Recommend a HU: 2011 SR5 Dbl Cab, plug and play

I'm looking to upgrde the stereo in my new 2011 Double Cab SR5. I am looking to replace the HU and the speakers only. I have done the whole shebang before, with head unit, amp, sub amp, subs, component speakers, EQ and blah blah blah. I don't want to go down that route again. Too much money, too much hassle, and I'm 40 years old with two toddlers who think the stock radio is too loud, and who will be "helping" me during the install. I'm looking to replace the factory HU and the factory speakers and that's it. No amps. No subs. Just a head unit with enough juice to drive the speakers to a moderate volume and sound nice.

I know that this is still wide open, so I'll try to narrow down my likes and dislikes a bit and get some advice:

What I need:

Good, clean sound. I don't need loud. Ability to tweak the soundspace on the HU would be a plus.

Bluetooth hands free dialing, with GOOD voice quality. This is a must.

Integration with the steering wheel controls (I know kits are out there, and that ********* is a source).

Clean-looking install. Is the Metra or the Scochie (sp?) kit generally regarded as being the better fit?

Aux in, either using the OEM AUX port or one on the HU.

Ability to do bluetooth Pandora integration would be nice, but not mandatory.

USB-in would be very nice.

Plug and play install. By this I mean "I buy the HU, I buy a wiring harness, I plug it together and I stuff it in the dash". I'll have two little helpers and the less frustration I have the less ... ah ... colorful vocabulary they will learn.

What I don't need:

Nav. I have a phone for that.

Sirius/XM. Don't have it, and don't care to.

HD Radio. See above.

Video.

Ipod control. I have an MP3 player, but it's not an Ipod.

What I don't care about:

Single or Double DIN. If I can get it done with a single DIN unit, that's fine. If I need a double, that's fine, too.

Touchscreen. They're nice, but I'm not dying to have one.

CD or CD changer. Right now all of my CDs are in a box in the basement. I'm running everything from my MP3 player or the media server on my NAS at home.

I'd like to keep the budget for the HU at around $500 or under.

Eventually I'll do the speakers, too, but for right now I'm doing the best-bang-for-the-buck thing and replacing the existing stereo and getting hands-free BT at the same time. Does anyone have a recommendation for a HU? If you have a recommendation for a HU/speaker combo, I'd like to hear it, too. I know that speakers are a very individual thing, but I still value input on that. For reference, my old truck was running Infinity Kappas, and I liked 'em a lot.

Thanks in advance!

Mike

 

Eclipse is plug n play. IDK if they have everything you want tho

 

What about the Sony DSX-S310BTX? It doesn't seem to have the AUX in, but it has everything else....anyonehave any experience?

Thanks,

Mike

 

Kenwood KDC-X895.

I installed mine in about 90 minutes (first time doing an audio install). I ordered from Crutchfield, it came with the Metra dash kit for free. Its got IPod and 3.5mm head phone jack on the front faceplate. Bluetooth installed with great reception.

Only drawback is there are no preset buttons. You have to press a button then scroll to the preset you want. Or use the remote.

Overall its very user friendly. I highly recommend it

 

Check out this website http://www.sonicelectronix.com the site is user friendly with good info about products and their prices aren't bad either. That's where I did most of my research. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the responses. The Crutchfield site says that the folding-face Sony DSX may not fit, but I thought I read somewhere that it did. Can anyone confirm?

Also, is the Metra dash kit or the Scosche kit the better way to go? Is there a build quality difference, or does one look cleaner than the other?

Mike

 

AVIC z130BT! I have the 120BT and it does all of that!

 

I can't speak to any others, but I just got the Scosche kit from bestbuy.com. I bought it because I thought it had metal side brackets, but it doesn't. It does fit well and look okay (duller than the OEM, but that's okay too as it's not going to make my stereo stand out to passersby as much). I am disappointed in the flimsy brackets and only two mounting points underneath, but I think it's going to work okay. I'm going with a double-DIN opening so I can stuff my CB in-dash underneath a singe head unit. Haven't found the right HU yet, but I had to dremel the trim ring so my standard-sized single-DIN CB would fit.

 

Thanks for the input, guys. After consulting with the brains of the operation (Wife), It Has Been Determined (tm) that DVD capability would be nice to have, since we might use the truck as a bad-weather trip-maker with the kiddos. I'll post another thread with questions about that.

Thanks,

Mike