At last had a new head unit fitted to replace the Alpine unit.
Just found that the Alpine set up would give us both a headache after a few miles and at speed it was difficult to hear anything clearly. The satnav was far from intuitive and a real pain to update.
After much investigation I found that Pioneer seem to be regarded as one of the best makes and the overall best selling Car Play unit over the past few years was the Pioneer SPH-DA230DAB unit. These are quite difficult to find as they have been replaced by the SPH-DA250DAB unit. This has many upgrades, one of the many being a change from a resistive screen to a capacitive screen.
The difference being that a resistive screen needs some finger pressure to work (like an old Garmin) wheras the new screen is a light touch, very similar to phone screens.
a week or so ago Iād already upgraded the poor standard door speakers to a couple of JVC units from MX5 Parts. Whilst this did provide quite an improvement it was still not too good and of course the satnav remeained the same.
I didnt want to get into removing the trim so took it to an installer in Nottingham who conveniently had the best prices I could find for the new unit.
Iām used to using CarPLay as my wifes car has this fitted and just love using Google Maps or Waze. Far better than the conventional satnav units.
The new unit is just stunning, Iām more than happy with it, it has DAB and DAB+ and music from my phone is stunning, the phone is also very clear too, the new speakers are also excellent.!
All in all, Iām delighted with my choice and can highly recommend it.
Looks good
I ask with avid interest, what sort of DAB aerial did you have fitted?
Windscreen one or replaced your existing one?
Obviously all the steering wheel functions work etc etc?
Curiosity killed the cat and all that.
What did they charge for the labour install?
Iāve installed the JVC unit in my car earlier this year, more or less the same, Android Auto using Waze ( my preference) and playing music via the phone apps etc.
Just installed the JVC speakers today and added some sound deadening to the door skins. Sounding much much better now, canāt really tell how better theyāll be on the move not been on the road yet with the car as is.
Sadly itās a screen mounted aerial, I tried to see if any one would fit a wing mounted one. But was assured a good one wasnt available that would fit in the place of the original.
Thereās obviously extras, aerial, surround, connecting cable, etc. All the steering wheel controls work too. The labour was Ā£107.
I put the brightness up and altered the colour, a deeper colour. Been out with full sun on the screen, I can see it perfectly.
The colour adjustmentsā¦
Donāt shoot me down here but do you think a big screen suits the nc? Each time Iāve considered doing it, my now 16 year old daughter, who thinks sheās getting the car next year convinces me otherwise. The view is that the original radio suits it better.
Itās ok looks decent enough if you just to want radio and to play CDs. Knobs and loads of buttons but itās function is limited, surprised your daughter likes it TBH, the younger generation usually want multi function cool looking streamlined stuff.
Agreed the original look is better.
But not with a wire trailing from a dash mounted garmin.
And with no access to streaming music you need to carry a stack of CDs.
You quickly get used to the new look of a touch screen, and the other benefits quickly become indispensable.
I think it looks fine, and depending on the model / install, can look OE.
The connectivity of new kit is invaluable to me (and the kids), but Iāve also kept the original stereo to put back for if and when we sell.
Do you mind sharing the name of the company that supplied and fitted the unit. Access to my music via my phone is a big miss for me when I drive the 5 (which is every day at the moment)
They did also manage to connect the USB port in the centre console to the unit which I was pleased about.
The more I use it the more pleased I am, sound quality is excellent and Google maps or waze are way better than Garmin or Tomtom, with ongoing rerouting to avoid jams, road works and closures.
Iām considering an upgrade for my 2013 NC with the factory Sanyo/TomTom unit - where did they fit the USB port on yours?
Did you get anything useful / extra connections in the glovebox?
As with all these units you should get a short cable coming out of the unit (rear) with the USB connection on the end. Mine bearly stretched to itās location in the centre console so I bought an extension for it. You can of course extend that cable by just plugging your phone cable in, itāll be enough. I extended it because I have a flash drive to plug in with my tunes on too.
The other option is to route it to the glovebox, it should be long enough and connect up to it there with your phone.
Thanks Mick - so do you have a flying lead or did you get a USB socket fixed in the centre console? It looks like thereās room to have a USB port cut into the plastic between the cigarette lighter and the seat heaters - just wondered if anyone had done this, as it might be neat (but perhaps would get in the way of the phone sitting flat down thereā¦)
Any pictures of your installs guys would be appreciatedš
