Which double din is the best?

[GD2BJEN]

Hi all, I'm researching double din head units and I'm wondering which one you think is best. I want mine to have bluetooth, nav, backup camera, ipod controls, and sattelite radio without having to purchase a bunch of add-ons to make all that possible (aside from the camera itself)...recommendations? Thanks for any advice and guidance.

[Topdown]

I prefer the interface of the pioneers... so probably one of the Avic head units. I am debating getting my first Kenwood in about 15 years, but have already heard that the interface is slow, so that doesnt bode well.

[shevyman]

well hello GD2bjen, i have a kenwood in my car and i actually like it. it does everything you are asking for and plus. but then again mine is 2 years old.

how much are you wanting to spend on all this? cause i could get you a alpine ina-w900. i would say alpine is better then the pioneer in my opinion. not trying to shoot down pioneer as a bad product but i only know one person who has put in a pioneer. also i am not sure which one it is kenwood or the alpine, but one of them also comes with in picture. so if you have the nav on and are reversing another window will pop up for the reverse or lets say you are on the road you can have a movie playing and the nav in the smaller pic.

but if you want basic and great features i would go with the alpine ina-w900. research it.

[Topdown]

Originally Posted by shevyman

well hello GD2bjen, i have a kenwood in my car and i actually like it. it does everything you are asking for and plus. but then again mine is 2 years old.

how much are you wanting to spend on all this? cause i could get you a alpine ina-w900. i would say alpine is better then the pioneer in my opinion. not trying to shoot down pioneer as a bad product but i only know one person who has put in a pioneer. also i am not sure which one it is kenwood or the alpine, but one of them also comes with in picture. so if you have the nav on and are reversing another window will pop up for the reverse or lets say you are on the road you can have a movie playing and the nav in the smaller pic.

but if you want basic and great features i would go with the alpine ina-w900. research it.

unfortunately the W900 doesnt have bluetooth built-in, but its "ready" for you to buy the adapter for 150.00 (msrp)

I am looking at the Kenwood ddx-616
has BT built-in for hands free phone (HFP - but not A2DP which is audio streaming)
plays MP3's
USB input
video / DVD
does NOT have NAV (but since my phone has NAV, why do I need another NAV device)
has backup camera input
Ipod controls - probably need to buy the cable


however, your budget is going to really dictate what features you can get... Pioneer, Alpine, Kenwood and Clarion all make good head units.

[shevyman]

i made a mistake in my post. its the w900bt. that one comes with bluetooth.

the new kenwood you are talking about does lagg.

i mean i like kenwood but i got lucky and got the excelon ddx812 which was the last year they made it with better features. mine does not lagg. only thing i hate is the loading when i start the car.

if you are not looking for a system with navi i could help you. i suggest you look at alpine. i mean out of all the systems right now or companies alpine has the best features,quickest load time and also works with all iphone products.

[Darth Martel]

This is what I'll be getting... http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-AVH-P3...5359491&sr=1-1

if you change your mind and want to add Nav, you can just buy the module for it and plug it in.

[shevyman]

Originally Posted by Darth Martel

This is what I'll be getting... http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-AVH-P3...5359491&sr=1-1

if you change your mind and want to add Nav, you can just buy the module for it and plug it in.

let me ask you something, are you getting that inparticular unit cause of the cost?

now i know the features i was reading up on it. but i will bet if you compare it to a alpine unit the alpine will blow it out of the water. i am talking feature wise quality, user friendly. i could say more but i was just asking what reason you are getting that one for.

[y2k king]

i got a pioneer and added what i needed.

[ChvyBoss]

I have a eclipse touch screen has everything u can think of plus great picture quality

[shevyman]

both your guys units look great.

can i ask both of you if your dvd player was easy to disconnect the safety so you can drive with a movie on.

i know some units not sure which ones, but they now have gyro's so any movement it will not let you watch a movie while driving. its just a question. cause i know alot of untis like mine was just a wire

[Darth Martel]

Originally Posted by shevyman

let me ask you something, are you getting that inparticular unit cause of the cost?

now i know the features i was reading up on it. but i will bet if you compare it to a alpine unit the alpine will blow it out of the water. i am talking feature wise quality, user friendly. i could say more but i was just asking what reason you are getting that one for.

I apologize for not responding sooner. You'll probably laugh but, the reason I wanted this Pioneer unit was because of the Pandora interface. The cost was very attractive as well. I wouldn't mind having the GPS function but, it's not a necessity for me. The big things I wanted were the Pandora control capability, bluetooth, usb input, and a touch screen. If I decide to get the GPS later down the road, I can just buy a module and plug it in to this unit.

Comparing it to that Alpine unit, I don't see how the Pioneer gets blown out of the water. The only thing it has that the pioneer doesn't is the navigation and a bigger screen which, if I wanted, I could just get if I got a different model Pioneer.

[shevyman]

[QUOTE=Darth Martel;2749229]I apologize for not responding sooner. You'll probably laugh but, the reason I wanted this Pioneer unit was because of the Pandora interface. The cost was very attractive as well. I wouldn't mind having the GPS function but, it's not a necessity for me. The big things I wanted were the Pandora control capability, bluetooth, usb input, and a touch screen. If I decide to get the GPS later down the road, I can just buy a module and plug it in to this unit.

Comparing it to that Alpine unit, I don't see how the Pioneer gets blown out of the water. The only thing it has that the pioneer doesn't is the navigation and a bigger screen which, if I wanted, I could just get if I got a different model Pioneer. [/QUOT

well you can not jut look at them as specs goes, when you use a alpine next to a pioneer you would see what i mean.
also i found out pioneer is behind on there nav system and its still cd, unlike kenwood and alpine its an update you can get off the pc.
if you want to wait and put out the money alpine has a new unit coming out in feb maybe march just like the w900 but with pandora and its suppose to be easier to use. i think you can control everything off the unit.

also what dash kit are you getting? i just noticed scocshe has one and i think that one looks way better then the other companies. thats my opinion. and we all have opinion's. also i understand why you would go with a unit with pandora, its very popular.

[Topdown]

Originally Posted by GD2BJEN

its current equivalent (Pioneer AVIC-Z110BT) has reviews that indicate slow boot up and music/phonebook indexing times.

I really hope the quality and development engineers at the manufacturers are paying attention to the market buzz... that right there is the nail in the coffin for a good head unit.

it can be the best HU in the world but if its slower than hell, no one is going to want to use it.

for me, I cant stand having to push a button to turn up/down my music. I want it up, NOW and I want it down, NOW... not push and wait 40, 39, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33, 32, 31..... AAAAAAHAHHHHHHHHHHH TURN DOWN ALREADY, THE COPS AT MY WINDOW! LOL

[ChvyBoss]

Originally Posted by shevyman

both your guys units look great.

can i ask both of you if your dvd player was easy to disconnect the safety so you can drive with a movie on.

i know some units not sure which ones, but they now have gyro's so any movement it will not let you watch a movie while driving. its just a question. cause i know alot of untis like mine was just a wire

Mine was just one wore also. Fairly simple. No problems or complaints. I watch music videos all the time and when people look inside they trip out on the video of the song I'm listening too