which one is better?

 

Mp919 is excellent fit and finish and graphical display are tops and its FAST for Mp3. SH99 is last years a little slower and less GUI. Only issue with the 919 is the motorize face. You must have the radio door open when you turn on/off the car.

Panasonic has a higher end Mp3 player that looks promising - haven't tested yet.

 

Anothe feature I don't like about the 919 is it doesn't have a attenuator button on the face. You have to use the one on the remote. I hae always used kenwood and haven't had any problems.

 

What about the Alpine?

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by lucid
[B]Mp919 is excellent fit and finish and graphical display are tops and its FAST for Mp3.

 

Specs out the same - I think its just an Excelon rebadged with a 1 year warranty vs the 2 with the Excelon. The X859 is about $50 more. It might have an extra program on it but I didn't take note of it.

When I get the chance, I'm either putting the 919 or the Panasonic MXE CQ-DFX972U (after I see how it really is) in my car. Amp outputs are important to me as well as fast MP3 reading. Just compairing the old Kenwood MP8017 which I had in the car last year to the MP5010K is painful - soooo slow.

 

As lucid said, the SH99 is last years model. Not a big deal, except you will probably have a hard time finding one from a reputable dealer. Even Crutchfield is out of them (and doesn't even have the model listed anymore). Somewhat disappointing, I've been very happy with mine and was going to get a 2nd one for my S2000. The 3rd gen (current) models look promising, though.

 

Beware of the 919/859 style units. These units with the rotary knob all use the motorized stealth face that cannot be disabled. So if you are used to driving around with the stereo cover closed, especially when you turn the car on/off, you won't like it. I got a 759 (because I also got the music keg) and hated that aspect of it, though I loved the display. I kept forgetting to open the cover before I turned on the car, so it would try to open and bang on the cover and stop trying. Enough of that and I'll bet the motor will burn out, so I downgraded to a 559.

IMO, the music keg is the best MP3 player

 

Well since we are on this topic, are there any other comaparable mp3 players I should look at in a similar price range?

 

I have last years Alpine mp3 player (CDA-7878) & it's great. Mp3 disc loadup time & track to track's just like a regular audio disc. The 2002 Alpine mp3 head unit's should be out soon (May I believe).