Hi. New Member and a query about upgrading Stereo (1 Viewer)

[Patassa]

Um.... I have used the search extensively. Reading all those awesome threads and learning from them encouraged me to join and ask those specific questions I posed here that weren't dealt with in those threads.


Just in case you missed them:

"Has anybody ever been able to integrate the existing CD player in such an installation?
Any recommendation on what to look at and what to avoid at all costs? "

I will add to the second question to remove any ambiguity. How about "Within the Pioneer range, is there any recommendation on what to look at and what to avoid at all costs?"

Something that has started to bother me with my double din install is how far I have to reach to use the touch screen. The newest units pop out from the dash several inches which helps with that problem, as well as having the angle of the screen adjustable to deal with glare. Sometimes I can barely see my head unit during the middle of the day with sunglasses on.

Something like this is probably in my future.

DMH-WT8600NEX - 10.1" - Amazon Alexa, Android Auto™, Apple CarPlay®, Bluetooth® - Multimedia Digital Media Receiver

10.1" - Amazon Alexa, Android Auto™, Apple CarPlay®, Bluetooth® - Multimedia Digital Media Receiver

www.pioneerelectronics.com

Kenwood has one coming too that looks even better in some ways due to adjustability.

 

[ramangain]

Has anybody ever been able to integrate the existing CD player in such an installation?
Any recommendation on what to look at and what to avoid at all costs?

Thanks in advance.

Are you referring to factory integration of the separate CD changer? If you get a HU that can play media on an SD card, I would think the CD changer would be a moot point. I have 70G of MP3s on my SD card, along with almost every episode of Top Gear UK, and everything works perfectly on my W8500NEX Pioneer HU.

 

[KillerBox]

I hate to say it but, a CD Changer is just about obsolete. I have over 1,500 songs & 95% are in CD quality or better on one high speed 128 GB thumb drive.
If the average CD has roughly 15 songs, that is over 100 CDs worth of songs. And I am not using have of the thumb drive's capacity.

Plus the thumb drive, allows me to pick and choose what songs I want to put on it. So I don't have to listen to the filler songs that are on most CDs. I use a free program named Exact Audio Copy to copy my CDs over to my hard drive.

P.S. I love 1980s hard to find songs. This was the birth of CDs and some of the music is hard to find on CDs. I have over 600 CDs and probably 1/2 of them are from the 1980s.

 

[ramangain]

^ Look at all of that DJ Magic Mike! Feel the bass .....

 

[divinealpine]

I used an old AVH-4000NEX that I took out of my previous car. Unit works fine but if you can, I would recommend purchasing something with a knob for volume control. It is a big of a reach since the screen is further back, as you have noted. The button to change songs is too far as well, I mounted my phone on the right side of the climate controls (the empty square area) and skip songs with the home screen.

I just came back from some light overnight trip over the weekend and had to remove the mount (it actually fell off) so using the unit then, wasn't optimal.

Hope this helps!

 

[ramangain]

For Pioneer HU owners of even semi-modern devices and no steering wheel controls, I HIGHLY recommend one of these:

Pioneer CD-SR110

It won't work when direct sunlight hits the HU, but otherwise all of the basic functions work perfectly. It is SO much better than holding on to the credit card sized remote.

 

[divinealpine]

For Pioneer HU owners of even semi-modern devices and no steering wheel controls, I HIGHLY recommend one of these:

Pioneer CD-SR110

It won't work when direct sunlight hits the HU, but otherwise all of the basic functions work perfectly. It is SO much better than holding on to the credit card sized remote.

Nice, I've been meaning to get something like this. Thanks!

 

[Pucker5]

Nice, I've been meaning to get something like this. Thanks!

Pac makes integration modules for aftermarket Hu’s

 

[DanisMan]

Thanks so much people. There is some really great insight and suggestions here. I am sorting through it and have some work to do. For all the absurdity of it, I really did want that CD player to work. I guess I have to move on. Might have to learn to type with my thumbs as well, one day, I guess.

 

[fblainen11]

Something that has started to bother me with my double din install is how far I have to reach to use the touch screen. The newest units pop out from the dash several inches which helps with that problem, as well as having the angle of the screen adjustable to deal with glare. Sometimes I can barely see my head unit during the middle of the day with sunglasses on.

Something like this is probably in my future.

DMH-WT8600NEX - 10.1" - Amazon Alexa, Android Auto™, Apple CarPlay®, Bluetooth® - Multimedia Digital Media Receiver

10.1" - Amazon Alexa, Android Auto™, Apple CarPlay®, Bluetooth® - Multimedia Digital Media Receiver

www.pioneerelectronics.com

Kenwood has one coming too that looks even better in some ways due to adjustability.

I've had Pioneer in the past. My last two radios have been Kenwood family and I've had Bluetooth disconnect issues. It could be my phone, but I'll be replacing my Kenwood with a Pioneer. I believe Pioneer has the better Android auto technology as well. Especially wireless.