Reply With QuoteI got an halo 9 in my D2 , best $1299 I spent, good sound and Android auto, plus watching movies on long road trips
Fossicker
SupporterHowdy
This is NOT a 'tell me what to buy' post, I'd simply like to hear about people's standout experiences (good or bad) with single DIN screen HUs on this holiest of year. It's become a pretty niche market, and somewhat hard to browse as dealers/reviewers rarely offer the option to filter out by DIN size...
What follows is about my own search and criteria, but feel free to simply address the above.
I am hours into my search for a replacement for a buggy old Clarion that was fitted into my car by the previous owner.
I initially looked long and hard at Alpine's Halo9s, and came very close to buying one off the bat, but the reviews I've read were far from unanimous - just like any other model. I therefore decided to broaden my search before jumping on it too eagerly. They also seem to have discontinued the more affordable F259 despite it being more recent than its F309 predecessor (which offers very little more for the steep 50% price increment). You can still pick up a F259 off Ebay but I'd prefer to buy from a dealer, ideally.
I've read decent things about Pioneer's AVH-3500NEX, and their DMH-C5500NEX which is an interesting twist on the single DIN format with its modular screen, although there are no dash kits for our old D2s. For both models, there however are many people out there stating their unit connectivity deteriorated rapidly, and while this is technically a warranty issue, support is reportedly shabby at best.
I was taken by surprise by this review of the Pioneer SPH-10BT, which is a left of field integration of smartphone with single DIN without the cost of fancy but most of the time half-baked touch screen displays. The surprisingly clean interface with ease of switching between primary functions with large buttons is quite appealing, but the lack of reverse camera integration was a deal-breaker. I've currently got an over-the-mirror display for my reverse camera, and part of the appeal of getting a screen HU is to get rid of that awful thing. In an ideal world, I'd really like something along the lines of this model, by not adding an unnecessary screen with poor resolution and a subpar interface, but maintaining excellent eyes-on-the-road ease of use of the essentials while driving.
For reference, these are things that have been at the fore in my search, in no particular order:
> Touchscreen display (or seamless integration with smartphone ala SPH-10BT)
> Consistent Android Auto connectivity.
> Voice control
> Good audio output with enough preouts for the HK rig in my D2 ES.
> Responsiveness, i.e. not laggy
> Glare mitigated to some extent
> Generic reverse camera compatibility
> Sturdy construction for rough road conditions
> Price! Don't have a spare grand laying around. This is a treat for my birthday, but I still can't justify dropping 4 figures on this.
Bonuses:
> Steering wheel controls compatibility
> Android Auto Wireless, but that seems to be way too much to ask (!?)
> Split screen display (e.g. navigation/audio)
> Hardware controls for tactile feedback while driving (e.g. volume knob)
> Not a god-awful native UI - again, this seems to border on being completely unreasonable...
> Not having to drop more cash to get it up and running
Don't really care about:
> HDMI connectivity & HD display, not intending on watching content on there
> Massive screen (above 7", in fact preferably no bigger than that)
> DAB, Weblink
> CD/DVD input
> Aux input
> Multi-device controls
BONUS QUESTION:
Has anyone managed to get vehicle data into a head unit on a Td5 (i.e. no OBDII port)?
Master
SubscriberI got an halo 9 in my D2 , best $1299 I spent, good sound and Android auto, plus watching movies on long road trips
YarnMaster
SupporterThere's already a large thread on here on the Halo 9. Have you checked it out? In short I'd highly recommend it.
There is a Sony unit similar.
Fossicker
SupporterAre you referring to this post?
If so, yes I have read and bookmarked it!
As indicated, I haven't excluded the Halo9 from my search, I just decided to look at what else is now on the market. I am interested to see what people have and what experiences they've had with it. I've had a search on the forum and only found similar posts from 2016 or prior. Things have changed since then.
I am in no rush to make a purchase and I don't intend on making another one again until head units can make me a cocktail. And who knows, someone else might find first hand experiences from fellow D2 owners valuable!
Master
I initially wanted a double din unit for all the features until the Halo 9 came out.
been installed for 7 months now and overall very happy with the decision.
couple of small things with it that are frustrating at times.
can be a bit laggy and freeze on screen sometimes.
occasionally won’t flick back to the radio after been in another feature. This normally results in having to turn the unit off and on to resolve.
. The biggest disappointment with it was no phone mirroring. Your apps are limited to what can be utilised on screen. I was hoping to be able to mirror my HEMA app from the phone. I think Apple missed an opportunity hear.
Minor thing' my screen position, although I could adjust it it would then stick up above the dash. I have to bend down sometimes if I want to check the aircon settings or outside temp.
awsome points.
Colour options, I have landrover green Set on mine blends right in with the rest of the dash lights like it should be there.
Apple car play is very good.it is awesome. Not having it before it is fantastic been able to listen to and dictate texts on the run.
google maps hook up from phone is fantastic and would have been lost otherwise when I first moved to Brisbane.Heavily relied upon it.
Screen size is perfect, wouldn’t want any bigger and easy to see in all lights.
the ability to switch to reverse camera whilst on the move to check behind you whilst you are towing or just to see what is going on is great.
sound quality with the standard D2 speakers is very good as well.
In short definitely recommend halo 9.
cheers Chris
Fossicker
SupporterI am currently leaning towards a Sony XAV-AX8000.
Compared to a Halo9:
- Much slimmer design yet with same screen size, resolution and installation options
- Touchscreen is resistive instead of capacitive, but I could not care less
- Slightly better pre-amp and ouput, allegedly
- Much slimmer UI, less unnecessary fluff
- Includes steering wheel harness and customisation in UI
- Ultra fast boot
- 3 year warranty (!)
- More visually appealing, in my very personal opinion.
- About $300 cheaper than the F309
My main gripe is not being able to find a single DIN HU with wireless Android Auto. I've read tales of a Kenwood unit that offers it but I can't seem to track it down.
I am planning on visiting a store tomorrow to look at it all in the flesh, but I think I feel comfortable going ahead with this!
Master
SubscriberI have screen mirroring on mine, you need to buy some extra things, but can mirror my phone it tablet works greatOriginally Posted by 4runnernomore
YarnMaster
SupporterI don't think your going to gain much from this thread. It's highly unlikely anyone here has owned more than just the one of these types of units so your not going to be getting a comparison. Given that they're all fairly good units and with the emotions of the amount spent I'd imagine anyone that has gone down these routes will likely tell you positives.
I'd suggest your best course of action is identifying the priorities of exactly what you want from it so you can spec compare on what's important as both have long lists.
Then visit your local car audio shops to test them out in their display boards etc.
And at a point don't over think it, if it's passed your two above assessments then your probably going to be happy with it so just get on with it as the next superior product will be out in due course anyway so your never going to have the best forever...
Have you updated the units firmware? Issues are resolved through the updates.
I doubt you will ever see features like this. The reason why the Apple CarPlay apps are limited is because for safety reasons they don't want you to have videos etc. while driving (the whole reason the handbrake signal is used to stop the other video playback features). If you can mirror your phone onto it then you can play video content etc. while driving. You are correct that this means we loose other benefits, but really what should be happening to resolve this is that Hema should make their App CarPlay computable so that it can be used through the unit - this would be the proper method that avoids safety concerns.
Remember that CarPlay is an evolving thing. It's not actually on the headunit, it's on your phone. So with each iOS update it will continue to improve and add further functionality. This is one of the big benefits of it in that you can continue to use the same headunit hardware in your car while it upgrades through your phone...
The Sony unit does look good and I think if it was available when I purchased mine I may have been tempted.
I will say though that I've always considered Alpine to be the more premium brand compared to Pioneer, JVC, Sony, Clarion, Kenwood. They're products have generally been more expensive but more polished in their performance.
I like this. Not common to see 5V outputs. Hopefully it's legit and not overstated or some dodgy testing but I think Sony builds a headunit with the biggest internal amplifier so they seem to be good at pushing out.
Not sure what to make of that? I wouldn't have described the Alpine UI as having any extra fluff. Lots of extra settings accessible through sub menus but the basic day to day used part is very simple and clear. I find mine boots up fast and commences playing my Podcast episode from the iPod plugged in.
I use a PAC SWI successfully for the steering wheel. Easy to setup and works flawlessly. Cheap too.
This is really good. Does it have any additional requirements? e.g. Alpine offer a 2 year warranty provided it's installed by their dealers.
But $200.00 more expensive than the Halo9 iLX-F2579E < iLX-F259E Halo9 9-inch Floating Display Alpine Electronics of Australia >.
I suspect this will come in time. Alpine have a wireless Apple CarPlay double DIN unit so I imagine it will over time trickle down through the range. I plan to update my headunit again at this point.
Fossicker
SupporterI take your point. I however think there is still something to gain from people's positive experiences, gripes and learnings even from a single unit. People compare their purchases with performance expectations just as much as alternative products. And again, although I included a lot about my personal priorities, I intended this thread to serve as a reference for people going through a similar process - there are past threads on Aulro to this effect, however they are now well behind the technology.
You're correct about the safety aspect of it. It is however possible to 'hack' the display into mirroring with cheap and accessible hardware, essentially a couple of adaptors piggy backed and plugged into the HU as a camera display via RCA. It is not 'true mirroring' in the sense that you cannot control the phone from the HU. I personally have no interest in this feature, but reading youtube comments on review videos, it seems many people want to watch funny cat videos on a slightly larger screen. I say get an ipad!
From the testing I've seen in this review, it seems legit. I'm no audio buff however, most of the analysis performed (at the end of the review) is over my head.
Not that I know. The unit comes with a 3 year warranty card in the box.
This model has been discontinued.
For what it's worth, I exchanged with Alpine and they stated they have no plan to implement wireless AA. This is coming from Sharon from support, so again, for what it's worth. But in theory, this could even be rolled out as a software update for existing units, given they already have the necessary hardware and connectivity. Unlikely to happen in our consumerist world unfortunately.
Master
SubscriberOnly problem I have with my halo is that some formats of video don't work but the book says it was, check the video and audio codec and it should work but file won't play
That's why I have my HDMI screen mirroring for another apps and video
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