JVC KW-Z1000W Review
JVC KW-Z1000W JVC KW-Z1000W: Ultimate car entertainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and stunning 10.1″ capacitive touchscreen. Check Latest Price
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A couple of years old now (having been released in 2017) the Alpine ILX 107 really made waves in the digital media receiver world when it was first unveiled because of its implementation of wireless Car Play and Android Auto capabilities.
At the time, this was the very first aftermarket receiver to offer these kinds of capabilities. Today more and more options have started to embrace these wireless protocols but that doesn’t mean that the Alpine ILX 107 isn’t still one of the best digital media receivers on the market.
This is, after all, still a piece of technology built by the folks at Alpine and filled to the brim with top-tier pieces of technology and reliable hardware. Best of all, because the Alpine ILX 107 is a little bit older now its price tag has dropped significantly.
You can pick these up at a very affordable price point and instantly upgrade your automotive entertainment system today.
Let’s do a deeper dive into everything that the Alpine ILX 107 has to offer.
The digital media receiver of the Alpine ILX 107 has been integrated tightly into the 7 inch capacitive touchscreen, an attractive 7 inch touchscreen that has great responsiveness and accuracy even compared to some of the options coming out today.
The screen itself is just as good-looking as modern flagship smart phones and tablets and only just a hair less razor-sharp than the Retina displays made by the folks at Apple. This provides for high usability even in lowlight or bright sunlight conditions without the kind of glare “washout” you’d expect from lower quality screens.
The wiring harness for the Alpine ILX 107 simplifies the installation process quite a bit. There are plenty of tutorials online to walk even car audio newbies through the process step-by-step and thanks to the prewiring of the harness the entire installation should take less than an hour to complete.
A pre-out harness is included alongside camera, Aux, and iDataLink harness options. This immediately opens up a lot of extensibility and accessory options for the ILX 107 that would have been a lot more difficult to add on later down the line without dedicated harnesses ready to rock and roll.
A microphone and SWC harness is included as well, both of which are essential if you’re going to make the very most of everything the Alpine ILX 107 has to offer. You’ll want to use voice control and command capabilities for sure. That’s made possible not only through these harnesses but also through the dedicated microphone attached to 12.5 feet of cable that let you position your microphone throughout the cabin for improved clarity.
A GPS antenna is included in the box for those without dedicated navigation already. The antenna is connected to 8 feet of cable with a proprietary connection that lets you hope things up pretty quickly.
Rounding things out are all of the mounting hardware you need to get the system installed in your vehicle, a trim ring to make things look factory after the installation has been concluded, and quick reference guides, instruction manuals, and other resources to help you hit the ground running with your new Alpine ILX 107.
The highly responsive touchscreen of the Alpine ILX 107 is one of the biggest features and selling points of this digital media receiver set up. It looks great, it feels great, and it has a high degree of responsiveness and accuracy that some of the lower quality touchscreen digital media receiver options out there just don’t offer.
The microphone sensitivity on the ILX 107 is something special also. Some of the external microphones included with these kinds of receivers can be hit or miss. But Alpine really took the time to implement a top-tier option, knowing that it was going to be a big piece of the puzzle when it comes to voice commands and utilizing your phone on the move.
Bluetooth support is great in the ILX 107. It runs the Bluetooth 4.0 protocol with a high degree of consistency and stability, particularly when you’re inside of the cabin. Bluetooth used to be known for dropping connections seemingly out of the blue (no pun intended) but that isn’t a problem any longer. This provides a strong, stable, and reliable connection you can depend on straightaway.
Speaking of wireless connectivity, the inclusion of a 5 GHz Wi-Fi connection by the Alpine ILX 107 is another game changer. It provides for an even more consistent, stable, and secure connection to your Apple or Android device in a way that you won’t find elsewhere.
Not only does this connection let you make the most of your mobile device when streaming media your content over to the digital media receiver but it also lets you take advantage of older Apple and Android devices that may not have the most reliable Bluetooth technology in them.
USB port connections are available (two of them) to help you make the most of hardwired set ups as well. Best of all, you’ll be able to charge your mobile devices while you have them connected to this digital media receiver. That means you can use your phone and charge it up over long road trips or commutes.
Compatibility through the iDataLink allows you utilize factory audio and entertainment settings from a lot of automobile manufacturers while improving on them at the same time. You’ll be able use steering wheel controls, read diagnostic data on the touchscreen, and more thanks to this implementation.
Audio settings can be adjusted on the fly using the free Alpine Tune It mobile application on your smartphone or tablet (available for free in the App Store and on Google Play). This is a much more intuitive way to make the most of your audio settings but also allows you to create a number of individual profiles and load them depending on the media that you are listening to.
As we highlighted the beginning of this review, the Alpine ILX 107 was really the first ever aftermarket head unit option to allow for wireless Carplay connectivity.
This was revolutionary back in 2017 when the unit was first unveiled and has become more commonplace today. At the same time, not every modern digital media receiver includes wireless capabilities for Carplay and Android Auto. That gives you a chance to grab this system at a discount and get better features than you would with something made in the last year.
The Alpine user interface itself it feels very stark compared to Apple Carplay and Android Auto on this unit, though. It’s definitely recommended to make the most of those systems when you have the opportunity to do so.
There is no physical media slot available on the Alpine ILX 107 to play CDs or DVDs.
You will be able to play all of your favorite music, movies, and TV shows directly off of your mobile device or off of a USB flash drive. You can connect your smartphone or tablet via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or USB to do so or you can plug a USB flash drive directly into the digital media receiver itself and play content that way.
Not only are you going to be able to charge your phone when it is plugged in via USB at the same time as you are using it to stream media, navigate, etc. but you’re also going to be able to quick charge it. As long as you have a phone cable that supports quick charging you won’t ever have to worry about battery life on the go any longer.
You can add rearview cameras to your vehicle with the Alpine ILX 107 asked to the accessory harness options. You will have to purchase that hardware separately, however.
It isn’t every day that a two-year-old (getting older) piece of technology remains a consistently recommended option for individuals looking to upgrade their digital media receiver set up.
It’s a testament to what the Alpine engineers were able to pull off with the ILX 107 that makes this system still so special when other competing options have fallen by the wayside.
Sure, there may be more impressive digital media receiver options on the market today (including more impressive options from Alpine) but that doesn’t take away from all that this particular set up brings to the table.
The Alpine ILX 107 is an affordable former flagship option with some fancy bells and whistles that won’t break your bank account and definitely a recommended upgrade for sure.
Combine all of that with the fact that it is (relatively) inexpensive when compared to its closest competitors and you’re looking at a bit of a no-brainer decision here. Throw in the tight integration with Apple and Android devices as well as the ease of installation and there may not be a better receiver on the market today than this one.
JVC KW-Z1000W JVC KW-Z1000W: Ultimate car entertainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and stunning 10.1″ capacitive touchscreen. Check Latest Price
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