pauldofish

Hey guys. I've had my 2012 tC for about half a year now, and overall its pretty awesome.

There's one thing that annoys me though: the speaker system sounds awesome but really unbalanced to me. Like I can tune the "treble" and "bass" settings to make, for example, hip-hop songs sound awesome, but then the guitar sounds in rock sounds will sound drowned out and no fun. That can be fixed by turning the "treble" up, but then cymbals and higher-pitch sounds become too piercing fatiguing to the ears.

I was wondering if there is any good head unit out there that has full range EQ settings (instead of just "treble" and "bass" settings) so I can easily tailor the sound to my liking.

Also I'd like to keep the car as stock/OEM as possible, so if anyone knows if the 2012 Scion Premium head unit (This one: http://www.scionowners.com/web/guest...ticleId=274038) has full EQ settings, I would get it regardless of its "premium price" . If not, what are some good aftermarket head units out there?

Thanks in advance guys!

Fmtc2008

iTrader: (2)

I have an avic d3

emrules2001

For a good H/U, go pioneer. You can get a good double din for $300.

Rotz

What is your financial limitation? What else do you want besides EQ settings?

Jericho941

The pioneer avh-3300bt and the new avh-3400bt are nice, easy to use and install head units that feature an 8 band equalizer. There are also several alpine hu that can have the PXA-H100 added and that adds a 7 band equalizer with massive crossover options. However the only current alpine double din HU is the w-910 and is a full featured nav unit and it's installation is somewhat more compicated. Any aftermarket HU will require an adapter for the steering wheel controls to be maintained.

I do not think the factory upgrade alpine unit is worth the $2k price tag, and the new $900 pioneer adds up to an aweful lot of extra money for a radio with scion on it and a slightly easier installation than an aftermarket model.

If you have no plans for any upgrades beyond the head unit, I can see the appeal of an easy to install factory unit, but there is so much better results to be had with further upgrades.

pauldofish

I'd like it to be able to play songs through bluetooth and have hands-free calling just like the stock 2012 headunit. No need for a built in nav or video player or anything fancy . Compatibility with steering wheel controls would be nice. And also I'm probably gonna get a sub sometime in the future so I'd love to have connectors for that built into the headunit.


I'm a poor college student so I'd like it to be as cheap as possible, lol. But I'm willing to go up to $500 or so. My budget is pretty flexible as long as the upgrades are actually worth the money to me.


And to Jericho941. those pioneers look nice!!! I might jump on the newer one... Will it sit flush in the dashboard? That's one of the main reasons why I wanna stay OEM.. If it'll sit flush without any modifications then I'm sold haha.

Blackedout011TC

iTrader: (2)

Add a sub first, I had the same gripe with the Alpine. I added a sub and I was able to dial in the sound much better. I still want a new H.U. though. The system would sound much better with more EQ, but I can live with it as is for a while longer.
I'd suggest checking out the Sony Head Units. I know they are not D.D. but they blow away the stock radios by a long shot. More EQ and sound processor adjustments than you never will need. HD radio has much better reception vs. my Alpine and the factory Pioneer units, and it flat out has more clean power than both.
I know this one is not exactly what you are loking for but the next model up has the same features and the bluetooth. I put this one in my wife's car with 4 Kicker 6 1/2" full range speakers. I wish I had put it in mine.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_158GT70...D.html?tp=5684
For around 200-300 bucks you could have the sound and features you want.
Crutchfield has the best customer service, fre shipping, free install kits. If you get a bad unit, they ship you a new one right away, then you send in the bad unit when you recieve the new one. You will need to buy an adapter for the steering wheel controls.

dm1336

Another thing to add...

With aftermarket head units you need to get a few things like wire harness, brackets, and a steering wheel control module. You may also have other features that you want to take advantage of like video when the vehicle is moving (by-pass cable), reverse camera, bluetooth, navigation, iPod/iPhone video cable All these add to the overall cost of a new head unit.

If you are not comfortable with wiring this might not be a task that you can perform. Although it isn't very hard to do by yourself, getting a shop to install this adds yet another cost.

So while the head unit itself is cheap. Some work is needed to install it yourself.

I would totally look into an aftermarket deck though! There are so many options to choose from. I prefer the Pioneer brand name but everyone has their favorites.

pauldofish

Haha well, I'm loving the price of that headunit. The 3 band EQ though is sorta turning me away. I really want total customization over the sound. That and the fact it won't fit flush in the tC being single din are really a deal breaker for me.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions though. I think I'm just gonna jump on one of the Pioneers as it offers everything I want plus an 8 band EQ which is perfect.

pauldofish

If I get an aftermarket Pioneer HU, wouldn't the connections be the same as the stock Pioneer HU?

If the wiring is just simple plug n play (or simple adapters) I'm pretty comfortable with that. As long as I don't need to solder wires or drill into anything then I think I'll be fine lol

dm1336

Nope. Stock head units are built to car manufacturer specs which vary based on brand.Toyota though is consistent for all their double din equipped cars since the late 80's.

Any aftermarket head unit you get regardless of who makes it needs to have a dash kit to cover the sides and a harness to make it easy to wire up.

The stock Pioneer and Alpine head units are wider by about half an inch on both sides. A dash kit simply covers up this gap.

The total cost of the dash kit and wire harness is not more than $20 on eBay.

Also you don't have to solder. You can get by with electrical tape. But at least spend an extra 30mins and use more secure methods to wire your deck up. Lots of handy guides out there for doing this

A wire harness makes it plug and play with the stock wiring plug. You must manually match up and connect the wiring from your new head unit's wiring to the harness. Which is more or less matching blue to blue, red to red, black to black, etc...

pauldofish

So just to clarify, would something like this (http://www.ebay.com/itm/2005-2010-SC...ht_1807wt_1163) be enough to hook up the unit to the speakers, and make the unit sit flush in the dash?

dm1336

Yes. I actually have something very very similar (maybe exactly the same) on my deck Pioneer AVH-P4300DVD

That dash kit isn't a perfect fit but a little sanding to remove the extra bumps will make it flush. Not hard to do at all.

The wiring is fine and will match up perfectly.

pauldofish

Awesome. Thanks man!! I really appreciate it. Woo I can't wait to finally use the stock speakers to their full potential :D

dm1336

No problem good luck!!