When most people hear the term “car stereo,” they picture the receiver. It is the receiver—also called the head unit or deck—that you will be interacting with directly while operating the audio system in your car. It acts as the heart and brain of the system. Choosing a receiver also protects the features, audio sources, and the ability to use the rest of your car audio system.
While recommending a car stereo, we consider the following factors:
Do you really need a CD player? Are you going to be watching DVDs on your receiver? Depending on your response, you will have the choice of a standard CD receiver with a disc slot, a larger A/V receiver with a color screen, or a combination of the two.
You or a passenger will probably need to connect a phone or media player to your car at some point, even if you still have a ton of CDs in your glove box. Because of this, confirm that your new receiver has both a 3.5mm analog auxiliary input for universal connectivity and a USB port for playing MP3, AAC, or WMA files from flash storage devices. Check out Pioneer's top car stereo stores to find out more.
When considering the integration of third-party apps, the first radios that spring to mind are AppRadio 2 and Pioneer car radios. The flagship AppRadio 2, with its large color touch screen, is compatible with a vast array of iPhone and Android applications. It's not the best option because using a compatible Android phone requires installing a hardware module in order for the device to work.
Every car audio system on the market today includes an AM/FM radio that can pick up local stations, but you might want to upgrade. Choosing a receiver with integrated HD Radio decoding will dramatically improve the audio quality of local digital radio stations. There will be more free programming available since you can watch digital subprograms for stations that allow multicasting.
