PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

My situation: My `97 Bonneville is wrecked and gone. Now I drive a 2005 Mercedes S500 4Matic.
The 2005 COMAND Nav/DVD/CD-changer/XM system is dated. I want to replace it.
The Bose audio system actually sounds really good, and it's all connected using fiber-optic. There's an adapter one can get that will adapt an aftermarket copper-wire system to interface with the COMAND fiber-optic system. (The NavTV Opti-1. It's expensive, but everything is expensive with a Mercedes.) That, and an aftermarket bezel will allow me to replace the system with an aftermarket system. I'm interested in finding recommendations on a good system, since I've been limited all these years to Single-Din and 1.5Din systems in my `97 Bonneville.

My problem is that i just have no idea what is out there in double-din or what is good. I'm coming from a Pioneer DEHX9600BHS that had great functionality, but its screen content was way too small for my older eyes to read such that I couldn't even read the TIME on the clock. Also, its user interface was completely stupid, and dominated by "Mixtrax" which is equally stupid, which I completely disabled. But otherwise, it was great!

What I want:
-Navigation. Preferably built-in Garmin Navigation. I have stand-alone Garmin units and I love them. Nav that doesn't use a DVD, but has maps that I can upload with an SD card or over USB.
-USB. I want to be able to plug in a USB stick, and an iPod cable. Preferably both, so two USB ports would be good. It's okay if they're on the back, I can run cables.
-Bluetooth. Must have excellent Bluetooth functionality. I use a Samsung Galaxy Note-4. Should have a wired external microphone.
-Android app functionality is a plus, but not mandatory.
-Aux audio input. (Typically a 2.5mm stereo phone jack, but sometimes an RCA pair.) It's okay if it's on the back. I can run cables.
-Backup Camera connectivity. Must be able to accept connection of a back-up camera. Front camera connectivity is a plus but not required.
-DVD player. My kids like to watch movies when we're parked for long periods of time. External video connections (in/out) are a plus, but not mandatory. HDMI preferred over composite video in/out.
-HD Radio. (So much better than non-HD.)

Nice to have:
-Some sort of security. Either removable faceplate or hidden/retractable faceplate or something. But not absolutely required.
-Ability to customize color. My Mercedes' interior dash lighting scheme is orange. Being able to match that would be good.
-Having a clock display that is actually visible. Numbers larger than 1/8 of an inch would be great.

Things that are not necessary:
-Satellite Radio is NOT necessary. It's okay if it has it or accepts connection of a satellite radio add-on gadget.
-Lots of line-level outputs for driving amplifiers is NOT necessary. The Opti-1 adapter will handle adapting connections to my car's Bose amplifiers. I won't be needing to add additional amplifiers.

Any recommendations greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately I cannot really recommend a unit for you, but I can tell you that I did fairly extensive research on the subject with wants/needs similar to yours and ultimately decided on a Kenwood Nav unit. After having it for a month, I hated everything about it so much that I returned it (Crutchfield rocks) and put my factory stereo back in. Most of my complaints around the unit pertained to the awful laggy and poorly designed software, shared by most if not all of their units, so I would advise against kenwood/JVC on this one. After more research, I had pretty much decided on the Parrot Smart unit, so you may consider looking into that one.

Personally, I've just never seen any aftermarket solution that comes anywhere near an OEM-grade, be it in tactile feel, integration, software layout, or little things like how tiny the clock was on the kenwood or how on some screens the clock would be completely absent. From what I read, the Parrot seemed to come close, but I ultimately decided to bring my car back to it's full 1997 glory. The kenwood, though it had every option I wanted on paper, was just lacking so much, and I VASTLY prefered the dated stock navigation system in my '07 Jeep because, while it is a little cumbersome not having touch screen or USB connectivity, it just worked, unlike the kenwood. I really just don't think aftermarket can approach OEM as an inclusive package.

I'm afraid I might completely end up agreeing with you!

The models that have (on paper) what I'd like include:
Kenwood DNX772BH
Kenwood DNX892
Kenwood DNN992
Pioneer AVIC-5100, 6100, 7100, and 8100.

The negative reviews I've read all complain about slow response and lagginess. These things are essentially self-contained little home-theater PCs with GPS navigation and bluetooth squished into them. I think the technology is still immature, while manufacturers are using CPUs with limited computing power. Consider that these sell for around the same price as a high-end cell phone, and how the high-end cell phones use the fastest CPU chips they can get their hands on, and even THOSE are kind of laggy.

The Bose audio system in my Mercedes S500 sounds really good, and its amplifiers are connected with fiber optics that I'd retain by using a NavTV Opti-1 adapter (now called the MOST-HUR MB-S adapter), so I'd only be replacing the head unit, but that makes the selection of head unit *really critical*.

It might be worth waiting a couple years for the performance of the double-din NAV head units to improve. In the meantime, it's downright maddening that there's NO WAY (other than FM adapter) to get an iPod or a USB-stick, or my cell phone integrated into my car's radio. I can use a stand-alone Bluetooth adapter for hands-free phone, but it's maddening not to be able to play an audiobook from a USB stick. The car will play mp3 CDs, but it refused to read the first one I burned and tried. Maddening!

The Denison Gateway adapter will allow adding gadgets to the car's existing system while retaining the OEM head unit, but it's around $500 and if I'm going to spend that much I want updaded modern NAV.

It's interesting, on my previous Jeep ('04) with an even more outdated navigation system, the previous owner had added a unit that sat behind the knee panels that had a 3.5mm jack coming off it and an auxiliary switch to select inputs. I just selected CD as my source, and pushed the button to switch to the aux input and it somehow muted the CD and allowed me to input my mp3 player music. It also retained the factory deck's ability to mute the source for navigation directions when they came up. In all my searching since getting rid of that vehicle, I've never actually found anything like that referenced anywhere, so I suppose you might consider asking around at some installers even though it's not an easy find on the interwebz. The unit itself looked blingy and very generic, so whatever it was probably works on a ton of types of cars. I just never really looked into exactly how it worked.

They also have aux input units that plug into your radio antenna input on the back of a factory deck and then allow you to plug the antenna into that, so you can have a clean wired signal that overrides FM input when you select it on the unit. Unfortunately I don't have specific model numbers, especially for your specific vehicle, but a place like Crutchfield chat might be helpful as they're generally knowledgeable on the subject.

Schlotzky wrote:...the previous owner had added a unit that sat behind the knee panels that had a 3.5mm jack coming off it and an auxiliary switch to select inputs. I just selected CD as my source, and pushed the button to switch to the aux input and it somehow muted the CD and allowed me to input my mp3 player music.

Something like that would be great, but in the infinite wisdom of Mercedes Benz, all of the components in my car are linked by fiber-optic, so there isn't an analog copper-wire audio signal to tap into, leaving the Denison Gateway at around $500 the only option for that sort of "tap into the system while retaining the OEM head unit" , other than the MOST-HUR adapter that allow replacing the head unit and converting its copper-wire signals to the car's fiber optic system. (It's that or rip out everything and replace everything with traditional copper-wire components, which can be done and has been done, but gets really expensive and is a lot of work.)

I tried another MP3 CD and it didn't work either. The head unit recognizes the disk as an MP3 disk and then shows the track list, but when I hit "play" it fails. I'm considering some sort of mobile player to just play in the cabin of the car if I want to listen to an audiobook, as a work-around until I get around to replacing the head unit, if I can find one that I like, and sell a kidney to afford it.

Did you make sure you were careful about the exact format of the discs? My Jeep plays MP3 CDs, but it has certain requirements that must be met for the CD to play. It has to be .MP3 format only, 96, 128, or 192kbps, maximum of two folder levels, etc etc. The requirements are very specific and it required me to reformat a lot of my music, but the end result is a 6 disc changer with upwards of 6 CDs per disc, so it's enough music for me.