11 replies to this topic

[hazzaRX04]

Hi All,

 

Sorry I'm an epic noob on this site but i have a topic i need some input on.

I'm looking for a double din head unit to upgrade the missus' car stereo so she has reversing camera but im also keen to make sure its got nav in it as well.

 

my functional preferences with the head units im looking at are as follows (in order)

 

reverse camera ready

steering wheel control (be able to tap into the OE steering wheel controls)

navigation ready

DVD (not needed but i see they all have them)

 

im looking to spend anywhere around the $600 mark, but well aware to get anything decent from the states ill be pushing closer to the $1000 mark.

 

im pretty keen on a kenwood or pioneer as i know the brands and they are reliable ( i think)

 

here is a few ive found so far but i dont know the best (and cheapest place to buy)

 

Pioneer NEX
http://www.pioneerel.../GPS-Navigation

 

Kenwood
http://www.kenwood.c...ion/dnx4150dab/

 

 

the pioneer NEX are pretty sweet, however if i could get a Nav that doesnt require my phone to use its data i'd prefer it.

 

any advice would be awesome and thanks in advance.

(also sorry if ive poseted thins in the wrong spot)

 

cheers

 

(my Missus' car isnt a subaru, however owning a subaru and being part of this group i know this is the audience i would prefer to hear from )

 

[Niko]

Hey Mate,

 

I'm currently upgrading the unit in my car. I bought an OEM NAVI/DVD unit, and will be adding Reverse Camera function, it obviously comes with steering wheel controls etc as it's OEM and from same model Forester.

 

I would investigate whether the manufacturer brought out factory nav in the model of car you are upgrading. If not I found the Pioneer systems, when I was looking at aftermarket, to be the better end of the scale.

 

I'd be wary of buying from US, somewhere like Jaycar/JB HIFI should be good, but also check for sale section of this site and ozfoz for people selling their aftermarket GPS headunits.

 

 

In regards to reverse camera, if you haven't bought one yet, Rydeen seem to be getting god reviews and who I'll be going with.

 

Cheers.

[hazzaRX04]

Hey Mate,

 

I'm currently upgrading the unit in my car. I bought an OEM NAVI/DVD unit, and will be adding Reverse Camera function, it obviously comes with steering wheel controls etc as it's OEM and from same model Forester.

 

I would investigate whether the manufacturer brought out factory nav in the model of car you are upgrading. If not I found the Pioneer systems, when I was looking at aftermarket, to be the better end of the scale.

 

I'd be wary of buying from US, somewhere like Jaycar/JB HIFI should be good, but also check for sale section of this site and ozfoz for people selling their aftermarket GPS headunits.

 

 

In regards to reverse camera, if you haven't bought one yet, Rydeen seem to be getting god reviews and who I'll be going with.

 

Cheers.

Thanks mate,

I have found a company who have a head unit specifically for the car I'm looking to put it into but a year earlier. (2011 car and i found a "pre 2013 Honda CRV models and is a direct replacement of the factory audio system" )

but I am yet to confirm if it is the company who originally stock the head units.

 

http://mongoose.com....-24-detail.html

 

The Pioneer head units are pretty dam good! the cheeky buggers seem to have different product codes for USA and AUS  (NEX-### and AVIC-### respectively) and of course the prices are adjusted aggressively....

 

ill have a look in the sales part too!!

 

thanks for the help.

 

cheers

[allpaw4]

Be wary of getting units from other countries, they generally have different radio spectrums, for example the Japanese units run an fm scale that only goes from 76 to 90 MHz. Whereas Aus runs from 87.5 to 108.0 MHz. America runs a slightly narrowed band 87.9 to 107.9 - not a big issue if there's no stations within that removed range, but be wary.

[Morgan]

I'm using a U.S. pioneer unit 7" touch screen DVD/Bluetooth unit in the Calais with no issues. Was a fraction of the price as the equivalent Aus unit

[hazzaRX04]

awesome thanks for the input.

Ill keep you posted on what i get!!

[hazzaRX04]

So I looked around for a while and settled on Kenwood DDX5015DAB (within Australia)

 

http://www.kenwood.c...ion/ddx5015dab/

 

My biggest concern was that i have to use my phone and its data to use the GPS navigation. After talking to a dude in autobarn he showed me how you can cache maps on google maps and even use completely offline Navigation Apps, so that eliminated that issue.

 

considering the pioneer was more than twice the price of this one im looking at, and has the same features (close enough) this will do just fine.

 

Now the fun begins of where to buy.

 

I usually get my car audio from RYDA.com.au and they have a pretty good price.

however if i juggle parts from shop to shop i can cut the price down overall from $937 to about $720!!

 

can anyone suggest any other good car audio shops?

 

cheers

[STI_Tom]

A solution for the steering wheel controls:

 

In my car I have a "swi-pac", it pretty much translates the electrical signal from your steering wheel controls to the same "language" as your head unit. Can be used in most cars, and almost every head unit that can take steering wheel control inputs.
 

I've bought car audio from JB-HI FI before and find their prices to be fairly competitive, they have some great sales at times.

 

Can't speak for quality of install from JB though, I do my own electrical work.

 

I don't know where you're located but if you're in Newcastle see Ross at House of Soundz in Kotara.

[hazzaRX04]

Thanks Tom,

 

i agree i do my own electrical as well, im not paying for that 

and im down in melbourne, but cheers anyway.

 

 

I managed to pick up a kenwood from autobarn pretty cheap in the EOFYS sales. just under $800 for all the parts included.

 

one thing i found after a headache and three visits to autobarn, apparently you cannot use the aepro iso to kenwood harness on double din units.
they didnt tell me this untill i had purchased and has the car in pieces, however the only solution to my problem was to go back to old school cut, solder and heat shrink.

litterally the only thing missing from the aepro harness was the steering control wire and the illumination wire. i attempred to inclip the pins and re-assign them to the harness but it was too fiddly and i couldnt find the right tool.

 

they told me clarion and pioneer are fine for double din, but KENWOOD AREN'T.

So i got the aepro steering control harness which is also the car to iso wiring harness aswell (thanks for selling me both ) and i just cut the kenwood end off the iso to kenwood harness i bought and wired the one i got from the box.

 

Another thing to make sure is get the small patch harness A,B or C depending on your car, as that was an extra trip back to the shop. it is one or two wires that come out of the back of the little black box and connect to the steering wheel control wire.

 

I Can pull up a few pictures if anyone needs.

 

thanks all.

[STI_Tom]

Sounds like a mission with all those harnesses, I did a similar install into my gen 4 Liberty, replacing the factory Macintosh system, which is an absolute nightmare of an install, as anyone else who has tried to retrofit stereos into gen 4s. I made all my own looms and cut and soldered all the connections. 

For anything other than a bog standard cheap radio unit to a no-frills standard car those harnesses are pretty useless. 

[hazzaRX04]

Irony at its finest, i went away from my trusty cut solder and heat shrink to save time.....

 

still.... it works now..

 

cheers

[Liam Antony]

Kenwood is one of the leading manufacturers of car audio equipment and they have earned a great reputation for making reliable and very good functioning car touch screen stereo systems . I have KENWOOD DDX770 .The quality of this product starts with the big 7-inch crystal clear touch screen display it features. This is larger than most of the units . It also acts as an am/fm Bluetooth receiver and it can receive CDs and dvds too.
One thing I really liked about this unit was the fact it came with a backup camera that automatically turned on and displayed when you put your vehicle in reverse. That was a very nice touch. Another very good feature is the display off button. If you hold the mute button down it will turn off the lights on the display yet leave everything working.