Crutchfield Review

I ordered an alpine cda-105 head unit from crutchfield.com a few days ago. I am very pleased with my order. It was one of their signature products so they threw in free shipping 3 day, and the alpine ipod cord. I got to installing my unit today and this being my first mod to the truck and my first vehicle audio install i definitely ran into some snags. Nothing crutchfield couldnt fix. I couldn't get the hazard light and clock out of the stock stereo and so i called crutchfield, told them the problem and the guy said he owned a tacoma.(yay crutchfield is already better than anyone else) and he explained to me the exact way to get it out. im stupid and didnt understand him and so he emailed me a detailed picture and within 5 minutes i was able to get it out. everything went fine after that. so thanks to cecil(taco owner) at crutchfield, i was able to install the unit all by myself. yay

 

crutchfield is awesome when it comes to service. a lot of companies could learn a thing or two from them.

 

I'm looking at putting in a large order (HU, four speakers) with Crutchfield in a few days. I was also looking at that Alpine unit, or similarly designed single din units. Does the flip down mechanism operate adequately even with the large volume knob? I was concerned that the recessed nature of the unit might have some interference problems with the big knob. It flips down just fine?

BTW, Nice looking HU.

 

my alpine flip down works fine. it doesn't go down 100%, more like 90%, but it's more than enought to put in and take out cd's.

 

^^ yep, same here.

Anyone thinking of buying a stereo should also check out pacificstereo.com
They have a cool Price Match button that will search the net for you for the best price. It's not perfect, but it saved me $70 on my Alpine CDA-117

 

You pay more with Crutchfield but the customer service is defiantly worth it. They were a huge help when I was trying to figure out my home theater.

 

I agree completely. They are rarely the lowest price ( I don't think I have ever seen them low) but they definately make up the difference with their customer service.

 

I am ordering from them so that I can get all the "extra" stuff to go with my selections. Wiring adapters, speaker brackets, dash kit are all added bonuses of going with them. Otherwise I'd have to seek out separate places, and I don't really feel like doing that.

 

the flip down works great. it doesnt go down all the way but idk if its supposed anyways. you can easily get to the cd changer. also i am now thinking that after i get my lift i am going to want new speakers and a sub because this unit is so awesome i want it to live up to full potential. This stereo with the volume at 10 is pretty loud. so far i havent been above maybe 15 on volume

 

their customer service is the bomb and because they include the dash kit it was a good deal. dash kit and wiring harness can be about 50 bucks anywhere you go so its like taking 50 bucks off the price of the deck which makes the price fairly competitive but definitely worth it.

 

Good info and thread.
I have ordered with Crutchfield many times & never have been disappointed. They messed up an order once before a big open house I was having & did a Saturday overnight delivery to make it right plus gave me a $25 gift card.

My last order with them was for my tacoma's modest stereo upgrade. I spent $109 for the Kenwood Deck, fit kit & wiring harness plus free shipping. The product was at my door in 2 days.

There is also a $20 coupon code for any purchase that I posted in the deals & coupon section here on TW.

Glad you like your new stereo. It looks awesome. I love mine too. Best upgrade I ever did for the $$ and should it done a long time ago.

 

How do you guys like the speaker adapters that Crutchfield ships with speakers ordered from them ? Do they work pretty good ? Just wondering if they do the trick or does everyone just make their own MDF adapters or order those plastic ones from ********* ? Thanks.

 

yeah its funny because i told my stepdad where i got it and he said that his buddy from high school(hes like 37) used to buy from crutchfield and said he would never buy any stereo equipment from anywhere else

 

the brackets are pretty cheap but do work.

i wouldn't order from taco tunes, it might be christmas before you can install your speakers

 

Yeah, I'm not hearing too many positives about them. I had looked at their website and thought the packages looked pretty good and their plastic adapters look nice, but then started reading on here that they aren't very good to deal with. I guess I could use the Crutchfield adapters as a template to make my own from MDF.

Thanks.

 

ok so cecil informed me that hes a member here. you see him around go ahead and posi rep him.

 

BTW his username is Magnetik. so yeah. positive rep. cecil FTW

 

How is the dash install kit that crutchfield gives you? Does it match up well with the dash?

 

it's a solid unit. mathcs up well with the dash. somebody correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe it's the metra brand kit.

 

I have ordered a few different setups from them. Have been very pleased everytime. The HU installed in my wifes previous car had a scratch and I had a new 1 in less than a week. The mounting brackets for the HU and speakers were very easy to install. When it comes time to upgrade what I have in my 2010 Im definitely going Crutchfield.