Have I ever mentioned how much I hate aftermarket head units?

"If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee) 07/17/2015 at 17:56 • Filed to: rant

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I get that they sound better and offer more features than stock ones, but they are ugly as all get out and impossible to use because each button is the size of a pencil tip and has 18 different functions. There’s nothing as frustrating as going to change the volume and then the radio does something weird and having to figure out what the hell you just did.

Nerd-Vol > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 17:59

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Yes. Also it annoys me that for some reason no one makes a good mounting kit for NA miatas. It's not as though it was a popular car or anything.

HammerheadFistpunch > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 17:59

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Single din units are the sucks, double dins on the other hand...

They can be okay.

My citroen won't start > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 18:00

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I agree, the blue/orange/purple exaggerated lighting and buttons make it look cheap and out of touch with the rest of the exterior.

deekster_caddy > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 18:01

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Yes! I don't understand why they can't make a SIMPLE head unit with a few big buttons and a some basic features.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > My citroen won't start 07/17/2015 at 18:02

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I want big friendly buttons, not tiny angular slits that a 4-year-old would have trouble pressing.

dsigned001 - O.R.C. hunter > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 18:03

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It’s too bad people don’t make branded units (well, I think they do, but they’re hella expensive). But yeah, a decent head unit that fit with the style of the car would be nice.

dsigned001 - O.R.C. hunter > HammerheadFistpunch 07/17/2015 at 18:03

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The Parrot ones have started looking nice. A bit rich for my blood, but still tempting.

dogisbadob > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 18:04

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YES YES YES 1000x YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They’re all designed for high skool kidz :(

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > dogisbadob 07/17/2015 at 18:05

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From the late 80’s!

My citroen won't start > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 18:06

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Those the have a screen that pops out are even worse, I just looks very tacky and yes the buttons are awful to use.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 18:06

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Eh, I don’t really care. I’d rather have a functioning radio with an aux input than a shitty factory radio from the beginning to the early 2000’s.

lone_liberal > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 18:08

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I think their design is frozen at some time around 1994. If you get a double DIN unit they tend to be even uglier with all sorts of stupid graphics flying around.

Sam > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 18:20

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Blaupunkt make some pretty decent looking headunits.

DarrenMR > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 18:20

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The nice thing about them is that there is a million of them. So get one that isnt ugly and doesnt have small buttons.

Tareim - V8 powered > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 18:23

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single din are the worst, double din works so much better, I have a dashlinq4 touchscreen unit but most immportantly it has some vital buttons to make it easy to use without taking your eyes off the road

(not my car but looks exactly the same)

TheOnelectronic > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 18:39

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I have one in my truck, and I totally agree with you.

It’s too dark to see during the day, too bright at night, the interface sucks, and it’s nearly impossible to make sound good because there are way too many settings to fiddle with.

In KSP modding there’s a term called “Stockalike” that’s used for mods that retain the slightly cartoonish look and feel of the core game. I feel like there need to be Stockalike head units. They don’t need to match each car, just look like something that might have come stock.

...brb, just had a great business idea; take old OEM head units and refurbish them with new interfaces and functionalities along with better amps.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > DarrenMR 07/17/2015 at 18:39

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those don’t exist.

DarrenMR > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 18:45

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This is whats in my car. It was like $100, USB, and AUX. I dont think its too bad.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > TheOnelectronic 07/17/2015 at 18:45

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There is a company called Retrosound that produces them for classics but they can get kinda expensive.

NoneOfYourBiz > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 19:49

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I feel you pain. I loathed easily >95% of what was on the market.

Settled on the Pioneer DEH-X8700. USB and aux on rear so you can panel mount them separately. Colour can be adjusted to match your dash lighting.

someassemblyrequired > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 19:50

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There are guys in Germany that retrofit old Beckers with auxilary inputs, and if you have $3000 to spend on tunes for your classic, you need a Becker Mexico 7948 - crappy cellphone video here:

Frank Grimes > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/17/2015 at 23:05

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I think I have a rant or two on here about them. I also hate them. They have ugly terrible quality diplays in the age of high def phones. they all look like what the future would look like to 8 year olds. The funny thing is the crappier low feature head units look way better. They also feel so crappy when you push a button. like the whole plastic crap on the front is gonna shatter.

Why dont we come up with a design and kickstart a non ugly head unit. call it oppofunken.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Frank Grimes 07/17/2015 at 23:49

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As someone once put on a forum “They scream of nasty custom Winamp skins”

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Frank Grimes 07/18/2015 at 00:06

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I found some non-heinous ones from a company called Pyle, but they’re suspiciously cheap ($30-$60) and they don’t all have preset buttons.

Axial > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/18/2015 at 03:59

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The worst is trying to find one for an ‘80s or early ‘90s car. Not old enough for classic repros, not new enough to look good with standard aftermarket.

Frank Grimes > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/18/2015 at 14:43

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yeah see what I mean those all look like good cuz they are simple and organized.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Frank Grimes 07/18/2015 at 15:30

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That double din one pictured looks like it could be a factory unit from 2008.

Leon711 > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/20/2015 at 18:29

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I had this exact one in my MX5, I swapped it out for a aux/radio only one with like 6 buttons this one is restrained looks wise over most.

boxrocket > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/20/2015 at 19:03

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Double-DIN or GTFO as far as aftermarket is concerned (though I really really liked my single-DIN JVC KD G801 and had it in all my cars save my Mazda, since its factory head unit is intact and functional).

boxrocket > Axial 07/20/2015 at 19:08

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What about the ones (Kenwoods?) that have a flip-down panel that looks like factory black plastic? Tiny buttons but they look OK.

boxrocket > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/20/2015 at 19:10

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Pyle used to be respectable, but now they’re Pyles of crap.

this is not matt farah's foxbodymiata > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/20/2015 at 19:12

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I’ve lost count of the number of hours I’ve spent trying to find one that looks absolutely hideous. I really don’t understand why it’s so hard to make a head unit that has a user interface that makes any sense while also not making your eyes want to run away.

Axial > boxrocket 07/20/2015 at 19:46

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I’d need a picture to tell. What I see on their website isn’t necessarily atrocious, but it sure wouldn’t match the interior of cars from 20, 30 years ago. I mean we’re talking about trying to replace this:

Zibodiz > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/21/2015 at 02:38

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I like my Pyle (it’s a single-din with a popup 7” touchscreen with an integrated GPS & DVD player), and the price was right, but the software feels like it was published before it was finished. Still, the hardware has been working for 2 years now, and the GPS is awesome (I live in a rural area with no cellular data, so Google Maps is worthless.) I’d definitely buy another Pyle if it had the features I wanted.

http://amzn.com/B008KYKY0O

for Michigan > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 07/21/2015 at 05:47

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They’re awful. Don’t know why they’re all designed for high school ricers.

I just want something clean, simple, easy to use, and well built at a reasonable price. Ended up going with this Sony for my Civic because it was the best balance of those traits I could find. I’ve been pretty happy with it.

Echo51 > DarrenMR 07/22/2015 at 13:19

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Or the Pioneer MVH-X560BT. has all the bells and whistles, but USB and AUX is rear mounted so it’s way more stylish i’d say.