Today, it is difficult to imagine a modern car without an audio system whose main components are a car stereo or a receiver. The functionality of these devices has increased significantly over the past 10-15 years, which on one hand is good, but on the other hand, motorists have to make a very difficult choice. And to make life easier, we'll tell you about 1-DIN and 2-DIN car stereos, their types, features and other important things every buyer should know.
Main advantages of a modern car stereo
Until recently, the functionality of a car stereo was limited to playing CDs or even tapes and FM radio. Currently, most of them offer the following features:
In addition, there may be additional features, such as day planners, calendars, etc. It is certain that not all models are equipped with these functions. The better it is equipped, the more it costs. For example, if you don’t need a GPS navigation, you don’t have to overpay for it.
1-DIN car stereos
For compatibility, in other words, the possibility of installing a car stereo in a car, there is the standard measurement for a vehicle's audio system - 1 DIN and 2 DIN, which means the sizes of the device’s body.
In the early 1980s, car manufacturers emphasized the importance of car stereo size standards. DIN was adopted as an international standard in 1984 and widely used even today. With this standard, motorists can install their car stereos without changing the look of the car's interior, dashboard or without using a dash kit.
The 1-DIN car stereos have a standard size of 178 × 50 mm and can be of any length, within reasonable limits.
Functionality
Most motorists think that 1-DIN stereo is less functional than its "big brother" 2-DIN stereo. Of course, there is a bit of truth in that, but not everything – that concerns only old models. The quality of modern devices is comparable, they both could have a flip-out screen, as well as a USB port and a card reader.
Therefore, if you have a car dash of the 1-DIN standard, there is absolutely no need to enlarge it.
Top 3 car stereos
Most motorists mistakenly believe that a high quality car stereo can only be manufactured by the best manufacturers, such as:
These are really great devices which have been on the market for many years, but they have one big disadvantage - their price. But what to do if you want to save your money? To help you, we present three reasonably priced 1-DIN models of high quality.
XOMAX XM-RSU260BT is a DVD / CD player with a USB port and a card reader. The maximum external storage capacity is up to 128 GB for USB port and for SD cards. Therefore, the maximum total storage capacity could be up to 256 GB.
The most useful additional functions of the device are:
As you can see, the car stereo has all the necessary functions and it is also quite powerful and has excellent sound quality. It can be recommended for those who want to enjoy a good sound in their car, but don’t want to overpay for a brand and additional options, such as IPS screen and GPS Navigation.
XOMAX XM-RD263 is another inexpensive model. It has almost the same functionality as the XM-RSU260BT. The difference between them is that this model has digital audio broadcasting support (DAB +), as well as more serious, minimalistic look.
XOMAX XM-VDA713 – we can recommend this model to those who search an inexpensive car stereo with maximum functionality. The advantages of this model are:
In addition to its basic functions (music playback etc), XOMAX XM-VDA713 serves as an on-board computer. So, if you need multimedia and other features listed above, it's worth to buy this particular model. With quite a decent processing power, you can easily stream music and performs all the other commands in a smooth and fast manner.
The only drawback of this model is the absence of the CD player, but it is hardly used anymore.
2-DIN car stereos
As already mentioned, the 2-DIN car stereos have a different size, they are twice the height of the single DIN standard - 178 × 100 mm. Therefore, the presence of a touch screen in a modern car stereo is mandatory. Another function of most models is anti-theft protection: the panel is not fully detachable, only the front part with duplicate buttons. Other functions depend on a model.
Remember that there also exist 1.5-DIN car stereos, in addition to the 1- and 2-DIN standard. Their height is 75 cm, so they are 1.5 times higher than 1-DIN.
Top 3 car stereo
As with the 1-DIN car stereos, we will show you three high quality, high functional and inexpensive models.
So, XOMAX XM-2VDA715 is a car stereo with 7 inch touch screen with Android 6.0. This device has the following functions:
As you can see, the functionality and the accessories of the XOMAX XM-2VDA715 are the same as those of the 1-DIN model described above.
XOMAX XM-2D6904 is at a more favorable price than 2VDA715, but has a wide range of functions:
This car stereo can be recommended to motorists who are only interested in the multimedia capabilities, without any need to use GPS navigation and other functions.
XOMAX XM-2V717 – is a multifunctional car stereo with a 7 inch screen. This device has the following functions:
As you can see, XOMAX XM-2V717 is a cross between the XM-2D6904 and XM-2VDA715 models in terms of functions.
Why XOMAX? Because these car stereos have high sound quality and performance, while they cost much less than other famous brand devices.
Installing a car stereo
No need to be an expert to install a modern car stereo. You just have to know the basics, which we will briefly examine below.
So, you can install a car stereo by two different methods:
using the ISO stereo connector without CANbus;
with CANbus.
What is the ISO format and how to connect it
Usually, all modern cars have an ISO connector for a car stereo. All you need to do for the installation is:
If there is no ISO connector, you can connect it with the following wires:
Battery powered wire - usually yellow, sometimes red.
ACC wire tells the car stereo that the system is powered. This is necessary for the activation of the car stereo. Typically, the ACC wire is red and a little smaller than the main power. If there is no ACC wire, you can wire it to the cigarette lighter or the ignition.
Ground wire, usually black.
The ILL (illuminations) wire is used to activate the car stereo lighting simultaneously with the headlights or fender lamps of the car.
Power antenna wire (ANT). If there is an antenna amplifier, the wire can be used to power up the car stereo, and then this amplifier. It can also be used as a signal for a retractable antenna, but not all car stereos are equipped with it.
The reverse wire allows to activate the reversing camera. You can attach this cable to the reversing light.
Speaker wires are usually connected to a composite output.
Generally, there is a wiring diagram printed on the car stereo. Accordingly, you must carefully study this diagram before make any connection, as well as the wiring diagram of your car, so that you don't confuse the cables, because their color may vary on different models.
What is the CANbus and how to connect it
The CANbus is a special bus, developed by Robert Bosch. It is used to connect microcontrollers and devices to the electronic control units (ECU). It's therefore becoming much more common in today's vehicles than previous “wiring looms”.
When using the CANbus, the following wires must be connected:
Main power;
Negative;
CANbus wires, usually with an adapter for connection;
Speaker wires.
All other elements, such as lighting, reversing camera and others use the CANbus, which makes the car stereo much easier and faster to connect.
New generation of Android car stereos
Google's Android has become the world's most popular operating system, which controls not only smartphones, but also laptops, tablets, TVs, smartwatches and even refrigerators. It's no wonder that Android is used even in car stereos.
What is Android for a car stereo? First of all, if you have Android as an operating system, it means that your device is powerful enough. In addition, this operating system has the following advantages:
provides easy access to all functions of the device;
ensures fast and correct operation of the car stereo;
allows you to download additional apps from the Google Play Store;
Google sync between all your Android devices.
In other words, Android devices are distinguished by their good capabilities.
Keep in mind that different modern devices may run different versions of the Android platform. The most common versions are:
Top 3 car stereos
Finally, we want to show you the most interesting car stereo models with the best quality/price ratio. So, the first model is XOMAX XM-2VDA715. We've covered it in detail in the section "2-DIN car stereos". It is a powerful and high quality device, which is able to meet the needs of the most demanding motorists in terms of sound and functionality.
The XOMAX XM-2DDA6902 model, which deserves special attention, has the following functions:
What makes XOMAX XM-2DDA6902 different from the devices described above is a DVD / CD player. The ability to use 2 memory cards at the same time will be very useful to those motorists who like to keep a media library in the car.
For those who want the most advanced and functional car stereo, we can recommend the XOMAX XM-2VA701 model. The advantages of this model are:
Now you know the features and the types of modern car radios, which will help you make the right decision. And if you still have any questions, please contact our online store, where our experts will help you to choose the best device that suits your needs and the financial capacity.
