Airplay/android unit for older car

smallzoo2

Hi
I have a 2005 Passat and I want to improve the car audio. Mine has a radio and separate CD which I think means it's double din ?

Anyone recommend either a replacement or maybe one of these portables that sit on the dashboard

I don't want a spend a fortune on the old girl and when I've had a look there are literally hundreds from £30 to £300 !

Cheers

Mildly_Miffed

Single DIN slot is 180mm wide x 50mm tall. Double DIN is 100mm tall.

Is your Passat a late 3BG or an early 3C? 2005 was change-over year.

The single biggest improvement in audio quality is likely to be from upgrading speakers, not changing the head unit.

paul_c123

Very easy these days to buy and install a generic cheap Chinese head unit which will have Carplay and Android Auto on (I don't know what Airplay is though). Obviously, upgrading speakers won't allow more modern connectivity which is what I think the OP is after.

I got a single DIN unit with a flip up screen, which worked for my application, for about £35 and its great.

Northern_Wanderer

Do you need carplay? If you just need bluetooth then you can buy a £8 adapter that plugs into a 12V socket and tune it into an FM radio station, then it gives you a bluetooth conection to listen to music from phone on radio.

smallzoo2

Northern_Wanderer said:

Do you need carplay? If you just need bluetooth then you can buy a £8 adapter that plugs into a 12V socket and tune it into an FM radio station, then it gives you a bluetooth conection to listen to music from phone on radio.

Wow..I didn't know that...can you send me a link ?

Johnmcl7

smallzoo2 said:

Northern_Wanderer said:

Do you need carplay? If you just need bluetooth then you can buy a £8 adapter that plugs into a 12V socket and tune it into an FM radio station, then it gives you a bluetooth conection to listen to music from phone on radio.

Wow..I didn't know that...can you send me a link ?

Does your car have a 3.5mm/aux input?  FM transmitters will work on a car with no other inputs but they can be a pain to use especially if covering longer distances where you may need to change the frequency you're broadcasting on.

bob_a_builder

smallzoo2 said:

Northern_Wanderer said:

Do you need carplay? If you just need bluetooth then you can buy a £8 adapter that plugs into a 12V socket and tune it into an FM radio station, then it gives you a bluetooth conection to listen to music from phone on radio.

Wow..I didn't know that...can you send me a link ?

How many do you want ....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=car+bluetooh+adaptor

Northern_Wanderer

Johnmcl7 said:

smallzoo2 said:

Northern_Wanderer said:

Do you need carplay? If you just need bluetooth then you can buy a £8 adapter that plugs into a 12V socket and tune it into an FM radio station, then it gives you a bluetooth conection to listen to music from phone on radio.

Wow..I didn't know that...can you send me a link ?

Does your car have a 3.5mm/aux input?  FM transmitters will work on a car with no other inputs but they can be a pain to use especially if covering longer distances where you may need to change the frequency you're broadcasting on.

Never had to retune mine but I see how that could be the case.

searchlight123

Northern_Wanderer said:

Johnmcl7 said:

smallzoo2 said:

Northern_Wanderer said:

Do you need carplay? If you just need bluetooth then you can buy a £8 adapter that plugs into a 12V socket and tune it into an FM radio station, then it gives you a bluetooth conection to listen to music from phone on radio.

Wow..I didn't know that...can you send me a link ?

Does your car have a 3.5mm/aux input?  FM transmitters will work on a car with no other inputs but they can be a pain to use especially if covering longer distances where you may need to change the frequency you're broadcasting on.

Never had to retune mine but I see how that could be the case.

They don't need retuning on a journey. The FM frequency is between your phone and the adaptor. It makes no difference where you travel to.

Barkin

I guess there could be an issue if you drive into an area where (say) a local station broadcasts on the frequency as your unit's  using?
That said, mine's using whatever the default is (87.5Mhz?) and I've never needed to change it.

Pros:
Cheap
Easy to install
Retains steering wheel controls
Sound quality is OK

Mine has 2 USB ports, one of which can play mp3 files from a USB stick. 


The only real issue with mine isn't due to the unit itself. The 12v supply to my socket is quite dirty, and with the unit plugged in (powered up) it interferes with normal FM reception. 

Not a big deal - I just ease the unit out of the socket a couple of mm's so that it's not powered when it's not in use. 

Johnmcl7

tonygold said:

Northern_Wanderer said:

Johnmcl7 said:

smallzoo2 said:

Northern_Wanderer said:

Do you need carplay? If you just need bluetooth then you can buy a £8 adapter that plugs into a 12V socket and tune it into an FM radio station, then it gives you a bluetooth conection to listen to music from phone on radio.

Wow..I didn't know that...can you send me a link ?

Does your car have a 3.5mm/aux input?  FM transmitters will work on a car with no other inputs but they can be a pain to use especially if covering longer distances where you may need to change the frequency you're broadcasting on.

Never had to retune mine but I see how that could be the case.

They don't need retuning on a journey. The FM frequency is between your phone and the adaptor. It makes no difference where you travel to.

The FM frequency is not just between your phone and the adapter, it's also between your car stereo and any other radio broadcast on the same frequency which will interfere with the adapter.  I found it mostly fine when I was driving in the same area but when I was driving across the country I'd need to change the frequency to get one that was cleaner.

The OP hasn't confirmed if they have a 3.5mm input or not, I'd only consider using an FM transmitter as an absolute last resort.