Recommendations for replacement stereo?

[RavenRanger01]

Hey gang!

So I'm getting a bit tired of having to use a Bluetooth/FM transmitter to play music from another source other than just the standard radio/CD option in my 2003 Ranger XLT.

I have been looking into replacement stereos that would make my listening pleasures far more convenient and enjoyable.

I guess what I am asking for are/is your personal preferences and/or brand recommendations.

I don't have any crazy speakers installed (just stock) and perhaps in the future I will change them out but really all I am looking for is something that at the very least has an AUX input, Bluetooth, and even a CD player(as a backup!)

Otherwise, feel free to convince me with what you've got/recommend!

Thanks

VK

 

[Eddo Rogue]

One good thing about the progress of such electronics is that stuff has gotten really good and also really cheap!

I bought a whatever cheapo head unit that was close to the dimensions of my stock unit, so it would install easy. Its a "New Jersey" or whatever brand...It was like $20 bucks at Frys electronics. Has basic aux, 3.5, usb, bluetooth,mp3, am/fm etc (just no cd player). It works great! I also found the plug adapter so I wouldn't have to cut or splice into the wires. They had a few types of these basic units, and I prefer a spinning volume knob as opposed to up and down volume buttons, so I based my purchase on that. CD's skip, especially off road, so I passed on the cd player option despite similar price.

 

[fastpakr]

I generally agree with the above post. You can now buy a -very- adequate double DIN radio to fit your stock dash that includes Bluetooth and all the basic features for a reasonable price. Even name brands aren't expensive for their lower tier products.

 

[Inherited Thunderbolt]

I highly recommend Pioneer head units, especially if you're looking for a head unit that has built-in integration for android auto and apple car-play. The screens are at worst, pretty good and if you want to shell out dough for a high res screen, they're among the best. The noise-cancelling mic included is excellent and you'd have to make a serious effort to locate it in a place where your callers can't hear you. They use good legible fonts and the UI design looks modern and up-to-date. Many of the units support camera overlays, so you can buy a backup camera and use your radio to set your parking lines on it instead of buying a camera that has them integrated; this allows you to set your camera in more positions on the back of your vehicle while allowing you to configure the overlay to actually make the camera useful if you can't decide on where it should be.

Finally, I'll present this:

This is a 'cheap vs expensive' car stereo comparison done by the guys at Donut Media. While this isn't a straight-up review of any compared head unit, a Pioneer unit is used as the 'middle ground' product, and thanks to easier setup and demonstrably better volume and call quality over both a cheap $100 ebay jobbie, and a $700 alpine unit, it ended up being the one he put in the car.

At this point, you can find well-featured head units at multiple price points, but there's a difference between having those features, and spending time making sure those features work well instead of simply being present so they can print it on the box. Don't buy one of those cheap android head units off ebay, they're cheap because they're cheap, not because they're inexpensive. Pioneer has a long and established presence of making really good products at all price points, and I doubt you can go wrong with one. I've had three, only upgrading to gain new technology each time. While I don't have one in my Ranger right now, it's only because I haven't gotten around to upgrading it yet. I fully intend to add one sooner or later once I've knocked out a couple other projects on it first.

One last thing: regardless of which head unit you go with (be it brand, or a particular make and model), once you decide which one, I recommend you do some leg work and try to find the best price. Best Buy is an excellent baseline, since I know they mark up their head units 100-300% over cost; a $300 head unit purchased at Best Buy cost them about $100 wholesale (sales not withstanding, but even on markdown they're still making very healthy profits over their wholesale costs). There are plenty of companies that are more than willing to aggressively undercut that kind of markup to get your business, knowing full well they're still making good money on the sale.

 

[Shran]

I've had a bunch over the years. Quite a few Pioneers - I guess I am not super impressed with them. I have had several die on me and a couple that lost their sound output. I am constantly irritated that the menu/settings are different on all of them as well. Would not recommend "dual" brand at all either. Have one in my fiance's truck, it picks up a lot of feedback from the alternator, settings do not "stick" sometimes, it goes off and on at random...piece of crap.

JVCs are my favorite by far. Reliable, easy to use, cheap.