RNS-E or After Market

[silversurfer]

Hi,

Just after a bit of advice.. I have a Kenwood Double Din DVD Head unit and was thinking of upgrading to either a RNS-E or a after market head unit. I would like a Ipod connection and Sat Nav would be nice but not essential.

Do any of you with the RNS-E have Ipod connections, I.e Denison. I ilke the OEM look but is there any good alternative 2 Din headunit's that people would recommend.

Cheers

Neil

 

[pjmspeedy]

I was always thinking about a double din Kenwood but I recently bought an RNS-E and wouldn't swap it. Really love it and really like the OEMness of it.

I have a "xcarlink" that I have plugged into the CD changer port. It's s small boc that is in my glovebox which allows me to connect my ipod/USB/Sd cards (although RNS-E has this anyway) you don't get your track names but if still wanting to use your ipod over the SD slots then you can still use it.

 

[1wheelonly]

as above ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

possibly not the best or most up to date unit about but the intergration is great, all functions very well and easy to add stuff like dvd etc.
all in all a very nice addition to a very nice cockpit.

 

[BahnStormer77]

rns-e fits in so well with the car and integrates with the DIS very well too... even better if you have steering controls!

There are cheapo iPod cables, versions that allow control of the iPod (Denison, etc) and even an Alpine unit that does video and allows full track details, etc (but that's an extra £200+!!).

RNs-E has 2 x SD cards (so 4Gb) of audio... it also has some slightly dated limitations (number of tracks per disc and file lengths), but does a pretty decent job.

 

[mattyboyc]

Hi, i have the kenwood dnx 5220 in mine, i opted for this over the rnse as the sat-nav is by garmin, it has full ipod control,dvd player and the very usefull dual zone sound option, the sat nav is easy to update and it dosen't look bad in the vehicle either, the multi colour display also alows you to get a perfect match of illumination, ther are pics of this in my garage section.

 

[BahnStormer77]

Silver, do you have the MF steering and/or BOSE? If so, then the RNS-E is the only real option.... if not then there's a bit more of a debate...

Pro's:
- It matches spot-on with the interior of the car and will add value, rather than detract - significantly more classy than all the Ripspeed-Halfords specials out there!
- RNS-E will give you the directions (distance to next turn, directions, etc) all on the DIS screen between the dials.
- Lighting integration will brighten/dim the screen and switch over to night mode (dark background) when you turn the lights on.
- Steering controls allow you to control volume of the stereo, directions and telephone (all separately set, from the wheel), prompt for voice directions, trigger voice commands (for satnav, stereo/radio/CD, telephone dialing including dictating addresses and telephone numbers), also allows you to switch modes to scroll through your telephone address book (on the DIS), scroll through stations, tracks and within songs.
- Is the first sytem that I've used that consistently gets the house numbers right!
- Lane zoom - on the main screen it will zoom to the exact road layout for junctions (probably offered on newer SatNav systems now though).

Cons (compared to my old Syrius and a decent MP3 player):
- Only partial post-code searching. Rather than "SW18 4PU", you would type "SW18 4" and then select Penwith Road from a list (not my address )...
- No speed camera info (have to get a Snooper Lynx or similar).
- MP3 limitiations (4Gb max in each of the 2 slots), limitation of about 400 songs per card.

You can get around most of the cons with something like a Snooper Lynx (cameras) and iPod cables / kit...

As per previous comment - most of the pro's are around the overall integration via the DIS and steering).... but if you're having to take your hands off the wheel for the controls, then you may not might looking across at the screen to check directions and tweak phone/satnav volume levels up and down, relative to the music, etc... I don;t know... I guess I'm spoilt now