Head Unit Features - Apple Carplay & others, thoughts & opinions

[92saturnsl2]

Looking at mid-tier head units around $200-300. I come from a head unit where you have CD, radio and that's it. Other features, I'm a bit lost. All units in the price range come with enough EQ and sound customization to my liking, so the variables are these things:

Apple Carplay
Android Auto
HD Tuner
Glass capacitive Touchscreen (vs resistive)

Trying to get a handle on model numbers vs. features is near impossible. For some reason, Kenwood, Pioneer, et. al don't give model numbers that are anywhere near intuitive-- often if you go up to the next model number in the list, it might add a feature, but you lose two others. Going to an all-digital unit (where you lose DVD/CD player) seems to result in a cost INCREASE, all other features being the same, which is perplexing. It's as if all the manufacturers got together and made the most confusing model number system they possibly could. To get ALL the features I listed, involves spending $500+, so I'll have to pick and choose what features matter most to me.

For those that have Apple Carplay, do you feel that it's useful feature or one you could live without? What exactly does it do other than put the phone interface on the stereo screen? Losing Apple Carplay saves quite a bit of money, but I don't want to abandon a useful feature I might regret later.

How would you rate the above features in terms of importance if you were buying a new head unit today?

Difference between capacitive & resistive touchscreen?

There is a Pioneer MVH-1400NEX that checks many of the boxes, EXCEPT HD-Radio. I listen to the radio a lot and think I would miss this one, but I have no idea the quality of the HD signals around here either. You can't just go up another model number to add HD radio unfortunately, because jumping up a model gives you HD-Radio but you lose the glass touchscreen and some screen size. Quite infuriating.

There is a Kenwood Excelon (DDX794/795) that has everything I want for $200 but it lacks Apple Carplay. Always a tradeoff

Curious how you rate the above features in importance.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Apple car play sounds like a good feature and is safer than fiddling with your
Iphone. For those who haven't seen it, it has a touch screen and streams your tunes from your iPhone. I'm afraid a CD player is obsolete but hey, some guys still use cassettes. LOL.

I'm thinking if you are in a mini van or Burb and have kids or grankids you could still make use of a DVD player but a lot of that is streamed as well.

Feel like paying for XM radio? Might be nice. HD tuner, not sure.

Good luck. Let us know what you buy.

 

[HangFire]

https://techexplainer.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/resistive-vs-capacitive-touchscreen/

Basically resistive is sturdy, but no multi-touch so you can't pinch/spread to zoom. It also requires more pressure.

Kenwood burned me on an Excelon that the SatNav died on, it has to be returned to the factory for reset each time the SatNav S/W crashes. But I bought it from Crutchfield, so I returned it to them and got a Jensen instead. The Kenwood had a better radio for Dx but the Jensen is better in every other way, and half the cost. But that was 3 years ago, lots of new models introduced since then. Downside on the Jensen is there is no iGo update for its SatNav. You can go sign and up and pay, but still no update.

Next upgrade I would like to get HD Radio. I do get some kind of digital service with the Jensen, it scrolls what artist and song is playing.

I'll look at Jensen again but honestly my next upgrade may be a no-name Chinese Android head unit. You can turn on WiFi and update an Android SatNav app like CoPilot and never be held hostage to poor name-brand support for poor name-brand SatNav again.

 

[fsdork]

I've always been of the impression that model number and feature variations between similar models exist to give certain retailers "exclusives". This protects them from price comparisons and the resultant loss of gross margin.

As for which modern features are of benefit, I'm afraid I don't have much input there. Bluetooth audio streaming from my Android phone and tablet is the only must-have I've run into in recent years.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

If you didn't need HD Radio, I'd recommend this Blaupunkt from Walmart. It is the only Android Auto-compatible aftermarket radio I know of that has USB and Aux inputs int eh FRONT! Every other one I've seen only has rear aux/USB. Why is it so hard for them to put one in the front?

 

[NO2]

I'd wait a bit and save some more $ for a Carplay unit

Resistive touchscreen works with gloves. Capacitive responds more accurately.
Sirius unnecessary - just use the app
Carplay (especially) is the best feature to have for Apple. It's slightly more seamless than Android auto
HD Radio is another iffy feature, but I only listen to the radio for sports
CD/DVD also unnecessary.
You will need a sufficient amount of power to drive your speakers, and make sure to have a sub out and equalizer
Bluetooth 4.2+ is best.

 

[hpb]

Apple Carplay is great. I'd spend the extra and get it.

 

[meep]

Carplay is great on long trips to have a lot of control over the phone, NAV, podcast controls. but I rarely use it on daily drives because who wants to pull the phone off the hip, plug the cord in and out every single time.

I've been an alpine guy for years due to SQ and tuning abilities. parametric EQ, time alignment, HPF filters for front and rear, they are great units and clean. BUT, 1/3 of the alpines I've owned or helped others installed have lost their bluetooth capability after 2 years. That's 2 of 6.

I recently installed a kenwood 2U deck in a camper with component speakers and kenwood has the EXCELLENT feature I haven't seen anywhere else. And as far as I can tell, it's only accessible through the phone app - Every single set of component speakers I've installed is too hot with the tweeter. Every single one. On my own installs, I typically measure 3-6dB too hot, and install compensating networks to pull them in. This JBL set in the camper was no different. Even with -3db selected at the crossover, the tweeters were obnoxious and painful. The KW HU has a feature where you select (measure or guess) the crossover frequency of the tweeter and then can dial down the signal above that set point. It's similar to an EQ but instead of being a specific frequency, it is more of a shelf filter, where everything above that setpoint is affected. -5dB is what the tweets needed to settle down. It was also the max the deck would do. That said, it was FAR easier than measuring, calculating, ordering parts, and installing a compensation network. And this is a common problem with components. Go Kenwood. If I wanted a showcase system for my car, I would probably use Alpine and build the network. But if I wasn't trying to be absolutely perfect but wanted it to be really really good, I'd do exactly this and make sure it had that feature.

Touchscreen vs not.

aside from NAV, I still prefer buttons because you can find them without looking. Buttons to me are more intuitive for handing with peripheral vision; easier. But the bigger thing for me, is if dealing with touchscreens, is the ability to control their brightness at night. They are such a potential for glaring light on long, dark interstate drives that there are some examples I simply would not own, period. Even the OEMs struggle with this. Granted, I'd say most standard HUs also fail to dim properly or allow enough dimming range, so this isn't just a touchscreen problem, it's just that screens have more lit areas. Again, my experience has mostly been with alpine, but I did help a friend install a Kenwood touch screen 5-6 years ago - it was a $600 unit but I don't recall the model, and it allowed excellent control of day and night brightness levels. He also had a 1U KW with a rich dot matrix display which also allowed fine control - but, that single din unit failed after only 2-3 years of service, which was ridiculous for the $300 cost (260 or so). the only way I've been able to tell the amount of control is to download the user manuals and see what menu options they provide - and even then there have been catches. For example, on one alpine I had, you could dial the brightness for RGB from 0-60 for all elements. This would make you think you could pull it all the way down, right? Well, somewhere there was a catch, that at least one element had to be a minimum of 20. Well, to get the color you'd need to match the dash, that's 20, plus a 15, plus a 3, and then it's too bright. I know I'm being picky, but IF I'm going to spend the money, if I'm going to do the work, I want it to be right.

 

[kkreit01]

Apple CarPlay, and stick with the main brands. Shop Crutchfield for reviews and "what fits". Stay clear of the off-brand flashy (Android) Chinese units with huge displays. They are nothing but trouble.

 

[Andrew1972]

We have Apple Car play with factory radio in 2018 VW Tiguan. I would not get a new car without it , Google Maps is excellent and the rest of integration. Only con is plugging in phone but it charges.

 

[92saturnsl2]

I went up in price a fair bit and settled on a refurbished Kenwood Excelon DMX905S (CD-less). It's one of the 2018 models, comes with Android Auto, Apple Carplay, capacitive touchscreen, HD Radio, so I basically got to check all the boxes of features I was looking for. I opted for the newer 2018 model as the 2017's have many reviews stating there are lag issues in the interface. Saved $150 by going refurbished; unit I received was in new condition in every way, included all accessories, only 90 day warranty however.

Sound quality is on a whole 'nother planet, absolutely zero complaints. Whoever wired the previous head unit used the wrong wiring harness-- the Maxima I have has the Bose audio system with factory amps. If you replace the stock head unit, you're supposed to use a line-out converter or RCA preouts to feed the factory amps a low-level signal. The harness they used applied speaker level outputs to the factory amps, which introduced huge amounts of distortion when you turned the volume up high. With the new deck I used the RCA outputs which are 5V and they matched the factory amps perfectly. Volume is good and linear, gets loud without a hint of distortion.

HD tuner is nice, far better than I recall it being in its infancy (I used it many years ago and was not impressed). Quite a few stations in the Louisville area that are HD, and most sound as good or better than standard FM. The bluetooth and wireless functions are great to have-- the audio quality for bluetooth/wireless connection is much better than I expected. Pandora still sucks (sound quality wise), haven't used Spotify or any of the others. I suspect there is a premium version for either that will give decent sound quality.

The Apple Carplay I haven't used enough to determine whether or not it's a feature I'll use often. I tinkered with it a bit and grew frustrated having to use voice prompts for nearly everything-- old habits die hard, I prefer punching things in myself, but I understand this is a system designed for use while driving, perhaps I'll learn to like it.

Only complaint is the aux cable-- the manual is not clear how this is done, they make a reference to an optional accessory but I don't know if the accessory is necessary. There is a 3.5mm jack on the back labeled AV IN/OUT. Not sure if I can just plug an extension cable into it, and plug a device / audio out straight into it, or if that optional accessory needs to be in the middle-- otherwise how can it be AV IN and OUT? Manual is terribly vague regarding this feature, but alas I forgot all about it until AFTER I installed the HU, and I'm not pulling it back out to experiment with it.. If the head unit has to come back out for some reason, I'll install it then... I don't think it's something I'll ever need to use, but I do want it there if ever the need arises.

Seems like a great unit, first Kenwood I've ever had; the reputation they have for sound quality being better than the rest seems to be proving itself true. Tons of options for DSP, time delay, crossovers, etc., enough features and customization to keep me busy for a good while!