Head units, Navigation and everything else in between

I wrote this a few months ago for my monthly article in RPM Motoring Monthly and I thought I would post it here as well.I wanted to talk about what’s new in the world of head units (radio’s, CD players, decks, just pick your terminology) but there really hasn’t been anything “new” for quite sometime, so lets talk about what has changed and been improved on.

Almost every car sold now in the world comes with a CD player as a factory feature, so why do people still want to remove them? They want to get better sound quality and more features than what the OEM is offering. People think that stock systems are now at an all time high as far as sound quality but it just isn’t true. In the 80’s and 90’s we had tapes, that was the standard back then and they sounded OK but nothing special. The fancier systems like “Bose” and others sound a little better, but nothing to write home about. Today the standard is CD so all the cars have CD players and most people think that because it has a CD player now it’s a much better sound system, but it’s not. It’s the same thing we have always had. Now there are some cars out there like the Acura TL and the new Lexus that have really good sound systems but we all can’t afford those kinds of cars.

In the modern car, is it worth replacing the factory CD player with an aftermarket one? Yes it is and if you choose to do this there are so many options out there for you. With most aftermarket head units you can now expand them so far beyond just a tuner and CD player it isn’t funny.

We live in a portable world, and the portable world is ruled by the Apple iPod. Every head unit company out there has teamed up with Apple to allow you to control your iPod from your head unit just like you could with a CD Changer. Radio is an ever changing world as well. You have your standard AM/FM radio that we have always known but now you have the world of digital quality Satellite radio from Sirius and XM Radio. With hundreds of channels at your finger tips, you will always be able to listen to something that you like, for $12.95 a month. The owners of terrestrial radio stations are losing listeners left, right, and center to Satellite radio because of it’s higher quality. So they got behind the movement of HD (High Definition) radio. Now we have seen radio formats come and go over the years all claiming better sound but the radio stations never got behind it. Now that Clear Channel (the largest terrestrial radio company in the world) has gotten behind the format (HD Radio), it seems to be here to stay.

Navigation has been around for years now, but it has only been in the last year or so that it has become affordable and portable. You can get your head unit with navigation built in or you can have a portable stand alone unit that you mount to your dash or suction cup to the window to guide you to your destination.

Bluetooth is one of those formats that was finally agreed upon by the manufacturers as being a standard of wireless communication between devices. While it is used everywhere these days, the one place that has greatly benefited from it is the automotive world. Bluetooth Hands-free in-car cellular kits will make the roads a much safer place. Back in the 80’s, in-car cellular phones had the hands-free feature with them. Well when the world went portable, these were forgotten by most companies. Bluetooth now allows you to wirelessly hook up your cellular phone to a hands-free kit so you can keep your hands on the wheel and not holding your cell phone while trying to drive (yeah you know who you are). While these are stand alone units, almost all head units have this as a option as well, so not only do you have the safety of hands-free communication, it will also mute your stereo when a call comes in and allows you to control your phone from your radio.

Companies like Harmon Kardon have gone so far as to incorporate iPod, Bluetooth Hands-free and Sirius satellite all into one stand alone unit that can be added to any car.

The stock radios of today’s vehicles are integrated into the dash board more then ever. The simple fact is that in more and more cars the radios simply can not be removed from the vehicle. Auto manufacturers are running more and more vehicle functions through the radio than they ever have. If you need or want to retain your stock head unit but upgrade your system, there are modules to help you do that, there are also modules so if you remove your factory radio you can retain your steering wheel controls, retain your On-star system, retain your Bluetooth cellular system, and retain almost anything or add anything.

Written by Tim Baillie
Owner of HzEmall, The Custom Connection in Surrey, BC, Canada
HzEmall is a full blown custom car shop that believes attention to detail, quality and integrity are the key ingredients to success and happy customers. With specialties like Mobile Electronics, Auto Trim and Upholstery, Automotive Electrical Wiring and Performance, they are a true one stop shop.