Pioneer SPH-DA120 Install and Review

[McDude 40]

I've owned many an interesting car in my time and I've done my fair share of modifications and ICE installs but when I picked up my BRZ a couple of weeks ago I knew I was past all that. Some of the Japan's finest chassis and powertrain Engineers have worked their magic on this car and WAIT A MINUTE!!!! Who thought it was acceptable to put a stereo in a modern car that is so awful?!?! I genuinely didn't think modern cars came without Bluetooth and the sound coming out the speakers is dreadful! I'm not some fox eared audiophile, I'm a normal human with a fairly sub-standard pair of ears but said ears were offended.

So... I did my research and pondered and priced up various options and I've gone for a fairly middle-of-the-road if not lower end solution. That said with the headunit, speakers and the myriad of connectors I'm in for about £500-550

The headunit is a Pioneer SPH-DA120:

It has Bluetooth and AppleCarplay (which is a good way to get cheap navigation).

To install you need...

ISO to Toyota/Subaru harness:

Antenna harness:

USB harness (if you want your USB port to work):

Wiring-wise, that's all you need, but you will find this plug on the left is now redundant (thanks to this forum for confirming this is okay to leave unconnected):

It is so easy to wire up a chimp could do it (well I did it so it can't be difficult):

To make the double DIN stereo fit the gap I used (other parts are available):

The part of these that goes down the side of the stereo is quite thick so I Dremmeled them thinner - I need to do a bit more as you'll see in the install pics later I'm still not 100% happy with the fit on one side.

Finally you need brackets OR you need to modify the existing ones:

There is a bend at the top which interferes with the side of the new headunit, I cut these off and opened up a couple of the mounting holes - you can see red dots where the cut/drill marks were.

The brackets will look like this when fitted:

Finally, put the whole lot together. It's all poke yoke so you can't get it wrong. Installed it looks like:

And at night:

There's a little gap between the headunit and the plastic spacers just on the right hand side, which isn't as bad as it looks in this picture because the flash has reflected off the metal in the gap, but it's still not good enough so a bit more Dremmeling will sort that out. Overall though it looks 'right' and makes the cabin feel much more modern. It also doesn't look aftermarket which is what I wanted to avoid at all costs. The headunit allows you to change the colours of the buttons and the theme of the screen so I've gone 90s orange to match the microwave oven clock.

So, how does it sound? I've got some Focal IS165TOY speakers to add and some Dynamat superlite (~1500g weight for enough to cover the car - I didn't want to add weight if I could help it as that is not in the Colin Chapman ethos of "just add lightness") but as there are other write ups on the Focal speakers I thought it would be interesting to just see what it was like on the stock speakers with no additional sound deadening (I'll do that this weekend). Incidentally I went for the Focals as I just simply couldn't be ar5ed to muck about with running new speaker cables, find places for crossovers and generally tinker and fettle to get the speakers to fit.

 

You know what? It's really VERY good, much more solid sounds, you can hear the tweeters working and doing a bit more work and in general the audio quality is really very decent. I wasn't expecting that and I'm not sure I'd update the speakers if I hadn't already bought new ones. Don't get me wrong, I will and I'm sure they will be better still, but the standard Subaru speakers with a good headunit really aren't bad at all. I did have the really low end Subaru unit before and I believe the Toyota units are better so perhaps the difference is more marked in a BRZ.

I would be interested where others have mounted their mics for phone or where it sits in a GT86. Putting it on the steering cowl seems the best bet unless anyone says otherwise.

Speakers will be added at the weekend and I'll update this thread. Questions always welcome, answers will probably be made up!

 

McDude

 

 

[Church 209]

Hmm, weird to hear that stock subaru is without BT support. For "everything", in my book there should be also navigation/gps antena (i guess, less needed, if this head unit can serve as output for smartphones with much better navigation options) and rear camera connection options, for some - also DAB.

As for toyota's stock offerings .. their audio quality is no better (more polite way to say - crappy/shitty) then what you described for yours

[McDude 40]

23 hours ago, Church said:

Hmm, weird to hear that stock subaru is without BT support. For "everything", in my book there should be also navigation/gps antena (i guess, less needed, if this head unit can serve as output for smartphones with much better navigation options) and rear camera connection options, for some - also DAB.

As for toyota's stock offerings .. their audio quality is no better (more polite way to say - crappy/shitty) then what you described for yours

I was totally surprised and maybe there is a secret BT function, but the low end unit is such a pig I was happy to swap it out. The Pioneer unit I got has BT and CarPlay but not DAB, I did ponder this but my unit (SPH-DA120) was 320GBP and there is an SPH-DA230DAB coming out which adds DAB but it is 499GBP and I didn't want DAB that much!

The CarPlay (there's an Android version too) gives your car a simplified version of your iPhone on the dash, but it does need to be plugged in as there isn't enough bandwidth on bluetooth. This then gives you maps and is therefore a cheaper way to get Nav than buying a unit with Nav integrated plus the Apple/Google nav is constantly being updated whereas your car nav isn't, or certainly not as convienently.

Oddly, it does have a GPS antenna which you have to connect up to make the clock work but I can't think of any other functions that need it!!! So it is out of the way I've put it under the speaker grill in the dash where a 10cm speaker would sit.

It will take a reverse camera but I've not fitted that. Maybe in the future as I don't have parking sensors and the rear view is limited. Not sure I can be ar5ed running the cables though!

It's also a mechless unit so won't play CDs or DVDs, I haven't played a CD in a car for years so I feel this is a streamlining! Like getting rid of a cassette deck!

It's a lovely piece of kit for the price. Most importantly the touch screen is quick to respond and the menus change rapidly, I was worried about both of these things as they can really let down a touchscreen.

I've been totally unsuccessful getting the panel gap any better between the unit and the fitting spacers and I wasted a load of time fitting the GPS antenna today so I've not got round to fitting the speakers. I did fit the tweeters but I'm also not too happy about the way they don't quite fit in the original position as they are just a shade too deep. Did I read somewhere someone use Araldite to stick them in place!?!? Might not be a bad option! Alternatively they come with a bracket to fit them in the 10cm space, this could be an alternative.

 

[McDude 40]

For what it's worth, here is what the Apple CarPlay looks like:

It's actually a very nice piece of functionality BUT you do have to have your iPhone connected. There's another screen which also has the apps for things like Spotify so you can run that painlessly.

Overall I'm delighted with the unit and would recommend both in terms of looking right for the car and functionality, provided you don't need to play CDs and don't want DAB. As per previous post there is a unit coming out (possibly out now) which has DAB as well but it puts the price up.

As for sound: it sounds fantastic even with the stock speakers but I'd bought the Focal IS165TOY speakers so fitted them anyway! The Focals have a significantly bigger magnet on the back:

They weight a chunk more too (sorry Colin Chapman). What is astounding is just how light the stock speakers are!

They do add a depth to the sound which the stock speakers couldn't manage, bass is deeper and tighter. Now the system really does sound the pips! I know there are plenty people on here with additional amps and subs but I find myself wondering where you 'fit' this additional sound!?! I can get this system to ear bleedingly loud with no distortion; the bass is nice and acceptable - I'm not hitting the brown note and setting off car alarms but I don't want to.

I've been down the road of big ICE installs in the past and I'm not knocking it, just if someone like me is pondering what to do with their stereo and wondering what is 'enough', a decent headunit and some fairly cheap (they were only £119) speakers and you're away. I didn't bother with the back speakers, save your cash.

I also bought some lightweight Dynamat but I've hardly used any up, I did the doors, threaded a sheet about the size of an A4 piece of paper through the speaker hole and covered the bit of door around the speaker, but that's it.

Maybe it's my old ears but I don't drive along thinking the NVH is terrible; it doesn't sound like a particularly refined car but frankly I hate that all what we used to call feedback has been dialled out on modern cars. I've thought about lining the boot, but there's already some soundproofing there and it seems to do its job.

 

In conclusion - I bought the car to drive and enjoy it. I like that it is 'under' powered and 'under' tyred; the handling is sublime and it looks great so I don't want to change a thing about it. But even I had to concede that the stereo was dreadful, but I believe for ~£500 I have purchased a whole new system which will give all but those with robot's ears a high quality audio experience.

 

[Guest 86guns]

I like what you’ve done here. If I had my time again I might do something similar. I was told numerous times that the stock head unit is sufficient and so I went with speakers and an amp, but what you have done is very similar as the Pioneer will have more power than the stock head unit. Your system is a neater solution to achieve similar results.

[McDude 40]

2 hours ago, 86guns said:

I like what you’ve done here. If I had my time again I might do something similar. I was told numerous times that the stock head unit is sufficient and so I went with speakers and an amp, but what you have done is very similar as the Pioneer will have more power than the stock head unit. Your system is a neater solution to achieve similar results.

Thanks 86guns - I didn't have a choice in updating the headunit as the Subaru stock item is such a turd. I was close to going down the external amp route, 3-way speakers up front and all the rest but figured that a 165mm speaker should be able to put out a fair bit of sound and that an internal amp 4x50W should be more than capable of filling the car. Like I said, I'm very pleased with the result and would personally struggle to get value out of anything additional - my ears just aren't that good!

[Nimz 70]

I had this unit on my 350z, great bit of kit and very subtle/OEM looking. Did your original BRZ unit have the ability to take phone calls? Just wondering if I can keep the existing mic from the standard 86 head unit if I upgrade.

[nerdstrike 186]

Nice work on the bezel filling, but does sound like a lot of fiddling about to make it fit flush. I fear I'll have to do something similar when I ultimately ditch the Toyota unit. It may not suck Subaru blue balls, but it's still annoying a lot of the time.

Is the Pioneer bolted in? i.e. can someone pinch it with some coat hangers?

[McDude 40]

43 minutes ago, Nimz said:

I had this unit on my 350z, great bit of kit and very subtle/OEM looking. Did your original BRZ unit have the ability to take phone calls? Just wondering if I can keep the existing mic from the standard 86 head unit if I upgrade.

The original Subaru unit couldn't make calls, it was one of the reasons for ditching it. So I've had to run a new mic, however if your GT86 has a mic already I'd use that if I were you, my mic install is okay but it is a bit aftermarket looking. I'd imagine you might need to cut it out of the Toyota loom when you take the original headunit out, but it's only 2 wires so should easily splice into a 3.5mm jack which then goes into the back of the Pioneer unit.

18 minutes ago, nerdstrike said:

Nice work on the bezel filling, but does sound like a lot of fiddling about to make it fit flush. I fear I'll have to do something similar when I ultimately ditch the Toyota unit. It may not suck Subaru blue balls, but it's still annoying a lot of the time.

Is the Pioneer bolted in? i.e. can someone pinch it with some coat hangers?

Not too much fiddling, just 5 mins with a Dremmel to make the sides of the plastic thinner. The Pioneer unit is bolted in just the same as the original unit so it's as secure as that is (arguably not massively as it is only 4 x 10mm to take out). I reused the original brackets but I did have to cut the very top off them to make them fit. The holes line up perfectly with the Pioneer unit and they go straight into the chassis not the wire cage that comes with it - I didn't use the cage at all.

[TommyC 33]

I'm weighing up the options for some sound upgrades and your guide has helped massively. The thing I'm deliberating over is the loss of CD player (yes I'm THAT old school I still listen to CDs in the car!).

Your setup does seem to be the best for the budget and I'll definitely be ordering some Focal speakers (I've had them in the past and been impressed).

I found this head unit in the same price bracket, also by Pioneer... 

https://www.pioneer-car.eu/eur/products/avh-x490dab

I might be missing something but seems to have the same functionality with the addition of DAB and a CD/DVD player.

The drawback is clearly the look of the thing as its nowhere near as sleek etc.

What am i missing?

[Church 209]

You are not the only one THAT old school. Even though mostly playing off mp3s off usb stick, i also want headunit to 1) have cd slot, 2) have hardware sound volume knobs.

[McDude 40]

I don't think you are missing anything TommyC! I wanted something that looked sleek and modern, I never use CDs and I really wanted Apple CarPlay. But as your requirements are different I think you've found a sensible alternative. Kenwood do some cheaper units compared to the Pioneer ones but they really look quite ghastly. If you have deep pockets some of the Alpine stuff might fit the bill.

A month or two on and I'm still really happy with the Pioneer but I agree that you can't beat a knob to twiddle!

[benmmellor 44]

Currently considering the SPHDA230DAB unit - it's mechless to no CD lot but looking at the notes you made, I should be able to use the USB port still...

Yet another decision to make - can I live without the CD slot!

[McDude 40]

19 hours ago, benmmellor said:

Currently considering the SPHDA230DAB unit - it's mechless to no CD lot but looking at the notes you made, I should be able to use the USB port still...

Yet another decision to make - can I live without the CD slot!

Yep - the USB works if you buy the jumper loom. I'd actually be tempted to run the cable to the armrest as this is where my phone tends to sit.

I don't miss the CD slot at all and it's a great excuse not to play Disney CDs if the kids are in the car!

[Phl White 0]

Thanks for this great guide. I have just replaced the factory TAS300 with a Pioneer SPH-DA230DAB and installed the same Antenna Adapter as you have but i am not getting any FM reception. Do i need to link the blue lead in somewhere and if so where do i do this please. 

**** RESOLVED ****

I connected the blue wire from the antenna adapter to the blue/white wire from the loom supplied with the new head unit after watching a video on Youtube, however the blue/white wire was labeled Remote Control so i tried it and it worked. 

I just need a DAB antenna now and the job is complete.

[McDude 40]

17 hours ago, Phl White said:

Thanks for this great guide. I have just replaced the factory TAS300 with a Pioneer SPH-DA230DAB and installed the same Antenna Adapter as you have but i am not getting any FM reception. Do i need to link the blue lead in somewhere and if so where do i do this please. 

**** RESOLVED ****

I connected the blue wire from the antenna adapter to the blue/white wire from the loom supplied with the new head unit after watching a video on Youtube, however the blue/white wire was labeled Remote Control so i tried it and it worked. 

I just need a DAB antenna now and the job is complete.

Glad you found the answer - yes, the antenna is powered and needs a feed from the head unit. I don't have DAB but others have put the receiver in the recess in the dash where your tweeter sits. There's plenty of space there if you don't have the 4" speaker (which most don't). I've put my GPS antenna there.

[Phl White 0]

I have just decided to splash out on the Satnav unit for it too. I did try the Apple Car Play map function which was fine as long as you have a signal. 

[MartinT 514]

Nice installation guide, thanks.  You may have inspired me to do something about the awful Starlink thing I have in my BRZ.  It does have Bluetooth but the applications available are shit and I cannot get any Nav to work with it.  At the moment, I'm happy using Radio Paradise and Spotify from my phone over Bluetooth, which works well.  However, I still have to use the phone in its cradle to use Waze for sat-nav, and I'd love to have it working on the bigger screen with built-in sound.

[McDude 40]

2 hours ago, MartinT said:

Nice installation guide, thanks.  You may have inspired me to do something about the awful Starlink thing I have in my BRZ.  It does have Bluetooth but the applications available are shit and I cannot get any Nav to work with it.  At the moment, I'm happy using Radio Paradise and Spotify from my phone over Bluetooth, which works well.  However, I still have to use the phone in its cradle to use Waze for sat-nav, and I'd love to have it working on the bigger screen with built-in sound.

The mirroring/CarPlay is very good but it isn't all your apps unfortunately. It will support Spotify but unless there's been an update it doesn't support Waze so you have to use AppleMaps. Apparantly Waze is supported via the AppRadio feature, but until I googled to find out if Waze was supported at all I'd never even heard of the AppRadio feature which apparently my head unit has!?!? Looks similar to CarPlay but I'm puzzled as to the actual differences. I think it is basically Pioneer's version of CarPlay.

I'll have a play after work and see if I can find this and see if I can indeed get AppRadio and Waze to work.

[benmmellor 44]

is the SPH-DA230DAB anay good and keeping a gapless play on a mix album when in MP3 rip??

Tempted by one if it does...

[MartinT 514]

I've got an Android phone, by the way, not Apple.

[McDude 40]

12 minutes ago, MartinT said:

I've got an Android phone, by the way, not Apple.

The Android version may be less restrictive!

[Samwise 155]

36 minutes ago, McDude said:

The Android version may be less restrictive!

Android auto is the same on all headunits so its generally just a case of looking up what existing android apps are Android Auto compatiable.

I can say with certainty that it supports Waze & Google Maps as I use them both myself on my Sony XAV-AX100

There is one caveat with all Android auto and (I believe) Apple Carplay headunits. To fully utilise apps such a spotify, Waze, google maps, etc you have to have your phone connected by both USB and Bluetooth at the same time.

[nerdstrike 186]

Woah, technobodge! Seriously? Two data channels to the same device despite having multiple megabits of bandwidth?

I'm guessing it's an ugly hangover from early hands free car kits.

[benmmellor 44]

seems to be some decent prices on the SPH-D230DAB and the AVH-5800DAB on Amazon at the moment...