Need help choosing a new double din head unit

[micah323]

Hi. New to the forum. Wanted to get some ideas on best unit to fit my need/budget and make sure I dont order a bad item.

Want to spend roughly $500 or less. Double din. Most important to me is Ipod and ease of Ipod use, Bluetooth, SQ,looks, and then nav and dvd. Dont think I will use dvd, nav would be nice, but I can live without it.

Currently looking at the Pioneer Avic x710BT for $450. I like the looks of the Pioneer 4200dvd better, but no bluetooth built in and dont want to spend extra to get it.

Other units I have my eye on is the Kenwood DDX616. $50 more than the x710bt , and doesnt have Nav, but if it were a better unit that I would be more happy with, I would gladly pay the extra $50.

Cant find any good deals on the Eclipse or Alpine units.

Maybe I am overlooking something.

Cheap option is the Pioneer F-8000bt for $260ish.

Any ideas on these units or other items I should be looking at would be greatly appreciated

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[memphis_vette 10+ year member]

kenwoods are nice units

 

[ZoSoIV 10+ year member]

if you can swing it the new Kenwood DDX-896 is a killer deck

 

[micah323]

That ddx-896 is a little more than I am willing to spend. Ill bump up my budget a little bit to get a better unit if needed, but dont really want to spend over $600.

Also, how much should it cost to have the unit installed with the ipod cable and the steering wheel control cables? Havent been to a car audio place in years and dont want to get ripped off.

Thanks

 

[ZoSoIV 10+ year member]

yeah the DDX-896 is about 750.00 to 995.00 depending on where you get it .the steering wheel cable should be right there so thats no big deal , an I-Pod cable is only a few dollars. I would say about 75.00 dollars tops

 

[gboo559 10+ year member]

Kenwood ddx 616

 

[ZoSoIV 10+ year member]

you might look at the JVC units there maded by Kenwood

 

[OmegaBunny 10+ year member]

Don't pay to have it installed. They come with all instructions need to install it yourself. The only difference between the included instructions and what I would do is the parking break wire. Depending on the unit it is as simple as grounding it to have all the functions without pulling the ebrake. This is nice for nav if you have to change direction while driving. No need to pull over to change nav information.