Ok, I'm a little broken on the issue of my stereo in the truck. I really want to stay stock looking, but at the same time, I'd love to have some of the features offered in the after market stereos. I've been looking at the Pioneer AVH-P4100DVD as a head unit. I don't need navigation, since I have the Brandmotion Magellan GPS unit in place of the dashboard tray. I do want to be able to hook up a backup camera to the unit and would, eventually, like to rig up a forward facing IR camera for night/fog driving. I want to be able to override the video lock for when the family and I go on long road trips. I like the idea of being able to use Bluetooth for phone calls and I have no use for XM Satellite radio of any sort. iPod compatibility is a must, though. It would also be nice to be able to make the unit mesh with the rest of the interior, colour wise.

Any ideas and suggestions? On a side note, why is it that none of the after market stereo makers put RDS support in their head units? I very much enjoy being able to see the artist/title or, at least, the station name on my display.

Thanks!

 

My biggest hangup with the unit is this right here. I assumed it came with it because my 3 year old Kenwood cd player had it at half the price. I was only disappointed at that and the military time issue. I highly recommend it for the price. I too did not need or want nav but wanted a nice clean unit with the ability to upgrade my system in the future.

 

Military time issue? I only noticed 2 brands that had the RDS and I didn't like the style of either of them.

 

For now, there is no AM/PM, but I knew that when I bought it. I had called Pioneer and they assured me they are working on a new firmware update that will be able to be downloaded to the unit in the future. The only solution the unit currently offers is called "just", lol...it only shows the whole hour (very pointless). It was the one hang-up I had about buying the unit but in reality the only time I look at the clock is to work (AM, military time not effecting it). On the way home, I don't bother to look at the time.

 

Ahhh, ok, well that's not an issue for me. I'd have it on 24 hour time anyway. So other than that and no RDS, how has the unit stand up and how does it look in the truck?

 

The unit looks great. I will try to get some pictures up tonight so I can prove it. Well worth the $425 I spent on it.

 

It's a little more here. I think I found it for $649 CAD. Ah well, cheaper than some of the units. I sent Pioneer an email asking what the deal is with their lack of RDS, no response yet. If you've got pictures, that'd be great!

Cheers!

 

Here are some pictures. If you notice, without the $50 cord, it still plays from my iPhone and even charges it. Also, you can control the ipod from the screen or hit "ctrl ipod" and the ipod lives up (gets rid of the plain white screen that says connected) an allows you to do all of the fancy iPhone music stuff to select songs. I even hooked it up to the square shaped nano (1 generation ago I think) and the screen said pioneer... then it was controlled from the headunit.


Radio Off

Dash shot with clean screen

Presets shown (blurry because I didn't use macro, sorry)

Crappy pic of my fiance and I at an engagement party (It makes her happy to see it when we ride in my truck )

DVD (used Low_e_Red's relay bypass)

Old School Carlos Mencia

iPhone with blue background (see the difference between the two with the control



Charging FTW

 

Personally, I went the Alpine IXA-W404 route, as nothing sounds as good as an Alpine deck. I'm installing mine tomorrow, so I'll post photos as soon as it's done just to give you an idea how it turned out. I feel the same way about retaining the stock look as you do, but I'd rather not spend a grand on the head unit alone.

 

When it comes to purchasing an after market head unit you get what you pay for. What I like about the Alpine products is boot up time. The Alpine unit takes 10 seconds, the Kenwood unit takes 20 seconds, and the Pioneer unit takes 40 seconds. I want my music to start as soon as possible. I have the Alpine IVA-W505 unit, it's not cheap. As far as interfaces are concerned, Alpine has the best interface for the ipod bar none. As with anything the final decision is up to you. You will have your truck for a long time...





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Just a few images...

 

What's with the laptop? Please tell me that thing isn't on while you're driving, and if so, a list of all highways you travel on a regular basis would be appreciated, so I can make a point to avoid them when possible.

 

Not sure what units these are quoted from but my unit starts right up. I do believe the boot time issue is for units with HDDs and nav. Neither of which were necessities for me. Not going to comment on the ipod integration as I have never used an Alpine but the iPod on my Pioneer is swift, can be searched, scrolled, etc. Also, the control can be given to the iPod of to the headunit, which ever you see fit. This is plenty good for me. To me units of this caliber and price have similar features (background customization), EQs, input/output features. I paid nearly half that of the previously mentioned Alpine. Even if I saw the pioneer unit to be inferior, the difference of $375 is not seen by me. Not saying what jdruzik bough is good or bad, but obviously I made my choice with my money for my reasons. Hopefully that was more of a comparison and not argumentative. That is all any of us can do.

Let us know what you get and take some pictures.

 

I actually have to disagree. The whole reason I'm looking at Pioneer, instead of Alpine, is because of the disappointment I've had from past Alpine products. I have, in a 1999 Civic, an IVA-D105. It has decent boot up time, but it doesn't "flow" with the interior and it has rough iPod control. Scrolling through my 700+ songs is a tedious procedure.

I would avoid any road with a cop on it, then. They all use laptops while they're driving. My brother has his laptop set up like that with a GPS receiver. That's where he gets his maps and it works like a charm.

Part of the reason I like the Pioneer is the minimalistic look it has to it. Very very few buttons and the ones that are on it, flow. It appears that it would mesh very well with the interior of the truck and your pictures prove it. Being able to pass control to the iPod is a bonus, the Alpine never allowed me to do that.

Either way, I appreciate the opinions!

 

I do a lot of photography. My laptop is used for two purposes, first when I'm on a trip and take pictures it's a much better look to see my images on a 15" or 17" screen than the 2.5" view on the camera. The second use for the laptop is for my navigator for long trips since I due have a bluetooth module that will give a multi-state view as well close up view of my web based maps. I do not have the laptop on when I am driving alone.

Any system is a personal choice whether a person chooses Alpine, Kennwood, or Pioneer. Not one product is a bad choice. I have had Kennwood and Pioneer I like the Alpine units the best. All three have minimalistic attributes due to the touch screen interface. It's your choice...

Ref. for boot up times, Page 2 of the "Mobile Media Solutions", 2009 Resource Guide for AVNs.

 

yetti........is that just the standard cable that comes with your ipod that your using with your ipod???