Brendan Hughes

Last time I bought a HU was about 1989 from a spotty kid who’d permanently borrowed it from the carparts shop he worked in . Now I have to dip my toe into the wild world of techno-gizmos and I’d really appreciate some help choosing a new Head Unit! [I’m typing this bravely after seeing the carputer install thread, trying not to crawl back into my cave and strike some flints together]

Current system has double DIN opening (it's a Toyota, not a Subaru).

I already have a Sony PDA (P910i). There will be a satnav option for it soon (so I’m told – it’s been “soon” since January). If I buy this, we can use it when walking in the streets of a city, but my wife can’t use it in the car when I’m at work, ie five days out of seven, so that’s a plus and a minus.

I only use the car evenings/weekends, and my wife uses it all day for leisure if necessary – there’s no travelling salesperson stuff going on.

Wanted
I’m looking for a radio/CD player.
I want to connect a fully hardwired carphone, NOT bluetooth.
I want to play DVDs (of MP3, or satnav – not films), so it’s a bit future-proof.
I want a satnav system that works (if I don’t get the one for the PDA). Touchscreen would be very handy, but it must work in bright sunshine, as I’m in a very sunny country and the stereo is mounted high in the dashboard. Voice control is not necessary.
I want to be able to connect an iPod or similar (in future). I don’t know the difference btwn MP3 and WMA, so I don’t know if this makes a difference. If I’m told to stick to one when burning CDs, I can do this.

Not wanted
I don’t want extra amps or sub-woofers. I’m not hugely interested in sound quality or volume – Dynomat and a decent HU and speakers will be fine.
I don’t want steering wheel controls capability (haven’t got it!)
I don’t really want a 6-CD changer if I can avoid it, though I don’t understand how you can listen to a CD and have a DVD satnav going at the same time.
I don’t want Gatso-spotting capability, unless it comes free with the above – 99% of the time I won’t use it. I don’t imagine I’d use restaurants or hotel info either.
I don’t want TV
I’m nervous about putting all my eggs in one basket, ie one gadget that does everything (and breaks/is stolen so I’m shafted!)

Maybe if I buy an iPod I don’t need the capacity to play music CDs, but I rarely listen to music except in the car, so buying one for the car seems a bit extravagant - I hate walking round the streets with earphones. (I wonder, can I use the Sony with a 1GB memory card?? Though it isn’t very big. How to input this into a stereo, and even more tricky, how to choose tracks via the head unit?)

I notice –
Cost of Alpine iPod interface is about £60
Some sat-nav capable head units, you have to buy the GPS bit separately, probably another 150-200 (not sure) but it should be budgeted
I don’t understand about buying new map DVDs – every year, or when you can afford them? How much are they?
Some people comment on speed of access of different satnav systems – what do I look out for, for a good one?

Total budget is flexible, but I don’t like the idea of spending much more than £600 if I can help it – the AVIC-X1R is great but just seems like overkill for my needs (and as for the sublimely perfect AVIC-D1, I’ll wait for my lotto numbers thanks). The Kenwood 7025(?) is nice, but already very pricey, and then more so considering it doesn’t even come with the GPS bit.

[Fully hardwired carphone kit here is about £80 – I’ve got that covered.]

If you’ve got this far – thanks for reading, and I’d really appreciate views or suggestions!

Brendan

Yuck Fou Motorsport

The pioneer AVHP5700DVD isnt a bad unit, its an all in one cd/mp3/tuner/dvd player, I can sorce a brand new one for around £645

Brendan Hughes

Hmm, thanks very much for the suggestion - I looked it up, all was going well until I read that you have to buy the satnav unit separately and this appears to be another 800 quid

Brendan Hughes

I've looked at the JVC KD AVX1 for £350-ish, nice single-DIN screen, but apparently no SatNav connections.

Also the Pioneer ANH-P9R is cute and OK at £500, but seems a bit dated as it doesn't do DVDs or even MP3

Edit - P10R gets me MP3 for an extra £100, but still no DVD.

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