Need a recommendation......

[Dr. Righteous]

Hello all. Typical Newbie here.

I'm no stranger to car audio but I've been out of it for a long time.
Sold the car I had the system in; then after got married ended up selling all my gear.

But I've been wanting a nice system for a long time now and have a good vehicle to install it in. '14 quad cab RAM truck.

It has the base model audio in it; no amp, no infinity speakers.

Like I said I've been out of car audio for a long while and I'm not up on the better brand head units or what is a great bang for the buck and what is junk.
So far I purchased a Pioneer 10" sub TSW261D4. That is a dual 4 ohm.
A 5 channel amp; NVX JDA900.5 and have upgraded the factory door speakers to 6x9 Rockford Fosgates.

The next thing I need is a descent head unit.

I'm interested in a 6 to 7 inch touch screen dual DIN unit with NAV but I'm really on a budget. Want to say at $400 or under.
I've looked at a few online that seems descent but reading the reviews they area usually majority saying they are junk. (like SoundStream head units, that is a old brand I remember)
Also there are a flood of Chinese brand head units that run android. But then, how do you know what is descent?
Something with flashy features, bells and whistles that sounded like crap would be a real disappointment.
(BTW, one reason I got out of car audio years ago was because everyone was into loud as hell distorted bass instead of quality sound)

So I'm appealing to you guy who live eat and breath car audio and deal with this stuff every day.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks

[Chris from Washington]

Hello all. Typical Newbie here.

I'm no stranger to car audio but I've been out of it for a long time.
Sold the car I had the system in; then after got married ended up selling all my gear.

But I've been wanting a nice system for a long time now and have a good vehicle to install it in. '14 quad cab RAM truck.

It has the base model audio in it; no amp, no infinity speakers.

Like I said I've been out of car audio for a long while and I'm not up on the better brand head units or what is a great bang for the buck and what is junk.
So far I purchased a Pioneer 10" sub TSW261D4. That is a dual 4 ohm.
A 5 channel amp; NVX JDA900.5 and have upgraded the factory door speakers to 6x9 Rockford Fosgates.

The next thing I need is a descent head unit.

I'm interested in a 6 to 7 inch touch screen dual DIN unit with NAV but I'm really on a budget. Want to say at $400 or under.
I've looked at a few online that seems descent but reading the reviews they area usually majority saying they are junk. (like SoundStream head units, that is a old brand I remember)
Also there are a flood of Chinese brand head units that run android. But then, how do you know what is descent?
Something with flashy features, bells and whistles that sounded like crap would be a real disappointment.
(BTW, one reason I got out of car audio years ago was because everyone was into loud as hell distorted bass instead of quality sound)

So I'm appealing to you guy who live eat and breath car audio and deal with this stuff every day.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks

Hi Welcome to the forum

I think for a head unit, you're best bet is to stick with the mainstream (Alpine, Pioneer)

I also at one point thought about the Chinese Android units, because of the flexibility the provide. The problem is, these units will NEVER get an Android update.
Some of the ones out now, I bet are still running KitKat. So as apps progress, they will drop support for the older OS and they'll stop working on these units.

So within 3-5 years, that $700 unit is worthless Plus, I'm sure the sound quality on these things are pretty cruddy too.

I really wish Alpine/Pioneer would hurry up and adopt Android Auto more. I really want a new head unit for my other car, but don't really want to spend money on a navigation when Google Maps integration just makes way more sense.

[Dr. Righteous]

Hi Welcome to the forum

I think for a head unit, you're best bet is to stick with the mainstream (Alpine, Pioneer)

I also at one point thought about the Chinese Android units, because of the flexibility the provide. The problem is, these units will NEVER get an Android update.
Some of the ones out now, I bet are still running KitKat. So as apps progress, they will drop support for the older OS and they'll stop working on these units.

So within 3-5 years, that $700 unit is worthless Plus, I'm sure the sound quality on these things are pretty cruddy too.

I really wish Alpine/Pioneer would hurry up and adopt Android Auto more. I really want a new head unit for my other car, but don't really want to spend money on a navigation when Google Maps integration just makes way more sense.

Hey, Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, some of those Chinese brands don't look like high quality units. Would like to stick to known brands.
That is why I was looking at SoundStream. Was considering the VR-NDD7HB which is the dual LCD touchscreen unit. And also the VRN-65HB. Both have great features but most of the reviews say "its junk!" Want to say less than $400 on this.
Not looking good.

[Chris from Washington]

Hey, Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, some of those Chinese brands don't look like high quality units. Would like to stick to known brands.
That is why I was looking at SoundStream. Was considering the VR-NDD7HB which is the dual LCD touchscreen unit. And also the VRN-65HB. Both have great features but most of the reviews say "its junk!" Want to say less than $400 on this.
Not looking good.

I haven't really purchase a new head unit in a long time, but Soundstream today is not the Soundstream of the 80/90's
I really don't know anything about their current products, but I know the company was sold and is now owned by Epsilon I believe. They acquired a few different known audio companies over the years.

As to the quality of Soundstream now, I really don't know. If many of the reviews are saying junk, I would tend to believe those

I really wish we had the features of today's technology but the quality of the 80's high end stuff.

[Dr. Righteous]

Know what you mean.
I decided to take a change on the Soundstream VRN65HB. Ordered it from Amazon; they have a good return policy if there are any issues.
Also got a B-Box sealed enclosure for my Pioneer sub. Fits under the rear seat. Not a huge bass head here; just like some solid bass, and clean mids and highs.
Should be a sweet sounding build. The box has 1.2 CU FT, which is more than the sub needs; should give me a lower roll off freq.

[justalex]

Hello) Tell me, please, regarding the installation of the head unit. I found a company for them SMARTY Trendâ„¢ - the best brand of high quality Android Car Stereo Navigation In-Dash head units - SMARTY Trendâ„¢ Company now they provide me with all the information on my VOLKSWAGEN CADDY car for a long time wanted to add functionality, the basic ones were not enough. I wanted to know about your feedback about this company. Thank!

[allaboutfun]

Just bought this for my 2011 F150. You can add nav to it.