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Pioneer Modular Head Unit

xrecar

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Not that specific unit. I have a buddy that bought the Pioneer DMH-C2550NEX that I was going to install in his JLU for him. Then he found that Kenwood released a shallow version radio and he preferred that, so he sent back the Pioneer. Fortunately, not before I had a chance to test fit the pieces in his Jeep!

To answer your question though, at least for the 2550, the secondary module needed to go somewhere else in the dash or below under the seat. Since the cable that comes with it is so short, its very likely you will need the extension kit to extend the wires. The biggest concern is the data cable, which you really wouldn't want to try and manually extend, but it also includes the extensions for the radio antenna and all the wiring too. That kit is a bit pricey: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_130RDRGBA/Pioneer-RD-RGB150A.html

As far as the screen itself, I too am interested in the DMH-C6600NEX. I have been waiting to see if any info on the measurements of the screen surface on the web anywhere to see how that would fit. I think its possible it would fit, but until I can find dimensions its hard to be sure. I feel like the same could be said for the 5500. Its a bit smaller so even more likely that one would work. With either of those, you are going to be looking at a custom built dash kit I imagine. Metra did just announce a new one, but its only for 7" screens. It still might work, you just might have to modify the opening for the larger radio screen.

Rob
 

Kapoosh1

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I'm thinking about trying one of these with the Metra dash kit that should be out soon..The options still seem so limited.
 

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It is limited. You can also fit the Kenwood DMX706s and the Alpine ILX-W650 by making a custom kit. I would expect that those would work with the Metra kit once its available as well. The only downside to the Alpine unit is that it does not work with the Maestro unit for the wiring and interface. As far as I know, iDatalink is the only company making the wiring interface that works with the JL at this point.

I was hoping that Alpine would release a new short chassis unit that had Maestro capability at CES, but all I have seen online was a floating 11ish inch model that, at least based on the video I watched currently doesn't support the Maestro, but will in the future. I really doubt that will be an option either. It seems like all the floating units use a full depth single or double din unit that go inside the dash and the screen connects into those. I suspect the full depth design is to help the screen be more stable. It would be great if someone would design one of those as a modular unit where the guts could be relocated somewhere else, but I am not holding my breath on that!

Edit: I almost forgot - there are a couple JVC options that would fit with a custom kit / or most likely with the Metra as well, if you are interested.
 

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It is limited. You can also fit the Kenwood DMX706s and the Alpine ILX-W650 by making a custom kit. I would expect that those would work with the Metra kit once its available as well. The only downside to the Alpine unit is that it does not work with the Maestro unit for the wiring and interface. As far as I know, iDatalink is the only company making the wiring interface that works with the JL at this point.

I was hoping that Alpine would release a new short chassis unit that had Maestro capability at CES, but all I have seen online was a floating 11ish inch model that, at least based on the video I watched currently doesn't support the Maestro, but will in the future. I really doubt that will be an option either. It seems like all the floating units use a full depth single or double din unit that go inside the dash and the screen connects into those. I suspect the full depth design is to help the screen be more stable. It would be great if someone would design one of those as a modular unit where the guts could be relocated somewhere else, but I am not holding my breath on that!

Edit: I almost forgot - there are a couple JVC options that would fit with a custom kit / or most likely with the Metra as well, if you are interested.

Which JVC options are you referring to? Ideally I'd like to larger than the standard 7" double din size.
 

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xrecar

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Which JVC options are you referring to? Ideally I'd like to larger than the standard 7" double din size.
The KW-M650BT KW-M750BT and the KW-M75BT are all shallow mount but none of those have screens larger than 6.8”

I think your best chance for a larger screen is either go with the DMH-C5500NEX or wait for the DMH-WC6600NEX. I ran across a site that had that unit listed as expected in March. I’m just not sure if I am going to end up waiting that long. There’s always a chance one of the floating units may have a shallow chassis as well but I haven’t found any info one way or another.
 

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Looking to pull the trigger on the DMH-C5500NEX. Is there no way to get the modular unit installed behind the current radio set up? Im wanting to do the install myself, and plug n play would be more ideal.
 

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I considered returning the DMH-C2550NEX modular unit and getting the 5500 instead. Once I did some measuring based on the info I could find on the size of the 5500 screen, I quickly determined that it was going to take a custom dash mount to make that work. Crutchfield now lists the new Metra kit as working with the 5500, but if you check the Metra info (including their instruction manual, they do not. Going by the size measurements I found online, I can see no way that the Metra kit would work. Even trying to build a kit that sits behind the factory trim bezel wont work as the LCD part of the 5500 is larger than the trim bezel. Metra does make a universal kit for the 5500 that makes it mount like a floating unit. You might be able to take that kit AND the Metra Jeep kit and make it work like that, if you dont mind that floating radio look. Obviously with a bunch of custom work it could certainly be done as well.

I ended up installing the 2550NEX and calling it a day. I mounted the hideaway module under the steering column. Its possible that you could get the unit to stand vertical in the dash behind the screen, but its going to be incredibly tight to do so and I wasn't crazy about it. It works pretty good where I installed it, but it was a bit of a pain because the Maestro interface cables weren't long enough. I had to extend those wires, which are quite small. I also had to get the extension cable kit as the antenna and data cable for the LCD wouldn't reach. I ended up taking a chance and picking those up on Amazon since they were being sold for $70 rather than $150.

If you want an easy plug and play install, I would go with either one of the Kenwood units (DMX706s / DMX7706s), the JVC units I mentioned above, or wait for the new Pioneer units (DMH-W4660NEX / DMH-W4600NEX) that should be showing up in the next month or so. All of those are short chassis units where the entire radio will fit in the dash and work with the Metra kit. I am not entirely certain how deep the new Pioneers will be so I am making an assumption on them working. I cannot imagine them making them a short chassis and it still being too long, but there is a chance.

Rob
 

algoo31

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I considered returning the DMH-C2550NEX modular unit and getting the 5500 instead. Once I did some measuring based on the info I could find on the size of the 5500 screen, I quickly determined that it was going to take a custom dash mount to make that work. Crutchfield now lists the new Metra kit as working with the 5500, but if you check the Metra info (including their instruction manual, they do not. Going by the size measurements I found online, I can see no way that the Metra kit would work. Even trying to build a kit that sits behind the factory trim bezel wont work as the LCD part of the 5500 is larger than the trim bezel. Metra does make a universal kit for the 5500 that makes it mount like a floating unit. You might be able to take that kit AND the Metra Jeep kit and make it work like that, if you dont mind that floating radio look. Obviously with a bunch of custom work it could certainly be done as well.

I ended up installing the 2550NEX and calling it a day. I mounted the hideaway module under the steering column. Its possible that you could get the unit to stand vertical in the dash behind the screen, but its going to be incredibly tight to do so and I wasn't crazy about it. It works pretty good where I installed it, but it was a bit of a pain because the Maestro interface cables weren't long enough. I had to extend those wires, which are quite small. I also had to get the extension cable kit as the antenna and data cable for the LCD wouldn't reach. I ended up taking a chance and picking those up on Amazon since they were being sold for $70 rather than $150.

If you want an easy plug and play install, I would go with either one of the Kenwood units (DMX706s / DMX7706s), the JVC units I mentioned above, or wait for the new Pioneer units (DMH-W4660NEX / DMH-W4600NEX) that should be showing up in the next month or so. All of those are short chassis units where the entire radio will fit in the dash and work with the Metra kit. I am not entirely certain how deep the new Pioneers will be so I am making an assumption on them working. I cannot imagine them making them a short chassis and it still being too long, but there is a chance.

Rob
Really good info! Thank you. I was leaning towards the bigger screen but I'll take wireless carplay over a big screen any day.
 

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Late to the post but I’m actually getting the DMH-WC8600NEX installed Wednesday, I’l’l post pictures,, tech said they will use the metro kit.. They are giving me a good deal on install with the kicker hideaway for now until I decide to upgrade the rest of the speakers. I just couldn’t deal with the 5”
 
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xrecar

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Late to the post but I’m actually getting the DMH-WC6600NEX installed Wednesday, I’l’l post pictures,, tech said they will use the metro kit.. They are giving me a good deal on install with the kicker hideaway for now until I decide to upgrade the rest of the speakers. I just couldn’t deal with the 5”
Nice! I am definitely interested in hearing your thoughts on it. I am glad I didn't wait considering how long it has taken them to be available, but I may very well end up swapping the 2550 for one down the road.
 

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Nice! I am definitely interested in hearing your thoughts on it. I am glad I didn't wait considering how long it has taken them to be available, but I may very well end up swapping the 2550 for one down the road.
Yeah im excited to see how it performs
 

Terpsmandan

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Late to the post but I’m actually getting the DMH-WC8600NEX installed Wednesday, I’l’l post pictures,, tech said they will use the metro kit.. They are giving me a good deal on install with the kicker hideaway for now until I decide to upgrade the rest of the speakers. I just couldn’t deal with the 5”
Did you ever get it installed? I would like to see the pix.
 

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I considered returning the DMH-C2550NEX modular unit and getting the 5500 instead. Once I did some measuring based on the info I could find on the size of the 5500 screen, I quickly determined that it was going to take a custom dash mount to make that work. Crutchfield now lists the new Metra kit as working with the 5500, but if you check the Metra info (including their instruction manual, they do not. Going by the size measurements I found online, I can see no way that the Metra kit would work. Even trying to build a kit that sits behind the factory trim bezel wont work as the LCD part of the 5500 is larger than the trim bezel. Metra does make a universal kit for the 5500 that makes it mount like a floating unit. You might be able to take that kit AND the Metra Jeep kit and make it work like that, if you dont mind that floating radio look. Obviously with a bunch of custom work it could certainly be done as well.

I ended up installing the 2550NEX and calling it a day. I mounted the hideaway module under the steering column. Its possible that you could get the unit to stand vertical in the dash behind the screen, but its going to be incredibly tight to do so and I wasn't crazy about it. It works pretty good where I installed it, but it was a bit of a pain because the Maestro interface cables weren't long enough. I had to extend those wires, which are quite small. I also had to get the extension cable kit as the antenna and data cable for the LCD wouldn't reach. I ended up taking a chance and picking those up on Amazon since they were being sold for $70 rather than $150.

If you want an easy plug and play install, I would go with either one of the Kenwood units (DMX706s / DMX7706s), the JVC units I mentioned above, or wait for the new Pioneer units (DMH-W4660NEX / DMH-W4600NEX) that should be showing up in the next month or so. All of those are short chassis units where the entire radio will fit in the dash and work with the Metra kit. I am not entirely certain how deep the new Pioneers will be so I am making an assumption on them working. I cannot imagine them making them a short chassis and it still being too long, but there is a chance.

Rob
What did you do for the Media Center of did you use a different solution for the USB?
 

xrecar

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What did you do for the Media Center of did you use a different solution for the USB?
I removed the OEM Media Center and made a plate out of ABS. In that I installed a dual usb port extension similar to this:

https://www.amazon.com/ICESPRING-Fe...48574271&sprefix=dual+usb+port+,aps,65&sr=8-9

I connected one port to the radio and the other one I ended up hacking up a usb cigarette lighter adapter so that it would supply power for charging. I did that because I had one of those laying around that I wasn't using. There are other ways to accomplish the same thing, I was just using what I had at hand. The usb cigarette lighter adapter was like the one linked below. I took it apart and soldered wires to the board so I could wire it directly to the cigarette lighter wiring:

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charge...0&sr=1-2-ed8a42d3-65f1-4884-a3a2-0dd6e83b6876

This allowed me to have one that would work with the radio and another port that could be used to charge another device at the same time.
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