What are the ratings on the Scion HU's?

[Casper]

I just replaced my stock non-jbl speakers with Alpine TypeS's and the sound is a hella lot better but seeing as the Scion HU's seem to be one of the top mods that everyone does, I was just wondering if anyone knew why they were so much better. I cant seem to find info on the Headunit either here or on the scion website...

More power per channel and RMS?
Better Signal to noise Ratio?

anyone?

Im going to do it but just wanted to know if anyone had really dived into this more than just a "oh it sounds better" type thing.

 

[Bluto]

I had the single disc, non-JBL. I put in an Alpine, still have stock speakers. I'm adding a sub.

The stock radio does not output any high or low frequencys. The power bandwith stinks. My Alpine probably does 20-20kHz. The stock radio sounds like 1k-8k. No highs or lows.

I think the stock speakers sound very good now, music is clear, I hear more details. I can create some distortion down low. But with a sub, no need to drive the stock speakers low.

The Scion is 160 watt and probably has a good power bandwidth.

 

[Casper]

bluto,

thanks for the bit of info man....

 

[TRD04RUNNER]

lol stock HU put out like 5 to 10 w RMS s2nr like 85. people just like it cause it fit and plug in perfectly without any modification and its play mp3 . other then that its just a stock HU. get a aftermarket HU you'll be a lot happier!

 

[greasefingers]

Manufactures exaggerate specifications, so be careful. Ok, they flat out lie. I chucked in an Alpine CDA 9830 (18 watts x 4) and a Scion 160 watts (maybe the Scion is 160/4 = 40watts) stereo. Guess which one can play louder and much more clear. The Alpine HU of course. The nice things about aftermarket HUs is the inputs & outputs and of course greater power. The nice thing about the Scion is that it fills the double-DIN area.

 

[Casper]

Im 100% sure that a mid pack to higher end unit is of course going to sound better than a stock HU but Im also done with the adding of something to a car and it doesnt quite look right or work right, so thats why im going to go with the Scion deck.

I hate the "smaller deck in a bigger opening look" as I think it looks cheap...I have done it with other cars but Im done with the process.

 

[TRD04RUNNER]

Manufactures exaggerate specifications, so be careful. Ok, they flat out lie. I chucked in an Alpine CDA 9830 (18 watts x 4) and a Scion 160 watts (maybe the Scion is 160/4 = 40watts) stereo. Guess which one can play louder and much more clear. The Alpine HU of course. The nice things about aftermarket HUs is the inputs & outputs and of course greater power. The nice thing about the Scion is that it fills the double-DIN area.

also don't forget watts and RMS power is totally different rateing! RMS is true power a HU or amp will put out all the time. when buying car audio stuff look for RMS power and not WATTS!stock HU don't put out more them 5 to 7w RMS any thing more them that you would have a factory amp somewhere in the back.

 

[Derek]

Im 100% sure that a mid pack to higher end unit is of course going to sound better than a stock HU but Im also done with the adding of something to a car and it doesnt quite look right or work right, so thats why im going to go with the Scion deck.

I hate the "smaller deck in a bigger opening look" as I think it looks cheap...I have done it with other cars but Im done with the process.

I for one can recommend the Scion head unit as a great alternative to the stock head unit. When I had my SR5 the first thing I wanted to do was give the audio an extra kick. After doing a lot of reading here and printing out instructions on how to do the install, I purchased a single-disc from the Scion forums. (I had purchased a 6-disc but it was damaged during shipping)

The improvement in sound quality is like night and day. Probably the best $100 I've ever spent on anything to be honest. I WISH I could install one in my SE, but it has the JBL so I'm just going to stick with the stock head unit. The best thing about the single disc Scion head unit is that the color of the display actually matches the stock amber 4Runner color so it looks stock even at night. Here are two pics I took after the install in my '04...

 

[killer_diller]

I found the Scion HU mod great for being able to add the XM Satellite Radio and having a clean integrated system with keeping the functionality of the steering wheel audio/tuner controls.

KD

 

[4route]

The Scion HU was one of the best mods I've done -- and believe me when I say I've done a lot.