aftermarket head unit while preserving steering wheel controls and ipod/aux jacks?

[Poe408]

hi everybody,

is there any way to install an aftermarket head unit and still keep the steering wheel controls and also the stock ipod jack and aux in jack?

are there specific head units that i need to look for that support these features? are extra parts necessary to accomplish this?

thanks!

[SR*77]

not sure about the ipod jack, most new aftermarket radios will come with ipod controls built in.You can get an additional steering wheel controller interface for about $60 checkout http://www.crutchfield.com I always buy my car audio stuff from them and they have never done me wrong

[superwhite_xb]

Most brands will, I would think they should be able to wire up to the built in ipod jack. As for brand of choice if im doing an aftermarket headunit nothing is better than alpine. And i know for a fact you can get an interface that will allow use of the steering wheel controls, had it on my trailblazer.

[TrevorS]

hi everybody,

is there any way to install an aftermarket head unit and still keep the steering wheel controls and also the stock ipod jack and aux in jack?

are there specific head units that i need to look for that support these features? are extra parts necessary to accomplish this?

thanks!
I installed an aftermarket Kenwood and although the steering wheel controls don't operate as smoothly as with the OE receiver, my PAC-SWI/JACK (www.Crutchfield.com) enables them to work well enough.

My Kenwood supports AUX, USB, and IPOD, but instead of a dedicated IPOD connection, it uses a special cable that plugs into the USB socket. My guess is you will probably also need a USB jack. In any case, I studied the OE jack wiring and decided I was better off preparing my own jack panel and wiring -- AUX and USB.

Here's a photo:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a33/TrevorSt/XBblackJackPanel_3.jpg

[TrevorS]

Most brands will, I would think they should be able to wire up to the built in ipod jack. As for brand of choice if im doing an aftermarket headunit nothing is better than alpine. And i know for a fact you can get an interface that will allow use of the steering wheel controls, had it on my trailblazer.

Alpine is not necessarily the best, though it has plenty of fans. I tried three brands in my xB2 -- Alpine, Kenwood, and a brand enthusiasts used to go ape over, but Crutchfield no longer appears to carry. The Kenwood was the easy winner in terms of audio quality and signal sensitivity (IMO) and so that's what I went with. Obviously, receiver choice is a question of personal preference, and Alpine is just one of the available choices.