I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: __ Double din
I’m so confused!
Looking for a little project and considering fitting a double din setup but the overload of info is too much for my little head.
What I would like is simply to have DAB, nav, phone and usb input to play my own music. I don’t want to use my phone for nav, Spotify, apple play or anything like that. It’d be good to use my steering wheel controls too
I’ve seen head units from £75 to £750, facia kits, wiring looms and adapters of all shapes and sizes
Can anyone give me a definitive shopping list please for varying budgets, say £300, £400 and £500.
You need a wiring loom- you can pick one up from Dynamic Sounds for just a few pounds. Very fast service. These are plug ‘n’ play.
If you have steering wheel controls and wish to retain them, you must also buy a steering wheel stalk adapter. These can be a little more expensive.
You will likely also need an aerial adapter cable- again, a few pounds.
Assuming you have a single DIN stereo currently, you will need a new faceplate with double DIN capacity. This, you can also order from Dynamic Sounds.
Most of your budget will be spent on a new head unit of your choice. You can choose one from Dynamic Sounds if you want, I can also recommend Car Audio Centre- they often have deals. Wanting a unit that has SatNav does tend to put the price up but all modern touchscreens nowadays come with Bluetooth phone connectivity etc. Most will come with ports for cameras/steering controls/aux-input etc. Not all units will have DAB but all will have AM/FM.
Other than that, you’ll need a screwdriver, something thin and flat to pry the panels out, a 10ml socket wrench and some patience. All-in-all, when I upgraded my unit, it cost me approx. £275 but that was a head unit that didn’t have SatNav included- it was also on sale from Car Audio Centre.
I think you will be paying more to have an head unit with those features and sat nav in there too. The option I have has Carplay (for iPhone) and Android Auto (yep for Android phones) all you need is to download the free app on to your phone and it gives you navigation. I use Waze but Google maps is also in there and a few others to choose from. It’ll use data but only a small amount, I only had a 1gb data plan until more recently, that was more than enough to run Amazon music, Spotify and the navigation.
I reckon you can pay from £250 for the head unit to do all of the above then budget up to £80-£100 for all the other kit to install including a DAB aerial.
The phone plugs in to the head unit by way of a fly lead (USB) or into that fly lead you can plug in a flash drive with your tunes on, there’s also the Bluetooth method too.
It’s all easy enough to do, just like putting a kit together and just plugging it all together.
Aye, that’s why I was saying, SatNav bumps the price up- my unit didn’t have SatNav and it was on sale which was why I was able to keep the cost down. The loom cost me a fiver, the aerial adapter was seven. The most expensive cable you’ll buy is the steering wheel adapter which can be anything up to forty squid
Im fine with the mechanical/electrical installation, I’ve already removed the head unit to fit one of those USB HD interface things (but that doesn’t work as I want it to)
I really don’t want to be fiddling streaming music of faffing with Waze (which Ive tried and dislike intensely)
looked on Dynamic sounds and there my problem - several kits listed and they all seem the same???, three facia kits at £79 look identical.
What about those cheapo Chineese jobs for around £150 - what are they like?
If you go on to Dynamic Sounds, you have the option of typing in your vehicle’s details which will then show you which wiring loom is compatible.
By ‘Cheapo Chinese jobs’, d’you mean the head unit? I can’t vouch for the quality of any particular brands. My car came with a Sanyo head unit which was perfectly serviceable, just wanted something more up to date features-wise. The one I have installed is a JVC which is essentially a lower-priced Kenwood and I’ve got no complaints whatsoever. The cost was competitive with a good screen. I’d maybe have a look at them
I’ve actually heard some surprisingly good things about them oddly enough. For years they got kinda slated- probably for exactly that reason, they’re cheap. But I have seen a couple of YouTube videos where folk have been raving about them so maybe worth a punt?
Something to bear in mind is the depth of the replacement head unit. Although you can fit a standard depth unit in a NC a shallower one is easier as space is tight. Originally I fitted a Panasonic unit but later transferred that to another car and replaced it with a Kenwood unit. The Kenwood bead about 2/3 the depth and therefore easier to fit.
Something else to bear in mind is you’ll have to buy a DAB aerial. Usually about £20.
Looks like I’m needing to spend something like £400 on a head unit without sat nav, another £80 on a fitting kit and £20 on a dab aerial. So for £500 I still don’t really get what I want. I’ll have hands free phone but will have to use google maps linked to my phone for nav.
Depends on you choice of head unit, this lot won’t cost as much as you think and get you a nice head unit. The last two items are options, cheaper on eBay for the last item. That part will be needed to connect from the standard harness to the new head unit loom.
So a little over £430 gets you set up, you’ve just got to fit it.
or this one instead of the one above to save a few pounds.
Ok so some head units will be pre installed with Auto Android, look for that in features of unit.
Then download Auto Android from playstore to your phone.
When you get in car, switch blue tooth on , on phone
Plug phone into head unit via usb, this then activated Auto android.
Your google maps will then preview on screen.
It may depending on head unit spec then allow your to 'talk ’ to google via steering wheel telephone buttons if you have them
Currently going through the same consideration myself to replace the Bose in my NC2. If you want navigation built in you’re into £600 upward just for the head unit.
The best/cheapest alternative of wireless Apple carplay I have found is this unit:
Previously in my NC which I used to own I installed this but it does mean plugging in your phone every journey:
Thought you might get some clarity from this previous post. Very easy to install and I’ve been delighted with the result.
The Sony unit I purchased isn’t the most responsive when using the telephone via Bluetooth, although answering calls is clear and easy. The DAB on the other hand is good and reception is just as consistent as my BMW with factory fitted iDrive etc. When using CarPlay for any activity; telephone, Spotify, Waze etc, it’s brilliant.
