New highly functional head units coming out

[SWOYER]

Maybe about two years ago I got really interested in upgrading my truck to have AA/Carplay, the only real options were to upgrade the factory unit or go with an Alpine Restyle which was a boatload of money and didn't really look that great. So recently I've been investigating pulling all the factory electronics and buying new ones to get upgraded etc. Unfortunately, this requires that I additionally pull my denali cluster and buy a 2016 one to keep all of the functionality. Now, I am very picky about the styling and function vs money of these types of upgrades. I was almost ready to pull the trigger, even though upwards of $1500 for parts and programming for an otherwise stock setup from 2016 is pretty ridiculous. This is no way a slander to the programming guys, chris at WAMS was more than fair to me when I had an issue with a crappy eBay cluster I got a hold of and had to get a brand new one. And I realize for alot of people they want the factory setup. However, some new head units are making their way to the market and I believe I'm going to use this opportunity to expand and build out my system entirely. Just wanted to share these units as they've come out, might be a good option for some folks. Most of these are 9 or 10" screens, which seem to fit perfectly into the dash area based on the pics. 

 

The key features I was looking for; Wireless AA/Carplay, Bigger screen, Pre-outs, retains all factory controls, HMDI input

 

Pioneer DMH-WT8600NEX 10.1"

https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/NEX/DMH-WT8600NEX

This unit comes in a 9" also, DMH-WT7600NEX. 

 

Alpine Halo Series - New 11" and 9"

These are a little more dull but still seem to fit well based on the pictures. 

 

Kenwood/JVC DMX1057XR, DNR1007XR, DMX907S, DNX997XR and DDX9907XR

Little to no information on these yet, but they do have HD screens which is interesting. 

 

 

 

Now, all of these units are floating in design and will take a little bit of work to get to install into the dash, I think there's some plastic that needs to be trimmed based on my reading but it's not a big deal. Because they're fully adjustable in almost all directions you can get it right where you want it before you tighten it all down. As shown in the pictures i found for the alpine, you can get it to look pretty factory without much modification. Additionally. using a maestro RR unit you can tie into the trucks wiring without disrupting anything and retain OEM functionality, while adding a full featured head unit. Additionally with HDMI in you can do a roku stick or 12volt apple tv, giving you all the functionality for those services through your phone or an internet hotspot. 

 

I'm placing an order for the pioneer unit and i'm probably going to pull everything from the truck and do a full install - speakers, amps etc. I'm still doing my research but I think that's what I'm going to do and just wanted to share. 

[mblgjr]

Cool.  Thats one way for Alpine to lose those 2 acrylic function buttons from the Restyle/i209 kits.

 

[SWOYER]

22 minutes ago, mblgjr said:

Cool.  Thats one way for Alpine to lose those 2 acrylic function buttons from the Restyle/i209 kits.

 

Agreed. 

[Salsa De Piña]

Oh thank god.  I was feeling left out that we pickup truck drivers didn't have screens that looked like tacked-on afterthoughts like every new car coming out nowadays.

[Black02Silverado]

The only downfall to some of these units that I have found at least when I installed one in my daughters Cruze is you loose the outside temperature reading. 

[SWOYER]

11 hours ago, Salsa De Piña said:

Oh thank god.  I was feeling left out that we pickup truck drivers didn't have screens that looked like tacked-on afterthoughts like every new car coming out nowadays.

Me too. 

[flyingfool]

how is this an upgrade over the big oem nav screen unit with all the bells and whistles?

[SWOYER]

On 4/20/2020 at 10:51 PM, flyingfool said:

how is this an upgrade over the big oem nav screen unit with all the bells and whistles?

Well that would depend heavily on your preferences, but for me on a non-bose setup aiming towards the pioneer ..it's the following.

 

The screen is significantly better in terms of clarity and the hardware itself is better giving you more options and snappier menus. 

It has pre-outs which eliminates the need for getting a loc when running to an upgrades systems.

Instant updates, so you'll always have the newest AA/Carplay, the day it comes out.

AA/Carplay are wireless or you can plug them in. -

Hooking up back seat screens would be much easier if that's important to you

Stock headunit has maybe 10/15 watts of power, this is probably closer to 20w RMS +/- .

Has amazon alexa if your into that sort of thing

Should sound better out of the box than the stock unit

 

Mainly for me it comes down to the price of upgrading everything to a OEM kinda crappy unit to having something that live updates, eases future updates and has google maps, which is better than any navigation system. 

[cmysstailights]

I have a 15 hc 2500. I installed a pioneer avic8400. Gave me rear entertainment, wireless aa and wireless mirralink. I could not use the factory bose amp. If i wanted to i had to buy the alpine adapter, around $400. I got the amp bypass kit and wired up a 4 channel amp. The sound is def better. Backup camera better. To integrate to truck need idatalink maestro and the gm3 kit. I didnt use the aftermarket bezel, i was able to use my stock one. There is a little cutting to get the radio to fit.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[cmysstailights]

Heres the link to my setup. Still have some tweaking and finishing up to do https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/topic?url=https://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/233713-radio-upgrade-with-factory-bose/&share_tid=233713&share_fid=33003&share_type=t&link_source=app

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[SWOYER]

On 4/22/2020 at 5:54 PM, cmysstailights said:

Heres the link to my setup. Still have some tweaking and finishing up to do https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/topic?url=https://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/233713-radio-upgrade-with-factory-bose/&share_tid=233713&share_fid=33003&share_type=t&link_source=app

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 

Looks good. 

 

I'll be doing my system once everything gets here. 

Pioneer DMH-WT8600NEX 

JL audio RD900/5 Amp

Focal Flax Evo 3-Way up front

Focal Flax Evo Coaxial in the rear

JL Audio Console Stealthbox

Full Roadkill / Soundskins dampening / Speaker surrounds

 

Decided to do a wireless charger in the center console while I'm working on it and debating katzkins leather seats, the oem leather covers are pretty terrible and have already torn on the drivers side. 

[cmysstailights]

Looks good. 
 
I'll be doing my system once everything gets here. 
Pioneer DMH-WT8600NEX 
JL audio RD900/5 Amp
Focal Flax Evo 3-Way up front
Focal Flax Evo Coaxial in the rear
JL Audio Console Stealthbox
Full Roadkill / Soundskins dampening / Speaker surrounds
 
Decided to do a wireless charger in the center console while I'm working on it and debating katzkins leather seats, the oem leather covers are pretty terrible and have already torn on the drivers side. 

Thx. I did the wireless charge on my 14. Cut more of bottom out of the co sol so the charger sits closer to the phone. I forget which 1 i did.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[Scott Killman]

On 4/29/2020 at 1:32 PM, SWOYER said:

Looks good. 

 

I'll be doing my system once everything gets here. 

Pioneer DMH-WT8600NEX 

JL audio RD900/5 Amp

Focal Flax Evo 3-Way up front

Focal Flax Evo Coaxial in the rear

JL Audio Console Stealthbox

Full Roadkill / Soundskins dampening / Speaker surrounds

 

Decided to do a wireless charger in the center console while I'm working on it and debating katzkins leather seats, the oem leather covers are pretty terrible and have already torn on the drivers side. 

I just ordered everything for my system and I think I went a little overboard as far as price.  Went from just wanting to replace the factory speakers and adding carplay by upgrading the HMI/Radio module to an entire setup.  

 

Alpine i-209 (I like the way it looks and I found it for about $300 cheaper than Crutchfield)

JL Audio C2-650 components up front

JL Audio C2-650x coax in the rear

JL Audio Stealthbox

AudioControl LC-4.800

AudioControl LC-1.800

 

I still have to purchase the wiring kit and some odds and ins like sound damping material.

 

I also purchased a center console to get rid of my jump seat.  I'd also like to upgrade to katzkin leather seats and a heated steering wheel.  But those will have to wait.

[superdave160]

1 hour ago, Scott Killman said:

I just ordered everything for my system and I think I went a little overboard as far as price.  Went from just wanting to replace the factory speakers and adding carplay by upgrading the HMI/Radio module to an entire setup.  

 

Alpine i-209 (I like the way it looks and I found it for about $300 cheaper than Crutchfield)

JL Audio C2-650 components up front

JL Audio C2-650x coax in the rear

JL Audio Stealthbox

AudioControl LC-4.800

AudioControl LC-1.800

 

I still have to purchase the wiring kit and some odds and ins like sound damping material.

 

I also purchased a center console to get rid of my jump seat.  I'd also like to upgrade to katzkin leather seats and a heated steering wheel.  But those will have to wait.

I've had the Alpine I209-GM for several months now and I'm very happy.  I considered the more traditional head units but I didn't want to cut the dash to make room for the equipment.  The Alpine unit is completely plug an play, if I remember correctly.  I added the Denali instrument cluster and a steering wheel with audio and cluster controls at the same time, so I had to run some wires for them.  The backup camera display is great, the sound quality is great.  I can play music and listen to IHeart Radio via Bluetooth, but have to have the cable connected for navigation.  The unit has a gauge display where you can configure 6 gauges to be displayed.  This is something that I never thought that I would use but it is now displayed most of the time.

 

My original post about the radio.  

 

[SWOYER]

3 hours ago, Scott Killman said:

I just ordered everything for my system and I think I went a little overboard as far as price.  Went from just wanting to replace the factory speakers and adding carplay by upgrading the HMI/Radio module to an entire setup.  

 

Alpine i-209 (I like the way it looks and I found it for about $300 cheaper than Crutchfield)

JL Audio C2-650 components up front

JL Audio C2-650x coax in the rear

JL Audio Stealthbox

AudioControl LC-4.800

AudioControl LC-1.800

 

I still have to purchase the wiring kit and some odds and ins like sound damping material.

 

I also purchased a center console to get rid of my jump seat.  I'd also like to upgrade to katzkin leather seats and a heated steering wheel.  But those will have to wait.

That 2000 price tag was too much for me on the i209. I was able to put a package together with Sonic Electronix that brought the 8600 down to 1000. The fact that they can be adjusted in every direction at install, I figure i'll be able to center it up to look as factory as possible. The i209 is a nice setup though, its essentially the same thing just recessed a little more. The only thing I hate is the clear acrylic buttons Alpine insists on using, but just personal preference. 

 

I also decided to order a Audiocontrol ACM-2.300 just to push the rear coaxials and I'll bridge the JL rd900/5 just to run the 3 ways up front. I wasn't thinking about the power split as closely as I should have when picking out the amp.

 

Which stealthbox did you get?