I give in. I'll get a head unit. Wanna help?

Quartersawn

CarAudio.com Recruit
49
3
If you haven't seen me around here yet I am a motivated and eager to learn idiot. I will get some terms wrong, promise. I am very overwhelemed by the process of upgrading my system in my 2018 Toyota Corolla. I have a thread where some very cool people have helped me but I think I need to dumb it down.

Originally I wanted to keep the interior look of my car by not changing the head unit. After a 2 hour drive yesterday I realized my HU doesn't really do much. THEN I realized that you can get a head unit that does sound staging (wrong term?) things like 12 band EQ, time alignment, and crossover. PLUS my car doesn't interact with my phone almost at all. Android Auto looks pretty cool for that.

So I can save a step by not buying a signal processor, I wont have to flatten the stock radio signal, and I get a significantly better UI? Why didn't anyone tell me I was being dumb? Lol

Am I on the right track? That I can have all that in the head unit?

What models do you recommend? Which ones don't lag, have good controls for audio, and have a nice resolution? I can sacrifice power. I am not looking to be a loud car. My stock HU gets almost loud enough. An upgrade to 40 or 50 watts (seems to be the norm for the ones I have seen) should be plenty.

Goals: Again, motivated noob, bear with me.

Ability to dial in EQ, time, and whatever else to make a system with updraded woofers, tweets, and an undetermined sub (will have it's own power of course) be used to it's potential, within reason. If I can save money on a processor I am willing to spend more on the HU.

I appreciate all the help I can get. I am no stranger to forums, I will post a build log once I know what the hell I am doing.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Here is what I am working with.

0412190950.jpg

0412190951.jpg

0412190952a.jpg

The corolla has a larger face than double DIN. I would love a large high res screen to fit in the space. The larger the screen the less of an ugly mounting ring I will have to put in. Could be up to an inch on either side if I use a standard double DIN. I haven't found a lot of double DINs with faces larger than the back. Probably not a common thing?

This HU seems to have good reviews and says it has just about everything I ask for. Time, EQ, Android etc. Worth taking a look at? Kenwood Excelon DNX694S

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_113DNX694S/Kenwood-Excelon-DNX694S.html?cc=07&tp=72381

 
As someone who has plenty of Kenwood HU's, I'd advise you not to go with the DNX694. Kenwood units always seem to be buggy as hell in my experience. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I was curious as to what you all thought about the brands. I appreciate the replies. I will take a look a the NEX EX Jeff. I will build my setup based on that. 

 
forgot my comma, EX or NEX 
Jeff, you had a Rolla. Do I need to be concerned about the electrical system of the vehicle when adding a sub? Will a 500w sub amp draw too mcu power from the alternator? I don't plan on using battery power only for audio.

At what point do I need to start thinking about that?

 
Jeff, you had a Rolla. Do I need to be concerned about the electrical system of the vehicle when adding a sub? Will a 500w sub amp draw too mcu power from the alternator? I don't plan on using battery power only for audio.

At what point do I need to start thinking about that?
500 watts plus a 4 channel is nothing. Just do the big 3 upgrade. Best thing to do is add a voltage meter with pos and neg connected to your sub amo and you can monitor voltages.  If its under 12.5 you'll want to swap to an agm battery under the hood. Most likely youll still be above 13 volts easy.

 
500 watts plus a 4 channel is nothing. Just do the big 3 upgrade. Best thing to do is add a voltage meter with pos and neg connected to your sub amo and you can monitor voltages.  If its under 12.5 you'll want to swap to an agm battery under the hood. Most likely youll still be above 13 volts easy.
Nice. I will go into my local shop to try out the individual models of pioneer and make a decision. I am sure I will find more questions about subs lol. I appreciate the help.

 
Played with a few models and think I have decided on the Pioneer DMH-C2500NEX. There are some cooler HUs that I was with 9" screens and stuff but the price is almost double... Way too much for the "cool factor".

While I was at one of the shops I had them tell me what they thought. One shop recommended the AudioControl ACM 1.300 amp to go with the Rockford Fosgate p2 12 sub I was looking at. Anyone see any red flags here? I was gonna do the 15" but I would need almost double the space for a good ported enclosure. RF makes a tuned ported enclosure for the 12". Sounds logical to me.... Am I taking the bait?

 
Played with a few models and think I have decided on the Pioneer DMH-C2500NEX. There are some cooler HUs that I was with 9" screens and stuff but the price is almost double... Way too much for the "cool factor".

While I was at one of the shops I had them tell me what they thought. One shop recommended the AudioControl ACM 1.300 amp to go with the Rockford Fosgate p2 12 sub I was looking at. Anyone see any red flags here? I was gonna do the 15" but I would need almost double the space for a good ported enclosure. RF makes a tuned ported enclosure for the 12". Sounds logical to me.... Am I taking the bait?
junk mediocre recommendations literally overpaying out the @ss for not much value at all.    If you are getting a sub in a box, skip anything RF or any pre-made box, it'll be complete sh*t unless you do a 15 in a sealed which will be acceptable for SQ.    

Dayton HO 12 works very well for very good sound quality and gets loud if needed.

https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-rss315ho-44-12-reference-ho-dvc-subwoofer--295-467

This amp will be fine to power the dayton, plus if you ever want to add another or change sub setups in the future, you literally are future proof. The amp is tried and tested on the amp dyno to be a good performer and efficiency as fk.   If you are worred about electrical, install a voltage meter and turn up the gain till you only drop to 12.6 to 12.8 volts and you are in the clear, there's no need to worry if you vehicle can handle it, you literally just set the amp to what your vehicle currently handles.

https://www.amazon.com/Taramp-HD3000-1-Stable-Channel-Amplifier/dp/B00FGULS78

 
junk mediocre recommendations literally overpaying out the @ss for not much value at all.    If you are getting a sub in a box, skip anything RF or any pre-made box, it'll be complete sh*t unless you do a 15 in a sealed which will be acceptable for SQ.    

Dayton HO 12 works very well for very good sound quality and gets loud if needed.

https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-rss315ho-44-12-reference-ho-dvc-subwoofer--295-467

This amp will be fine to power the dayton, plus if you ever want to add another or change sub setups in the future, you literally are future proof. The amp is tried and tested on the amp dyno to be a good performer and efficiency as fk.   If you are worred about electrical, install a voltage meter and turn up the gain till you only drop to 12.6 to 12.8 volts and you are in the clear, there's no need to worry if you vehicle can handle it, you literally just set the amp to what your vehicle currently handles.

https://www.amazon.com/Taramp-HD3000-1-Stable-Channel-Amplifier/dp/B00FGULS78
So the sub has an RMS of 700w shouldn't the amp be rated similarly? I love the idea lf a cheaper amp that has a good reputation though.

 
So the sub has an RMS of 700w shouldn't the amp be rated similarly? I love the idea lf a cheaper amp that has a good reputation though.
no you dont match the RMS of the amp to the sub, you always have way more power than you ever need to keep the signal clean, amp running smooth and efficient barely lifting a finger to power your subs.  Just because you have 3000 doesnt mean you need to use all of it, you literally set how much power you want the amp to output via gain settings and with a voltage meter you can see whats a safe level for your vehicle as well.  Vs having an amp being red lined all the time struggling to feed the sub. which one do you think has a cleaner signal, runs cooler and lives longer?

 
no you dont match the RMS of the amp to the sub, you always have way more power than you ever need to keep the signal clean, amp running smooth and efficient barely lifting a finger to power your subs.  Just because you have 3000 doesnt mean you need to use all of it, you literally set how much power you want the amp to output via gain settings and with a voltage meter you can see whats a safe level for your vehicle as well.  Vs having an amp being red lined all the time struggling to feed the sub. which one do you think has a cleaner signal, runs cooler and lives longer?
I asked that exact question at one of the shops today, if it would be worth getting a more powerful amp to make sure it was always running on less than full power in the interest of cooling and longevity. They looked at me like I was nuts.

If you think the Dayton is the way to go I will take a look at it. Best place to get a box? I am a woodworker but not sure if I can quite get exact enough to meet these needs.

 
Activity
No one is currently typing a reply...
Old Thread: Please note, there have been no replies in this thread for over 3 years!
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.

Similar threads

There are bluetooth amplifiers. You can just use your phone or an I Pod as the music source and not touch the radio.
1
175
Avoid jvc 480bhs hard to see the display in the daytime even with the brightness all the way up also not as easy getting to the audio menu like...
5
415
I have a 06 grand Marquis. Looking at either Kenwood or Sony Apple play. Is it worth have a floating monitor? Pros and cons?
0
564
https://youtube.com/@SaabUnleashed?si=-8qdxpYY0yGzrMsL Here you go. This guy does android head unit reviews. His reviews are how I found my...
7
678
OK. Sorry for the basic questions. My phone has a hotspot so I could use that. However, I am wondering if the phone is connected to the head...
7
593

About this thread

Quartersawn

CarAudio.com Recruit
Thread starter
Quartersawn
Joined
Location
Start date
Participants
Who Replied
Replies
38
Views
3,997
Last reply date
Last reply from
Quartersawn
Screenshot 2024-03-07 184329.png

Doxquzme

    Mar 27, 2024
  • 0
  • 0
IMG_3075.jpeg

Daniel Lee

    Mar 27, 2024
  • 0
  • 0

Latest topics

Top