Head unit discussion

[Nickanator8]

Hey all! I've been slowly taking better care of my neglected boxster and I think its time to tackle the head unit.

I currently have an inexpensive double din unit in my denter console that I bought from China, and its really uninspiring. The Android Auto works fine, but the display has zero anti-glare so when I'm driving with the top down (as I usually do) I can't see a damn thing. This means my navigation is useless, my media control is abysmal, and overall I'm having a poor experience which has been searching for an upgrade.

In a perfect world I would like something that looks OEMish, something visually consistent with the rest of the interior. I also want at least a few physical buttons for things like music control (volume, forward, bac, etc.). I also NEED to be able to see the display on a sunny day, with the top down, and my polarized glasses on.

Anyone have an idea of it this Holy grail product exists?

[mikefocke]

Look at chutchfield.com. They have done many Porsche audio upgrades and if anyone would know of a unit that fits your specs, they would. They service the UVA and UVA law school crowd but also do main order. There used to be a Porsche dealer in town so they got experience with our P-cars.

[redpepperracing]

Did you mean crutchfield.com?

[Starter986]

Originally Posted by redpepperracing

Did you mean crutchfield.com?

I don't think he did. Why... did you go to chutchfield.com and it wasn't there?
























Edit: Of course he mean crutchfield, lol.

[redpepperracing]

Not everyone knows about that site, obviously, otherwise the OP might have already considered that.

To get back to the topic on hand, I am using a Continental single DIN stereo with bluetooth, and then I run Headunit Reloaded on my phone if I want Android Auto. I made a phone mount out of some sheet metal and some spare parts I had (best photo I have at the moment is below). Most of the time I don't even have the radio on.

[mikefocke]

typo. crutchfield.com and talk to them.

[KevinH1990]

I doubt that any head unit will be clearly visible on a sunny day with the top down. That said, some units are likely to be more visible. I have had success with Crutchfield. I usually look for open box items to save money. As a side note, the company started when the founder couldn’t find a radio for the 356 that he was restoring. At one time, the still unrestored vehicle was on display in their showroom.

[Marc_986]

Good visibility will come from the retro style radios having a simple LCD screen (not a fancy multicolor touch screen). The continental with a reflective LCD will be easy to read in bright day light...

I went a similar route (blaupunkt) with retro / classic style radio with some more modern gizmo's on it (DAB / Bluetooth etc.). Will just use my phone to stream to this unit / navigate etc. I'm not going to replace head units every 5 years as software goes out of support etc.