"crown victor victoria" (cvv)
03/07/2014 at 14:58 • Filed to: car audio, rants, OEM
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25|
"crown victor victoria" (cvv)
03/07/2014 at 14:58 • Filed to: car audio, rants, OEM | 8
| 25 |
How is it, that in 2014, the majority of midrange aftermarket audio options still look like props from a bootleg Star Trek movie?
I don't want my dash to mimic a late-80s discotheque. I don't want an overdesigned Michael Bay Transformer orgy of angular silver trim and knobs and buttons. No cars have interiors that match these neon light fire-hoses:
Sometimes these kinds of units even seem ok when you're looking at them online or in a storefront, but put them in your car and you get what I feel is a hideous wart on the thoughtfully designed factory dash. Things almost never look right, regardless of vehicle age.
So, I attempt to look for units that are an acceptable match for the dash as it is. This is the approximate canvas I have to play with. My car doesn't have the MFSW but is otherwise about the same:
Trying to find something that has an even vague OEM-look to it is difficult. Yes, I could upgrade what I have to a better OEM unit, but that is a cost prohibitive exercise. This is in part because VW (and probably some other manufacturers) have a separate Bluetooth module that isn't part of the headunit:
These are a few hundred bucks on ebay, depending on which type you want. Some support A2DP profile for streaming music, others only the basic HFP for handsfree calling. The !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is a staggering list of acronyms worthy of a separate post. This also means if I want the full OEM array of controls and utmost convenience, I would need to add this panel and associated wiring:
As well as the steering wheel controls and wiring:
And the upgraded headunit that can integrate with all of this. This seems like way too many components to bother with just to be able to stream music and have handsfree phone. Plus, this is well over $1,000 in simple parts , not including the price of labor to install, or my own precious time if I try to do it myself. I am not opposed to pulling all these things from junkyard cars, but I don't know how many MKV-MKVI Jettas or Golfs I'll find in pick-and-pulls around here. I live in a market dominated by domestic pickups and Corollas and Camrys, mostly.
Of course, there is a 3rd Way, but to say it is sketchy would be an understatement. There are a few companies out of China that build very good OEM-looking headunits, and have the added benefit of being feature rich. They are also crazy cheap compared to the approximate OEM product. Like this one, the Eonon 5153, which was designed specifically for a number of MKVI Volkswagens:
You can buy these !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for under $300. This has nav, Bluetooth, NFC, screen mirroring, plays DVDs and does all kinds of other crap. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is another manufacturer with similar products, and there are unbranded ones on ebay, too. It's great in that it's cheap and looks like it belongs in the car, and a bonus that has tons of features (most of which I don't care about...). But quality is a problem. Not because it's Chinese, but because it's a sub-$300 miracle stereo that does everything under the sun. It's a classic case of "if it sounds too good to be true". People have purchased these and reported all sorts of problems, from buggy firmware, buttons taking dirt naps, and laggy touchscreens, to the things draining car batteries and poor radio reception because the antennas don't work well with US frequencies or are otherwise imperfect. So it's a tempting option, but I'm steering clear.
The essence of those Chinese OEM clone units is what I want. And I'm sure I'm not alone. There are generic-looking stereos that would not feel out of place in a modern interior, but they're either at the highest end or are from a brand I have never heard of or don't have the features I need.
What's a jalop to do?
Casper
> crown victor victoria
03/07/2014 at 15:03 |
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I'm just buying either a single DIN A2DP head unit for under $200 or building a full custom enclosure and rolling my own version of Android for one of my extra tablets. I have eee pad sitting here that's still perfectly good for those tasks, just not as nice as some newer tablets.
RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> crown victor victoria
03/07/2014 at 15:03 |
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look like props from a bootleg Star Trek movie
We are Thermians from the Klaatu Nebula and we.... need your subs. Our speakers are being systematically hunted down and slaughtered. Please, commander - you have the last Bose!
Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
> crown victor victoria
03/07/2014 at 15:13 |
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That's why I loved the AVIC-1 that my cousin put in his GTO:
It's just clean.
PowderHound
> crown victor victoria
03/07/2014 at 15:18 |
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BRIGHT LIGHTS IN THE FACE! That way everyone can see your face inside the car with multiple colors and you can't see out. I used to have a cheap aftermarket with blue lights and that thing was extremely annoying even on the dimmest setting. I also had 2 12" subs in the back that sounded great and were waaaaayyyyy more than I needed. Now, I have a stock radio that is played barely loud enough to hear over the exhaust note.
Wurrwulf
> crown victor victoria
03/07/2014 at 15:22 |
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Does anyone know if Nakamichi still makes car audio stuff? They used to have the best head units. Understated appearances with super crisp, clean sound. They were a bit pricey, though.
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crown victor victoria
> Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
03/07/2014 at 15:36 |
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Yep, these are ones that I looked at. Still kind of above my price range but tempting. I don't even want nav. My phone does that well enough not to need it in the headunit. I just want all the BT features and for it not to look stupid.
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Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
> crown victor victoria
03/07/2014 at 15:39 |
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That is why I went for this in my Dakota:
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crown victor victoria
> Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street.
03/07/2014 at 17:08 |
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I have been eyeballing this one:
RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire
> crown victor victoria
03/07/2014 at 22:11 |
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I installed that in my friend's Camry sort of as a joke, but I ended up with the Camry after he left the country. Now the wife's complaining ...
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crown victor victoria
> RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire
03/08/2014 at 12:05 |
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I'd complain, too. That thing looks like a toaster from the Tron universe.
George McNally
> crown victor victoria
03/08/2014 at 13:47 |
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Back in the day, I used to totally be into car stereo (my stereo was worth more than the car it was installed in)....nowadays, I just listen to podcasts on my iPod with a One Good Ear headset.
I'm such an old geezer.
twochevrons
> crown victor victoria
03/10/2014 at 20:51 |
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This bugs me far more than it reasonably should. My old Citroën Xantia had an excellent solution to the problem, though – the radio slot was hidden behind a folding cover, so at least you could hide the ugliness. I actually went to ridiculous lengths to wire the factory-fitted steering wheel audio controls into my aftermarket head unit just so that I wouldn't have to ever look at the damn thing.
Of course, now, I live in a city which actually has radio that I enjoy listening to, so I just leave the factory tape deck / 8 track / whatever in and upgrade the speakers only.
ImOld
> crown victor victoria
03/10/2014 at 23:45 |
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If your current stereo has an AUX input, I'd go with a cheap/older Android phone mounted somewhere convenient. Hook it up to the AUX, and have it access the internet through your phone's hotspot. Then use Tasker or similar to automate its behavior based on its state, location, or whatever.
Built BMW Tough
> crown victor victoria
03/11/2014 at 01:38 |
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crown victor victoria
> Built BMW Tough
03/11/2014 at 09:40 |
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I remember finding those. They're just rebranded versions of the same Eonon/Waywell unit, ditto for Audiosources or Otto Navi.
They offer a ton of features for very little money but they also seem to have a lot of issues.
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Built BMW Tough
> crown victor victoria
03/11/2014 at 11:55 |
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There aren't too many units that would look close to factory on my E39. I feel your pain :(
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crown victor victoria
> Built BMW Tough
03/11/2014 at 12:06 |
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It's even worse for you, I think. It's one thing if the stereo doesn't 100% match the dash of my VW, but in a BMW it's even more pronounced and more inexcusable.
I just don't get how this has not been addressed by a legit aftermarket audio company by now.
LTIROCKS
> crown victor victoria
09/01/2014 at 17:43 |
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"Way back when" (right through the mid 1990s or so), aftermarket car audio equipment was more or less required for those who wanted reasonably decent audio. Things began to change soon thereafter.
Today's factory systems are much better than those from the past, and the optional factory systems are even better. The Panasonic sourced ELS audio system in my '07 Acura TL-S was pretty impressive, and that wasn't even a real "luxury" car. My ex's earlier Accord EX models had solid stereos, and that's also been the case with the factory "Dynaudio" system. Obviously much more impressive systems are now available in higher end cars.
I don't miss the days when the aftermarket stuff was pretty much mandatory. The systems tended to be problematic - even with top notch installation, and often times didn't look factory.
The best thing one can do today is purchase the best factory system available in whatever vehicle one likes, and live with it.
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LTIROCKS
> RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire
09/01/2014 at 17:44 |
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Looks like it belongs in an arcade...
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crown victor victoria
> LTIROCKS
09/01/2014 at 21:58 |
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Yeah hardly seems worth it to go the aftermarket route if there's a factory system out there that has the features you want. I'm not a car audiophile really either, so I'm not looking to add subs or things like that.
You're in a lousy spot if you buy a used car with the lowest possible audio and want to upgrade, though. Buying OEM on the secondary market is a nightmare for cost reasons and everything else looks like ass.
Armanelgtron
> Built BMW Tough
07/08/2015 at 13:49 |
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It’s already a bad sign when their website runs glitchily on the homepage in firefox...
4wsprelude
> crown victor victoria
05/23/2017 at 19:43 |
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It’s been 3 years and nothing has changed. Parrot used to have a stock oem one but damn my Accord has sweeping dash that will look out of place.
giallopudding007
> crown victor victoria
07/09/2017 at 17:51 |
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Damn, did you hit the nail on the head! Last year I subjected my 1996 Porsche to a tacky looking Pioneer POS receiver, since my local sound outlet had zero other options. Now I want to add bluetooth capabilities to my 2002 BMW and I am faced with the same hideous dilemma. When will the audio makers wake the hell up and realize there is a huge luxury/sport market out there which doesn’t involve fast and Furious wannabe glitzoids?
MickeyDo
> crown victor victoria
09/15/2019 at 17:55 |
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Dear Alpine, Sony, Panasonic basically anybody out there ,
Please, please, please, please build a double DIN car head unit that does not automatically devalue the vehicle it is installed in.
All your head units are the auto equivalent of the stereo below. Holy Henry J, how many times do we have to ask?
I am out of puberty and I want to upgrade my car with a car head unit that looks like it belongs in a modern luxury car, not a hoopty.
Part of this success formula will include a Mute button, an On/Off external button so I can turn it off without consulting NASA. Volume and Tune knobs are must have items. I want Android Auto and Apple Car play, built in support for steering wheel control modules and find a way to dim the display all the way to off. Multiple USB and audio replay, auto-podcast download storage would be nice.
Sincerely,
Adults
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MickeyDo
> MickeyDo
09/15/2019 at 17:57 |
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P.S. Alpine, nice job with the rear mount amp in your new unit.