Advice on JBL headunit replacement. Narrowed down to 2

I’ve narrowed down my choices to the Kenwood Excelon DMX706S or the Pioneer DMH-2660NEX.
Anyone have either or any reason to choose one over the other?
I’m upgrading to get apple CarPlay mainly. I have little concern for improved audio quality as the stock JBL suits me fine.
Pros or cons for either?
Also plan to install myself if that’s a factor. Buying through Crutchfield will all the maestro and harnesses included.
Thanks!

 

Not sure about the pioneer but I got the kenwood dmx907s and its a great head unit. 3 way xover and hi res music. Wireless carplay and android

 

Just ordered a Pioneer DMH-WT8600NEX receiver. It came with everything but one adaptor cable. If you have factory GPS and dont want to use the aftermarket antenna, then order the iDatalink ACC-SAT-T02s. There are 3 cables in this kit. One is an adapter to use the factory Sirius XM antenna, One is for the factory GPS, and one is for if you use an Alpine or Kenwood radio.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_794SATTO2/iDatalink-ACC-SAT-TO2.html

i will be installing it myself also. Here is a good video to watch on installing the maestro unit and an aftermarket HU.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eaq6ZF77GHU

 

That idatalink is a real pain to stuff in the dash with 9000 wires and the head unit harness. Not terribly hard but just a huge amount of wiring. It keeps everything working like factory

 

I don’t need the XM. The factory gps would be ok to keep in case of no phone reception

 

Still need the idatalink if you want to keep steering wheel controls and other features

 

Yep. That’s included in the kit from crutchfield

 

Crutchfield sent me the RR with my setup.

 

The only real big difference between these two units That I see is the capacitive vs resistive screen. I like Kenwood’s UI more than Pioneer.

Definitely get the iData, it’s just neat to have beyond the smart harness OEM functionality retention, but also useful to me because I can clear engine light codes right on the stereo (I get the gas cap code occasionally).

Probably the Excelon has better audio components, and you get twice the warranty that the Pioneer comes with.

I shopped between Pioneer and Excelon about a year ago and landed on the Excelon and my only gripe is that I can’t figure out how, or if you can, use the steering wheel controls to jump to the next SXM preset instead of going up/down one channel. Maybe that’s in the iData, IDK. Otherwise it has been impressive and I have no regrets.

 

Any idea if polarized lenses would affect seeing either screen? I’ve read some guys have problems with other units

 

Always been a fan of pioneer. Kenwood and alpine kind of pioneered high end in dash units, but pioneer processors are a bit faster, and have always been reliable.