Good, but cheap, head unit for my 08?

[headcold]

I'm in the market to upgrade the HU in my 08. I've already upgraded the speakers using a Pheonix Gold 6.5" RSD component kit, and I'd like a HU to match, i.e. something that performs well but is still reasonably priced.MUST:AM/FM/CDMP3/WMA from CD and SD/USBAUX inRCA out for sub/ampMAYBE:HD radio might be coolNOT REALLY:XM/Sirius is not a selling pointNeither is iPod connectivityI'd like to spend maybe ~$100 on the HU. What other costs are there? Is the install something I can do myself if I've already replaced speakers and installed a sub/amp?How does playing from SD/USB work? I'd like to use it in one of two ways1) Load up an 8gb SD card with whatever music I want to listen to at the time. It might be whole albums, might be individual tracks. I should be able to navigate the folder structure and play whole albums or shuffle through the whole SD card on random.2) Load all my music (120gb, sorted by artist and album, no individual tracks) to a USB hard drive (will the USB port read that?) and have it play tracks either by album folder or shuffle through the whole drive.Recommendations?

[Sublimewind]

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-G....html

[headcold]

Thanks for that link. It's led me to see a lot of other comparably priced units like Pioneer and Kenwood. Do you have a brand preference? At this price level are they all pretty similar?http://www.crutchfield.com/p_1...avf=Nh ... _1...avf=N

[keithvibe]

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »http://www.crutchfield.com/S-G....htmlI have this very one due to sub's recomendation. It's a very good unit. I haven't had one issue with mine so far. It's now 1 year old

[headcold]

Hmm, I'm looking further into the units, but they all seem to fall short in the USB mp3 playback part. They seem to have a hard limit of 5000 songs total, max 4gb partition size, etc.Back to the drawing board

[Wolfman213]

Unless you have a SSD HD, you will most likely not be able to use an external HD. The USB port only allows for 500mA worth of power. Most HD's spinup requires more than that, therefore you will rcv an error. I found out the hard way on my unit. I even had a low power consuming HD and it still listed USB Overload. Your best bet if you go USB will be getting a thumb drive that will hold what you want. I got a 32GB and wish I would have sprung for a 64 bc now I'm running into space issues. All thing to keep in mind while searching as well.

[headcold]

that is a good point. a lot of external laptop drives will have two usb connectors, one for data+power and a second for extra power if they first can't supply all of it.what HU do you use that you can use all 32gb on your usb drive?

[Wolfman213]

Kenwood KDC-HD942U. Using a thumb drive is def the way to go, IMO. Easy to move back and forth between the computer and Vibe. Takes up very little room in the lower cubby below the shifter. Click on the link for my garage and you can see pics of my HU. It was def more than the $100 you are looking to spend though. But who knows, you could end up finding an open box return and get a good price.

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »http://www.crutchfield.com/S-G....htmlX2You can get an additional $20 off with a discount code from here: http://www.dealtaker.com/Crutc....htmlTotal = $109.99 with free install kit and free shipping. WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!!!

[keithvibe]

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »X2You can get an additional $20 off with a discount code from here: http://www.dealtaker.com/Crutc....htmlTotal = $109.99 with free install kit and free shipping. WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!!!I use a 4gig thumb drive and I have over 20albums all on the same drive. It take me about 2months to go threw the whole drive. The unit also has a SD slot under the faceplate that will hold a 4gig SD card filled with songs.

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by headcold »Hmm, I'm looking further into the units, but they all seem to fall short in the USB mp3 playback part. They seem to have a hard limit of 5000 songs total, max 4gb partition size, etc.Back to the drawing boardThat is why I didn't bother replying to your comparison question, I figured once you looked further, you'd be able to make a decision.... You are going to have a VERY difficult time beating the JVC, it's a 600$ unit... lol... look at the markdown.. You have a difficult time getting ALL of what you want at your price point as well..

[crug75hid]

thats a good recommendation i guess. had a look to it and seems my friend have the same and never heard any complaints from him until now. past 16months!