Good morning, afternoon, evening, night, mid-night to all my Malaysian brother and sisters! My name is Ah Head. Nice to meet you all. I see many many people don’t know how to choose a suitable headunit / car stereo / player / radio for their car. U see ah?! So 7 many names… I also get confused sometimes but I have to give in to the diversity that we Malaysian have oh! So means horr.. my guide need to be translated in to many many different language. Aiyoyo! So much work. Anyway straight to the point lah! Let’s begin Lesson number 1.
Car stereo got many types but most of them comes in 3 different configurations. Lets talk about fitment first. U can’t fit it in your car if you dunno how to see what can fit but no worry, after this you will know how to choose. Ah Head kor will explain to you.
-
Single din car stereo
This one is usually for older cars like Proton Wira, Perodua Viva, Proton Saga, Honda City, Honda Civic, Toyota Vios, Volvo, BMW and many other cars. To tell if you car is a single din, you need to measure if your car stereo width is 178mm with a height of 50mm. If your measurement is close to this rectangular shape measurement then it is most confirmed you are using a single din player. Usually single in car stereo do not have a DVD playback function and a small screen and cannot install a reverse camera. Only a handful of single din player got retractable 7” screen or standalone 3” screen. Even if got, it is very much more expensive. A single din player can cost very very cheap. A good brand like Kenwood KDC-BT620U car stereo only cost RM298. Some can cost RM49 but these are the ones you want to stay away because it always break down, nanti no one want to sing for you lah. Boring you know… stuck in jam no Katy Perry to sing for you. If you look at the picture below, you can easily tell what is a single din and what is a double din player / car stereo.
-
Double din
This one very common these days. Double din means double size loh. If you measure 178mm width and 100mm height in rectangular shape then most likely you car use standard 2 din. Cars like Toyota Altis, Perodua Bezza, Suzuki Swift Sport, Perodua Bezza, Nissan Livina, Toyota Prado, Honda, Nissan cars and many others do come with this standard 2 din size. The screen size measures from 6.1” up to 7” and some models are called the 200mm models(Toyota and Nissan usually use 200mm players). This one usually come with DVD playback and got touch screen also! You just need to touch it softly and it can perform many functions for you. Many people install this 2 din unit because either mau watch movie, watch concert, Youtube and most important they want to install reverse camera so that they don’t bang their car when they reverse.
But you see hor.. many newer cars like Honda City, Honda Civic, Perodua Myvi, Toyota Altis, Toyota Vios high spec, Honda HR-V, BMW, Mercedes do not use 2 din model. They use integrated players that stick together with the dashboard panel and create very unnecessary fuss. It means you need to purchase a “Facia Kit” or “Casing” to be able to install aftermarket 2 din car stereo. Without this kit, you wouldn’t be able to install. On another note, you will require 2 sockets to avoid cutting wires and make installation cleaner.
Honda City Car Stereo / Player replaced with a Pioneer unit together with a “Facia Kit”
200MM original Nissan Player – Notice it is wider. You can replace this player with an aftermarket player directly without purchasing a facia kit.
-
Built in / Integrated OEM players
These players are mainly plug and play players that are made in China. They are made to fit that particular car model. The good thing about these players is the visual prowess. It looks identical to your original car player with additional benefits like mirror link and Wi-Fi. It will also retain your steering wheel controls without fuss or add ons. You also do not need a facia kit as it is manufactured together with the player. Bear in mind that these players do not have the sound quality nor even close to car audio brands like Alpine, Kenwood, JVC, Sony or Pioneer. If you are in for a reverse camera and Youtube then these are the players you are looking for. If you are looking to improve sound quality then please “Stay Away” from these as they are usually bad in quality and do not meet requirements from an audiophile.
Built in / Integrated OEM players – China players. Looks good bad quality
In Part 2 – Ah Head kor will explain more about the functions and continuation of car stereo guide for Dummies! Kam xia for reading this post. Thank you. Terima Kasih. Nandri.