{"id":5597,"date":"2015-04-30T17:57:56","date_gmt":"2015-04-30T05:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/?p=5597"},"modified":"2015-04-30T17:57:56","modified_gmt":"2015-04-30T05:57:56","slug":"carstereochick-coms-alpine-ilx-007-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/carstereochick-coms-alpine-ilx-007-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Carstereochick.com&#8217;s Alpine iLX-007 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>It\u2019s here &#8211; The Alpine iLX-007 CarPlay Stereo<\/strong><br \/>\nBy Annie on November 6th, 2014 in Carstereochick.com&#8217;s Reviews<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5599 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-1.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-1\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-1.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-1-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Check it out! Today I received a couple Alpine iLX-007\u2019s and I have to say I\u2019m quite impressed &#8211; even with the packaging alone.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-2.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5600 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-2.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-2\" width=\"600\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-2.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-2-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This package would look fantastic under the Christmas tree. Even if you couldn&#8217;t install it right away, the packaging would keep you entertained for a couple hours.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-3.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5601 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-3.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-3\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-3.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-3-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Look how small this thing is! It reminds me of Parrot\u2019s Asteroid series, except the iLX-007 actually sounds good (unlike the Parrot Asteroid).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-4.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5602 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-4.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-4\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-4.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-4-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Not much for inputs on the iLX-007<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The iLX-007 comes with:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>One rear USB port (USB cable included)<\/li>\n<li>One rear aux in (cable not included)<\/li>\n<li>One reverse camera input<\/li>\n<li>Steering wheel control input<\/li>\n<li>Microphone port (microphone included)<\/li>\n<li>3 RCA preouts (2V)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>That\u2019s it. No secondary USB port, no HDMI port, no Bluetooth audio streaming, no SiriusXM capability, no HD Radio.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-5.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5603 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-5.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-5\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-5.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-5-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a few things you should know about the iLX-007:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You still need a TR7 even though there\u2019s only a parking brake wire (no foot brake on this one)<\/li>\n<li>It ONLY works with iPhone 5 and up, no iPods as you can see from the USB error above<\/li>\n<li>No mounting sleeve included \u2013 you can see in the photo below I used a Pioneer ADT-VA133 mounting sleeve although it does support iso mount and most dash kits these days offer iso mounting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-6.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5604 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-6.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-6\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-6.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-6-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the Pioneer ADT-VA133 mounting sleeve holding in the iLX-007 on my display board &#8211; minus the trim ring.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-7.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5605 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-7.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-7\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-7.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-7-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>iLX-007 EQ features<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alpine says on their website the iLX-007 has a 9 band parametric EQ. I have a feeling this is only accessed using their Tune it App because all I could find in the menu was bass, treble, balance, fader and subwoofer level &#8211; aside from the preset EQ options.<\/p>\n<p>This supposed 9 band EQ feature is one I will be investigating further and I will update this post soon after. I will also be posting a video review up this weekend with comparison to the Pioneer AppRadio 4.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-8.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5606 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-8.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-8\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-8.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-8-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sound quality iLX-007 Review<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Okay, here\u2019s the deal. It sounds better than Pioneer\u2019s AppRadio 4. Even with minimal audio control, everything set to flat, the Alpine has more detail and clarity.<\/p>\n<p>Plain and simple, there is a very audible difference. I was pretty surprised honestly considering how much Pioneer has ramped up their audio control tools lately. The Pioneer AppRadio 4 just sounded muddy compared to the iLX-007. Kudos to Alpine on the sound quality on this deck.<\/p>\n<p><em>UPDATE &#8211; 10\/10\/14 &#8211; After an additional and much more thorough side by side comparison, I believe I may have had a setting off (like bass boost or something) on the Pioneer AppRadio 4. We turn off our sound board every night so these units typically default to standard settings. I have a habit of going through and making sure everything is set to flat, bass boost off, time alignment off, etc. but I think I definitely missed a setting the 1st night I got to take a listen to these two units. In fact, there is barely an audible difference. Extremely finite. For myself and my husband, we found the Alpine had an ever so slight edge in detail, one that would be hard to pinpoint in a blind listening test. They both sound pretty clean.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-9.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5607 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-9.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-9\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-9.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-9-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Alpine iLX-007 &#8211; the Siri button rocks<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Having hard buttons on this touch screen is incredibly helpful. The whole concept of CarPlay is to make your driving experience more enjoyable and safer. Having a hard button you can feel, recognize and then press to activate Siri makes a lot of sense. Siri had no problem with any of my requests.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cPlay Daft Punk\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Siri responded by playing Daft Punk.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-10.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5608 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-10.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-10\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-10.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-10-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cCall Wooshie\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Siri responded by calling my Wooshie.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-11.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5609 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-11.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-11\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-11.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-11-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cFind me pizza\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>No problem. Siri responded with a list of several options in my area.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-12.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5610 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-12.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-12\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-12.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-12-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Not that I\u2019ll be indulging in pizza since I recently went wheat free and dairy free, but John\u2019s Best is fantastic and right around the corner from me.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-13.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5611 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-13.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-13\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-13.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-13-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Also right near by is the famous Frank Pepe\u2019s Pizzeria which Apple Maps pulled right up for me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cText Wooshie\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Siri quickly responded, \u201cOkay, what would you like to say to Wooshie\u201d. She then confirmed she understood me before sending.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-14.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5612 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-14.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-14\" width=\"600\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-14.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-14-168x300.jpg 168w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-14-575x1024.jpg 575w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>You can see Siri relayed my message \u201cTesting\u201d no problem. Although I think the bigger question I have is why does my \u201cWooshie\u201d have me labeled as \u201cAnne\u201d in his phone book. Weird. It\u2019s Annie in case you didn\u2019t catch it by now.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cPlay Bad Suns\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-15.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5613 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-15.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-15\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-15.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-15-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sir works awesome with the Alpine iLX-007<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>From texting to directions to phone calls to playing music, she did whatever I asked and she even did it on the 1st try. Now if only I could get my employees to do that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>No Pandora, sort of\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s weird to me that Pandora is not integrated into CarPlay, but you can trick it into playing by simply launching the app from the phone first then select \u201cNow Playing\u201d on the iLX-007. One quirk is the display doesn\u2019t fill up the whole area when you do this. Details like this drive me nuts.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-16.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5615 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-16.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-16\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-16.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-16-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Hard buttons are a great feature in my opinion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The menu button is a nice hard button which makes it easy to identify while driving and quickly brings you back to your main sources (only 3, so not too hard to figure out). It\u2019s also helpful in identifying the very handy Siri button.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-17.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5616 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-17.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-17\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-17.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-17-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>A\/V input on the Alpine iLX-007<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I need to do a little more investigating into the AUX feature. I see listed in the iLX-007 owner\u2019s manual some information regarding operating the mobile digital TV receiver. Initially I couldn\u2019t figure out why a mechless CarPlay head unit would require a parking brake wire connection, but this little feature could explain why. I will update this post as more information becomes available, but as of late tonight, I\u2019m not sure what the DTV feature mentioned in the manual is all about.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CarPlay Keyboard Quirks<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It appears this keyboard quirk is not limited to the AppRadio 4, but also effects the iLX-007. Sometimes when you initially bring up the keyboard it comes up like this.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-18.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5617 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-18.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-18\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-18.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-18-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Other times it comes up full size. I *think* it only comes up small like this if you\u2019re listening to Pandora, but I will need to do some more testing to verify the source of this keyboard quirk. Here is the proper size on screen keyboard. Not that you really need to use it, Siri works really well actually.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-19.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5618 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-19.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-19\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-19.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-19-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Alpine iLX-007 Review &#8211; Overall impressions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Overall I am quite impressed with the Alpine iLX-007. It doesn\u2019t do a lot, but what it does do \u2013 it does quite well. And let\u2019s face it, this is what most people are looking for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An easy way to make and receive phone calls<\/li>\n<li>Easy access to music from their phone<\/li>\n<li>Access GPS from their phone<\/li>\n<li>Be able to do all of this using the great voice recognition technology that is known as Siri<\/li>\n<li>Option to add a back up camera<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Yes there are some limitations, one of them being that you have to connect your phone, no Bluetooth wireless here. Having been doing this for the past 7 years in my own vehicle, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s THAT big of a deal, even for short trips. Just make sure you mount the USB port in a convenient location, like a center console as opposed to a glove box.<\/p>\n<p>No HDMI input, but really, you shouldn&#8217;t be watching YouTube and driving at the same time anyways.<\/p>\n<p>No secondary USB port that could support a dedicated iPod \u2013 This I find quite disappointing. A lot of my customers like to leave a 160 iPod in their car just for music. With this stereo, you can\u2019t even connect an iPod (unless you want to go through a headphone jack, but that\u2019s not convenient at all).<\/p>\n<p>No mounting sleeve. I would say for 90% of the vehicles on the market, this won\u2019t be a big deal. If ISO mount is not an option for your vehicle, pick yourself up a Pioneer ADTVA133 mounting sleeve. Works just fine.<\/p>\n<p>Although this model seems to lack fancy audio controls beyond Bass and Treble (unless the Tune It App presents more control), I was quite impressed with the overall sound quality of the iLX-007. I would have to say, it\u2019s the better sounding CarPlay deck on the market at this point. Sorry Pioneer, a 13 Band EQ doesn\u2019t really help if the sound is muddy to begin with.<\/p>\n<p><em>UPDATE \u2013 10\/10\/14 &#8211; Tune It App does provide 9 band EQ and digital time alignment, it must be controlled through the app. Additionally, after a secondary and much more thorough side by side comparison, I believe I may have had a setting off (like bass boost or something) on the Pioneer AppRadio 4. In fact, there is barely an audible difference. Extremely finite. For myself and my husband, we found the Alpine had an ever so slight edge in detail, one that would be hard to pinpoint in a blind listening test. They both sound pretty clean.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I think the Siri button on the iLX-007 is the best feature of this head unit. The fact that it is a hard button is what makes it so awesome. If you\u2019re trying to focus on the road, you can feel your way to the Siri button and tell her what to do. This is a HUGE advantage that Alpine has with their CarPlay model.<\/p>\n<p><strong>With the Alpine iLX-007, less is more<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The lack of bells and whistles along with the precision focus of features on the iLX-007 make this model extremely straightforward and easy to use. This is the whole point of Apple CarPlay and I think Alpine nailed it.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-20.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5619 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-20.jpg\" alt=\"iLX-007-20\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-20.jpg 600w, https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/iLX-007-20-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Original article can be found <a href=\"http:\/\/www.carstereochick.com\/2014\/11\/06\/alpine-ilx-007-review\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s here &#8211; The Alpine iLX-007 CarPlay Stereo By Annie on November 6th, 2014 in Carstereochick.com&#8217;s Reviews Check it out! Today I received a couple Alpine iLX-007\u2019s and I have to say I\u2019m quite impressed &#8211; even with the packaging alone. This package would look fantastic under the Christmas tree. Even if you couldn&#8217;t install [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5597"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5597"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5621,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5597\/revisions\/5621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}