump "Jensen" in the better quality bin..
Pioneers claim to fame is the "super tuner", I never tried them but from most reviews over the years folks HAVE noted that they are an improvement over OEM.
For the past 30 yrs I have used Clarions, only have had one that I didn't like how the tuner blended the stereo to mono audio under weak signal situations (very aggressive change that is annoying).
Pretty much all the stations I listen to are 50-60 miles away, lots of hilly area with a lot of tall trees..
The station I like the most is a low power station with about 4Kw ERP and it is about 55 miles from my area. That station is between two 45Kw stations and a tuner that has poor selectivity is not able to hold the station I like (picket fencing)..
The Ford OEM radios were not able to pick up the station I like unless I was on the top of a hill, then it would fade out or switch (picket fencing) to the adjacent station.
Keep in mind, what you pick up is also a function of how good of an antenna you have.. If you have the typical RV nubby antenna, you are not going to find much satisfaction in any radio.. Any antenna shorter than 3ft mast is going to perform poorly.
I am also a bit puzzled as to why you would want a navigation radio in a 5vr.. Not like you are going to be able to use the nav part while driving unless you are going to have your copilot ride in the 5vr.. :E and relay the info to you in the vehicle..
