My newly aquired 9000CSE had it's head unit replaced by a previous owner - it's a silver cheap and nasty looking Sony entry level, which only has a Aux-In mini-jack that crackles and fizzes like crazy when I plug an iPhone in to it (and I'm using a Fiio line out adapter and not the headphone out, so the source should be clean!). Now admittidly I've not pulled it out and checked the wiring yet, but from the way that it has to be turned up, it doesn't sound like it's going through any kind of factory amp, so provided that I was okay to try the head unit's built in amp, the wiring should already be in place.
From a functionality/feature point of view, the Clarion CZ703E looks pretty decent as it has bluetooth, and both front and rear USB ports so that means I could have a HDD hidden away or an additional USB charing point, as well as plugging my iPhone in at the front to use as a TomTom and head unit controlled MP3 player. I'm sure that Alpine have something very similar specwise too, with dual USB.
As I don't fancy any sawing or cutting, a double din is out of the question, but I would hazard a guess that a fold out unit could be installed lower down than the original factory position (for example, installed in to where the ash tray or the little cubby hole is) because the additional wiring required for a non-OEM head unit would allow the stretch, and so the head unit would then be able to fold out without obstruction the heating controls. So perhaps that's an avenue for me to consider.
The only problem with modern head units is aesthetics - the old Becker units for example used to feel very solid and not plasticky or gimmicky, but as far as I know Becker aren't in that market any more and as good as the old Traffic Pro Cascades were, they won't have the advanced bluetooth or dual USB connectivity (don't think they have iPod control either).
What installs have my fellow 9000 owners got? Quite interested to see what has been done with head units and centeral consoles
From a functionality/feature point of view, the Clarion CZ703E looks pretty decent as it has bluetooth, and both front and rear USB ports so that means I could have a HDD hidden away or an additional USB charing point, as well as plugging my iPhone in at the front to use as a TomTom and head unit controlled MP3 player. I'm sure that Alpine have something very similar specwise too, with dual USB.
As I don't fancy any sawing or cutting, a double din is out of the question, but I would hazard a guess that a fold out unit could be installed lower down than the original factory position (for example, installed in to where the ash tray or the little cubby hole is) because the additional wiring required for a non-OEM head unit would allow the stretch, and so the head unit would then be able to fold out without obstruction the heating controls. So perhaps that's an avenue for me to consider.
The only problem with modern head units is aesthetics - the old Becker units for example used to feel very solid and not plasticky or gimmicky, but as far as I know Becker aren't in that market any more and as good as the old Traffic Pro Cascades were, they won't have the advanced bluetooth or dual USB connectivity (don't think they have iPod control either).
What installs have my fellow 9000 owners got? Quite interested to see what has been done with head units and centeral consoles