Aftermarket stereo options ?

[Greg Roles]

If you had a poverty factory stereo like mine in 2008, it was no loss. People always comment on the gauges anyhow. I want a groovier Alpine Head now, they've progressed since 08!

[RosscoMK3]

Love your work Greg. Mmmmmm. Gauges.

I've never owned an Alpine stereo but, I have owned plenty of other brands that completely transformed the sound on the stock speakers.The idea of starting with the head unit and gradually swapping out the speakers is sounding like a winner to me.

[willow]

Love your work Greg. Mmmmmm. Gauges.

I've never owned an Alpine stereo but, I have owned plenty of other brands that completely transformed the sound on the stock speakers.The idea of starting with the head unit and gradually swapping out the speakers is sounding like a winner to me.

It's not really the right way to go to be honest. Component speakers powered by a decent amp will make the biggest difference to the sound. A head unit can give better tuning ability, time alignment, crossover adjustments etc but will only make a small difference to the sound a factory speaker puts out. If it's a head unit you want though, then by all means go for it. If I was chasing sound quality, a head unit is the last thing I would upgrade, I'd go in the following direction:

1. Sound deaden front doors
2. Add decent 2 way or 3 way splits
3. Amp the speakers
4. Add a decent sub
5. Add a sound processor
6. Change the head unit if you don't want a sound processor
7. Deep cycle battery and upgraded earth

[RosscoMK3]

It's not really the right way to go to be honest. Component speakers powered by a decent amp will make the biggest difference to the sound. A head unit can give better tuning ability, time alignment, crossover adjustments etc but will only make a small difference to the sound a factory speaker puts out. If it's a head unit you want though, then by all means go for it. If I was chasing sound quality, a head unit is the last thing I would upgrade, I'd go in the following direction:

1. Sound deaden front doors
2. Add decent 2 way or 3 way splits
3. Amp the speakers
4. Add a decent sub
5. Add a sound processor
6. Change the head unit if you don't want a sound processor
7. Deep cycle battery and upgraded earth

Thanks for the advice Willow.
Point taken. Although I guess it all depends on how bad the original head unit is to begin with.
In the case of my previous vehicles they were pretty bad and I felt the improvement to be a large one.

If I was looking to create an amazing sound system then your list would be a cracker. For my purposes the list would start with a head unit that offers improved functionality and gives me more options.

Doof, doof cars make me cringe (Sorry to all the doofers out there but very few people like it). I guess I'd only get to use a full system on country drives when the noise of the car would drown out any benefit.

[Greg Roles]

That is indeed the theory, yet the head unit alone made a large real world difference, and I did all the rest of your
list and then some, yet the difference didn't seem as huge. I am just saying I was amazed how good just a head unit sounded, and would actually suit some people, I could have lived with it. No it is not what you would expect.

Oh I tuned my current stereo with the Sheffield labs gold CD and a DB meter, so my subsequent speaker install was indeed all out.

[RosscoMK3]

Update.
I gave up on spending thousands of dollars on OEM parts to do what I want and found a place in Honkers that will make what I want for a good price.
For under $500 landed I'm willing to give it a go and be the guinea pig for others. If it all goes pear shaped I'll flog it on Ebay.

This is the unit, although the specs on the website need to be updated. All the units are running the newest software and chipsets.
VW SEAT SKODA Passat GOLF 5 6 Touran Tiguan EOS T5 [AS-W7] : A-SURE!, Car DVD GPS | HD DVD GPS NAVI | Din Car DVD Player GPS - A-sure.com.hk
I don't have any affiliation with this company nor have I posted this link to advertise their product. If it turns out to be a POS I'll advertise that fact.
After several emails I've worked out which bits of the website haven't been updated and the unit I've ordered has all the extra bells and whistles but looks like the one in the link I've posted.The communication so far has been pretty good and this isn't the first item I've had spec'd and sent out from China. 3 to 5 days and we shall see.
My Questions are as follows.
1. How do you remove the existing fascia and stereo?
2. Has anyone used the wireless reverse cameras yet and are they any good?
3. Would an OEM reverse camera be an easy install or am I dreaming?
4.What is the best place for an external mic if I decide the inbuilt one is crap( and how do I get it there)?

Thanks

[walbjj]

a few of the hilux guys run the a-sure unit. its ok for what u pay for. but it isnt the best. if ur not into car audio, then it will do what u want, and for the dollars spent it will do the job.
but to me, spending $500 as compared to $1000 isnt that much of a step up. im not made of money, but putting things into perspective, if im gonna do it, ill do it right, once

[RosscoMK3]

I hear where your coming from and most things I buy are the best I can afford. All my tools of trade are second to none.
This on the other hand is just a car stereo and in order to get all the features I want it would cost me a few grand to go OEM.
It cost me 25k at 18 months of age and will only be worth 20k in another year.To spend 3k+ would be foolish on a car I drive once or twice a week.
If someone can show me a way to install a MDI, RNS510 and premium bluetooth kit for $1k please show me the way.

I always struggle to undersand the need for amazing stereo sound in cars. The road noise always messes with it anyway.
A good head unit and decent speakers has always been enough for me.

[walbjj]

u dont have to go overboard. i spent $1k total on all my stuff incl install. u can see by my sig that i used quality components. in ur case, u dont have to get oem. u can get any aftermarket HU as u dont ahve to deal with the loss of mfd like i would with the mk6.
u can get a bt pioneer hu for about $300, and good speakers and an amp, and ur off.

[Gumpf]

I just got an Alpine INA 900 installed during the week. Paid $1300 for the unit which I'm very happy with compared to the cost of an RNS 510.
It looks sweet as and comes with BT and USB connection. After install I'd say I'm at least $2k better off.