Is a new head unit worth the$$$

2021 crew cab
Is I better head unit worth the money?
I have a non JBL stereo in it now that sounds amazing but I was wondering if I upgrade
The head unit would be worth the money. I have already did a upgrade with
Focal components front and rear, JL 8" ported sub and JL XD 700 AMP .
Right now I'm in the researching this.
Thank you for your input.

 

I don't think so. I did a AudioControl LC7i with a Kicker 5 channel amp. Likely have the same JL 8" ported sub as you. Did kickers in all doors and the Kicker subaru tweeters and mine sound awesome.

I actually really like the non JBL stock head unit. Screen is huge and I get no bass roll off with the LC7i.

 

For what you’ve done, it comes down to features. Is there a feature you’d like to have, but don’t. Would $500-600 be worth that feature?

 

No not looking for features ,but would a better head unit have a even cleaner sound ? don't get me wrong it sounds amazing but Would a better head unit
Improve sound quality even more or a little more . when I was looking for an amp I was told that the better quality amps put out a cleaner sound so
I was wondering if it was the same with the head unit.

 

If it’s already good, are you willing to spend money and it not be “more” amazing?

My vote is, No. It’s not worth it.

 

You’re happy with what you have now, yes? Are you willing to drop $5-600 on a headunit, $7-800 on an amp for an incremental improvement?

 

I have had a refurbished WC6600NEX sitting on my workshop bench for 6 months now.... So stock obviously hasn't bothered me THAT much. But I'm going to actually do the install this weekend. I'll let you know how I feel about it after. Mainly I'm just looked forward to a better screen interface.

 

If you like the way it sounds now then don't replace the head unit unless you want to add features like wireless carplay/android auto or more EQ/Crossover adjustability. It is true that better quality amps put out cleaner power, but there is a point of diminishing returns and the rabbit hole you can go down chasing those incremental improvements can lead to much more pain in the wallet.

 

Thank you for your replays I'm going to pass on a head unit now that it won't give me the benefits that is was
Hoping for . Booka let us know how it turns out , and thanks again for the info and keeping me away from the rabbit hole.

 

I feel the same. The signal coming from the stock head unit is not a clean signal, I can hear a clear tweeter hiss and the signal looks horrendous on an RTA. Other than that it sounds pretty good but I have heard better sound coming out of $100 kenwood stereos.

If you want cleaner sound then a radio replacement for an aftermarket Kenwood/Pioneer/Sony/Alpine would definitely give you a cleaner signal and improve sound quality. The question is whether the improvement is worth the price and effort, I think it is, It really depends on what you want to prioritize right now. I don't think your thinking is wrong.

 

If you are happy with how it sounds then keep the head unit , But from experience and the way my truck sounds now an aftermarket head unit makes a HUGE difference. The signal coming off the factory head unit is not the best . Unless you spend lots of $ to correct it. You’d be amazed at the difference

 

It’s funny but I may change out the head unit down the road , but right now the house is taking my spare cash.

 

And if you spend the $$ to correct it, you might as well just replace the head unit. It won't be much more.

 

You just said it sounds amazing. Uhhhhhh

 

A new head unit a decent one at least starts you off with a nice clean signal. Full bodied like it’s supposed to be . Believe it or not you can take a good aftermarket head unit, put all new mid grade speakers and just that will sound ions better than the non jbl system. Add a powered sub and you’ll be amazed . Add a four channel amp maybe 50 or 75 x4 , boom next level. Your amplifying a good signal

 

Not to on anyone's parade here, but anyone ever stop to wonder why amplifiers (including HU amp chips) have a distortion rating, but your speakers don't? Year's back, I attended a Focal product training session where someone asked the trainer what the distortion rating of their speakers were, and the training staff all got that look on their face that you get when you're part of an inside joke that someone who isn't just asked about. Their answer (paraphrased and about 15 yrs old now, not that I think time has changed much) was "If we told you what our speaker distortion ratings were, we wouldn't be able to upsell customers on better, cleaner amplifiers, because the distortion from the amplifiers is so insignificant compared to the distortion the speakers are capable of." That's coming from one of the top names in the speaker manufacturer realm that pride themselves on the quality of their speakers.

OEM car stereos USED TO (not sure if they still do) only output a bandpass signal to the speakers, something akin to 40hz to 12,000hz, to increase the longevity of their speakers, under the mindset that the higher and lower frequencies are harder to produce (that's why we have dedicated speakers called woofers/subwoofer and tweeters, which are designed specifically for that purpose). Used to be that hooking a sub up to an OEM HU would sound 'okay', but as soon as you hooked it up to an aftermarket HU, you would get so much more out of the sub because you were essentially getting a full spectrum signal going to the amplifier. Same thing with your tweeters.

Your HU puts out the signal, so yes a better HU will put out a cleaner sound (see previous rant). Your amplifiers don't put out a 'cleaner sound', they just amplify the signal going to them (and hopefully don't color the sound very much), so if your HU is sending a dirty signal, the amplifiers are just going to amplify a dirty signal. Same is true of everything in the signal chain between the HU and the speakers, you're just hoping they don't color the sound too much.

My $0.02, as someone who's been tinkering with car stereos for nearly 30 years, and spent nearly 10 years installing them professionally:

If you hadn't done anything up to this point, I would say replace your HU if you need additional features and/or you don't like how it functions (this is the reason I'm replacing my HU here soon). Replace your speakers if you don't like how the OEM stuff sounds. Add an amplifier if it's not loud enough for you, and add a subwoofer if it doesn't thump enough. Otherwise save your money for more important mods/things.

Considering what you've already purchased, yes replace your HU... everything will sound better.