{"id":1136,"date":"2023-11-22T09:50:44","date_gmt":"2023-11-22T10:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eliicpower.com\/?p=1136"},"modified":"2025-09-09T10:17:30","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T10:17:30","slug":"best-double-din-car-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eliicpower.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/22\/best-double-din-car-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Double DIN Car Radio"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got a relatively modern car with a thick dash stereo\/head unit<\/a>? Here are some of the best Double DIN car radio upgrades available on the aftermarket.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The double-DIN head unit is the pinnacle of dashboard electronics for aftermarket car radios. In cars with the DIN standard aperture, a single-DIN space<\/a> always used to be the most common design. However, bigger vehicles and especially Japanese imports and vans started to sport the Double DIN, double width platform, and over time the Single DIN went out of fashion across the board. The physical volume of the unit that can fit in a Double DIN hole is impressive. It means that radios can have a lot more features and electronics packed inside. They can also get luxurious with the size of their front displays; there can even be a screen, without it needing to be an expensively motorized hideaway like in premium a single-DIN effort.<\/p>\n

That whole DIN thing is a set of standards to help car makers and their suppliers. The Euro-standard, it covers stuff like the wiring loom plugs for power\/speaker wires, so the trade uses the term \u2018DIN\u2019 to refer to these plugs and these head unit sizes.<\/p>\n

A long time ago, car radios all had to be removable, in the days before face-off decks. There were car radio racks at restaurants, where you\u2019d park your radio while you ate. The double DIN started in Japan, where they simply didn\u2019t have the same crime levels. Folks didn\u2019t steal radios from cars in Japan. A white-hot fueled-by-theft insurance replacement business supported a huge chain of UK shops. They had a central office with forty telephone operators. Nowadays, many cars have their radios embedded deeply into the fabric of the car, so that you cannot replace them. They are not DIN-sized, not even a separate module. Thus, you can now buy into a fresh double-DIN head unit for your ride with less worry about theft.<\/p>\n

We have some top quality units here, from entry level to fabulous, all with that double-DIN luxury.<\/p>\n

How we chose these products<\/h2>\n

Although I haven’t experienced each of these products first-hand, I’ve got a good knack for extracting the meaning out of long spec sheets. As such, I’ve compiled this shortlist based on the tech and capabilities that will really make a difference once installed into your car.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adam is one of the world’s leading voices in car audio tech. With decades of experience in the field, you can be sure to trust his recommendations in the following article.<\/em><\/p>\n

Best Double DIN Car Radio<\/h2>\n

\"Blaupunkt<\/p>\n

Blaupunkt Palma 200 DAB BT<\/h3>\n

RRP: <\/strong>\u00a3110.00. Not available in the US. Buy it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Blaupunkt are famed for their Euro-minimalist car radio fascias. They once made a lot of awfully cheap OEM radios that were made down to a price, but their tuners were always really good. So when Blau had a little flex in the direction of posh, it still looked plain and unfussy. The Palma has a big liquid crystal nine-digit display and just a few buttons.<\/p>\n

There are two radio tuners: Blaupunkt\u2019s tremendous old FM tuner with features like dual sensitivity and interference cancellation and a DAB+ one as well. It will Bluetooth-stream and hook up for your phone for hands free calling. The microphone to do that is built in – I reckon it is behind the tiny hole top left. There\u2019s an oblong door bottom right that opens up which reveals the SD card slot, the USB socket and the 3.5mm aux audio input jack. Around the back, there\u2019s a second antenna socket for the DAB+ aerial and single pair of RCA outputs. You could expand a system from this unit using these by feeding a single-input amplifier.<\/p>\n

Although the files it can read are limited compared to some – just MP3 and WMA, it has some real smarts. The ability to read your files fast and pull out the one you want, quickly. You can stream anything you own and can play to Bluetooth, but this is about your own jukebox, served rapidly. One USB stick or just one decent SDHC card can hold a serious heap of music, after all. You get a bit of EQ via X-Bass plus \u201cPop, Rock and Classic\u201d (or flat) settings, and bass\/treble controls. A shallow-body unit, it will fit lesser dash spaces, like certain BMWs.<\/p>\n