I need a large head unit..

[willamD 10+ year member]

OK, so I've been searching for a while for a large double din head unit. I'm not too particular in what I need for functions. I only want one that will look decent in my dash, and have good sound/cd quality. The problem is my current factory double din stereo is so wide, nothing seems to look right. Here's an image of a common double din 7" screen installed in the vehicle I have.

Could anyone give me some suggestions or is there no way around this? If it's not possible I'm going to have to add a sub to my current factory radio :/

Click to read more...

 

[kidwolf909 10+ year member]

So are you saying you would like something similar to that head unit shown in the picture? Do you have a price range? Anything can be had for a price...

 

[willamD 10+ year member]

no, that picture is more of an example of what I'm trying to avoid //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif. What I'd like is something that takes up the entire space, like the OEM unit does. I'd like to stay under $1000

 

[95BlackGA 5,000+ posts]

Is that an after market unit in the picture, or is that OEM? If it's after market, you can get some woodgrain inserts to cover up the ugly black. That would make it less of an eye sore. BMW didn't do a very good job on their dash placement. You could always have some fiberglass work done to it.

 

[willamD 10+ year member]

yeah that's aftermarket, this is my current factory unit which I believe is 11x4.4

 

[95BlackGA 5,000+ posts]

That's going to be extremely difficult to fill. The best option (look wise) would be to mold some fiberglass to close up the gap. You do have the choice of getting a big bulking touchscreen and doing a 'car-puter,' but that's still going to take fiberglass to close up everything.

 

[willamD 10+ year member]

well they do sell a bezel, and it could look better than original picture I posted. I realize it would be a huge request to fill the entire space, but is there anything larger than 7" wide unit in a double din? I was looking for something that perhaps had the 7" screen with controls on the sides, any inch counts in this case.

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

I think 7" is the biggest, i could be wrong though

 

[95BlackGA 5,000+ posts]

Unfortunately it will be VERY difficult finding a unit that exceeds the standard 2-DIN size. There are SEVERAL OEM options from other cars that are over sized, but that probably wouldn't turn out to be the best option. Clarion does have an 8" Double DIN, but I can only find it on Australian websites.

 

[willamD 10+ year member]

thanks a lot guys for the help. Would there be any other way for me to more adequately add a subwoofer to the OEM unit? I was thinking of some sort of external controller that could power the amp? I'm not sure if there is such a thing, but I really don't want to have to run a sub through my speaker wires, and then not have any control over the woofer volume from the drivers seat. thanks if you can reccomend anything.

 

[95BlackGA 5,000+ posts]

thanks a lot guys for the help. Would there be any other way for me to more adequately add a subwoofer to the OEM unit? I was thinking of some sort of external controller that could power the amp? I'm not sure if there is such a thing, but I really don't want to have to run a sub through my speaker wires, and then not have any control over the woofer volume from the drivers seat. thanks if you can reccomend anything.

You can use an OEM integration device, but I'm not sure if this would eliminate the speakers that the inputs would be coming from. I've never done OEM integration, nor have I really looked into it.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

which BMW is that an x3?

 

[willamD 10+ year member]

It's an e53 X5.

would something like the Kenwood KOS-A200 work for having a subwoofer/amp output?

 

[Zsx5o1 10+ year member]

Hi were you able to get your system working? I'm also looking for sub options for my e53.