Head Units with decent Ipod/MP3 support?

[06lariat]

I am looking to buy a new head unit in the next few weeks for my 2006 screw and I need something with good Ipod or MP3 support. I don't have an Ipod yet (I will buy one just for my truck). I'm not brand loyal at this point, and I don't care if I use an Ipod or another brand MP3 player or even an internal hard drive unit (if it is easy to get music on their and doesn't require recording from cds). I would like it to: - Have very fast and intuitive navigation through the head unit (like by artist, folders, playlist, etc) - Support very large folders, in some cases over 400 songs. - Support factory steering wheel controls through an adapter I would prefer the unit to be double din and not have an external motorized screen if possible. DVD playback is a must and navigation would be nice (although not a requirement). Do you guys have any ideas of where I should start? I looked at a Pioneer unit which seemed pretty good but after reading reviews on Crutchfield the Ipod support is rather outdated and extremely slow for navigation.

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[nigdonht]

HU
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-DmIBmwF...0CDA9857&wm=su

iPod Adapter
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-DmIBmwF...p?i=500KCE422I

[tardman91]

Alpines have the best, fastest iPod interface in the industry, hands down. If you're looking for a double DIN and DVD with the possible addition of navigation, then the IVA-W200 is your best bet.

[06lariat]

That's exactly the kind of response I was looking for. Thanks a lot guys.

[dmitt30]

I was on a quest similar to yours a few weeks ago, except I was looking for MP3 support with something OTHER than iPod. Not a huge fan of iPod's. Anyway, I wasn't trying to spend a lot of money to get the setup I wanted.

I just wanted to be able to use my iRiver MP3 player with my head unit. I bought the Kenwood DPX 701. This is the unit that has the USB port on the front. It works great if you have a thumb drive or a small iPod like a nano. It doesn't have enough power to run an external drive, and it wouldn't recognize my iRiver.

So, I bought an Alpine IVA-W200, which was way more than I wanted to spend, but damn it's cool... I quickly realized that I was STILL in the same boat I was with the Kenwood, because Alpine hasn't released their USB module that was due out in April of this year. If I owned an iPod, I could cheaply buy a module that would accomodate it, but now I'm thinking bigger.

mp3car.com has a kit that allows you to run any ATA/IDE drive, so I'm thinking Terrabyte... This will only be possible if the head unit will see this kind of volume. I'm still researching, because I have this feeling that 999 is my unlucky number.

But if you're an iPod owner... ALPINE all the way!

[06lariat]

I may consider going the USB external drive route (I wouldn't use a 3.5" drive but rather a 2.5" with shock protection like some of the newer notebook drives) but it would come down to the performance again. The headunit/host would need to have decent caching support and then also have decent startup time as well.

[slvbeard]

Kenwood makes some decent USB head units, check out the Kenwood eXcelon KDC-X890... you can change the illumination color of the keys from red to green... and this bad boy also has RDS!

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_6814.html

Originally Posted by 06lariat

I may consider going the USB external drive route (I wouldn't use a 3.5" drive but rather a 2.5" with shock protection like some of the newer notebook drives) but it would come down to the performance again. The headunit/host would need to have decent caching support and then also have decent startup time as well.

[c0ckac0la]

Originally Posted by dmitt30

<snip!>mp3car.com has a kit that allows you to run any ATA/IDE drive, so I'm thinking Terrabyte... <snip!>

Which kit is this?

[Lumadar]

Originally Posted by slvbeard

Kenwood makes some decent head units

I'm pretty sure all those words don't belong in the same sentence together

[c0ckac0la]

Originally Posted by dmitt30

I was on a quest similar to yours a few weeks ago, except I was looking for MP3 support with something OTHER than iPod. Not a huge fan of iPod's. Anyway, I wasn't trying to spend a lot of money to get the setup I wanted.

dmitt30~
I am also looking at the kenwood units and how to add additional mp3 storage without buying another ipod. I really didn't want to spend $300 on an 80 gig ipod just to use it for storage. It looks like you can get the same storage for about $179 if you use LaCie Rugged All-Terrain Hard Drive. It is an 80GB FireWire 800, FireWire 400 & Hi-Speed USB 2.0 compatible drive with 5400 rpm's and you can drop up to 35"s with no harm to the drive---good news in a truck. I'm looking into this to make sure that the HU's power will be enough to run the drive, or how the aux power cable on the HDD works. The only other option I have considered is buying the kenwood music keg and calling it a day. The keg only holds 20 GB's though....I've been reading the forums over on mo3car.com, but they seem pretty elaborate setups. Carputers is the phrase of the day over there. I don't know about you, but I'm a bit old school--k.i.s.s__>Keep it simple stupid<__

[LA892]

the best head unit on the market right nowIF you dont mind spending a little bit of money is the PIONEER Z1. it comes with navigation, a 30gig hard drive, bluetooth capable (if you have a bluetooth phone), has a direct connect option for steering controls and plays DVDs, MP3s and whatever else you can throw at it

[ohiomike1101]

Our shop dropped Pioneer, they have the worst warranty under the sun. Repair only. All our JVC, Kenwood, Panasonic, Sony, etc.... are exchange and we give you a new one on the spot. Pioneer, we have to take out of your car and send to a service center and you could be without a radio for 6-8 weeks. Havent had many go bad, but the ones that did left for some customers with a sour taste in their mouth.