Factory Car Audio Upgrade - Update

[DWalt]

If you select what vehicle you have, Crutchfield will show everything they sell that will fit it. What took the most time for me was splicing the wires together. But they are color coded. Not difficult but somewhat time consuming. You use something like small wire nuts which you must buy separately.

 

[boykinlp]

My factory head unit had a CD player, but I never used it.

I remember the days of having CD holders over both sun visors, and a book of them in the back seat.

Flash drives are the only way to go. Around 20K songs on a 64GB drive. I'm waiting for a good flash drive reader to be made for my home stereo.

I remember the days of having a few 8-track tapes stuffed in the glovebox, and graduating from that to having a small briefcase sized cassette holder. I wouldn't know what to do with a flash drive. Is that "Flash Gordon's" vehicle?
Larry

 

[S42N8]

Crutchfield is your friend. Everything folks said above is true, and they value your business. Their online guide to parts and fitment is excellent.

 

[Rat458]

I have always had the best luck with Alpine and Pioneer in the past.
I see the car audio business going away since newer cars come with built in units that are part of the auto now.
Wife was not happy when we went car shopping last year and the built in systems are terrible and no way to upgrade.
She misses her CD's.

 

[TX-Dennis]

If you select what vehicle you have, Crutchfield will show everything they sell that will fit it. What took the most time for me was splicing the wires together. But they are color coded. Not difficult but somewhat time consuming. You use something like small wire nuts which you must buy separately.

Or Crutchfield will sell you a plug and play wiring kit - no splicing necessary.

 

[DWalt]

On mine, the new radio had all the wires coming out of it with bare ends. I had to connect those to an adapter plug which plugged into the receptacle for all the power and speaker wires.That adapter plug was part of the purchase. I had to use the miniature wire nuts to do that. About a dozen wire splices were needed as I remember. I believe an envelope with the wire nuts was about $10 extra from Crutchfield, they were not part of the package.

 

[TX-Dennis]

On mine, the new radio had all the wires coming out of it with bare ends. I had to connect those to an adapter plug which plugged into the receptacle for all the power and speaker wires.That adapter plug was part of the purchase. I had to use the miniature wire nuts to do that. About a dozen wire splices were needed as I remember. I believe an envelope with the wire nuts was about $10 extra from Crutchfield, they were not part of the package.

Aha. The ones I helped my son with a few years back had plugs on the back rather than hard wiring. That would make the splices necessary. I have spliced wiring on vehicles, but I usually solder the wires and cover with shrink tubing. It just seems more secure with all the vibration that comes with the territory.

 

[Kanewpadle]

I've been researching stereos and speakers for a few weeks now. Didn't think I needed to replace the stereo but then I started having problems pairing my phone to it.

So today I got irritated and stopped by local stereo shop.

They installed a middle of the road Kenwood that's highly rated. The difference is amazing.

I'm thankful I paid someone to do it because it looked like a huge pain in the backside.

Speakers are next!

 

[Racer X]

I put a JVC radio in my Ford Ranger last year to replace the original which quit working. I used the factory original speakers. Everything came from Crutchfield, no problems installing it, much better sound quality. Note that few new car systems come with CD players today. Usually just a USB port which is fine with me as all of my music is on thumb drives.

and thumb drives dont skip.

 

[Krogen]

I've been researching stereos and speakers for a few weeks now. Didn't think I needed to replace the stereo but then I started having problems pairing my phone to it.

So today I got irritated and stopped by local stereo shop.

They installed a middle of the road Kenwood that's highly rated. The difference is amazing.

I'm thankful I paid someone to do it because it looked like a huge pain in the backside.

Speakers are next!

Would you be willing to say which shop you used? I have a '14 Tacoma with it's original stereo. It's never been great, and the menu system is horrible. It might be time to replace it. I just want to make sure a new device works with the backup camera and SiriusXM. Fortunately it's not as integrated with other car systems as newer vehicles.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Would you be willing to say which shop you used? I have a '14 Tacoma with it's original stereo. It's never been great, and the menu system is horrible. It might be time to replace it. I just want to make sure a new device works with the backup camera and SiriusXM. Fortunately it's not as integrated with other car systems as newer vehicles.

It's not the old days. That's for sure.

I went to 5 different places. All privately owned. I wasn't impressed. Lack of knowledge. Or don't care.

What I really didn't care for is that none of them had a working display so I could listen to different stereos and speakers.

I finally found a working display at Car Toys in Federal Way. But none of the components were numbered so I had to guess.

I found a fairly knowledgeable employee and he sold me a Kenwood DMX809S stereo. Also had to pay for a mounting kit and miscellaneous cables.

$1200.00 later and I have an outstanding stereo. Lots of money? Yes. But after watching the installer for three hours, I'm happy I paid to have it done.

My steering wheel controls work as does the back up camera. And the sound is amazing even with factory speakers. But they will get replaced. I will do that myself. Probably buy from Crutchfield.

I have an IPhone. The stereo emulates my phone making things much easier.

 

[kozmic]

I've always had great success with JL Audio speakers, subs and amps. I put them in my wife's '94, 25th Anniversary Trans Am convertible and in my 2009 Pontiac G8GT. I put in an Alpine head unit in the T/A and left all in one head in the G8. Life is too short to listen to ****** music.
FYI, I bought most from a local stereo shop and the balance from Crutchfield.

 

[Krogen]

It's not the old days. That's for sure.

I went to 5 different places. All privately owned. I wasn't impressed. Lack of knowledge. Or don't care.

What I really didn't care for is that none of them had a working display so I could listen to different stereos and speakers.

I finally found a working display at Car Toys in Federal Way. But none of the components were numbered so I had to guess.

I found a fairly knowledgeable employee and he sold me a Kenwood DMX809S stereo. Also had to pay for a mounting kit and miscellaneous cables.

$1200.00 later and I have an outstanding stereo. Lots of money? Yes. But after watching the installer for three hours, I'm happy I paid to have it done.

My steering wheel controls work as does the back up camera. And the sound is amazing even with factory speakers. But they will get replaced. I will do that myself. Probably buy from Crutchfield.

I have an IPhone. The stereo emulates my phone making things much easier.

Thanks, Kanewpadle. I appreciate your comments. Although I was thinking of the backup camera, it's good to hear they could make the steering wheel controls work. I forgot about those. I've seen Car Toys stores before but I've not talked with them. Federal Way is quite a drive for me, so hopefully there's one within striking distance. Again, thanks for the insight!

 

[Kanewpadle]

Thanks, Kanewpadle. I appreciate your comments. Although I was thinking of the backup camera, it's good to hear they could make the steering wheel controls work. I forgot about those. I've seen Car Toys stores before but I've not talked with them. Federal Way is quite a drive for me, so hopefully there's one within striking distance. Again, thanks for the insight!

I neglected to mention the back up camera. The special cable also made mine work. With much better resolution I might add.

I'm sure you will be able to find one close by.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Final Results

Finally done upgrading my stereo system.

Found a local car audio shop that took the time to talk to me and answer questions.

I ordered an Audio Control amp, 6x9 component speakers for front doors and 6.5 for the rear doors.

The amp is rated at 50 watts per channel. But independent tests show that the output is over 100 watts. I can enthusiastically attest to this.

The sound and clarity is amazing. And the 6x9 speakers punch well above their weight in bass response. I thought I might need a sub woofer but this is quite enough. You don't need to hear me coming from 3 blocks away.

I spent a fair amount but I knew I wanted premium sound because I drive a lot.

It was a worthwhile investment. I'm happy.

 

[madmikeb]

When I bought my Tacoma you couldn't even hear the stereo at 50 mph with the windows down. Went through Crutchfield and put a JVC head unit with hands free bluetooth in the dash, Polk Audio component 2 ways in the doors powered by a Rockford Fosgate 50 watt amp under the passenger seat. Then added a Thunderforms 10" 250 watt sub with adjustable crossovers behind the drivers seat. Seeings as the truck is a regular cab I succeeded in my goal to have a stereo I could hear on the highway with the windows down!
My Mustang has the factory 11 speaker 1000 watt stereo so I haven't had to touch that.
I take my music seriously!

 

[Rustyt1953]

My 16 yo grandson did a system upgrade in his F150.

He did it himself with help from YouTube. He did a good job as it surely kicks out the jams.






The boy's got taste.

 

[CordWood]

And think when I installed an 8 track tape deck in my 1963 Chevy I had hit the apex of mobile entertainment.
Butch