Upgrading Stereo

haganap

haganap

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I'm an oldbie MH number 10
I want to upgrade the stereo in my van and having come back from Halfords I am more convinced than ever that I know more about it than the poor lad working there but I want some opinions/recommendations.

I want a double din unit and it must be DAB and I would also like it to have Sat Nav with it. I operate Samsung products and not Iphone.

anyone running anything?
 
Can't give advice on which unit but make sure you check out the sat nav bit as some are very expensive to update the software/maps!
 
DAB is hit and miss - just had a new blaupunkt dortmund fitted. No SAT NAV. Need a to be a blaupunkt designer to use it.:(
 
My wirless in my van is that old someone
Caled Lord haw haw keps taking
Bill
 
Don't forget a set of AV inputs for your reversing camera in the spec!

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I've got Pioneer kit.

Double din DAB head unit with a truck/camper sat nav module.

No complaints at all, wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
 
I have a Clarion NX502e double din unit with satnav & DAB, have been very pleased with it a couple of others have brought on my recommendation both very pleased. I bought online from a German dealer (ARS24) saved over a 100 quid on UK prices.
 
NickNic said:
I've got Pioneer kit.

Double din DAB head unit with a truck/camper sat nav module.

No complaints at all, wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
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which one @NickNic

Lenny HB said:
I have a Clarion NX502e double din unit with satnav & DAB, have been very pleased with it a couple of others have brought on my recommendation both very pleased. I bought online from a German dealer (ARS24) saved over a 100 quid on UK prices.
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looks just what I am looking for, do you have a Merc? did you fit it yourself?

Chipster said:
Shameless plug I know but Got a Zenec ze3715 and additional dab module for sale if interested ! 18 month old.

http://www.zenec.com/products/ego/fiat/z-e3715.html
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Ha ha nice try but I am in a Mercedes

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image.jpeg
Techno said:
No personal experience but this looks ok
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I bought a similar Eonon unit from Amazon (better returns policy).
Sound quality not as good as the Alpine unit it replaced, otherwise ideal.
It functions as well as your average android device, lots of usb sockets and other inputs/outputs. Av in for camera (recordable), DAB works like at home.
It's intuitive and preinstalled apps are ok. Of course a data sim or tethering is needed to get the maximum benefits.
The recent android units are finally worth looking it, totally different to the crappy offerings of a few years ago
 
I took mine to Halfords, Newport Road, Cardiff.

A young Syrian lad was their radio fitter. He listened to my 'wants,' showed me two or three suggestions, pulled out a couple more that were just over my price guide but he carefully explained what I would get for my money, when I said I din't need those extras, he backed off straightaway, went back to the initial selection, I tossed a coin and he fitted it in two hours, while I sat in the backwatching a DVD. He called me forward a couple of times and explained a couple of wiring issues, not relevant to the radio, and with my permission fixed them for nothing.
 
Have most of you upgraded your speakers at the same time as the new head unit? My sound quality is awful and will need to sort it out before I go away again. I have bog standard pioneer unit, nothing fancy but shouldn't be the source of the problem so I presume the speakers aren't the best. Looks like 2 in the front and 2 in the back.

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I have the Pioneer AVH 3600 coupled with an AVIC navigation plug in. A really excellent bit of kit. Should have gone for the Bluetooth one so that my phone would have paired with it. Just wish I could get better radio reception, nothing to do with the Pioneer, just the old chestnut of reception in an A class.
 
haganap said:
looks just what I am looking for, do you have a Merc? did you fit it yourself?
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I have a Fiat, fitted myself wired to the Elektroblock so it runs off the leisure batteries. I went for the Clarion as it runs the IGO Prima satnav software.[/user]
 
Xabia said:
I have the Pioneer AVH 3600 coupled with an AVIC navigation plug in. A really excellent bit of kit. Should have gone for the Bluetooth one so that my phone would have paired with it.
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The 3600 does have Bluetooth. Mine does anyway.
 
I'm actually in the process of buying a double din unit also, I wasn't looking for one with Sat nav as already have sat nav but it would be tidy with less cables, so can you tell me do the sat nav software cost to download and is it easy to get working on these units.

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Lorger said:
I'm actually in the process of buying a double din unit also, I wasn't looking for one with Sat nav as already have sat nav but it would be tidy with less cables, so can you tell me do the sat nav software cost to download and is it easy to get working on these units.
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Normally get 30days free to download latest maps from the fist time you enable the GPS after that around £75 to update the maps.
 
If you're going for DAB be careful what aerial you go for if you're not in a panel van conversion.

I heard bad reports on screen mounted aerials (esp with a Luton over the cab) and great reports on a roof mounted amplified aerial, but it needed a "ground plane" - metal basically - underneath it - and my van is coachbuilt. No problem thinks I, so I fit it to a large sheet of stainless steel sika-flexed to my roof. Didn't work - reception was cack.

So I went instead for a domestic house-type DAB aerial fitted inside the wardrobe - works a treat.

I fitted a DAB dipole as it's omni-directional - be careful some aerials require alignment, not much use in a moving van! I retained the original aerial for FM/MW reception.
 
depends what you get @lorger . I have sat nav on my mobile that can mirror across with the right system. My Audi A6 has automatic updates no cost.
 
Lenny HB said:
Normally get 30days free to download latest maps from the fist time you enable the GPS after that around £75 to update the maps.
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haganap said:
depends what you get @lorger . I have sat nav on my mobile that can mirror across with the right system. My Audi A6 has automatic updates no cost.
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Thanks for the reply's i currently have a Garmin with lifetime updates just thought it would be nice and tidy with all in one unit. I actually bought a Kenwood unit about 7 weeks ago and had to send it back due to it losing the bluetooth connection with our Iphones so every time we switched it on we had to re-pair then after about 4 minutes it lost the phone again. The guy took it back with full refund i then asked him about a Pioneer i was interested in and he never replied to numerous emails so must not want my custom.

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I have changed the head unit in our Fiat based Apache from the standard Autotrail (cant hold an FM signal at anything over 1mph) to a Kenwood DDX-4015DAB. I fitted a kenwood powered Kenwood CX-DAB1 aerial to the left hand side of the windscreen and with the exception of a lot of the NC500 route we have had good DAB reception on the move. It also works well with the rear view camera and pairs with my mobile if I want a hands free phone
This unit doesnt have satnav built in, that was fine for me as I already had a separate Garmin satnav. Curiously that Garmin cant lock onto the GPS satellites if mounted on the right hand side of the dashboard but is fine on the left (thats why I put the DAB aerial on that side).
Previous posts have suggested FIAT put the FM aerial in the left door mirror so maybe they are aware of more interference on the right hand side.
 
lorger said:
I'm actually in the process of buying a double din unit also, I wasn't looking for one with Sat nav as already have sat nav but it would be tidy with less cables, so can you tell me do the sat nav software cost to download and is it easy to get working on these units.
Click to expand...

There's no extra software to download with the Pioneer one. It's a separate module that plugs in to the head unit.
 
I was planning an upgrade with DAB as essential (I love listening to BBC World Service in the car, and DAB is the only way to do it, if you don't want to consume lots of data on your phone) but I wanted it to work elsewhere in Europe and I read this:

http://www.digicomparison.com/cardabplus.html

Of course France is the major difficulty (they always seem to choose their own technical broadcast standards) - but you need to watch out with the standards your receiver supports even if you want it to work anywhere else.

This site is useful for their comparison of the performance of various types of DAB aerial...

http://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/DAB_car_aerials.html

in the end I came to the conclusion that using the existing Fiat external aerial with a DAB splitter wasn't perfect, but would most likely perform at least as well as a screen-fitted internal aerial, without any visible change and very easily fitted. I'd be interested to hear what success anyone has had with this approach.

In the end I found cleaning the earth connection to the radio fixed all the crackles, and fitting some reasonable quality door speakers vastly improved the sound. Perhaps next year for the DAB....
 

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