ok , wow so many different types, things have changed some over the years, so what do you all recommend, here is what i personally like:
1. RDS i like to know all the stuff obout the station or artist playing
2. USB and or SD card
3. CD i think shortly they may be obsolete though for car use anyway
4. Bluetooth, never used it yet, but seems cool
5. must be able to connect to the steering wheel controls....
6. my center console has a factory AMP, could that be used??

thats about it, not real interested in flashing lights and stuff like that..
is there anything like a 1.5 DIN radio?? mine is bigger than single din
but not a Double din

thanks for all the replys, as soom as my camera charges i will get a pic of whats factory in my ride..

 

HOLY S#%T thats a DINOSAUR!! nice to see that it still works though!

 

Diaita, very nice looking pioneer HU, also with a ton of features,..nice

 

heres an interesting find, any one hear of this "planet Audio" P9707b
In-Dash 4.3" LCD Touchscreen DVD/MP3/USB Car Stereo Receiver w/ Front USB, Auxiliary Input & DAC

 

From what I've looked at there's not many that are centered around SQ. They're almost all centered around navigation and other such features. The Alpine's that support the PXA-H800 Imprint processor , Kenwood DNX-9990HD, and Clarion NX702 are the only ones I'm aware of that offer REAL processing power. Otherwise they're all pretty standard with limited crossover and parametric EQ settings (usually only 3 or 5 band) and typically no DTA.


1. RDS is getting pretty standard, that shouldn't be hard to find at all. However, you have to remember that not all radio stations transmit RDS data. Especially if you live in a rural area.
2. USB is pretty much standard on all HU's anymore, SD card slots aren't nearly as useful and are pretty rare now.
3. CD playing capability will be around for a bit longer I think, hard to tell though.
4. Bluetooth can be had pretty regularly on a lot of units.
5. Almost every unit out there is connectable to factory steering wheel controls through the use of an external module, only one or two have that functionality built in.
6. The factory amp is pretty useless actually. It doesn't provide any advantages over the amp that's built into the HU's. You will need a harness to bypass the factory amp though so it doesn't get toasted by the more powerful aftermarket HU.

1.5 DIN units are still available but have gone by the wayside for the double din units. Your best bet is in the single and double din units available to have all the features you're looking for. I'll do a little looking around and see what fits your requirements. Also, you didn't mention a budget. What is the ceiling on the price?

 

@Alton: What is a pico fuse in a Pioneer

 

The poco fuse is a fuse between the ground connection of the RCAs and the ground buss of the internal circuitry. It's there to protect the circuitry in the event of a major short. The problem is they blow very easily and the noise that occurs due to the low output circuit "floating" is absurd. You can fix it by grounding the RCAs to the chassis but it doesn't always clear all the noise. A quick search with the words "pioneer" and "poco fuse" will yield all the info you'd ever want to read. Pioneer is also not the only company that uses them but they seem to have had the most issues.

 

I'm looking to replace my stock unit right now too... After looking at all the Pioneers, I have decided on a Kenwood BT752HD. I wanted decent power, bluetooth, front USB and changable interface color.

I've been out of car audio for quite a while, but I've had great luck with Kenwood and Pioneer. No luck with Alpine, Blaupunkt, Clarion, and Aiwa.

 

Power differences in the realm of HU's is completely negligible. Every major HU uses the same type of IC amp chip and produces in the neighborhood of 20 wrms. There absolutely NO audible difference from the 17 to 22 rating you typically see. In the terms of speaker output it would most likely not even be measurable.

My point is that the power rating of a HU should not be a deciding factor on purchasing it.

 

ok i did say i would post some pics of what is currently in my Jimmy, all though i do like the sound and features, i just would like to be a little more modern, and have a place to mount a "real CB", i do like the cobra
75 wx st hand held unit,a cobra 29 ltd would fit nicly where the 6 disc CD
changer is i think.... the rear audio control is cool also, this allows a rear passenger the freedom of listining to something other than what the driver is listing to and have control over it