So my factory head unit died in the H2 last week and a replacement unit is around $1200.

I would rather pay less or the same to get something better with a better nav system, bluetooth, ipod connectivity, better screen etc..

My only condition is that I am able to retain the factory screen for the second row for playing media and the back up camera.

Is there a preferred or recommended aftermarket head unit people have landed on?

Thanks.

 

You are still going to be spending a good bit but you can get what you want for far less than that replacement OEM unit.

Different people have different opinions and a lot of it really comes down to you. Different brands have different looking interfaces for one. One brand might look more appealing to you than another. Many units have no **** or even buttons. Myself, I want a physical ****. Yes I have steering wheel controls that work but I also want a normal volume ****. With a perfectly smooth screen, especially for quite some time while you get used to it you will have to look away from the road to see what you are pressing on the screen. Different brands use different navigation systems, some of which might cost less or more than another to update or might not even have regular updates to get. Some might have other different featured built in like satellite radio, or HD radio.

Personally - I made a small list of wants.
Normal **** (brands and models with actual ***** do generally have a slightly smaller screen though)
HD Radio
Bluetooth handsfree calling
Decent GPS with updates available
USB for playing music from a thumb drive (corded - I do not want a thumb drive sticking out of the front of my stereo all the time - you run the cord, using an extension if needed, to somewhere convenient like your glove box or console)
Video input for a reverse camera

So I ended up with a Kenwood DNX-691HD. This model has all I wanted. Kenwood uses genuine Garmin GPS which means you can get regular map updates, you can add on things like vehicles, custom voices, use the Garmin software to create custom trips, etc on your computer to then load on the unit, etc. Dual video inputs (one for a reverse camera). HD radio - if you have not ever come across this, if you live in an urban area or near any decent size city its likely a few of your local radio stations have secondary HD channels. Pretty neat, I can be tuned into 96.7 FM for example, a few seconds after tuning in the display will start showing the station info and an HD icon, I can then just hit the seek up button and it stays on 96.7 but it becomes 96.7 HD2 and is a totally different stream of music. Some HD stations even stream album cover art. So if I'm listening to that same station, the album cover for the song playing will appear on screen.

You will also need two adapters. One is the main system interface and will depend on which specific Bose setup you have (base or lux). The other is the steering wheel controls interface.

One thing that does NOT work are the rear seat audio controls on the back of the console though. I'm not sure if some other brand or interface can make those work too. My Kenwood does have secondary control ability for separate rear seat audio though as well as a video output for rear seat monitors. You just have to use the Kenwood remote control to use these functions is all.

 

Unless things have really changed, I'd avoid android units.
They have a lot of cool features, but if you value audio quality, I'd stick to a name brand.

I'm with MixManSC on his points.
There is something satisfying (and easy) about turning a **** or hitting it to turn off music.

Crutchfield has a lot of options that are compatible with whatever H2 you have. I'd look there first. Rarely are those units breaking $1000. If you don't need every bell & whistle, you can spend 3/4 to 1/2 the price of a new head unit from GM.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. I too like the idea of having tactile feel with the radio so buttons and ***** are a plus. I did happen to spend some time on a few sites and I've basically found head units dropping into a couple of categories. $600-$1000 gets me pretty good value. Lots of upgrades over factory and I pretty sure I can retain all the factory features I want to include steering wheel controls. In this range I can go for real buttons and ***** to varying degrees but a relatively small screen size around 6.2 inches or a touchscreen setup with the same features and a bigger screen but no buttons and *****. The other price range is much higher well over 2K to 3K but has better integrated units with bigger screens and buttons and ****. These units look nice but I'm not sure they are worth the extra dollars. Really probably not.

Synthetickiller when you mention poorer audio quality on Android units what are you saying? I know it relatively subjective but how much worse is the audio quality? I don't have the best ears for sound quality and what comes out of my iPod is generally good enough for me. I'm by no means an audiophile.

 

What he means is basically about the only Android based units are cheap Chinese made things with low quality components. Terrible FM reception (forget HD radio), poor GPS, lots of limitations.... They have come a long ways in the past few years though but they are still not up to the refined quality of a good name brand unit from Kenwood, Pioneer, etc...

Now nearly all name brand units will bluetooth link with just about any android or apple phone for calling, and even streaming music. Most of the newer ones also have things like screen casting abilities so you can essentially have your phone screen showing on the units screen. Many have built in apps to work with your phone too like Pandora, etc.

 

Installed this about a year back and still working fine. Also I did installed "POWERAMP PRO" Apps fron Android playstore to enhance the sound. It come with GPS or you can simply connect to Google MAp.

 

One thing that I am happy to finally start seeing on the name brand units is finally a little bit more features and support specifically for Android based smart phones.

For the past 5 years or so I've never quite understood it. Every single brand has tons and tons of Apple support (iphone, ipad, ipods) with all sorts of features yet only the most basic of support for Android (was usually just hands free calling but they started adding music streaming a a few apps). What I never understood was Android based phones truly stomp the smartphone market share with well over double the smart phones being Android based.

It has improved greatly though. The stereo S Reynold linked is one of the better brands of full on Android based units that have been out for quite some time. I know the Pumpkin brand units have been quite popular. They do still have a couple of shortcomings for me personally. Several years later and not a single one still has any support or even an add on for HD radio. I see some of their newest ones like that linked above do now have an add on box for DAB (basically this is Europes version of HD radio) so maybe they will eventually make an HD radio adapter. I sort of doubt it though since they would have to license the tech from iBiquity and the Chinese do not often seem very keen on legitimately licensing something. I'm pretty confident someone over there is working hard to reverse engineer it though.

 

Got it. Thanks for the explanation. I presume with most if not all of the name brand options this is not an issue? They run their own OS.


That actually looks interesting. if it were similarly priced as the Kenwoods and Pioneers based on the feedback above I would say better not but for sub $400 it quickly becomes more appealing. What kind of customer support is there?

If HD radio is one of the shortcomings are there any others based on your experience. I have never listened to HD radio so I can't say that I would miss not having it but if there is value in HD then certainly it's worth considering. What am I missing not having HD radio?

 

HD radio will depend greatly on where you live....

I live in Columbia, SC so we have a few stations that are broadcasting in the format. Many HD stations also have a secondary channel (much like HDTV). On stations that do I can hit the seek up button and its the same station but an entirely different music genre. Some of the HD stations also transmit album art and other info too which shows up on your display and its also digital sound so generally better sound quality. Nearly all of the stations here in Columbia now transmit in HD.

Check the HD Radio website to see what stations near you have HD.
https://hdradio.com/

 

What year is your
I don't know newest but 2006 and below
The media system for the 2 row is very
It use a dvd located in the center console and the sound goes thru a Fm station to the
Thus also limit your passenger to watch only one movie at the time and not music while watching a movie.
At least that was my conf before replacing

i installed 2 headrest with dvd which are totally independent with their own
so one passenger can watch a movie the other a different movie while the driver can listen

my headunit (kenwood 571) also play dvd .
I kept the oem camera installed on the mirror plus added one on the plate to the kenwood . This one can be turned on while driving to check the towing

Oem amp and speakers are only good with the oem stereo (bose)
OnceI replaced the headunit the sound was very bad mostly cause the amp lack any gain adjustment

With dynamat on doors , the kennwood , Hertz speakers ,a compact kenwood sub and new front tweeters im close to the sound I'm looking for .

Btw I got 2 sets of 4 ways pioneers whichI removed from truck of any one want it let me know .just pay shipping