Fiat Ducato replacement head unit.

[RGCH999]

Am looking at a new head unit and have narrowed it down to one of the following. If anyone has any of the below your comments would be appreciated. Thanks.



Kenwood DMX8020DABS 7" wireless



Kenwood DMX5020DABS



Pioneer SPH-DA250DAB



PIONEER AVH-Z9200DAB 7" WIRELESS

 

[TizzyOnTour]

I’ve just upgraded the head unit in our Ducato base. After much research, I chose the Pioneer SPH-160DAB. Similar to the SPH-250 but I felt better value for money, superior screen (similar to iPhone touchscreen quality glass) and more recent technology. From memory the 250 was launched in 2017 whilst the 160 is this years model. We didn’t want integrated sat nav as we already have that separate.

Overall, we found little to Choose between Pioneer and Kenwood. In the end it came down to choosing the unit that had the functionality we wanted and was as up to date as possible, in the hope it doesn’t become dated too soon.

Really pleased with our upgrade. Hope all this helps.

 

[RGCH999]

Thankyou very helpful. I didn’t realise till you mentioned that there are so many older units still available in the shops. And some places are asking top dollar for 3/4 year old units, which they are obviously trying to get rid off. It’s a minefield . The 160 looks a nice unit, so will add that to my list for consideration. I did read that it may need steering wheel controls which I dont have so it may not fit though. I do want to get the latest technology as you say.

 

[TizzyOnTour]

Hi. Worth knowing that the steering wheel controls interface is an option that doesn’t need to be used. We don’t have that so simply left that cable in the box.

I agree, it’s all a bit of a minefield. We started by visiting our local Halfords and quickly realised they had little choice and even less knowledge.

in the end I chatted to these people, who were very helpful and gave me the best price.

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[RGCH999]

Thankyou. I’ve been up to the local audio specialist and decide on the 8020. It’s a mid range and a bit more than I wanted to spend but it’s a new model and seemed to win recent awards. Like you I’m trying to future proof so the wireless option seemed a good idea. Looks like fitting kit is going to add a bit on though as he reckons they have to cut some of the framework out as well.

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[TizzyOnTour]

Looks good! I had to make a small mod to the existing single din dash. Cut out the plastic divider to create the double din opening. Other than that, install was pretty straightforward. Feel free to contact me if I can be of any help.
Enjoy your new head unit. Ours feels like a huge leap forward into the 21st century .

 

[Bobby-gg]

If you search on here you'll find plenty of recommendations - I personally went with a kenwood, can't remember which one, but it's really good. I initially bought a Sony after reading plenty of reviews, but found that the touch screen was unresponsive in use and returned it for the kenwood

 

[RGCH999]

Thanks all. Hopefully made the right choice. Screen looked much better on kenwood than pioneer so that decided it.

 

[Guigsy]

I'm looking to replace the head unit on ours. In my last van I had a Sony XAV-AX100 that I got cheap. It was a bit slow, but it was reliable and easy to use.

If I were to spend ~£500, the choice at the moment is probably the Kenwood DMX8020 that has wireless, or the Sony AX8050 which gets a 9" display.

Is the wireless feature actually that useful? If I was using my phone for nav, I think I'd probably plug it in anyway just to make sure it doesn't run out of juice, so that cable could just as easily be a data cable. Or am I missing something? What do you think?

 

[Pusscat]

May sound a basic question, but how does the music sound on the pioneer compared to the original ducato head volume / quality wise?

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[Guigsy]

In my previous van, I changed the head unit and it made the sound better, but it still wasn't great. I then packed the doors with sound insulation (which also helped to keep it warmer) and replaced the door and a-pillar speakers and it made it sound pretty reasonable. It was still lacking at the low-end and a van is still noisy, but it was far better.

 

[RGCH999]

The wireless feature means that Apple car play connnects automatically. I agree that on a long run for sat nav I’d probably use the wired connection, but for shorter journeys without sat nav it saves plugging it in every time you jump in.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

We’ve also just ordered the Kenwood DMX8020DABS 7" wireless, from Car Audio Direct to replace the low end Pioneer unit that Lowdhams put in. I’ll have a go at fitting myself but our local audio specialist (Kingston Car Sound) said they could fit it for £70.

 

[Pusscat]

Good Grief…these things aren’t cheap are they!!

 

[Bobby-gg]

We’ve also just ordered the Kenwood DMX8020DABS 7" wireless, from Car Audio Direct to replace the low end Pioneer unit that Lowdhams put in. I’ll have a go at fitting myself but our local audio specialist (Kingston Car Sound) said they could fit it for £70.

Nice, I look forward to hearing what you think of it

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[RGCH999]

My local audio centre came up with this.
we will require a fitting kit and a dab converter plus a fm converter and a harness
then finally the install between two to three hours
At £70 I think I’d let them get on with it, but good luck if you do it yourself. I’d like to hear how you get on, Unfortunately I’ve got a Fiat Dab Canbus controlled player so I think it’s a bit more complicated.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

RGCH999 DMX8020DABS fitted today by Kingston Car Sound, not without issue though. £70 quote turned into £150 due to Lowdhams poor fitting of the previous one. The dab aerial wire was trapped and damaged and needed completely replacing, no wonder we could never get a good DAB signal.
An hour and a half, plus £40’s worth of leads/fittings, so very happy with KCS.

 

[RGCH999]

mines going in on Wednesday. I’m told there’s all sorts of leads needed.
quote
we will require a fitting kit and a dab converter plus a fm converter and a harness
then finally the install between two to three hours unquote
They are rewiring to the leisure battery as well and I need the glossy black surround.
Not sure if all that is necessary as I already have a dab aerial.
Where did they fit the microphone for the unit. I’m hoping it’ll go near the interior light up high.
Would appreciate a photo or two if you’ve got time.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

I don't know what they mean by fitting kit, it comes with the metal carrier, main harness and surround, plus all sorts of wires. DAB/FM converters? No idea what that means.
My additional cost was because of the damaged wire to the DAB aerial and rather than replacing it and charging for a new one they mended it.
The microphone is placed in the instrument nacelle just in front of the speedo/tachometer where the old one was.

 

[RGCH999]

I’m assuming it’s one of these.

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[RGCH999]

Not sure what you mean by nacelle. Is that just stuck on top of the column cowel or has it been cleverly integrated.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

RGCH999 I’ll have to take some pictures but it’s in storage about four miles away. It may depend where you’re starting from, ours already had a double din Pioneer unit in so no need for any kind of trim like in that picture. They all come with the metal fitting cage though and that’s what mounts it in place, plus as said it comes with the harness and spare additional wires.
The Mike, If you look at your speedo/tachometer screen it’s mounted centrally on the flat surface just in front of them, nowt clever, you see it through the top half of the steering wheel, probably just right for your voice is projected.
The Kenwood looks much neater and more modern than the Pioneer we had in, just need to work out how to operate it, but it’s far too hot to be sat doing that at the moment.

 

[RGCH999]

Ok thanks. Yes if you already had a double din your halfway there. Not sure whi I need a converter though. I’ve already got the Fiat dab radio and aerial so I would have thought other than maybe a connector to alter the end going into the radio. Can’t for the life of me find where the existing Fiat microphone is located. Yes it looks quite complicated but hopefully basic functions will be easy. Thanks for your comments/help/advice.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

RGCH999 Very pleased with the final result, though it’ll be a while before I’m fully familiar with it. Now thinking about adding the DRV-N520 dash cam.

 

[Guigsy]

Keen to know if the wireless thing is worthwhile.

The alternative is to get the 9" Sony for about the same price.

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[Hettie's Crew]

Guigsy Too early for me to know yet.

 

[RGCH999]

Thanks for the photos. Looks very good. Not sure whether to place the microphone where you have it or by the interior light in the centre above. That way it’s accessible to the f s passenger. I’ve also considered the dashcam ut will stick with my nex base for now. I seem to remember that you can’t playback the sd card on the kenwood screen you have to put the card into a computer which seems a bit silly, whereas the next base I can playback on its screen.

 

[Bobby-gg]

RGCH999 Very pleased with the final result, though it’ll be a while before I’m fully familiar with it. Now thinking about adding the DRV-N520 dash cam.

I found that you didn't need to use the (expensive) kenwood cams, I used a cheap one off ebay and it worked fine

 

[RGCH999]

I would have thought it must be easier for shorter journeys to just jump in and have Apple play accessible without wires, even just for music, although on long runs you need to wire up to charge. If you need charging of course. Could just wait and charge later.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

Not sure whether to place the microphone where you have it or by the interior light in the centre above. That way it’s accessible to the f s passenger.

No choice for us having the bed above.

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