Car Stereo - Need a new one that works great with iPhone 5S

[TridenT]

Suggestions? Google searches are not turning up anything nice. Mostly spam.

Looking for one that works great with Pandora, does not lock up the Pandora app from usage (Thus I can still tinker with it), and... yeah, that's all I really want. Pandora + No locking up apps + iPhone 5S compatibility. Thieves broke my antenna connection, so I won't be using that either... All music from iPhone. If it had calling features and worked with apps like Waze, that would be very nifty.

I am not getting a JVC. The last one I had (KDR530) broke over time. It would stop connecting to the iPhone when it was warm out, the screen was too reflective and not bright enough during the day (so I couldn't read it!), and it locked up the Pandora app when I connected my phone. (Thus, I could not change the station if say the head unit wasn't being response. Guess what wasn't being responsive? THE HEAD UNIT! GAH!)

 

[*kjm]

The two I'm looking at are the Kenwood eXcelon KDC-X798 and the Pioneer DEH-X8600BH. Crutchfield has the Pioneer but the Kenwood just came out so they should have it in a couple of weeks.....

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130X8600BH/Pioneer-DEH-X8600BH.html

http://www.kenwood.com/usa/car/excelon/kdc-x798/

I'm kind of leaning to the Kenwood for the two year Warranty.

 

[TridenT]

The two I'm looking at are the Kenwood eXcelon KDC-X798 and the Pioneer DEH-X8600BH. Crutchfield has the Pioneer but the Kenwood just came out so they should have it in a couple of weeks.....

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130X8600BH/Pioneer-DEH-X8600BH.html

http://www.kenwood.com/usa/car/excelon/kdc-x798/

I'm kind of leaning to the Kenwood for the two year Warranty.

The kenwood also has front facing USB. I don't feel particularly fond of modifying my dash to add a USB connection somewhere. It would be nice, but my energy for such a project is low. I'd probably get a 10-15ft long USB cord and run it along the dash to the drivers side, run it up under the driver side pillar, and then under the headlining and pop out where the mirror is. I could run a small 6" USB to iPhone 5 connection and have it connect to my phone which would be mounted in a windshield suction cup.

Sounds nice, but I could easily do with an ugly wire running from the radio to the mirror as it stands now. (It's what I've been doing and it's been fine)

One thing I need to know about both models before I purchase these is the lighting. It needs to be really bright for the sunlight times and have a significant dimming feature. (I've found ones that are bright, but fail to dim far enough)

 

[*kjm]

My USB cable would come out right below the radio with the dash adapter I would be using(see below). A lot of people just run the USB cable to the glove box. As for the dimming feature you could read the manuals or call the techs at Crutchfield…. I have never bought a radio from them but hear nothing but good about their service and knowledge of the products they sell.
Heck the last time I bought a head unit was back in the 80’s because I used to buy a car/truck every 4 to 6 years. With having this truck for 12years I want an upgrade. Both work hands free with Siri and give turn by turn over the speakers and I really would like that.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_003FMK550/American-International-FMK-550-In-dash-Receiver-Kit.html

 

[Kaido]

Suggestions? Google searches are not turning up anything nice. Mostly spam.

Looking for one that works great with Pandora, does not lock up the Pandora app from usage (Thus I can still tinker with it), and... yeah, that's all I really want. Pandora + No locking up apps + iPhone 5S compatibility. Thieves broke my antenna connection, so I won't be using that either... All music from iPhone. If it had calling features and worked with apps like Waze, that would be very nifty.

I am not getting a JVC. The last one I had (KDR530) broke over time. It would stop connecting to the iPhone when it was warm out, the screen was too reflective and not bright enough during the day (so I couldn't read it!), and it locked up the Pandora app when I connected my phone. (Thus, I could not change the station if say the head unit wasn't being response. Guess what wasn't being responsive? THE HEAD UNIT! GAH!)

Just setup Bluetooth & a wireless charger. If you don't need a CD player, you can buy a DMR head unit (Digital Music Receiver), which simply has Bluetooth/USB/Minijack inputs. Most of them come with a microphone to wire in for hands-free calling & you can stream ALL of your audio apps via Bluetooth (Youtube, Pandora, etc.). If you have steering wheel controls, you can get a wiring harness from Crutchfield or wherever to interface. I use MOG (similar to Spotify or Rdio) & it lets me move between songs & adjust the volume using the steering wheel controls.

I don't like having wires hanging all over the place, so I installed a wireless charger in my car. There's a wireless charging standard called Qi - you need a charger & a compatible case. It's basically just a metal coil in the case, so you just place your phone on a charging plate & voila, charges without wires. A Qi case for the 5S is under $20:

http://www.amazon.com/YIPIN-Standard...dp/B00F95HPIQ/

I have this charger for my older iPhone 4S: ($30)

http://www.amazon.com/UPGRADED-Wirel...dp/B00C40OG22/

If you don't have an available USB or 12V port nearby, you can install a USB port:

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Syste...dp/B0082CXEI8/

My center console is open (no hinged lid), so I put the CHOE Qi charger in there with some sticky-back velcro tape. That way, I can hop in my car, drop the phone in the center console, and it starts charging without having to plug anything in. Then I can stream music or make hands-free voice calls via the head unit. Super simple.

If you want in-dash app support, Crutchfield lets you do a search to narrow down head units that are compatible. For example, this Kenwood head unit has Bluetooth calling & support for Pandora from the iPhone: ($130)

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_113KDCX597/Kenwood-Excelon-KDC-X597.html?tp=5684

I prefer to use the app itself on the phone, like when you first get in the car - open the app, pick a channel, put it on the mat to charge, and then let it charge & stream wirelessly - then do song controls via the steering wheel buttons. If you don't have steering wheel buttons, a lot of radios come with remote controls that you can strap to the wheel, or else just add a universal aftermarket steering wheel control pad:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_120RFASWC/Axxess-RFASWC-Universal-Steering-Wheel-Control-Interface.html

There's a nice Alpine head unit for $250 that includes an HD Radio tuner & a feature called App Direct Mode that lets you control basic playback & see metadata from different apps right on the head unit itself:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500HD148BT/Alpine-CDE-HD148BT.html?tp=5684

So, it all depends on what you want to do. If you want a super easy method, just get a basic DMR head unit ($99 or so) and a Qi pad & case. Zero effort. I love mine!

 

[dbk]

Wow great info (youre too nice)

 

[TridenT]

[snip]

Good info. I don't think I'll be getting steering wheel controls, as that looks mighty expensive. I'm trying to keep this pretty low budget. (<$100, if I can. <$150, if I have to) I don't really want that case for my phone either. I like the ones that I currently have. Similarly, I'm going to be having my phone up in the air (mounted to the windshield) because I use apps like Waze, Google Maps, and Apple Maps when I am driving to some places. So, wireless charging is not going to help unless it can charge from a few feet away.

I'll consider the bluetooth stereos, but I'd really like to keep some controls on the dash itself. That's how I want to control things since it's very much within reach. It's very difficult to go to the next track or thumbs down a song on Pandora from my phone. I don't like looking at the screen on the phone or reaching far for it when I am driving.

I might get new speakers too, but I'm unsure (Probably get the cheap Polk components speakers that are well rated on Amazon for $100-120). My driver side tweeter has been broken since I got the car (Mechanic broke it) and I've always noticed a slight unevenness to the sound.

 

[rmacklyn]

Kenwood works well with iPhone integration. Not very sure about 5s, but with 4s it works quite fine. Hope so 5s will also be a great fir for the same. Check it out.

 

[TridenT]

God damn it. I've been looking online for a while now. I can't find one where people are saying, "Works great in both sun and at night! Not blinding or impossible to see!"

It's basically that you either cannot see the display in the sun or it's blindingly bright during the night. (i.e. the dimmer function is barely doing anything)

 

[hanoverphist]

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Digital+Media+Receivers/MVH-X360BT

heres a decent low end pioneer that will do everything you want it to. they sound good as well. ive done a few of the pioneer double din installs recently, and every one ive seen for about 9 months has been compatible with both the old and new iphones its hit or miss on android tho, those are still limited to certain models only.

 

[TridenT]

One thing I am confused by, should I worry if they have RCA pre-outs on the back? I thought that meant they usually didn't have a built-in amp and I would send those pre-outs to an amp (which I don't have). I need something that directly hooks up to my system as it stands right now, if I can. (2 front speakers, 2 tweeters (Not sure if those are separate lines... It's a stock honda civic system), and 2 rear speakers. No amp, direct to the radio.)

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Digital+Media+Receivers/MVH-X360BT

heres a decent low end pioneer that will do everything you want it to. they sound good as well. ive done a few of the pioneer double din installs recently, and every one ive seen for about 9 months has been compatible with both the old and new iphones its hit or miss on android tho, those are still limited to certain models only.

I can't tell the differences between that and the X560BT. Is there any besides the pre-out options? http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-MVH-X5...rds=MVH-X360BT

 

[TridenT]

Bought the X360BT today. I bought it local so I had to pay extra. (I couldn't chance it not being here by Friday if I bought online) So, it was $110 after tax. ($100+tax) I consider it just an extra $20ish for same day shipping.

 

[*kjm]

Let us know what you think about it.

 

[hanoverphist]

I can't tell the differences between that and the X560BT. Is there any besides the pre-out options? http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-MVH-X5...rds=MVH-X360BT

sorry, just saw this. besides the 2 preouts extra, the display on the 560 has the 21 million color change thing, and the usb and aux ports on the rear, instead of on the front like the 360.

 

[TridenT]

Here's my small review of the X360BT from only using it for a couple days and not getting overly involved with it. This is a very shallow review.

Things I noticed: No automatic dimmer option. It does not dim based upon time or based upon when you turn on your headlights, as there is no wire for it in the harness from what I could tell. There was this extra wire that I did not use, but it said it was something something subwoofer. So, I ignored it. It does lock up the Pandora app when you have your iPhone connected via USB (Literally, it's a black screen with "Pandora -> Pioneer" on it). There is no way around that from what I can tell. That said, functionality still remains but it is all within the dash. It does work with iOS 7 and iPhone 5S.

Bluetooth: Works great from what I can tell. I get it paired up and it's good to go for life. (It was difficult getting it paired up because I didn't realize I needed to hit the knob to confirm on the radio and it would time out and fail to pair) I turn on the car, my phone automatically syncs up, and it starts playing music. I don't even have to do anything. <--- Awesome. Siri works, but the voice is a little distorted from Siri sometimes when doing Siri commands (Like super low audio quality distorted). I don't get why but it's a minor thing. You have to use a microphone plugged into the stereo in order to give commands (It won't auto-detect there is no microphone and just use the one in the phone).

The display is too dark for the day when set on default settings, but that's mostly because the plastic that covers the display is super glossy. If you move your hand to block the light from making a glare, you can read it easily. That said, it's really not the end of the world. It's just a minor annoyance and I don't think any stereo does this well for this price range.

I cannot speak for the radio functionality as my car needs to have the antenna connection repaired.

Charges my phone fine when plugged in. Even with Waze showing stuff and Pandora playing, it still charges it. (Important)

Sound quality seems decent. It's hard to tell and isn't really a sticking point for me. (If it was garbage, then yeah, sure...) But so far, it doesn't sound like trash. Seems reasonable. I didn't play with the sound equalizing settings or anything, if they exist.


Print out on the screen is fine. It has a sound bar thing going on. So, whenever the song is playing it can show some bars to represent what frequencies are being represented. (Typical stuff) Usual automated print out of the station, the artist, the song, and the album. Can also show elapsed time and the clock.

Yeah... typical stuff. Seems adequate. No dimmer functionality on the display (Besides going into the menu (It is relatively easy to get to, admittedly) and going to dimmer and hitting the button to turn the dimmer on) sucks and the fact it has a super glossy plastic like every other fucking radio is annoying. But, I think that's just the world of radios.

I really like the bluetooth thing though. I think I'll use a USB charger to charge my phone and then just let the bluetooth streaming do its thing. (That way it doesn't lock up the Pandora app on the phone)

 

[*kjm]

Thanks for posting back on your thoughts.