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thorne

New headunit

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Just snapped off the retaining hook on the inside of my Pioneer headunit in the XH after detaching the face from it....fantastic, it will only work if I physically hold the face-plate into the unit, if I left go, it falls out. Looks like......time for a new radio!

 

Anyone have any suggestions for a 20-year old vehicle? Must-have points:

- 1 DIN size (not carving up a genuine XH console just for a bigger screen, fuck that);

- detachable face (I think they all are these days anyway?);

- prefer mechless (no CD player), who plays optical media these days?;

- at least one USB port;

- Bluetooth: I have a new mobile phone without a headphone jack, so the only way I can play music from it (without a cable) is this way;

- Needs to support extra speakers (I have two mounted on the top of the safety cage between the cargo bay and the passenger area);

- A remote control would be nice too.

 

Everything else is either optionable or negotiable.

 

My last headunit was a Pioneer, so I'm leaning that way again, I like the design to be honest. Unsure about JVC or Kenwood, and I'm not particularly keen on Sony (higher prices and uglier models). Budget is $150 (although I'd consider more if I think it warranted it).

 

Photo of the current unit:

fY6xca5w_o.jpg

 

Any suggestions and recommendations would be welcome. Thanks everyone!

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I have a JVC in the XC and Kenwood in the XE.

 

I believe they are one in the same brands now.

 

Dont bother with the cheapy hong kong MP3 things, tried that and they are shit.

 

 

 

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glue the face back on, and enjoy. 

who'd steal an old deck these days?

 

 

that current deck is what's in My van at the moment, got the model number? ah, just remembered how i mounted it, too hard to remove.

 

the JVC i have in My gemini wagon now came with the XG bought and it was too damn confusing, so took it out.. when i finally googled and found on youtube how to use it, i like it better. but.. i'll have to youtube how to use it again because it's been a month since i last used it. that said, the pioneer did back to the demo mode due to almost flat battery and i had to youtube that also (SO DAMN ANNOYING, demo mode needs a SWITCH)

the JVC has multiple colours of backlight and display text ) 

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Had a mech-less Alpine in the TX5, and it worked a treat. Bluetooth/handsfree/USB/iPod. Even had a remote (I think, the point of which, just escapes me.!)

Model was UTE- xxxx something or other. 

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I like pioneer, always have. I've tried jvc and sony but the control and sound characteristics aren't as good as even the base pioneers.

My shop stereo is the cheapest mechless bluetooth unit available on ebay, works well, sounds good even for limited controls. Bit unattractive but similar to a pioneer style

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Sony also return to demo mode after power loss.

Ive considered replacing my head unit in the XF purely because of this haha. Every time I look at it it’s just bragging about all the things it can do and I’m just thinking “Fuck off Sony, I already bought you!”

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I dropped by an Autobarn on the way home to eyeball some of the units on offer. Alpine are still around - but are priced higher than other units that do pretty much the same thing, so it looks like with Alpine you're paying extra just for the badge. Also, Clarion are still around! But I can see why they aren't so popular these days: their units look dog-ugly. So that's them off my list.

 

I'll drop by a JB Hifi and see what they're offering over the weekend.

 

How easy is it to remove my old unit from the dash without the right tools? I would like to see how it's all connected and how easy it would be for me to install it myself.

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They come with good printed instructions that will get you through it but if not there's a good chance someone has a video on YouTube of the particular model you purchase, they've got some reviews that are usually worth a look aswell.

 

They're usually just a Phillips head or torx head screw. 

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31 minutes ago, thorne said:

 

 

How easy is it to remove my old unit from the dash without the right tools? I would like to see how it's all connected and how easy it would be for me to install it myself.

 

Mark was whinging someone cut the wires on His XH because there's a harness available that plugs in to the ford wiring for most stereos. 

i haven't taken any notice of the XH mounting, i assume you'd need to remove the ashtray housing and then access the screws

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Haven’t seen a removable face headunit for years. They’re just not needed anymore.

I’d just use some glue and fix the current one, unless you’re set on a modern unit.

Can get a quite decent unit for under $100 these days.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

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I have a JVC in the XC and Kenwood in the XE.
 
I believe they are one in the same brands now.
 
Dont bother with the cheapy hong kong MP3 things, tried that and they are shit.
 
 
 
Yep, JVC and Kenwood are the same company.
Haven’t seen a removable face headunit for years. They’re just not needed anymore.
I’d just use some glue and fix the current one, unless you’re set on a modern unit.
Can get a quite decent unit for under $100 these days.
 
 
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Most single DIN units still have the removable faceplate, just a lot more hidden as to how you remove them these days.

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Yeah, will attempt to glue in the old one for now, but I appear to have talked myself into an upgrade over the last few days. :D  Besides, a unit with Bluetooth would be nice.....!

 

As most cars come with integrated music systems these days, I've found the hard way looking in brick-and-mortar stores there's not nearly as much demand for headunits these days, as the older cars slowly die out. Bit of a shame, really: how do modern car-owners customise their systems?

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I went for a samsung tablet in the ute. Has all the mp3, mp4 functions, plus GPS and internet for searching if required.

 

Just run the headphone socket to an amp and drive 2 subbies and fronts from there.

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If it were me, I'd go with the stealth look -

refit the factory head unit, along with one of those concealed bluetooth interface modules.

 

They go in-line with the speaker inputs, and mute the volume, along with sending the callers voice, to the same speakers -

Just the same as an aftermarket head unit,

 

but with none of the flashy lights, and other crap...

 

 

 

 

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Yeah, will attempt to glue in the old one for now, but I appear to have talked myself into an upgrade over the last few days.   Besides, a unit with Bluetooth would be nice.....!
 
As most cars come with integrated music systems these days, I've found the hard way looking in brick-and-mortar stores there's not nearly as much demand for headunits these days, as the older cars slowly die out. Bit of a shame, really: how do modern car-owners customise their systems?

B series owners tend to fit a single din unit under the icc and completely bypass the original head unit.
Seems most people upgrade the speakers at most and leave it at that these days.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Yeah, will attempt to glue in the old one for now, but I appear to have talked myself into an upgrade over the last few days.   Besides, a unit with Bluetooth would be nice.....!
 
As most cars come with integrated music systems these days, I've found the hard way looking in brick-and-mortar stores there's not nearly as much demand for headunits these days, as the older cars slowly die out. Bit of a shame, really: how do modern car-owners customise their systems?
Have you checked out SCA or Repco? My Repco has 24 headunits n our board, and most of these are kept in stock.

It's only really high series modern cars that can't have the radios updated easily, most of the Japanese and Korean cars can still have their head units swapped out, just costs a bit for all the facia kits. Falcons have to be the least supported models in terms of aftermarket upgrades, especially BA onwards.

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10 hours ago, Mr Polson said:

Have you checked out SCA or Repco? My Repco has 24 headunits n our board, and most of these are kept in stock.

It's only really high series modern cars that can't have the radios updated easily, most of the Japanese and Korean cars can still have their head units swapped out, just costs a bit for all the facia kits. Falcons have to be the least supported models in terms of aftermarket upgrades, especially BA onwards.

I've been checking JB Hifi Home (virtually nothing, standard stores don't even sell them anymore), Autobarn (a better selection), and SCA (also not bad)....but I never thought to check Repco, as I just assumed they sold spare parts. Will note that down for the next visit, cheers.

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I've been checking JB Hifi Home (virtually nothing, standard stores don't even sell them anymore), Autobarn (a better selection), and SCA (also not bad)....but I never thought to check Repco, as I just assumed they sold spare parts. Will note that down for the next visit, cheers.
Spare parts is definitely the main focus but Repco does also do car care, accessories etc Repco also has a usable website now so can even look on there

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6 hours ago, thorne said:

Done, found this unit on special, does a lot more than I expected (including remote control and phone functions!), all for $170. Installation soon.

 

https://imgbox.com/5ijA3Aou

 

Thanks to everyone for your help!

even has radio preset buttons woo! let us know how it is to use, looks simple but i've had one dial ones that were painful still
https://www.pioneer.com.au/shop/car/deh-x7850bt/

 

5ijA3Aou_o.jpg

 

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Should be good, looks like a slightly revamped version of the one I've got in the wagon. It will probably have the demo mode, access that menu with the unit "off" and long press on the large dial if it's the same.

 

Edit: if you want no lights at all (display off at night for example), a long press on the "disp" display button will turn the whole lot off but will briefly illuminate if you then use any functions like volume etc.

 

If you have trouble seeing track info when using Bluetooth, you may have to change the version of Bluetooth used by your phone. Head unit will probably be older version than an up to date phone. The difference made mine display "no name / no info" until I changed the setting.

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just a simple idea

as I am a old fart with a cbf outlook   especially when it comes to pulling a dash apart easy but putting it back together  well  !!!!!!!!!!!k it     as our local station plays  cru!p  so  I installed a fm transmitter hard wired in  it has a usb port  headphone jack as well as extension speaker jack   I mainly use a usb stick with my grampa music on it and play it through the original stereo. the other advantage with this that music can be played on any fm radio  while you are within transmitter range.  

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