Head units: what are you running?

[Toyot@]

I’m thinking about replacing my stock HU and eventually all of the speakers and amp, but I have a hard time finding a clean HU that isn’t over a grand.
Does anyone know of some good HU’s that don’t break the bank and are clean (almost stock looking)?

 

[Inv4drZm]

My Kenwood DDX395 looks nice. As for being a 'good' HU, depends on what features you want. Some people think spending $500 is the bottom of the barrel for features, others think anything is better than stock.

I think a full touchscreen HU really updates the look of the interior.

 

[Toyot@]

Well I would want full touch screen ofcourse. I hate the look of those multicolor little ones you see in trashy cars haha.

But I don’t need it to do much if you catch my drift, just a decent head unit for a fair price and withgood quality

And I see yours for around 250, i actually really like it, does it improve factory speaker quality at all? And do you happen to have a picture so I can see it in a 4runner?

 

[Johns06yota]

Well I would want full touch screen ofcourse. I hate the look of those multicolor little ones you see in trashy cars haha.

But I don’t need it to do much if you catch my drift, just a decent head unit for a fair price and withgood quality

And I see yours for around 250, i actually really like it, does it improve factory speaker quality at all? And do you happen to have a picture so I can see it in a 4runner?

Just to chime in the radio he has is similar to my old one except mine has some other features. I believe it has the same amp inside so for mine it made a really big difference over stock. here is a picture from a while back. Just disregard the apple carplay part.

 

[Inv4drZm]

Well I would want full touch screen ofcourse. I hate the look of those multicolor little ones you see in trashy cars haha.

But I don’t need it to do much if you catch my drift, just a decent head unit for a fair price and withgood quality

And I see yours for around 250, i actually really like it, does it improve factory speaker quality at all? And do you happen to have a picture so I can see it in a 4runner?

Yes, I've had it for a week now, and I noticed an increase in audio quality, though I will be throwing on a cheaper set of speakers (still no dedicated amp) in a couple days to hopefully bump it up some more. I'm just happy to be able to play music from my USB stick.

 

[gm350reratliff]

I have an 8 year old Pioneer touchscreen (I forget the model #) in my 4th gen. It always works, no matter what media I plug in and boots quickly. Not real fancy but it works and was definitely 110% better than the OEM stereo. I think the Pioneer, rear view cam, XM unit (I haven't used it in years), integration kit came to about $800 in 2010.

I just installed an Alpine ILX-107 in my 5th gen with the Idatalink Maestro integration kit. The OEM entune unit became super frustrating to use and ultimately a serious driving distraction so it had to go. The Alpine deck doesn't have a CD player but we gained wireless Apple carplay which is a godsend. You just get in, turn the key and your phone is mirrored on the head unit. With everything, I have about $1000 into it. I had to get the dash kit painted to match the rest of the interior which added $100 to the final cost. I'm really considering getting the same Alpine for my 2017 Tundra which has basically the same inferior entune system.

 

[riceandpho]

this model i put in most cars
6.5 inch screen, has all the bells and whistle
https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/DVD+Receivers/AVH-X391BHS

https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/DVD+Receivers/AVH-X491BHS
thats the 7 inch screen one

if you want the really nice one do the nex series with the idatalink maestro
you can do on screen car diagnostic and such if the truck is new enough
https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/NEX/AVH-2440NEX

please check out fivestarcarstereo on youtube, they usually do pioneer and kendwood unboxing.

 

[Flash Runner]

[MENTION=176336]Toyot@[/MENTION] I've been planning my HU upgrade for a while now, finding out all the little parts needed for install and have been researching which one to get. What I've found to best do, is you need to determine what features are a "must have" that you want, and your budget and then it's "easier" to determine which one to get from there.

For instance on my research, I budgeted $500 (this includes the HU and all the wiring adaptors needed to install, and have determined my "must have" features as: Apple Carplay, Wireless Spotify control, and being able to mirror my iphone to the HU (through HDMI/Mirror Link/RCA connection)

I truly think you can't go wrong with Kenwood Exceleon, or the Pioneer NEX lineups.

My top choice just happens to be their new flagship: Pioneer AVH-W4400NEX --> this thing has all the bells and whistles, but I'm not shelling out $700 for a HU

I decided on ordering the Pioneer MVH-2300 NEX -> it suits all my needs, and you can find it relatively cheap ($300) since it was just replaced by the 2400 series

I'll be ordering it all once my next paycheck hits. The last of my $0.02 is that I used to REALLY want a physical volume knob, but I changed my mind bc having the knob means a smaller screen (6.2") as opposed to not having one (7.0"). Also look into if you care about the HU having a Resistive (the majority of them) or a Capacitative (similar to our smartphones) touch screen

 

[STEVE HOLT!!!]

Pioneer AVIC Z-150BH (top of the line model from 2013/2014)

Great all around head unit... but looking to upgrade (I want wireless Android Auto!)

Willing to let it go for the right price (located around Atlanta)

 

[frankvh]

I've recently installed an Android HU into my 2005 4Runner that had the JBL factory stereo system in it. The HU I selected was the Pumpkin AE0273B.

I'm planning on doing a writeup with some photos, but for now it's enough to say I'm quite impressed with the whole affair. Aside from AM/FM radio and music (MP3s off a USB stick or SD card) also Spotify, etc. GPS navigation and maps. Bluetooth calling etc. Torque app displays a bunch of stuff from the vehicle using a cheap bluetooth CAN adapter. Backup camera (running the wiring for the backup camera was not a 5 minute job!). Steering wheel controls (volume etc) are working. It's a heck of an upgrade, and these Chinese Android HUs don't exactly break the bank. There are extensive forums about them over at xda-developers dot com.

Installing any HU is a bunch of work. I used the following:
Metra TYTO-01 - main wiring harness adapter
Metra 70-8114 - contains steering wheel controls connector
Metra 95-8210 - contains a mounting bracket (or can try to mod the JBL one, but hacking this plastic Metra one is a lot easier)
Metra 95-8202 - side ears for filling the left & right gaps

Using the TYTO-01 allowed me to retain the stock JBL amp / subwoofer / etc, so I didn't need to rewire the speakers and so forth. I don't feel my install is quite finished yet - there's a little bit of background noise I need to sort out (better grounding perhaps).

My goal was to leave the stock wiring and hardware untouched, which is why I used the Metra parts.

 

[Kyle C]

I don't have much experience with HU's but I CAN NOT recommend the Sony XAV-AX100, looks great though...

 

[OzarkRunner]

I don't have much experience with HU's but I CAN NOT recommend the Sony XAV-AX100, looks great though...

Would you mind elaborating on that some? I've been looking at the XAV-AX100 & XAV-AX5000.

 

[Kyle C]

Would you mind elaborating on that some? I've been looking at the XAV-AX100 & XAV-AX5000.

First off I understand I may have a defective unit but Newegg left me out to dry and I didn't care enough to get in contact with Sony so full disclosure there.

Feature wise its very limited; no iPod support (I realize they're old now but I still have one that I'd like to use).

Bluetooth sound quality is TERRIBLE. When I'm streaming music from my phone via bluetooth it sounds like an old anolog radio which is loosing reception, its just plain awful (Connected via USB sounds fine though).

Almost never recognizes my iPhone being plugged in the first time, usually takes 2-4 tries before it switches over to CarPlay.

Screen freezes up 2-3 times a week and time is the only thing that seems to fix this issue, turning it off then back on does nothing.

A month of so ago the HU kept attempting to play music from my phone and the radio at the same time, this lasted about 2 days before going away and hasn't returned :noidea:

Not sure if this is Sonys fault or a law they have to follow but the start up screen which states something about always paying attention to the road will never go away unless you press "Okay". I wish it had a time limit or something, just a small annoyance.

I've checked the wiring multiple times now, everything is in order. I even completely replaced the Metra wiring harness (I think thats the brand) to no avail.

I have not tried using a USB flash drive to play music or movies yet so no comments on that.

Really the only thing I do like about this HU is that is matte black and better matches the stock HU.