I'm on crutchfield and did the "will it fit my car" and got pages of results so I narrowed it down to about 1.5 pages of results. i have about 10 headunits I am comparing and using their compare features and to be honest, they all look identical in their function.. and around the same price. it's very confusing

Anyone want to chime in on which one would be best? http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/CompareTo.aspx?compareItems=01|500UTE42BT&compareI tems=01|105KDX250B&compareItems=07|500CDE135B&comp areItems=01|158BT3000P&compareItems=01|500CDE143B& compareItems=01|105KDR740B&compareItems=01|130X650 0BT&compareItems=01|158BT3100P&compareItems=01|020 CZ302&compareItems=01|113BT555U&compareItems=01|13 0P8400BH&compareItems=01|105KDR840B&compareItems=0 1|105KDX80BT&g=300


I'm looking for good Android integration with bluetooth so when i buy the modifry bracket for my phone, my phone will be playing all the googlemaps voice commands, all my music (over google music and memory card) and taking calls hands-free bluetooth.
basically it needs to do bt hands-free and bluetooth music (pandora, youtube, google music, whatever). having a back USB to wire an ipod may be something i want later if I ever buy another ipod. would prefer variable or red/orange color rather than blue or green.
Also would like 3.5mm aux and usb in the front to use sometimes but most of it will be routed through the back.

Heavily leaning towards an alpine because Modifry has a plug-n-play wire and given that I have NO knowledge of stereos and electronics and it's not something I find fun, the ease of install is a huge factor for me. Will need to work with the Modifry DCI controls and having a wireless remote is a plus.

Dont care about sirius or satellite radio. They all seem to have the same RMS ratings.

Some of them have "preamp outputs" as 2-channel and others have 4-channel. Which one should I get? I plan on just upgrading the headunit so I can play music with my phone and stop listening to crap radio stations and also hear my GPS on my googlemaps app. but in the end I may buy some speakers and a small 10" sub or a 8" or something and would like to leave room for that.

I dont need anything fancy or some media video playback capability on a 1.5" LCD.

I guess Either the Alpine CDE-135BT or Alpine CDE-143bt would work? what about the Sony MEX-BT3000P or JVC/Kenwoods? Are they any better and if so, are they better enough to justify the money I'll spend on installation and wire splicing etc.?

Thinking about the $99 Alpine UTE-42bt. Does everything i need for $99, dont' remember the last time I touched a CD. I would hate to not be able to play a CD when I need it but really i dont remember when the last time I even had a CD in the car was.

 

I just installed the HD148BT. It is a bit more than the ones you listed but my requirements were-HD Radio, bluetooth audio, must be able to close the door without hitting the volume knob and I like the fact it has USB on the rear so I can hook up my iPhone with the audio door closed. I used the Modifry with the pnp harness and it works great. I recommend any of the Alpine units. I also did not need Sirius XM but could add it later.

Kenal0

 

Selected Alpine because of the Modifry PnP harness and then went down my list of requirements. I also thought I'd want the ability to play CD's and I've never used the CD deck on my 9886 in the 6 years that I've had it except just to test it out when I first got it.

Any particular version of BT? AVRCP? That could help narrow it down a bit.

The one that matches the number of speakers you intend to drive if you intend to add an amp down the road.

Not if ease of install is a priority for you (though IIRC Modifry also has a PnP harness for Kenwoods now). Better's always highly subjective. It's a matter of finding what fits your needs/wants/budget/priorities/preferences.

 

After two sleepless nights.. (not really) I placed my order last night for the entire audio package. At 430am.. lol

Decided on this one: the Pioneer DEH-P8400BH
http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-DEH-P8.../dp/B006YBQ6V6 for $125 via Amazon Prime

The other one i was looking at was the Pioneer DEH-X6500BT which was $99.


I actually would've bought from crutchfield cause they give you a harness and tech support which I would find valuable but I'm going with a modifry setup so I doubt they'll want to help me with "incompatible" parts. And I can't use their harness anyway.

I was really going to just go for the $99 Alpine UTE-42BT with no CD and just Bluetooth but amazon had the Pioneer with much better features like variable colors, better display, etc. for the same price. And then for $25 extra, the P8400BH has HD radio and SiriusXM radio ready, a way crisper 3 line display, etc. So I said screw it.

I bought the Pioneer Deh-p8400bh, a ibolt phone mount dock (f@#kin expensive! $40), a ibolt amps plate (also expensive $20!), modifry bracket, modifry harness for Pioneer and the modifry DCI (wired). I have no clue how I'm going to install all this crap but hopefully i can figure it out. I gotta work a dash cam into this mix somehow as well.



QUESTION: Does the modifry SCV (speed sensor feature that increases the volume as you speed up the car to compensate for road noise) only work for Alpine pnp harnesses? It says to skip STEP 3 if you have pioneer but that is where the SCV option is but it only shows it for the Alpine and Kenwood models.

 

I believe the SCV feature works with all headunits. Modifry makes a few different adapter harnesses:
plug&play for Alpine and Kenwood, meaning the harness has a connector on one end that fits the car,
and one on the other that fits the headunit, and either of these may or may not have the wire to tap
into the vehicle speed sensor. If you're not using one of those brands, you need to get his universal
one which has a plug for the car at one end, and wires at the other that you will splice to the
harness supplied with the headunit - I believe all of these has the SCV wire, but you'll need to splice
on a longer wire to tap into the VSS. See:
Universal adapter harness
Plug & Play adapter harness

 

oh sweet thanks. yeah i got the universal one since mine is a pioneer. where is the vss wire? When you splice a wire you just pull back the rubber and then you can use a butt connector thing to put each wire into the holes (hehe) and then clamp it down with pliers right? it's as easy as it sounds? I dont want to solder and it's not an option. I tried that once and it got messy so want to avoid as much as possible.

 

Yes, it's easy, but I'd buy a real crimping tool instead of pliers - even a cheap one will work better
and properly cut/strip the wires too. After splicing, give a little tug on the wires to make sure they're in
there well.
Modifry's site has instructions about how to install the DCI including SCV.

 

i have this and can recommend it. very nice unit. improved sound out of stock speakers and Bluetooth streaming works 100% with android and my S4

http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/sto...52921666372151

 

Wow thanks that helps. Yeah ill go get a real crimping tool. When I buy butt connectors are there different sizes or gauges? How do I know which ones I need? how wide and long?
Where can I buy these locally at a good price? I was thinking radio shack..

 

Radio Shack still sells something other than cell phones?
You want the small ones - the wire you're splicing is 20ga or smaller.
The heat shrinkable ones are nice for a nice clean, tight connection.
Radio Shack's connectors
Similar product, larger quantity from Amazon