Low Cost CarPlay Head Unit

[rton20s]

I posted a similar question over on a FB group, but thought it might be worth asking over here. I've read through all of the spec sheets and watched all of the YouTube videos for pretty much every entry level CarPlay head unit available. What I haven't had opportunity to do, especially with COVID-19 restrictions, is get hands on with any of them. So... I'm looking for feedback and recommendations from people who have actually installed and/or used any of the entry level CarPlay head units.

This will be for my wife's 2015 Mazda 6 GT with Bose and I am trying to keep the cost of the head unit around $400 or less. A fast responsive UI is probably the most important factor. Reliability and clean output follow closely behind. DSP/tuning capabilities (crossover, levels, time alignment) aren't all that important but I may use some EQ to tweak the OE Bose curve. Ultimately the car will get a full system with DSP.

I am open to all suggestions, but my top contenders in each brand look to be the following:

Kenwood eXcelon DMX706S


Pioneer DMH-2660NEX


Alpine ILX-W650


Sony XAV-AX5000

[Jdunk54nl]

I'm interested in this too for my wife's suv...I can't stand the 5+ minutes it takes to connect a usb device to it...Stupid microsoft uvo in a Kia...

I've been leaning towards the alpine unit myself. I've seen some good reviews on it and it is one of the cheapest in the bunch.

[mikeyt]

I looked at the Pioneer DMH-2660EX but ultimately bought the Pioneer AVX-2500NEX instead. I figured for the about the same money might as well get one that I could play dvd's on, I'll probably never use it though...lol. I wanted the other, it looks really cool but I know the 2500 has so many great reviews and videos which seem to be proving it's a good unit, especially on the audio side with all those features you're looking for.

[mikeyt]

I haven't installed it yet and if the video sacrifice is worth it, I'll return the other for the audio gain out of the 2660.

[dumdum]

I’d go pioneer all day long, I love the gui and how slick my older unit just works, mine is an sph-230dab U.K. model

[Notloudenuf]

Haven’t used it but FYI deal of the day.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-7-...?skuId=6283609

[rton20s]

Haven’t used it but FYI deal of the day.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-7-...?skuId=6283609

Thanks for a heads up. Looks like the XAV-AX3000 is probably a Best Buy exclusive. From what I can tell, it is an XAV-AX3000 with a single USB input (rather than two) and a resistive screen (rather than capacitive).