[Soulman]

I have tried searching but may be using the wrong terminology? Looking for a decent (not super high end) stereo to replace the factory one. I'd like one that will accommodate front and rear cameras, wireless carplay, don't need a disc player, and will improve the sound over stock.....but not cost $500. Does this exist? I plan to do stereo and door speakers, no sub or amp. Just want decent volume, better sound, and the camera capability. I'm sure someone has already done this. Any suggestions?

It's for a 99 Limited that I am getting this week- super excited for it!

[Ripper238]

So you are looking for a new head unit. I think you may be asking for a lot when looking for all those features in a "decent" head unit under $500. I did speakers and an amp as well for the full sound upgrade. But you will need a head unit that has enough power if you are not going to get an amp. Sound system is only as good as your weakest link, but at least you are starting with the most important part, the head unit.

I wanted all you want but I spent $1200 on a Kenwood DMX which did it all plus some bonuses. Well worth it IMO.

[Auce]

Originally Posted by Soulman

I have tried searching but may be using the wrong terminology? Looking for a decent (not super high end) stereo to replace the factory one. I'd like one that will accommodate front and rear cameras, wireless carplay, don't need a disc player, and will improve the sound over stock.....but not cost $500. Does this exist? I plan to do stereo and door speakers, no sub or amp. Just want decent volume, better sound, and the camera capability. I'm sure someone has already done this. Any suggestions?

It's for a 99 Limited that I am getting this week- super excited for it!

Wireless Carplay will likely be a "high end" head unit. If you're going to do new speakers, make sure your new head units RMS is equal to or close to the speakers RMS or you'll NEED an amp. If the head unit is only pushing out 20 RMS and your new speakers are say 75RMS, you're not getting any benefit out of it. You say it now, but if you're doing a pretty much full stereo upgrade, you'lll want a sub.

[Ripper238]

Originally Posted by Auce

Wireless Carplay will likely be a "high end" head unit. If you're going to do new speakers, make sure your new head units RMS is equal to or close to the speakers RMS or you'll NEED an amp. If the head unit is only pushing out 20 RMS and your new speakers are say 75RMS, you're not getting any benefit out of it. You say it now, but if you're doing a pretty much full stereo upgrade, you'lll want a sub.

Surprisingly with the new head unit, amp and high end component speakers I didn't end up needing a sub. Sure a sub is awesome, but I get some really good mid bass/low from the 6x9's in the door.

[19963.4lsr5]

Originally Posted by Ripper238

Surprisingly with the new head unit, amp and high end component speakers I didn't end up needing a sub. Sure a sub is awesome, but I get some really good mid bass/low from the 6x9's in the door.

How much trimming was required to fit them in the door?


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[Soulman]

Thanks for the input guys! I do realize I may be asking a lot for $500, which is why I thought I'd ask here to hear of others' experience. I may have to raise the budget a bit. Thinking about calling Crutchfield and taking their recomendation- the easy button. Anyone have bad experience with them or have a better source? Thanks again- I appreciate all of it.

Also, anyone have any knowledge or experience with Boss head units? Good, bad or ugly?

[Silver.T4R]

Here's my .02, if your not planning to add an amp I'd stick with factory speakers. This may be somewhat controversial, but you really don't get any benefit IMO out of aftermarket speakers without amping them. As was stated previously, you should match the RMS of your speakers with the same wattage amplifier (most head units are 15-20w RMS) and the factory speakers are rated at 15w RMS if I remember correctly and are easy to drive off a head unit. You'd be surprised at how much a head unit will "wake up" the factory speakers and how much better they'll sound. Is it great? No. But I don't see anything to be gained with aftermarket speakers without an amp if anything it'll sound about the same or worse as they don't have the power they need.

If you do decide to buy an amp, I'd strongly recommend the alpine power pack and infinity reference speakers front and rear. It's plug and play with an Alpine head unit, and boost the head units power from ~15w RMS to 45w RMS 100W peak per speaker. One common thing I've seen is people assume you add an amp only if you want a loud system, but there great even for everyday listening when the RMS is matched to the speakers as you get good clean sound without distortion (way better to have plenty of power vs. barely enough at normal listening volume in terms of cleaning up the sound from your speakers) and if you ever decide to crank them it'll sound great too.

Reguarding boss, I wouldn't touch their products with a ten foot pole. I don't have any personal experience with them other than a double din that was installed in a 4R I bought that I replaced with an Alpine unit, but it was cheap, had horrible sound, and legitimately weighed less than a tin can when I removed it for the alpine (cheap components inside) and has Bluetooth connectivity issues. If your looking for a double din, I'm a huge fan of Alpine, IMO the sound they have can't be best with pioneer being a close second. I've heard good things about ATOTO's Android headunits for the price, but don't have any personal experience with them and they're a Chinese brand though they have all the features your looking for and are pretty affordable.

TLDR; if your not amping stick with a quality headunit, (i.e. Alpine, pioneer) + factory speakers, if you have the budget, throw in an Alpine power pack mini amp + infinity speakers (if budget allows ad an underseat sub to fill in the low end) and you'll have incredible sound for the price IMO



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[RodrickHeffley]

I have a Sony XAVAX3000, it does almost everything you want other than the front camera and wireless carplay.

In my eyes, you're best off spending the extra on a quality stereo from a reputable brand. I had a really terrible chinese "carplay radio" that was about 50$ on Amazon. For that price, you can probably guess how "great" it was.

I've heard both good and bad about BOSS and ATOTO, my friend has gone full BOSS and has their stereos in at least three of his cars, and hasn't had any issues. He even was able to add a wireless carplay adapter to one of them. ATOTO was my "go to" before I scored a great deal on my Sony on ebay, but from reviews on Amazon I've been questioning their quality. I know some have had great luck with them, but others haven't.

For reference, the Sony I got on eBay cost 140$ with free shipping, whereas the ATOTOs I was eyeing (F7 and A6PF) cost 20$ and 50$ more respectively, and I'm happier with the Sony than I think I could ever be with the ATOTO.

I'd spend the extra and get something you KNOW will be good, rather than hoping it'll be good and down the line regretting your purchase.

[Soulman]

I like Sony and Alpine. Do you have a model number for the Alpine? Does it support 2 cameras? Sooooooo maybe I need an amp too. I do want it to sound good (not super high end but decent at least). That Sony is about 300 on Amazon which is fine. I really want two cameras though.. Thanks very much for the advice guys.

[Soulman]

Is the Alpine the iLX-W650?

Is there one that supports two cameras?

[Soulman]

Ok so apparently that Alpine does have two camera inputs. I think I'm going to that and the Alpine amp for $500 on Amazon. Now to figure out the speakers...

[Silver.T4R]

I actually had an Alpine single sin when I had my old 4Runner that I was happy with. I've heard good things about the W650 other than that the background can't be changed (may or may not be an issues for you). I currently have a Sony but I have mixed feelings on it as I've had bugs with Bluetooth and the sound isn't as good IMO as my old Alpine setup.

I currently have these infiniy's and love their sound. Very clean clears without having harsh higha from the tweeters but have a "warm" sounding tweeter. Can't bear them for the price IMO but the Alpine type S and type R line is also fantastic but a bit more spendy. I'd strongly recommend buying some killmat or other sound deadening to put behind the speakers as it helps to improve sound quality and reduce resonance. Here's a link to those infinites:

Infinity REF-6530CX Reference 6.5 Inch Two-Way Component System with Crossovers https://a.co/d/doY4DCr

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[S35flyer]

Found this thread. I too am looking for a unit to replace my factory jbl, rds system. I want to keep the amplifier and speakers, want BT, Apple car play, wireless CarPlay would be nice, but I keep getting conflicting reports about the VSS connection. Cameras not needed for me.

[Silver.T4R]

Originally Posted by S35flyer

Found this thread. I too am looking for a unit to replace my factory jbl, rds system. I want to keep the amplifier and speakers, want BT, Apple car play, wireless CarPlay would be nice, but I keep getting conflicting reports about the VSS connection. Cameras not needed for me.

Wrong subforum, this is the 3rd Gen section. I'd recommend checking the 4th gen forum for more info on the JBL system.

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[Ripper238]

Originally Posted by 19963.4lsr5

How much trimming was required to fit them in the door?


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None, that's the size of the front door speaker in my 2019.