Trying to Decide on a Head Unit

I am done with my OEM Entune in my 2017 and would like to hear what you guys are running. I have seen the dedicated threads for Joying, Alpine, Daisita (?).... all of which have had me put them in a cart on Amazon or Crutchfield, but I cant pull the trigger. The Chinese units look awesome and almost OEM with how flush they are with the 9" screens, but all have glitches that I prefer not to deal with over the years of ownership.

My main goal is add Apple Carplay and make my existing Kicker system sound better without consistent glitches. I definitely would spend a little more money to get a flush 8-9" screen, but entertaining the floating screens as well. Also would like to add a front camera when I do all this... but not a deal breaker. Ideally... under $800. Thanks for any intel you guys have.

 

I picked up one of these, waiting on the Maestro and wiring harnesses to show up to do the install. I can take some pics and do a little review if you like.

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-2xow68CYZPN/p_158XAV4000/Sony-XAV-AX4000.html

 

Yeah that checks most of the boxes for sure--- hoping to get this done by the weekend.

 

Did something similar but ended up going with the 7000 to get the full-powered head unit - although you lose the wireless carplay... a tradeoff I had to think about for a while but ultimately made for better sound.

 

I almost pulled the trigger today on the 7000 but crutchfield gave me a warning saying that you can’t have an amp already. I already have a 5 ch amp for my speakers and sub.

 

Pioneer wc6600 is what I went with. Got crutchfield to make a harness. Most of the functionality is there with the aftermarket. Wireless carplay is more than worth what you lose

 

My head unit went out. Got a big upgrade in sound and Android auto. Uses same speakers and amp.
Alpine ILX-F509 Halo9

 

For under 800 you will probably have to give up the idea of a floating screen and maybe even a little size.
The Pioneer NEX in 9 and 10" are up to $1500
Alpine screens are about $1200

I scored a pretty sweet Kenwood for the 800 you're looking to stay in. Carplay, all the features and great picture.

Or hold out till stereos are realistically priced again.

 

Yeah looking into them, I was surprised that they do seem pricier these days

 

I know the microchip shortage spured the price hike. But I thought that was caught up and they continue to increase.:-(

 

Got it in this evening and mostly set up. With the right harnesses I literally only had to cut and crimp one wire. More detail later when I’m not on my phone.

 

Okay.

So, the gotchas that Crutchfield didn't pick up on.

When I built out the combo for my truck on their site, they recommended the following parts:



BUT ... I also needed these:




The USB connector on the back of the head unit is a USB-C, so the Clavoop adapter plugs into it, the

$16 AX-TOYUSB USB Adapter for Select Toyota & Lexus OEM USB Female 30CM

AX-TOYUSB plugs into that, and then the stock USB harness plugs into that. The connection was pretty snug, but I added some electrical tape at the junction to keep the two together.

Bonus: stock USB port works as expected (honestly didn't try the aux, because who needs it), PLUS it charges my phone. I've already got a charging cord routed around the dash liner to a phone mount, so not 100% necessary, but nice to have as an option.

I used a grand total of two cables out of the head unit assortment - the microphone and the GPS antenna. The GPS antenna is also used for the Wi-Fi signal for wireless CarPlay, so don't forget to put it in like I did at first. The XM antenna lead is taped next to the AM/FM antenna, and I thought that was meant to go into the back of the head unit as the GPS plug is similar, but it wouldn't work. Scratched my head over that a little bit until I started Googling to see why CarPlay wasn't working.

The Maestro wiring diagram is ... a little busy, and kind of daunting. The one nice thing I will say is this - all of the plugs are uniquely sized, so I don't think you can plug the wrong thing in the wrong spot. Take your time and it all kind of comes together. With my truck configuration, there were a couple of connections labeled "NC", and those didn't plug into anything.

One thing that's not super clear is what to do with the powered antenna lead. There's a female spade connector attacked to the Maestro harness, and the smaller lead on the Metra adapter has the insulation precut. I didn't have any spade connectors, so I just got the end off the Maestro side and spliced the two together. That was literally the ONLY wires I had to splice. The Maestro ACC-HU-SON1 plugged directly into the Sony head unit, the Maestro harness plugged into that, the Maestro itself, and the factory wiring. It seems like a crapton of wiring, but honestly, the factory head unit is so big that there was plenty of room left.

One odd thing I did run into was the microphone. It comes with a clip mount and a flat mount with 3M tape. I didn't like the way to clip mount felt, and the 3M tape would NOT stuck to the inside of my truck for anything. I bought some heavier duty stuff and got it to stick, but it's still not quite as secure as I'd expect. Anyone else ever run into anything similar? Starting to wonder if the dealership used Armor All on the interior or something before I bought it, heh.

Also - changing the wallpaper to a custom one was as simple as loading it on a thumbdrive, installing that in the factory USB, and selecting it on the touchscreen. Same goes for the firmware, and I would recommend updating as the one that come on the Sony out of the box was pretty old.

 

More pics. Wallpaper:


Microphone location:

 

Have you tried the audio on the BT yet? Thoughts? Thanks for all the details

 

I always feel like the kits like this look cheap. I know they are normally better made then the ones "Made to fit" but they just look 1990's cheap.

 

I just installed all new Kicker speakers in my ‘16 DC, its a bit better than stock. So i will be hunting down a new headunit also. I’ve been eyeballing the kenwood ones. Yet still undecided.

 

Phone calls sound much better than stock HU in my opinion. Spotify, USB, and radio quality are very good.

 

I’m going to first point out I’m old, but knobs.

Specifically a volume knob.

I won’t buy a head unit without one.

‘I ain’t got time to push a volume button 30 times.

 

I honestly thought the whole sound system enthusiast scene died back when Domenic Torreto first surfaced… who knew?!