Im going with an aftermarket stereo!

[kismetcapitan]

having a tape deck in the dash is just...so dated. There's the RNS-E, but that's a lot of coin for what you get - I price it as a $400 stereo and $1000 worth of OEM appearance.

But aftermarket stereos look, well, aftermarket.

I just discovered the Pioneer Appradio, and there we go. Just a big touchscreen and a subtle bezel. It's driven off an iPhone, and that's really what I want - my iPhone music, and Google Maps, on a big screen.

I tested it, and it's a bit glitchy, so I'm waiting for the Appradio 2 which will come out in April. I think it'll look nicely understated in the car, yet bring the car technologically current. Audi tends to be so advanced in their technology that the radio is the only thing that's really out of date in our nine year old cars.

And with a head unit, I'm doing the speakers...and putting about 1200 watts worth of amps in the trunk. There's quite a bit of space on either side, behind the trim. I'd been thinking the Bose was decent, and it's reasonable, but after hearing my simple system in my Skyline again over the holidays (6.5" MB Quart separates up front, 2x10" subs in the trunk, 800 watts, that's it!), a well thought-out system will really bring some excellent audio detail into the car, that the Bose simply does not have.

I'll probably use MB Quart speakers again (high end, not the import crap), but am undecided on the amps. I need to research Class D amplification - they're much lighter and smaller, but I need to know what their damping factor is and if it's just power, or power and speaker control (if that makes any sense).

[speedtrapped]

the appradio looks great!....let us know how it goes, sounds like a great way to go....I have a crappy clarion vx400, and its cheese. I would love to go this way.

[Brav]

I was thinking of something along those lines.. even just mounting an android tablet.

[ben916]

Kis, got a link?

[Brav]

http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/15/c...nt-fit-in-you/

http://ceoutlook.com/tag/android-car-radio/

and a random somewhat helpful site..

http://www.android-car.com/

[BuffaloRS6]

Just checked out the Pioneer AppRadio on Crutchfield's website. Looks amazing. Only issue is that they're saying they're not sure whether or not it fits in our vehicles. I may wait until the AppRadio 2 comes out in April as well. I'm going to give Crutchfield a call and see what they say. Thanks for the heads up on this unit!

[Brav]

No prob - I'd wait for the second version.