Minion 132 Report post Posted February 11, 2016 I’m contemplating doing some sort of audio install but the problem is I don’t know the first thing about anything to do with car audio. Do you guys have any tips and tricks for upgrading the stock audio system that comes with the car? Can you use a sub with the stock head unit or do you need to get an aftermarket one? I have seen the sub box’s that you can get so they fit perfectly in the corner of the boot. Do you recommend getting one of these and if so where is best to get one from? Sorry about all the questions and thanks for the help! Thanks Jake Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S18 RSG 429 Report post Posted February 11, 2016 Hi Jake, I'm by no means an expert, however I have played around with the audio in this particular car. In my honest opinion, the easiest and cheapest way to improve the sound quality is with a good set of front door speakers and some sound proofing behind the door cards. Made a world of difference in my car. I paid a little more than some people would be willing to pay (£170ish) for Focal speakers, but as they're plug & play, and come with plug & play tweeters also, I figured they were decent value. Made a big difference to sound quality though. As for a sub, I believe you would have to buy some adaptors for the standard head unit and splice into the existing harness. The easier way would be to wire in an active sub (a sub with an amp attached), or a separate amp/sub combo, and use an RCA converter to run the sub off the front/rear speakers (as there are no pre-outs on the standard head unit). Of course, you can get around a load of problems by simply changing the head unit. Just changing the head unit itself will almost certainly improve sound quality by itself, and will then provide you with all the pre-outs you need for sub, amp etc. The sub you've seen is likely the OEM+ audio system. I know @rob275 has it for one example, and I'm sure there are a few others. This system will run you around £600 I believe (over $1,000, exclusing delivery and any customs charges). Hope this all helps in some way. Ross Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Minion 132 Report post Posted February 11, 2016 This might sound even more stupid but by plug and play do you mean just remove door cards, unscrew speakers and replace with new ones? Are the connectors on the end the same? I think it might be worth my while changing the head unit then as a sub is definitely on my list of things to do, I've been looking at a few alpine and pioneer head unit and just trying to work out which would be the best option. They do look really good and I like the fact that it fits so smoothly in the boot. Once I've got a bit of an idea of what I want I might get someone else to install it so I know what I'm doing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Minion 132 Report post Posted February 11, 2016 http://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/apple-carplay/pioneer-avh-x8700bt-car-stereo-with-apple-carplay-and-android-auto That looks like a fairly decent one plus I have a 25% discount card for halfords which would help. I just don't know what technical details to look at. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S18 RSG 429 Report post Posted February 11, 2016 5 hours ago, Minion said: This might sound even more stupid but by plug and play do you mean just remove door cards, unscrew speakers and replace with new ones? Are the connectors on the end the same? I think it might be worth my while changing the head unit then as a sub is definitely on my list of things to do, I've been looking at a few alpine and pioneer head unit and just trying to work out which would be the best option. They do look really good and I like the fact that it fits so smoothly in the boot. Once I've got a bit of an idea of what I want I might get someone else to install it so I know what I'm doing Yep, that's exactly what I mean. Once you get the hang of taking the door card off, it's easy. I swapped out the passenger side speaker (after doing the drivers' side) in less than 10 minutes, by asking a friend to hold the door card while I swapped the speaker, rather than disconnecting all the ball joints and electrical cables. Connectors are exactly the same. Here are the exact speakers I bought: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-bBY3THZuOAJ/p_091IS165TY/Focal-IS-165TOY.html When looking at head units, it's best to decide what features you consider a requirement, and what you can do without, then choose the best/cheapest/nicest looking one that fits your requirements. My requirements were: navigation, Toyota specific fitment, phone connectivity and an OEM style. Because of these requirements, I went with a well tested Android unit (one that multiple owners on the US forum use and recommend). Bonus was, it cost half the price of the unit you linked, provides a great improvement in sound (along with all my requirements of course) and looks basically OEM. In terms of subs, you have lots of options also. One tidy option, which a few on here have gone with, is a wheel well sub, one that fits under the carpet in your boot. That way it's out of sight, but still doing a job. There are also plenty of options for under seat subs. Both of these don't encroach on boot space, but maybe won't be as powerful as a full size sub, so it really is down to your own choice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Church 209 Report post Posted February 11, 2016 To me necessary feature would be also to be able to work with rear camera. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
