The recent trend of replacing the fixed CD player head units with elegant and sleek-looking double DIN or single-DIN head units is gaining much popularity among car owners. They come with a huge range of features, an easy user interface, touch screens, and Bluetooth connectivity that takes the experience of listening to music or making calls in your car to an altogether different level. These make your journey much more enjoyable and increase the pleasure factor when you are commuting for work or otherwise.

When choosing a double DIN head unit, it is very important to make sure it has a really good build quality. In this article, we will cover few things which you should look out for a while choosing a head unit for your car.

Size Of The Screen

The size of the screen is very important, and that's because the bigger it is, the better experience you get in terms of ease of use. You can easily operate it using a touch screen or remote. The size of the screen depends on the number of features you want in your head unit. For example, if you are looking for a double DIN head unit with a GPS feature, then you should go for a bigger screen. It is also important that the screen of your head unit should offer good sunlight visibility, so you don't have to trouble yourself while driving in bright sunlight.

Display Resolution

The display resolution also matters a lot when it comes to the double-DIN head unit.  There are two kinds of display resolutions to choose from, i.e., 800 x 480 supported by WVGA and 1024 x 600 pixels supported by SVGA. The first kind of display runs on the low-cost head units, while the higher resolution one comes with high-end models. The bigger the screen size higher should be its resolution for optimum viewing experience. A good quality head unit should have a resolution of 720p or 1080p.

Installation

You must make sure that your new head unit is easy to install and is compatible with your car's electrical system. For example, in some cars, you might need to bypass the factory amp and connect the new head unit directly to speakers for them to work properly. Some of the most modern head units come with a built-in amplifier and don't require this step, but they are a bit expensive than traditional ones.  If you have a factory-fitted head unit in your car, then you might have to face some issues while installing a new one as it may not fit properly. The good thing is that double DIN head units are designed specifically with the original mounting points of cars and don't need any extra work.

User Interface

The user interface of the head unit is another aspect that you should look for while choosing one. The most common types of user interfaces are touch screens, touch panels, and rotary knobs. The touch screen is very popular because of the voice command feature, which comes in handy while driving as you don't have to take your eyes off the road to change the music track. Touch panel type head units are also growing in popularity as they provide a much more intuitive interface for changing settings etc. Rotary knob-type units are quite popular because of their easy-to-use nature; however, they cannot be used while driving.

Audio Quality and DSP

The quality of the audio output depends on a number of factors like the quality of speakers, digital signal processing (DSP) technology, and amplifier. You must choose a head unit with high-quality sound that has at least three pre-outs to connect your high-power amplifier if you want the best experience. If you are using low-power speakers, then a basic amplifier and equalizer will do the trick for you but if you have a set of high-end component speakers, then it is better to buy a head unit with a built-in DSP system; also, don't forget to check whether the head unit supports high-resolution audio files.

Equalizer

It is basically an electronic circuitry used to amplify the desired frequencies of sound and reduce the unwanted ones. A good quality head unit should have built-in equalizers for each channel like bass, medium, and treble, which you can adjust as per your need. 8. Audio Codecs: Today's head unit music systems come with various audio codecs like MP3, WMA, AAC, which you can play using the USB port or SD card slot. You should check if your desired head unit supports all these codecs to enjoy a high-quality sound experience.

So, if you follow the aforementioned tips while choosing a double DIN head unit for your car, you will be able to get a significantly better quality sound experience while driving. This way, you won't have to worry about upgrading your system again in the future as well because of compatibility issues. Just make sure that the head unit is compatible with other electronic components of your car.