After Market 7" Head Unit With A Dac ?

[Kishore Raja]

1. I'm looking to replace the factory Head unit on my 05 Lexus ES330 with a double DIN 7" after market touchscreen Head unit that has a good audio DAC (Digital to Analog Convertor) and I also would like to connect a backup camera. All double DIN 7" Head units that I have been looking including Pioneer, Kenwood, Alpine, JVC etc.. neither have a 24-bit DAC nor digital out to connect to an external DAC. Has anyone been in this situation and found any solution? I found a JVC double DIN unit (JVC KW-XR810), that has a 24-bit Bur brown DAC, but unfortunately its not a full 7" screen and hence won't be able to get backup camera video on it. Initially I wanted to go with Pioneer AVIC Z130BT, its a great unit with features including built in BT, HD radio etc.. but the audio specs weren't clear or not mentioned, so I called up and spoke to their customer support and came to know that they only have 1-bit DAC unit.

They recommended I go with Stage 4 DEX P99RS if I need better audio output with 24-bit DAC. Honestly P99RS is an amazing unit with four 24-bit DACs for lows, mids, highs and SW, but unfortunately is a single DIN and way too expensive, not to mention BT and HD radio are additional add ons.

2. After weeks of reading and concluding that there is a no 7" touchscreen unit with a 24-bit DAC, I was thinking of adding a external Digital Processor with Parametric Equalizer like JBL MS-8 ( http://www.jbl.com/EN-US/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?PID=MS-8 ) or Pioneer DEQ P8000 ( http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-DEQ-P8000-Channel-Digital-Processor/dp/B0002J23TA ) to the head unit to improve sound quality. Has anyone had any external digital processor configured with their Head units? If so, please share your experience with respect to audio quality improvement.

thanks,

Kishore.

[pj8708]

Your best resource for immediate information is a search of the forums. Many, but not all of your topics have been discussed before. Hopefully you can find something there.

Have you thought about a rear view mirror backup screen instead of an in-dash? It would take care of your space problem and leave the dash looking more original if that is important to you.

[Kishore Raja]

Thanks. I have been reading various forums for weeks now and will continue reading. I could not find any double din 7" touchscreen product that has a 24-bit DAC. There are few single DIN units (like JVC, Kenwood, Eclipse) that claim to have a 24-bit DAC.

1. So I wanted to know if manufacturers have decided to not include a 24-bit DAC on a 7" touchscreen unit? I'm hoping that someone will respond saying that there is at least one unit out there that still has a good 24-bit DAC.

2. If not, I'm at least looking for a unit that has a digital out so I can connect an external DAC, I'm still unable to find any. (Again I'm looking mainly for a touchscreen 7" unit)

I'm not really worried about the dash looking original, infact I want to replace the single DIN factory unit with a double DIN touchscreen unit.

If there is no good answer for 1) and 2), then I'm hoping that adding an External processor with parametric EQ will at least improve the audio quality.