[cathul]

The comment about single dins being dead is disappointing. What about classic cars? What about the next generation of gear heads collecting old cars that have single dins? We need high end single din SQ options.

Because that market is so small, how much money would you spend on a single DIN unit? 2500,-- $ upwards due to the low count of produced and sellable units?

 

[kiklop32]

Yeah it is bad. However would be nice to have unit with just FM radio, bluetooth for phone, USB and optical or coax out. And no circus look...

 

[cathul]

Well, even the top notch Kenwood/Pioneer/Alpine Double-DINs dont have digital out anymore. It all comes down to the number of units they can sell. If the market is too small, the products will become crazy expensive, which limits the market even more.
As i said... how much are you willing to pay for such a unit? 4-figure amounts of dollars? For a single-DIN?
How many units does Sony sell for the RSX-GS9 which is between 1200,-- € and 1400,-- € in Germany depending on seller?

 

[LBaudio]

more or less all newer head units are garbage...the last half decent was Pioneer P99RS, before that Alpine F1 Status, Clarion HX D2/D3, Pioneer ODR and P9, McIntosh Mx 4000 and 5000...and that is pretty much all worth to mention.

 

[Promodmerc]

The comment about single dins being dead is disappointing. What about classic cars? What about the next generation of gear heads collecting old cars that have single dins? We need high end single din SQ options.

Most gear heads are more concerned about horsepower, not quality car audio.

 

[kiklop32]

Well, even the top notch Kenwood/Pioneer/Alpine Double-DINs dont have digital out anymore. It all comes down to the number of units they can sell. If the market is too small, the products will become crazy expensive, which limits the market even more.
As i said... how much are you willing to pay for such a unit? 4-figure amounts of dollars? For a single-DIN?
How many units does Sony sell for the RSX-GS9 which is between 1200,-- € and 1400,-- € in Germany depending on seller?

The problem with RSX-GS9 is that is packed with features what nobody with DSP needs. TA, filtres, RCAs etc. I believe that if somebody would make RSX-GS9 without theese functions, only digital player with phonecalls and USB price should be lower. And if it would be under 1k € or even close to 600 €, I would be fine with it. We are paying the same price for hi res players like Fiio anyway.

 

[MobilePioneer]

Because that market is so small, how much money would you spend on a single DIN unit? 2500,-- $ upwards due to the low count of produced and sellable units?

2500 is not at all out of the question for the absolute best quality sound you can get.

more or less all newer head units are garbage...the last half decent was Pioneer P99RS, before that Alpine F1 Status, Clarion HX D2/D3, Pioneer ODR and P9, McIntosh Mx 4000 and 5000...and that is pretty much all worth to mention.

You and I are on the same page.

Most gear heads are more concerned about horsepower, not quality car audio.

I’m in a classic car club and I work on all my own vehicles. I believe a quality build goes hand in hand with a quality sound system. That sound has me in my cars more, taking better care of them, and enjoying driving more.

a crackling door speaker has me punching my door cards 😡🤣

 

[cathul]

The problem with RSX-GS9 is that is packed with features what nobody with DSP needs. TA, filtres, RCAs etc. I believe that if somebody would make RSX-GS9 without theese functions, only digital player with phonecalls and USB price should be lower. And if it would be under 1k € or even close to 600 €, I would be fine with it. We are paying the same price for hi res players like Fiio anyway.

Agreed, but to be honest. At least in Germany most people are looking for double DIN units these days and the market for single DIN units for the classic market is really really slim.
I think we only have Becker and Blaupunkt in Germany selling "classic" looking units. And most of them are expensive and don't offer that many of the desired features.

 

[MobilePioneer]

I never liked the classic looking units with the bar LCD displays. And now they are back, and standard. It’s disappointing. What happened to OEL? They are so nice. Maybe it’s personal preference but I can’t be alone here. They were the height of non TV type display technology.

Ive thought of dying or painting the plastic to match and mounting this somehow under a DEH-P7600mp in a double din in my truck because it would look really good. It offers nothing but matching aesthetics to the HU though. Still worth it if it looks nice

In the end my decision is way too much work to make it look nice just to have dancing lights. There are plenty of head units with that. SQ is more important to me. But I won’t deny aesthetics are important too.

 

[kiklop32]

Agreed, but to be honest. At least in Germany most people are looking for double DIN units these days and the market for single DIN units for the classic market is really really slim.
I think we only have Becker and Blaupunkt in Germany selling "classic" looking units. And most of them are expensive and don't offer that many of the desired features.

Same here, the problem is that I want to have director and 1DIN instead of 2DIN. So no luck for me....

 

[knever3]

You're trying to make it look good with that oval dash. I get it, but don't. In '97 when they came out I was an installer, that was the first car that the install kit was $100, it included a defroster button and a TON of wiring in the bag. What car company would do this? I still don't know, it wasn't revolutionary, didn't have a screen, heck it had a tape player!! Who knows, but all the aftermarket kits were black iirc and you have a tan dash. My suggestion is to take the LCD screen out of a nice SQ radio of your choice and run it with a ribbon cable in replacement of the LCD screen in the OEM unit. You could go old school and make all the OEM buttons work if you want a science project. The faceplate behind the dash, all the buttons and functions translating to the new unit. So 90's... Ultimate stock look, but it's gonna cost you some time. Remember people putting LCD screens in the cluster, or the rear view mirror and using the stock radio to control it? I think you are one that it's so cool only you (and me) would appreciate the effort that went into it. Well, kinda like making an old Escort cool!!

 

[MobilePioneer]

So it was designed after the “revolutionary” 🤣 96 taurus, it’s biggest brother. I laugh because it will be remembered by me as the ugliest car of all time.

Ford knew they messed up. So they installed a factory single din (metra type bezel) in all the 2003 ZX2’s and fleet Escort Sedans before discontinuing the Mazda B/G platform all together. I have a few of the bezels with wiring.

I definitely don’t have time to customize nor do I even care about keeping that disgusting looking radio face.

I think a real clean and symmetrical single din actually improves the look.

 

[Selkec]

Why not just keep it stock and stream, tune, through an AMP/DSP. Nothing says "period correct" more than your stock HU. Hidden conductor or similar to make adjustments on volume.

Just a thought. That's what I would do if I had an old school I wanted to keep looking old school, and I still wanted to put a dope sound system in it.

I agree. That’s exactly what I do with my old 2014 oem radio. I just use it Bluetooth only to have steering wheel control and send audio to a topping d10 for optical to dsp

 

[Selkec]

I agree. That’s exactly what I do with my old 2014 oem radio. I just use it Bluetooth only to have steering wheel control and send audio to a topping d10 for optical to dsp

I agree. That’s exactly what I do with my old 2014 oem radio. I just use it Bluetooth only to have steering wheel control and send audio to a topping d10 for optical to dsp

 

[ANS]

I would keep a look out for an Eclipse CD7200 MKII, which was one of my favorite options back in the late 2000s. Use something like that to a dsp and you would be golden.

 

[Oekern]

Had the same problem when looking for a new stereo these days. Had Pioneer DEH P88RS2 before. I ended up with Pioneer MVH S520BT. It has the most important stuff.

 

[MobilePioneer]

The 3 most expensive single din’s on crutchfield’s website. Pathetic.

 

[Thomasluke7899]

From someone who works in the industry, the reason single din stereos suck is because that market/category is dead.

Most Customers who still shop/want a single din head unit are shopping solely by price for their old car. That's it. Does it have bluetooth and cost $100? I'll take it. That's the mentality.

Enthusiasts and people spending real money in this hobby are driving new cars and/or using DSPs.

Also people who are dealers of used cars. Buy here pay here places.
They are the best. 50 dollar Kenwood media player. Done.

 

[zech912]

Has this been considered? It is quite good looking. Interestingly the Sony RSX GS9, never aesthetically so great in my view, shows as NLA.

edit: It seems the black box itself is single din, but the good looking faceplate "commander unit" mounts separately.

Alpine HDS-990

Status Series high-resolution digital media audio source (does not play discs)

www.crutchfield.com

 

[MobilePioneer]

Has this been considered? It is quite good looking. Interestingly the Sony RSX GS9, never aesthetically so great in my view, shows as NLA.

edit: It seems the black box itself is single din, but the good looking faceplate "commander unit" mounts separately.

Alpine HDS-990

Status Series high-resolution digital media audio source (does not play discs)

www.crutchfield.com

I did look at this briefly. The “marine” dash mounted units aren’t for me. It doesn’t play CDs. It’s Bluetooth had no hands free calling (all I really want BT for) what kind of a joke is that in 2022 for $1400+ tax