Double DIN Car Stereo – Jensen VX7022 Review

The Jensen VX7022 is Jensen’s “flagship receiver.” It’s a double DIN head unit for replacing stock car stereos or old aftermarket car stereo heads. Double DIN simply specifies the size of the unit. If your car's manufacturered with a double DIN stereo, there would be no trouble replacing with the VX7022.

We discovered a number of outstanding features during our Jensen VX7022 review. First of all, the unit has Bluetooth connectivity. This allows many phone operations to be completed hands-free. Music streaming and phone call functionality are available. Bluetooth connectivity allows drivers to keep their eyes fixed on the road.

For music streaming over Bluetooth, the unit comes equipped with built-in A2DP technology. This allows you to control basic phone music streaming functions, such as skipping and adjusting the volume, from the unit.

During this Jensen VX7022 review, we found the phone functionality is very impressive on this unit. You can make and take phone calls without taking your hands off of the wheel at all. You can play phone audio over the speaker system and an included wired microphone makes sure that the other party hears you clearly.

Users can browse contacts, call history, and even dial directly from the screen. Incoming calls display the caller’s name, phone number, and contact photo on the screen.

The Jensen VX7022 is not specifically designed with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in mind, but some apps are controllable through USB connection. However, this requires you to purchase a special USB cable. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility is a standard feature on many car stereos nowadays.

The feature allows the stereo to communicate seamlessly with some of the most common types of phones. This means that if you own an iPhone or Android phone, you may have trouble accessing important apps through your stereo.

Jensen makes up for this lack, in some sense, with their App Connectivity feature. We found a limited number of popular apps like Spotify and Pandora are accessible in-dash through a USB connection during our Jensen VX7022 review.

The unit allows a phone screen to be mirrored via an HDMI connection, even further making up for some of the missing features regarding in-dash accessibility. It’s important to note however that for this feature, you'll need to purchase additional adapters. Predecessor’s to the VX7022 doesn't have this functionality.

This feature allows using apps native to your phone like iOS Maps or Google Maps in seamless conjunction with a stereo head unit. Additionally, if you use your phone with wireless data, you could stream video to your stereo screen from apps like Netflix or Hulu.

When plugged via USB, users can browse more on screen without having to pick up their phone. The head unit indexes your entire phone music library including album artwork.

The unit includes an infrared remote to make adjustments to features like volume, channel, and more without reaching over to your phone.

When driving, it’s always helpful to know where exactly you are going. During our Jensen VX7022 review, we discovered that they have partnered with iGo Navigation to provide on-screen navigation.

The system comes pre-loaded with maps of the entire United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, though options are available to purchase additional international maps.

The VX7022 provides audible, turn-by-turn navigation as well as lane guidance and on-screen depictions of complicated intersections. It is important to note, however, that the VX7022 does not have any text-to-speech technology. This means the GPS navigation system will not read street names aloud, something that may be a drawback for many.

Another factor to consider, is that maps on the unit do not update automatically but will need to be periodically manually updated.

The Jensen VX7022 is powerful as a standalone head unit but has even more potential when part of an expanded car stereo system. The unit has an RCA line output for a rear-view camera, three 13-watt preamp outputs, and is compatible with certain steering wheel controls.

The unit has a built-in CD and DVD drive ready to play music or watch movies. Additionally, if you have Sirius/XM radio, this unit is ready to accommodate.

To give your audio a bit of a boost, the Jensen VX7022 has four, 40-watt preamp outputs. The unit doesn't have graphics equalization according to our Jensen VX7022 review. However, the unit features several built-in presets that will allow you to customize your sound experience in minor ways. The Jensen VX7022 doesn't have HD radio capabilities.

The high-resolution display is about 6.2 inches. This is fairly large, but not the largest screen available with double DIN stereos on the market today. Don’t forget that this is equipped with Dual Zone technology, so if you have a larger vehicle, you can install additional screens very easily.

The display is a Thin Film Transistor touchscreen or TFT touchscreen. This is the most common type of touch screen out today, and you'll find it on the most smartphone, tablet, and TV screens today.

For customization’s sake, Jensen included five user interface wallpaper backgrounds. Additionally, you can change the color of the buttons and dials on the unit for further customization. This also is great if you prefer to keep the cab of your car darker at night, as some colors have less white light than others.

During our Jensen VX7022 review, we concluded that this is a very popular head unit in the car stereo world because it isn’t short on features. Additionally, it boasts a very reasonable price. For many, this unit is considered the prime “middle-of-the-road” head unit in terms of quality and price.

As such, there is no shortage of opinion on the VX7022 on the internet.

The unit was ranked in the top-three Bluetooth stereo units by gear4wheels.com in the category of “Best Options With Built-In Navigator. The reviewer noted the large 6.2 inch LCD screen and the USB charging input. They rated it with 4/5 stars in their  Jensen VX7022 review.

At a Jensen VX7022 review on AllCarGadgets.com, the reviewer remarked on the impressiveness of the unit considering the price.

“The Jensen VX7022 is a must-buy! It comes with built-in navigation, a great display, it’s packed with features, and the price is not bad, as well,” he said.

A verified buyer on eBay shared his thoughts with a  Jensen VX7022 review.

“Easy to install and setup a breeze. Everything was labelled well so no confusion with the wiring. I choose to solder the wiring for the multi-connector. XM receiver fits in the dash, but the antenna didn’t work well inside the truck. So I ran the wire through the third brake assy(sic) and fed the wire between the headliner down the piler where I installed the Bluetooth speaker and ran all the wire behind my gauge cluster done! GPS antenna I mounted on the dash, and it works fine. It's a great unit; your money can’t lose. The update for the GPS was tricky, but I found a great hint on an Amazon feedback about how to back up the current SD card and use an 8gb for the reinstall I found local, and worked perfectly.”

In our  Jensen VX7022 review, we compared the unit to its predecessor the VX7020. The VX7020 is cheaper and largely very similar. All specifications are the same as the VX7022 apart from phone mirroring capabilities.

The VX7020 doesn't have these capabilities, and the VX7022 does. For users looking for a hands-free video and music experience who want their phone display mirrored in-dash, they will need to choose the VX7022.

It's difficult to compare the VX7022 to most units with the same features because they are typically in different price brackets. The Pioneer AVIC-7200NEX has many of the same features as the Jensen VX7022 but retails for much more.

In their Jensen VX7022 review, one website compared it to the very similar Jensen VX7020 and determined that the difference is largely in the extra features of the VX7022.

“If you're eager to upgrade your car’s stock radio and combine your GPS, iPod, and DVD player into just one device, these two receivers are made for you. If you want the ability to mirror another screen on the Jensen receiver, get the VX7022.

You’ll also gain the ability to charge devices needing more current, like tablets, and you can use steering wheel controls if you have a compatible setup. If mirroring a screen isn’t necessary, get the VX7020. It already has hundreds of happy reviews at just one major retailer.”

The Jensen VX7022 has a lot of room for improvement to be the top-of-the-line in the world of car stereos, but I don’t think that’s what Jensen is claiming this unit is.

The VX7022 designed as a middle-grade head unit. It’s a reasonably priced, reliable, car stereo head unit has the most popular features in car stereos today.

If you are looking to listen to music, have basic in-dash navigation, and watch movies on your car stereo, the VX7022 is worth looking into.

The price Jensen VX7022 head unit is relatively cheap. Similar features can retail at $800 or higher. At this price, it could be expected to have less impressive features.

In one  Jensen VX7022 review, one reviewer of the product noted, “Everything works as advertised and for the price, you can't beat it.”

Another reviewer remarked that a lack of features might be the contributing factor to the lower price.

“Product was... OK. The sound was really good. Excellent. The things that bugged me was it took FOREVER to boot up. Nothing but a black screen and a red status bar. I'd be out of the garage and half-way down the street before it would be completely up & running. Another huge annoyance was when I wanted to go to the navigation screen; I HAD to press another button to dismiss an acknowledgment screen about the dangers of using the nav & driving.

This was the deal breaker. The radio reception seemed weak.

"Stations that were crystal clear with the OEM system were not with the Jensen. I was also not impressed with the user interface. I had to press too many buttons to move around in the menus. It also displayed No A/V information on the nav screen. My new one has pop-ups along the bottom to let you know the source, song, & artist….”

However, considering the unit is considerably more affordable than comparable units, it is an option you will want to at least consider.