Suggestions for REPLACEMENT stereo head units
 

Hi everybody!
Okay, when I first got my '07 Sahara in May, the Sirius radio was playing for free, so not wanting to remove the stereo, and start to pay for the sirius radio until it stopped, I have left it alone.
However, yesterday was the day that it stopped,,,,,,,,,,I'll take three months of free sirius any day!
So now I am looking for a stereo that will work with the factory Infinity speakers and sub. However, I am looking for a head unit that will CONTROL my iPod and LIST the songs playing. And, also needs to play the sirius as well. Not TOO expensive,,,,,(pockets are very shallow at the moment, from upgrades to the Jeep of course!:thumbsup:)

Any suggestions???????? And if possible,,,,as close to "plug and play" as possible. (Like for instance, the sat antenna from the factory, can just stay where it is, and let me plug the new head unit into it etc.)

ANY help in this area is GREATLY appreciated!!!

Thanks ever so much,

jerseyjeepgurl:standing wave:

It's going to be a tough order to fill. The harness to get the radio to work with the factory amplifier is about $100 alone!

I'm not sure if you can re-use the sirius antenna as well, as most aftermarket units require their own specific add-on module.


I honestly think the factory unit is pretty good. It looks nice in the dash, and it's very user friendly (at least for me). I had a very nice kenwood DVD player setup in there for a while, but I got sick of having to take my eyes off the road to find a radio station button (touchscreen), and I was getting nervous leaving it exposed to the world!

Maybe consider adding a uconnect module with ipod cable, and just extending your sirius contract???

I just installed a Pioneer DEH-p710BT in my '09 Sahara:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-1Xp9tj4...EH-P710BT.html

It ran $359, the PAC harness you need to connect up to your system with the Infinity Amp is $129, but Crutchfield takes 50% off that cost with head units over a certain price. They also include the Metra DIN mounting bracket and a few other adapters at no additional cost.

If you want Sirius, you have to add on the Sirius unit for $80-100. So it's not "cheap" but also not crazy expensive.

The radio is AWESOME though, particularly for integrating with an iPod or iPhone. You can choose to control things via the head unit or the iPod itself. I mounted an iPhone dock (that I got from proclip.com) right up near the unit with a metal bracket sold at quadratec (the proclip choice of brackets for the jeep sucks, but their slip in cradle is great).

The Pioneer also has full handfree bluetooth support, including a Mic and a nice little steering wheel control.

Was a very simple installation, took about an hour and a half.

Sounds sweet! Did you get to use the SAT antenna from the factory, or did you have to mount a new one? If so where? Crutchfield is an awesome supplier, the hubby got his set up from them.

Thanks
JJG
:standing wave:

Thanks for the info
 

I do like the factory unit,,,,,,somewhat,,,,,,,,,but even with the uconnect thingy, I still have to control my iPod thru the iPod, not the stereo, and that is just as dangerous! LOL:crazyeyes:

since my pockets are so EMPTY right now from all the other add ons,,,,,,,to the "Sahara Black Hole", it will be a while before I will be doing it. I wanted to start getting ideas and input from you guys first though (the JK board).

Thanks again!
JJG
:standing wave:

I can't speak to whether a factory antenna will work on an aftermarket unit, but I can speak to an aftermarket antenna working on a factory unit...So I would guess yes, but cannot say with any certainty. My antenna came with my FM sirius unit, which I later upgraded to somebody's single disc with sirius and reused the antenna that came with the FM unit. I feel your pain, I really am quite happy with the factory head unit - if it had ipod controls. And like hell I'm going to pay $300 for the mopar ipod connect kit....i'd just as soon spend that on the aftermarket.