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Head units what would you suggest?

4K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  dawhitesJKU 
#1 ·
I bought a jeep with the crappy stock head unit with uconnect. I want to upgrade to a head unit with car play, but I want all my steering controls and mic to all work like stock. Any suggestions on a head unit that will do this for me. Back up camera would be nice also.
 
#3 ·
I replaced my stock 130 with a Kenwood DNX893s and love it. Double DIN glass touchscreen. Garmin navigation, Apple Car Play, Bluetooth for iPhone and iPods, FM HD radio, backup camera, CD/DVD player and a bunch of features I'll probably never use. I still have my EVIC controls, most of which also show up on the HU.

Lots of choices out there.
 
#14 ·
I replaced my stock 130 with a Kenwood DNX893s and love it. Double DIN glass touchscreen. Garmin navigation, Apple Car Play, Bluetooth for iPhone and iPods, FM HD radio, backup camera, CD/DVD player and a bunch of features I'll probably never use. I still have my EVIC controls, most of which also show up on the HU.
I've got the DNX892, and it's a tremendous upgrade in sound quality and functionality.
 
#8 ·
I went with a Kenwood as well. Double DIN DVD player with bluetooth, HD radio, AUX and USB in, backup cam. No nav as I prefer to use my cell for that.

The deciding factor for me was the output power of the Kenwood -- 4x 22 watts RMS, compared to 4x14 watts RMS for many others. Allowed me to skip installing an amp -- I have plenty of power for top down driving.
 
#7 ·
I installed a Pioneer AppRadio 4 SPH‑DA120 as part of a full system overhaul and love it. You can get the proper adapter to make your wheel controls work fine, too. It also supports a backup camera.
 
#10 ·
Any comments on other head units?

Sounds like lots of positives for the Kenwood.

Has anyone had experience with the Android based head units?
Like the Pumkin or other cheap boxes?
I think I like the idea of a full Android / tablet-style unit that I can put my own map system on, etc.
I even found one with a 10" display that comes with a replacement dash because of the size of it!


Any real-world experience out there?

Happy Monday.
 
#12 ·
FWIW, I was in the same boat as you...looking for a better sounding head unit. Not sure what it is about the HU that you do not like, but I was talked into upgrading the speakers before trying the head unit. I was very impressed with how much the sound improved. The stock HU doesnt sound half bad now. Basically it was explained that the speakers are really the weak link in a non alpine oem system. I went with the Kicker upgrade in the sound bar, Alpine take-offs for the dash and another set of Kickers for the lower dash area. Night and day.
 
#15 ·
Has anyone installed an aftermarket head unit with the Pac Audio RP4-CH11 interface? I'm wondering if it is able to send text to the EVIC display like the stock HU?
According to my installer and the research I have done, the iDatalink Maestro RR is the only interface that retains both the compass and the info in the EVIC display.

I can confirm that it does work with the Maestro. However, the EVIC display shows the source the radio is set to rather than the station name. So when listening to Sirius it shows SIRIUS. This is with a Pioneer AVIC-8200NEX and the Maestro RR. It may be different with a different head unit.
 
#18 ·
@2016Rubicon ... NO. I have the PAC w/ a pioneer 6200nex. It will not display any EVIC besides the speed. I'm content with the PAC system. Its pretty cool to see the EVIC on the head unit though. I would however get the idatalink on my other vehicle since it supports temperature/heated seats and heated steering wheel.
 
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