Recommendation
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I'm not familiar with newer radios, but I know Etchus and the company owner and would buy his products any day.
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Okay
I'm NOT saying this to knock Etchus as they make a lot of great stuff for our cars, their double din kit is high quality and they do a lot for the SS community, but I recently had the opportunity to install both the Etchus kit and The DetailSS kit and I have to say, in my eyes, the DetailSS kit was a clear winner in quality. If you stay tuned, I'll be posting a review at some point on the SS Facebook pages comparing the two but I'll quickly explain the main differences.
first,The DetailSS kit has a much sturdier head unit bracket IMO that makes installing and adjusting the head unit a little easier. Also seems like it would slow a theft down a little bit.
the main difference that I liked better about the DetailSS kit though is that the way the Etchus face plate sits, it overlaps the factory faceplate in such a way that at the bottom it is really obvious if you look closely that the faceplate was an add on. The DetailSS faceplate is cut a little smaller and is designed to fit into a recessed flange left over when you cut out the old center piece, and because of this it sits partially recessed into the old faceplate with a perfect looking lip all around making it seem like it was molded like that from the factory. I'll post some pics of The DetailSS faceplate I just finished up below...
Again, you really can't go wrong with either kit, but I just think it's good to know about the differences because I didn't think there were any until I installed both.
first,The DetailSS kit has a much sturdier head unit bracket IMO that makes installing and adjusting the head unit a little easier. Also seems like it would slow a theft down a little bit.
the main difference that I liked better about the DetailSS kit though is that the way the Etchus face plate sits, it overlaps the factory faceplate in such a way that at the bottom it is really obvious if you look closely that the faceplate was an add on. The DetailSS faceplate is cut a little smaller and is designed to fit into a recessed flange left over when you cut out the old center piece, and because of this it sits partially recessed into the old faceplate with a perfect looking lip all around making it seem like it was molded like that from the factory. I'll post some pics of The DetailSS faceplate I just finished up below...
Again, you really can't go wrong with either kit, but I just think it's good to know about the differences because I didn't think there were any until I installed both.
if you look closely at the top edge of the faceplate in the first picture (it's actually the bottom edge of the faceplate but the pic is upside down), see how there is a nice uniform edge? On the Etchus kit, the faceplate just gets glued over the old faceplate, so it'll look like an 1/8th inch piece of plastic just sitting on top of the remaining factory plate. It's barely noticeable since it's at the bottom anyway, but if you are a stickler for detail like me and want it to look like it came from the factory like this, it makes a small difference.
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Trying to catch your meaning. Is it as straightforward as the DetailSS is a complete panel replacement and the Etchus is an overlay? That would be a big enough difference in itself for clear decision-makingmost with most guys even given top drawer quality of both names.
Both include a plastic faceplate that gets grafted onto your dash where the old faceplate was (you cut out the center section)
Both also include a metal faceplate bracket that holts the actual radio in. The difference between the two is that the Etchus kit uses an aluminum bracket with a standard DIN cage (the cage that you bolt to the DIN unit and then tabs fold over and the DetailSS kit uses a pretty trick all encompassing bracket for lack of a better description. Hang on, i'll post a pic.
On the right the Etchus kit, just uses a standard DIN cage where the tabs bend over their aluminum faceplate bracket.
On the left is the DetailSS kit which uses their own steel cage with adjustable sliding mounting points. I really liked it better, it's much more solid and easier to adjust. I did have to open up the 3 mounting holes a little with a dremel to get the DIN unit to line up perfectly with the faceplate but not a big deal at all. You may not have to, could be just my car.
Both pretty much install the same way, just minor differences in design like the mounting brackets there and the dimensions of the plastic faceplate I mentioned above. Both include everything you need and both require the same cutting of your dash and gluing of a new plastic faceplate on.
On the left is the DetailSS kit which uses their own steel cage with adjustable sliding mounting points. I really liked it better, it's much more solid and easier to adjust. I did have to open up the 3 mounting holes a little with a dremel to get the DIN unit to line up perfectly with the faceplate but not a big deal at all. You may not have to, could be just my car.
Both pretty much install the same way, just minor differences in design like the mounting brackets there and the dimensions of the plastic faceplate I mentioned above. Both include everything you need and both require the same cutting of your dash and gluing of a new plastic faceplate on.
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