Best apple car play radio?

HuntFishCobra

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2011
Messages
1,314
Location
KS
I'm about done messing with the CD Error on my oem head unit. Looking for a touch screen unit to replace, but leaving the mach 460 intact. My ear doesn't really know what a "good" stereo sounds like so i don't want to mess with it.

Does anyone have recommendations on a solid apple car play double din unit? I've been looking at the Sony xav-ax1000 on crutchfield and it seems to be my front runner. Looking to stay around that budget as well.

Thanks
 

DSG2003Mach1

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2004
Messages
15,907
Location
Central Fl
I bought an Alpine iLX-W650 and been very happy with it so far. The Pioneer I had before didnt have carplay and was a total pile of shit. The super small size of the Alpine is awesome (due to no CD player). It does NOT have a remote though.
 

HuntFishCobra

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2011
Messages
1,314
Location
KS
That looks really slick. Can you change the background on it?
 

slseals

Member
Established Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2014
Messages
59
Location
Georgia
Not sure which Pioneer he had but I had the 8200NEX and it was awesome and I just upgraded it to the 8500NEX for wireless android auto. I don't have an iPhone but it works great with my iPod and my android phone. Buy the microphone and it will do auto calibration of everything, equalizer, time alignment, etc. It sounds incredible. I do have an amp and sub in the trunk but it made the 460 speakers sound incredible.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk
 

DSG2003Mach1

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2004
Messages
15,907
Location
Central Fl
That looks really slick. Can you change the background on it?

This one - no, thats the only thing I dont like. I believe some of the similar models you can but may require a google search to get into the menu to do it.

Not sure which Pioneer he had

Pioneer AVH-X2700BS DVD Receiver. iPhone or iPod, wired or bluetooth it didnt work for shit. Error codes on the screen, would only display artist/song for the first song played, press skip too many times it crashed, didnt always power on with the car. It was a total lemon but the car went down right after I bought it so I didnt know until it was out of warranty
 

chonSVT

Member
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
May 11, 2011
Messages
270
Location
San Antonio, TX
Sony AX5000 or Kenwood DMX906S if you want wireless CarPlay. Solid unit. DMX907S should be out soon which will replace 906 if you can wait another month or 2.
 

GNBRETT

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Premium Member
Beer Money Bros.
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Messages
4,548
Location
Middle Earth
I prefer the Kenwood stuff. It works well with my Sync as well. The Head unit isnt gonna make ur stereo sound good. Its ur speakers and amp do that. The amp found in Head units is garbage.

Try to find a unit with 5v pre-outs like Kenwood uses. Much cleaner signal without having to go with a DSP.
 
Last edited:

HuntFishCobra

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2011
Messages
1,314
Location
KS
Would that make the 12v to 5v reducer thing unnecessary?

I prefer the Kenwood stuff. It works well with my Sync as well. The Head unit isnt gonna make ur stereo sound good. Its ur speakers and amp do that. The amp found in Head units is garbage.

Try to find a unit with 5v pre-outs like Kenwood uses. Much cleaner signal without having to go with a DSP.
 

HuntFishCobra

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2011
Messages
1,314
Location
KS
Good to know. Appreciate the tips. I’ll keep looking around based on these
 

slseals

Member
Established Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2014
Messages
59
Location
Georgia
I would say your head unit has a lot more to do with how your system sounds than your amps do, unless you buy some really low quality amps. Proper equalization can completely change how a given set of speakers sound. There are a number of Pioneer units that handle all of that very well with the push of a button. There are good Kenwoods and Alpines also but I'm on my third Pioneer and they have all been very good units. I'm really happy with the wireless Android Auto. Everyone has their opinion but the Pioneers consistently rank right up there with the Alpines and Kenwoods depending on which reviews you look at.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk
 

DSG2003Mach1

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2004
Messages
15,907
Location
Central Fl
Pioneers consistently rank right up there with the Alpines and Kenwoods

I always had good luck with Pioneers until the last one, it was clearly a lemon I just didnt get to use it enough to know that until the warranty was up
 

GodStang

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2003
Messages
14,719
Location
Aiken, SC
I just installed a KENWOOD unit in my 2010 Explorer and love it. Bought new off amazon for $500 less than Crutchfield.
 

HuntFishCobra

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2011
Messages
1,314
Location
KS
What unit? I’m narrowing down on the ilx-w650 and the dmx7706 as of right now
 

94 Cobra R

Same Ol Same Ol
Established Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2002
Messages
1,119
Location
Gainesville, FL
I have yet to hear a 460 system where the HU was the only thing replaced and the system sounded good. Whole system should be replaced if you want it to sound good, IMHO.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Stage 4.6

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2010
Messages
2,074
Location
Colorado
I have yet to hear a 460 system where the HU was the only thing replaced and the system sounded good. Whole system should be replaced if you want it to sound good, IMHO.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Agreed! I replaced mine with a really nice Kenwood DDX9903S, and despite the nice HU mine sounded like crap.
 

DSCobra01

Member
Established Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2003
Messages
322
Location
OC, SoCal
For people that have upgraded their head units, what are your thoughts about these two features below specifically? I'm trying to decide on a model and having to settle on which features are deal breakers or not. I don't need nav, DVD or CD but if I had to get it, I would.

Note, this is not my daily driver, I take short rides where I'm happy just listening to the exhaust but I also take longer cruises with the car club and am fed up with the lack of tech in the car like when I have to look at my iPhone in the cupholder for google maps or not having bluetooth for calls

  1. Wireless vs Wired CarPlay - I'll pay more for wireless but only if it's reliable (I've read mixed reviews on all brands). On long trips, I'll keep my phone plugged in by default however so it charges.
  2. Capacitive vs Resistive screen (should I rule out a unit with and older style resistive screen because I'll be pressing the screen multiple times just to get my selection to register?)
 

black 10th vert

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2007
Messages
6,188
Location
MA
For people that have upgraded their head units, what are your thoughts about these two features below specifically? I'm trying to decide on a model and having to settle on which features are deal breakers or not. I don't need nav, DVD or CD but if I had to get it, I would.

Note, this is not my daily driver, I take short rides where I'm happy just listening to the exhaust but I also take longer cruises with the car club and am fed up with the lack of tech in the car like when I have to look at my iPhone in the cupholder for google maps or not having bluetooth for calls

  1. Wireless vs Wired CarPlay - I'll pay more for wireless but only if it's reliable (I've read mixed reviews on all brands). On long trips, I'll keep my phone plugged in by default however so it charges.
  2. Capacitive vs Resistive screen (should I rule out a unit with and older style resistive screen because I'll be pressing the screen multiple times just to get my selection to register?)

So, I haven’t gotten around to replacing the head unit on my Terminator yet, which is a Pioneer Avic something, or other (don’t remember the exact model). The screen blacked out several years ago, but I rarely drive the car, so I just left it alone for other priorities. That being said, I’m 100% planning to get another one like I recently installed in my 4Runner. It’s a Sony XAV-AX5000. I decided to get this one after having installed and really liking the AX1000 in my daughter’s car. I opted for the 5000 for a few reasons. The biggest being that I was able to get it on sale around the holidays for the same price I paid for the 1000 just last summer! In addition, it has the capacitive display, rear USB ports, and a few other perks I can’t remember at the moment. Personally, I read many reviews on multiple brands, and the wireless CarPlay just doesn’t seem to be worth double the cost for the head unit in most cases, especially since, you’ll drain the battery quickly running wirelessly anyway! I did a very clean setup with a remote mounted USB port on the left of my steering wheel in an unused switch blank on my 4Runner, and have a super short wire and a magnetic holder for the phone. Very convenient, out of the way, and easy to grab the phone on my way out of the truck. As for the capacitive/resistive display, the capacitive is more like the actual iPhone screen as far as responsiveness, but honestly, I never found the screen on my daughter’s 1000 to be anything to be concerned about at all. She actually likes having the front USB on that one, and the volume knob, but the 5000 has a larger viewing area, which I enjoy now that I’m a bit older. Having the ability to use Waze makes it awesome, and I would never waste money on a factory nav, or an aftermarket stereo with built in nav again since the CarPlay mirroring works so well. I installed backup cameras in both vehicles too, which for my daughter was huge bonus being a fairly new driver, and in my case, I angled it to see my trailer hitch, which is VERY helpful with my boat and car hauler trailers as they are both pretty heavy to move if not lined up perfectly.

I can’t speak to how it will sound with the factory 460 setup, but I used it with the factory stuff in my 4Runner, and it was a MAJOR improvement in sound quality. Maybe a serious audiophile would say it’s crap, but for a regular guy, it is exactly what I wanted, especially for the cost of sub $300. I plan to install this in not only my Terminator, but also my Miata (which has a factory Bose that sounds kind of crappy these days). Once you have CarPlay, you’ll never go back!

edited to add, I bought both of the Sonys from Crutchfield, who I highly recommend for price, service, and including everything you need to do a painless installation. Sure, you may save a couple dollars on Amazon, or eBay, but you’ll be left to sourcing the correct wire adapters, dash kit, and have no assistance if you run into problems. I actually comparison shopped and found there to be very little if any cost savings, especially when factoring in the extras.
 
Last edited:

94 Cobra R

Same Ol Same Ol
Established Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2002
Messages
1,119
Location
Gainesville, FL
I had put the same Alpine radio that sounds great in my Truck in my Cobra and it was two different sounding systems. The Cobra sounded horrible, no matter how I tuned it :(

I am going to order one of the cheap Android double dins to see how that works with displaying all of the OBD info and if I like it better than having gauges, I may just build the system with speakers and amps.
 

Bdubbs

u even lift bro?
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
16,039
Location
MN
I installed a pioneer head unit about a week ago. Left the stock 460 system. It sounds good, but a CD sounds different than the tunes on my iPod. So some adjustments need to be made if I want it to sound that much better. Same goes for the radio.
IMG_20200423_185540005.jpg


Sent from my Moto E (4) Plus using Tapatalk
 

Users who are viewing this thread



Top