Best Single DIN head unit

[DefenderRhino]

Hi guys just bought my first defender (90) and need to upgrade the head unit, preferably with a satnav hope I can get some ideas, maybe clarion??? Cheers in advance.

[DefenderRhino]

Have also seen a few alpine units installed, is this the way to go? Any help would be great cheers

[Pickles2]

Are you remaining single DIN?
Pickles.

[DefenderRhino]

Are you remaining single DIN?
Pickles.

No room without modding for a double din pickles so single is fine maybe a flip out one?

[DefenderRhino]

Any recommendations guys? Want to get it done asap

[Eevo]

sony head units have come along way in 2014.
pioneer are good too

however i dont think either do sat nav in a single din

[alittlebitconcerned]

There are very very few head units that will sound great on their own. I believe to get decent sound you will need an amp at least. If you go down this path you might want to look at a good processor as well (google 'Bit Ten by audison' for example) This sits between your head unit and amp and allows a high degree of audio tweaking. With this setup you could keep the factory head unit and get better sound than 99.9% of headunits out there.

As far as GPS goes, your smart phone (if you have one) can do a better job more easily than a single din GPS enables headunit. There are cradles that will hold it on the dash that will charge the phone and even boost the mobile signal.

Not the answer you were looking for but it might be something to consider if you dont find what youre after.

[DefenderRhino]

No that's great mate, I still would like a new head unit but now I'll just forget satnav unit as I have an iPhone 6 and that does the job good enough. So then what head unit that is the question? I've seen quite a few with alpine units I think? Is that a defender upgrade from the dealership I wonder?

[DBT]

I would look for a "mechless" unit. No cd player to collect dust.

Bluetooth music to it from your phone, or plug in a USB stick with your fav tunes on it.

I have a Sony and a JVC in 2 different cars. I actually prefer the JVC unit. It looks and feels better quality, wheras the Sony is more about visual "bling".

Both sound fine. Both also support hands free phone use.

[Pickles2]

I have an MY13 Defender with the "upgrade" subwoofer etc, which comes standard with Alpine unit CDE-HD137BT, which I reckon, is a pretty good unit.
I'm not sure whether this unit is still current, but if you went to an Alpine shop, I reckon they could look it up for you, & perhaps be able to sell you the current "edition" of this model, which would undoubtedly have a few more "tweaks".
Pickles.

[DefenderRhino]

Does an amp really make it that much better? Would I need a sub as well due to the small 4" not making much good sound?

[stuee]

My experience is that amps make a big difference once the volume starts going up, but it also depends on how much you care about the sound quality. I've just fitted a single din mechless unit (so no pop-out screen, satnav or CD) to my 101 and wired two speakers directly. When its loud enough to hear while driving sound quality is pretty crap, but still gives me something to listen to.

When I get my new box made up behind the seat for the dual battery Ill be getting some better quality speakers and an amp to drive them, I need to be able to hide it (the amp) from the missus though...

For the head unit I'd steer clear of a pop-out single din unit with sat nav as its only going to clog with dust and much more liekly to fail with regular off road travels. That and not may of the reputable brands make many units like this and if they do they are very expensive ($1000+). Generally I've found the navigation is also not up to scratch when compared to a $250 garmin or navman.

My advice would be get an off the shelf navigator and hard wire in the power supply for a neater look and then a mechless unit as has been suggested by DBT. I have this pioneer unit, but got it for $94 as it was a runout:
https://www.jbhifi.com.au/gps-car-audio/pioneer/pioneer-mvh-x565bt-200w-digital-media-car-receiver/534852/

It has all the bells and whistles, bluetooth music, usb music, hands free phone, iphone or android support etc, and and a big one for me because of where its mounted, a remote.

[DBT]

Amps definately have potential to improve Volume and sound quality.

Quality spekers should come first. Then with an amp you can add even more speakers, subbie, etc.

HOWEVER

If you are doing this to overcome Landrover ambient cruising noise (more of an issue in a Perentie / 101, i suspect), You will trash your hearing.

Better to invest in PPE, to protect your hearing, such as ENC headphones, soundproofing, etc.

Hopefully this is not the issue for a Defender. But i cant comment on that.