Head unit upgrade

Yeah, when I installed my Kenwood, I didn't want to bother with spoofing the OEM mic. I ended up running the mic that came with the headunit to the location of the OEM mic. I cut the OEM one out and did a little plastic welding to get the aftermarket one into the same location and it has worked like a charm. I have heard some guys have done just a little trimming with a blade and used superglue.

 

I haven't done it myself, but I do plan to do the same with running the mic up there and just filling it with some foam.

I believe there is also someone that makes an aftermarket HQ mic that fits specifically into the oem spot.

Edit: found the site
https://shop.enfigcarstereo.com/product/enfig-mic-toy1/

 

This is the DMH-WT7600NEX - currently $1200-1300 Bestbuy or Amazon. Also installed the Maestro RR unit - $200 Bestbuy. Sound quality is much improved but head unit still only pushing ~20Watts RMS so Ill need to reinstall a Alpine Power Pack (45wattRMS) I removed when the pioneer got installed.

 

I did the same with the mic that came with the pioneer unit. Removed the stock mic from overhead console and double stick tape the pioneer in its place. I did purchase the aftermarket mic you linked, I just haven't had enough complaints from callers to justify ripping it all apart again.

 

I’ve got the pioneer DMH unit. Personally I love it. I couldn’t go for an android head unit because of audio… I upgraded my stereo system to Focal all around +2 subs. Long story short the android units downscale audio somehow whereas the pioneer does not. Looks close to factory and functions well. Be sure to read up on the different models of the DMH line, there are some fairly important differences. You won’t be disappointed.

 

$840 Pioneer DMH-WC6600NEX Digital Multimedia Receiver with Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 9" Floating Capacitive Touchscreen, Modular Double-DIN, Built-in Bluetooth, WiFi and Amazon Alexa

Pioneer DMH-WC6600NEX head unit; Image Dynamics CXS64 and CTX65; Image Dynamics 12" Sub and NVX VAD110005 5 channel amp. Make your ears bleed.

 

What he said I have joying unit and love it . Very versatile android unit . Apple car play works also . Wireless

 

I can't find anything to complain about with my Kenwood DMX excelon. Originally, I was intending to get a unit that would fit the with a more OEM look. However, by the time I got approval from the boss (my wife), that unit was no longer in stock. In order to seize the moment, I went with the bigger, floating screen. I didn't love it at first, but I would never go back now! It's beautiful, has great sound, does wireless carplay, can handle up to 4 video inputs, yadda, yadda, yadda.

 

It’s nice having a big unit.

 

What do you guys do about Sirius XM? I use it quite a bit on road trips and find it a must have. Called Crutchfield and seems like all the aftermarket units you need a separate Sirius tuner and have to run another antenna etc. Seems like a pain and is pretty much the only thing keeping me from upgrading

 

Yeah, I had to buy the Sirius tuner. In terms of the antenna, it is as simple as buying the cheap adapter and plugging your OEM antenna into it. Easy-peezy.

 

Did you not read his post?

 

Ive been looking into this as well. Seems to me that we have 3 choices. All of which suck because of either PRICE and lack of function.

1.) Pioneer 6600 NEX with all the add on parts and cables at 1500-1600 bucks. Reports show the mic quality can be hit or miss and that some members freezes, reboots.

2.) The stinger tacoma plug and play radio is 1700ish. No wireless carplay. But does have Xm.

3.) One of those China Joying Android auto stereos 500-700. But you loose XM and the carplay part requires an app to work. It's not seamless auto start into car play.

 

My Kenwood DMX1057XR came in less than the Pioneer with all the components (Sirius, maestro and adaptors). Using the supplied mic has been great (better than OEM by far).

 

Mics apparently are hit or miss on all these units, which seems a little odd.
Nonetheless, I'm three years in, give or take, and still have no complaints using the mic in the Dasaita head unit itself.
It came with a remote mount mic, but I decided to give the one in the head unit a go, and it's just never given me a reason to pop plastics.

 

Posting to follow.

 

The price of the WC6600NEX sure has drastically went up, I remember it used to cost $800, now it is $1200... A $400 increase...


In regards to mics, instead of using the mic that comes with the headunits, you can grab the one made by enfig. Quite a number of Tacoma and 4Runner owners have reported that it sounds better then the OEM mic.
https://shop.enfigcarstereo.com/product/enfig-mic-toy1/

 

I personally like Sirius, BUT, I never listen to it, and rarely listen to the radio at all. So, once my initial 90 free trial was over with, I never renewed it. Well, I take that back. When I went on my cross country trip in 2019, I took advantage of a 90 period for only ONE DOLLAR, that they were offering back then. And I have to admit that having Sirius on a long trip is really great, as it never goes out of range, as is the case with FM or AM. So I was able to listen to the Johnny Carson station, which they had at the time, all the way across the country. It was pretty good, even without the video. BUT, once I got back, I canceled and have never gotten back on Sirius. If one travels a lot on the road, then I could see it, but other than that, I don't need it, and quite frankly, I wish I could get it off of my Head Unit, so I don't see the icon. And don't tell me to move the icon, because that would only then bring more unneeded icons to the front screen!

 

Why are you being a jerk and only quoting half the post and not the part where I mentioned aftermarket options. Trolls man it tell ya.

 

I went w the Alpine ILX-650W & Alpine Power Pack to push all around kicker inside speakers and 2 JL Audio 10’s w 760W Amp.