audio set-up for beginners [continued]

[mda]

snip

Hehe pag dumadami tanong and humahaba yung post ko, mas nagiging seryoso na rin hehehe. Hindi kasi mura yung setup na ganito. Also, at least you are getting good entertainment/discussion and marami rin ako natututunan at the same time. Thank you for the info so far! )

May I know what aftermarket HU it is? Actually case to case basis parin yung ganyan kaya some are still sticking to the mainstream brands just to be safe

It's a Pioneer X9650BT. I was deciding between this and the cheapest 2DIN unit (both were in the 8-15k) price at this time. My only requirement at that time was to have bluetooth, since I was just replacing the defective OEM head unit. *At the time*, I may have noticed a slight increase in sound quality, pero it's nothing compared to having the stock speakers replaced on the Civic FD even with the stock head unit. Well, I suppose bulok lang talaga yung stock speaker system ng kotse na yun... hindi lang yung head unit..

In hindsight, mas mahirap gamitin ang 1DIN head unit because they crammed all the feature commands into 1DIN. If I were to make the decision again, I would have gone with the 2 DIN head unit simply for ease of use (Hindi pa uso yung sobrang laking phones at this point).

I am actually a little hesitant to try Joying kasi hindi ko rin alam saan ako makakakuha ng support for that hehe. Don't see many local sellers on the FB/OLX market. Sa totoo lang I don't see much local advertising for Kenwood or Alpine din, I think those plus JVC are not bad naman, so napapadpad ako sa Pioneer default choice.

<rest of the post on the 5050BT>
plus
It’s ok kasi some people are also like you na no intentions sa subs/amplifying but head unit upgrade really brings up your driving experience kaya if you’ll notice some car review discusses the head-unit or the ICE (In Car Entertainment) of the car they’re reviewing.

Boss, this is another topic pero open for discussion parin.. Let me know if tutuloy ba natin about Kenwood kasi worth another post ito.

Thanks for the info! Laki ng tulong! Actually dahil dito, I'm thinking of a semi-complex plan involving the vehicles owned by family members para hindi sayang yung mga spare parts (some of which are half decent, while those on the older cars are downright bad). Yung plan is to upgrade the head unit + head unit of our newer vehicles and pass on the not-so-bad tech (HU/speakers if compatible) to older vehicles para meron akong across the board upgrade. Wastage is never a good thing :D

I'm thinking of either a 5050BT or Kenwood + Morel Maximos (I think I prefer warmer/easier sounding kesa sa brighter sounds of the also-recommended Focal 165AS's), although the Morel Tempos did tempt me for a while din. I have not heard any of these in person. Slightly off topic, I only have auditioned a set of 4-6K Polk DB651s and a set of 2.5K Pioneer G Series (yung pinaka mura). Even between those 2, ang layo ng difference ng Stock < G Series < DB651.

Doon sa Kenwood, main selling points for me are:
1. Capacitive Touchscreen - more responsive
2. Wifi Mirroring (seems less clunky to do screen mirroring vs the Pioneer units)

As it may be apparent, I'm not a big fan of the 'aftermarket' HU look and am not looking for a giant corner-window blocking A Pillar tweeters, giant sub or crazy sized speakers. Ideally I'd like a close to stock looking installation. Yung gusto ko are tweeters and a set of speakers that can generally fit in the stock locations for them. I'm also medyo OC with the install, I bought speaker harnesses for both the head unit and the speakers para walang ni ssplice sa stock sound system. Yung mga banawe and trusted car audio stores, normally may ready harness for HUs... yung for the speakers, parang they don't stock any. Have to get from elsewhere pa.

Some of the local installers I talked to try to upsell me for 'future' upgrades, deadening, provisions for amp, pero tingin ko yung realistic maximum upgrade ko is really just a HU for features and simple speaker+tweeter upgrade, ok na ako. Just for reference, I am already very happy with my 3-4 year old 3K PHP headphones (Sennheiser HD439) so I know hindi ako maghahanap ng mas okay pa in the near future.

[Sleepcare]

Hehe pag dumadami tanong and humahaba yung post ko, mas nagiging seryoso na rin hehehe. Hindi kasi mura yung setup na ganito. Also, at least you are getting good entertainment/discussion and marami rin ako natututunan at the same time. Thank you for the info so far! )

I understand your situation kasi i was also on your shoes before kaya alam ko yung feeling

It's a Pioneer X9650BT. I was deciding between this and the cheapest 2DIN unit (both were in the 8-15k) price at this time. My only requirement at that time was to have bluetooth, since I was just replacing the defective OEM head unit. *At the time*, I may have noticed a slight increase in sound quality, pero it's nothing compared to having the stock speakers replaced on the Civic FD even with the stock head unit. Well, I suppose bulok lang talaga yung stock speaker system ng kotse na yun... hindi lang yung head unit..

Yes, Civic FD stock speakers are really nothing to write about. X9650 is actually a good model and loaded with features na din for a 1 din HU.

In hindsight, mas mahirap gamitin ang 1DIN head unit because they crammed all the feature commands into 1DIN. If I were to make the decision again, I would have gone with the 2 DIN head unit simply for ease of use (Hindi pa uso yung sobrang laking phones at this point).

For me mas gusto ko yung 1 din HU because of control. Sobra liit lang ng touch points kaya mas easier to control. But now 2 din na yung uso for multimedia.

I am actually a little hesitant to try Joying kasi hindi ko rin alam saan ako makakakuha ng support for that hehe. Don't see many local sellers on the FB/OLX market. Sa totoo lang I don't see much local advertising for Kenwood or Alpine din, I think those plus JVC are not bad naman, so napapadpad ako sa Pioneer default choice.

Joying.. Sa ali**press ka kumuha ng unit as i see na may support naman from them. But local importers are also ok but better buy from "well-known" suppliers. Yung alpine has already become a niche brand while yung kenwood since then i would consider them na katapat talaga ni pioneer. But late releases of their HU became very good kasi the one problem with kenwood is their user interface. Yung mga older head units nila ang pangit talaga tignan honestly but it's good na kenwood and pioneer are already focusing sa UI. JVC, used to have it but in 6 years na nakabit sa kotse parang 3 years ko lang nagamit kasi palaging pinapawarranty. Sakit na nga sa ulo and told myself not to buy JVC units anymore


Thanks for the info! Laki ng tulong! Actually dahil dito, I'm thinking of a semi-complex plan involving the vehicles owned by family members para hindi sayang yung mga spare parts (some of which are half decent, while those on the older cars are downright bad). Yung plan is to upgrade the head unit + head unit of our newer vehicles and pass on the not-so-bad tech (HU/speakers if compatible) to older vehicles para meron akong across the board upgrade. Wastage is never a good thing :D

Actually that's a good idea. For me yan ang advantage ng "higher-end" HU units kasi kapag nilipat mo sa ibang cars hindi magmumukhang luma agad.

I'm thinking of either a 5050BT or Kenwood + Morel Maximos (I think I prefer warmer/easier sounding kesa sa brighter sounds of the also-recommended Focal 165AS's), although the Morel Tempos did tempt me for a while din. I have not heard any of these in person. Slightly off topic, I only have auditioned a set of 4-6K Polk DB651s and a set of 2.5K Pioneer G Series (yung pinaka mura). Even between those 2, ang layo ng difference ng Stock < G Series < DB651.

For me go with kenwood+morel combo. Recently ganyang builds na nakikita ko for morel speakers. G series speakers are for budget type na upgrade lang from stock speakers. Actually they sound good for rear fill but hindi maganda kapag gagamitin as front speakers. As for tempo, it is the "king of budget SQ speakers" and for me worth na upgrade from maximo but if hindi ma-push yung wallet ng konti, i think maximo will suffice

Doon sa Kenwood, main selling points for me are:
1. Capacitive Touchscreen - more responsive
2. Wifi Mirroring (seems less clunky to do screen mirroring vs the Pioneer units)

This! I think malaki contribution ng FLAC compatibility sa ganyang functions kasi as i've said earlier, processing power nowadays is also important now aside sa sound quality itself.

As it may be apparent, I'm not a big fan of the 'aftermarket' HU look and am not looking for a giant corner-window blocking A Pillar tweeters, giant sub or crazy sized speakers. Ideally I'd like a close to stock looking installation. Yung gusto ko are tweeters and a set of speakers that can generally fit in the stock locations for them. I'm also medyo OC with the install, I bought speaker harnesses for both the head unit and the speakers para walang ni ssplice sa stock sound system. Yung mga banawe and trusted car audio stores, normally may ready harness for HUs... yung for the speakers, parang they don't stock any. Have to get from elsewhere pa.

Almost all speaker nowadays are stock location compatible. As for the wiring, car speakers wiring are ok for splicing basta well secured lang yung connection (soldered, shrink-tubed and etc.).

Some of the local installers I talked to try to upsell me for 'future' upgrades, deadening, provisions for amp, pero tingin ko yung realistic maximum upgrade ko is really just a HU for features and simple speaker+tweeter upgrade, ok na ako. Just for reference, I am already very happy with my 3-4 year old 3K PHP headphones (Sennheiser HD439) so I know hindi ako maghahanap ng mas okay pa in the near future.

Deadening is actually a "good" investment. Brings a lot more from your speakers. Dati hesitant din ako sa deadening but once you tried it, halos lahat ng cars na meron ka gusto mo na din palagyan Just to warn you, the higher budget na willing to pay sa speakers, the higher the chances that you will want an amplifier to bring out the best sa speaker upgrade. I've learned this the hard way. :tounge:


I'm just trying to answer all i know. Some inputs may be wrong to some but i'm just basing my responses from experience.

[artsky]

Parang may naririnig akong distortion even if the EQ is flat sa x595bt ko. Stock speaker limitation kaya yan? parang may times nag tre-tremolo yung mga high notes. Maganda naman yung stereo image pero yan lang concern ko. Maari din kayang nag va-vibrate yung door panels nung VIOS?

[mda]

Yes, Civic FD stock speakers are really nothing to write about. X9650 is actually a good model and loaded with features na din for a 1 din HU.

For me mas gusto ko yung 1 din HU because of control. Sobra liit lang ng touch points kaya mas easier to control. But now 2 din na yung uso for multimedia.

Kung ganun, then the stock speakers are sure to be bad as well. Dibale, pag na hand-me-down na yung original stock speakers ng ibang kotse, baka mas tumino yung sound hehe.

For standard radio functions, mas okay yata yung 1DIN. Kaso pag umaabot ako sa bluetooth features like navigating the HU to call someone, parang mas madaling gawin on the phone mismo kaysa on the 2DIN. Pag sa 2DIN kasi, there is a solid case for just using the HU to make the call as opposed to going back to the phone (semi defeats the purpose of having BT for the phone, kasi making calls, going through the phonebook and picking songs aren't as easy when you have a big list).

Joying.. Sa ali**press ka kumuha ng unit as i see na may support naman from them. But local importers are also ok but better buy from "well-known" suppliers. Yung alpine has already become a niche brand while yung kenwood since then i would consider them na katapat talaga ni pioneer. But late releases of their HU became very good kasi the one problem with kenwood is their user interface. Yung mga older head units nila ang pangit talaga tignan honestly but it's good na kenwood and pioneer are already focusing sa UI. JVC, used to have it but in 6 years na nakabit sa kotse parang 3 years ko lang nagamit kasi palaging pinapawarranty. Sakit na nga sa ulo and told myself not to buy JVC units anymore

Thanks for the info! Panoorin ko mamaya yung interface ng Joying. Also watched a demo of the Z5050BT, parang okay naman. Pero parang malaki yung difference in smoothness ng Kenwood (also watched a demo). Not sure on the ease-of-use over the years, those aren't apparent in a demo video and you only feel it after a while. Yung nakita ko lang na possible issue sa Kenwood DDX is that most of the buttons are on the right. Ewan ko kung mahihirapan ako para iabot yung buttons.

For me go with kenwood+morel combo. Recently ganyang builds na nakikita ko for morel speakers. G series speakers are for budget type na upgrade lang from stock speakers. Actually they sound good for rear fill but hindi maganda kapag gagamitin as front speakers. As for tempo, it is the "king of budget SQ speakers" and for me worth na upgrade from maximo but if hindi ma-push yung wallet ng konti, i think maximo will suffice

Nako, Kenwood + Tempo. Ang mahal na ata. Pero unamped, will this still be okay?

Actually that's a good idea. For me yan ang advantage ng "higher-end" HU units kasi kapag nilipat mo sa ibang cars hindi magmumukhang luma agad.

Yup, both the HUs and the speakers na rin balak ko ilipat. Hopefully yung mga Toyota speakers 10 years apart use the same plug and play connectors. Ayaw ko talaga ng splicing kahit na magaling yung pagkagawa, its the OCD kicking in...

Doon sa Kenwood, main selling points for me are:
1. Capacitive Touchscreen - more responsive
2. Wifi Mirroring (seems less clunky to do screen mirroring vs the Pioneer units)

This! I think malaki contribution ng FLAC compatibility sa ganyang functions kasi as i've said earlier, processing power nowadays is also important now aside sa sound quality itself.

Based on quick OLX check mas mahal pa yung kenwood... nasa 40+? Haha :|

Almost all speaker nowadays are stock location compatible. As for the wiring, car speakers wiring are ok for splicing basta well secured lang yung connection (soldered, shrink-tubed and etc.).

Deadening is actually a "good" investment. Brings a lot more from your speakers. Dati hesitant din ako sa deadening but once you tried it, halos lahat ng cars na meron ka gusto mo na din palagyan Just to warn you, the higher budget na willing to pay sa speakers, the higher the chances that you will want an amplifier to bring out the best sa speaker upgrade. I've learned this the hard way. :tounge:

Yes sir! Parang nakita ko nga kaya na dapat yung 6.5" speakers. Yung tweeter locations lang medyo hindi ko sure.

I've considered deadening din pero saka nalang siguro iyon haha. Pataas ng pataas yung nagiging outlay.

Haha medyo dead set ako sa no amp nor sub... My OCness against splicing stock wiring will kick in. Although a good installer should have no problems doon sa electricals, nababoy na dati yung mga electricals ng lumang kotse namin sa kakakabit ng mga kung ano ano (not sound system and di pa ako nagddrive dati), so I really don't want to touch those things (memories of getting stranded). As of today, I'm almost exclusively restricted to plug and play mods pagdating sa electricals.

I'm just trying to answer all i know. Some inputs may be wrong to some but i'm just basing my responses from experience.

Some experience is better than no experience! Hehe

BTW, how long do you think it will take to install and tune this? Say I show up at the shop at 830AM and yung HU lang and speakers yung ipapagawa ko, and I have all the harnesses needed na for less splice work? Will a little more than half day suffice?

[Sleepcare]

Kung ganun, then the stock speakers are sure to be bad as well. Dibale, pag na hand-me-down na yung original stock speakers ng ibang kotse, baka mas tumino yung sound hehe.

Actually kapag kinabit mo speakers ng Toyota to your Honda, i think it would sound better but alam mo naman yung stand ko na "upgrade if you can"

For standard radio functions, mas okay yata yung 1DIN. Kaso pag umaabot ako sa bluetooth features like navigating the HU to call someone, parang mas madaling gawin on the phone mismo kaysa on the 2DIN. Pag sa 2DIN kasi, there is a solid case for just using the HU to make the call as opposed to going back to the phone (semi defeats the purpose of having BT for the phone, kasi making calls, going through the phonebook and picking songs aren't as easy when you have a big list).

Ma-eliminate mo yung need to do everything boss with the 5050 HU. If you have Siri/Google assistant (i don't know ano tawag sa android kasi matagal na akong kumalas sa samahan..hehe para kausapin nalang to do the tasks that you wanted.

Thanks for the info! Panoorin ko mamaya yung interface ng Joying. Also watched a demo of the Z5050BT, parang okay naman. Pero parang malaki yung difference in smoothness ng Kenwood (also watched a demo). Not sure on the ease-of-use over the years, those aren't apparent in a demo video and you only feel it after a while. Yung nakita ko lang na possible issue sa Kenwood DDX is that most of the buttons are on the right. Ewan ko kung mahihirapan ako para iabot yung buttons.

Kenwood head units are currently high on processing power especially may gps function pa ang kenwood unlike the pioneer kaya napansin mo na mas smooth yung kenwood. Joying interface is not good for me kaya you'll need to apply skins which are available sa playstore. I like to use Nova launcher for tablets and phones kaya i know that it will be good for HUs also.

Nako, Kenwood + Tempo. Ang mahal na ata. Pero unamped, will this still be okay?

Unamped, hmm... medyo hesitant ako if Tempo ang gagamitin but if Maximo i think kakayanin lang ng HU power.

Yup, both the HUs and the speakers na rin balak ko ilipat. Hopefully yung mga Toyota speakers 10 years apart use the same plug and play connectors. Ayaw ko talaga ng splicing kahit na magaling yung pagkagawa, its the OCD kicking in...

10 years same connectors lang boss kapag toyota. Toyota is known for "not updating". Hehe

Based on quick OLX check mas mahal pa yung kenwood... nasa 40+? Haha :|

Yes nasa 40+k ang kenwood kasi wala masyado demand kaya walang "bumbay units" compared to pioneer. Unless you know someone outside the country to bring it here for you.

Yes sir! Parang nakita ko nga kaya na dapat yung 6.5" speakers. Yung tweeter locations lang medyo hindi ko sure.

I've considered deadening din pero saka nalang siguro iyon haha. Pataas ng pataas yung nagiging outlay.

Haha medyo dead set ako sa no amp nor sub... My OCness against splicing stock wiring will kick in. Although a good installer should have no problems doon sa electricals, nababoy na dati yung mga electricals ng lumang kotse namin sa kakakabit ng mga kung ano ano (not sound system and di pa ako nagddrive dati), so I really don't want to touch those things (memories of getting stranded). As of today, I'm almost exclusively restricted to plug and play mods pagdating sa electricals.

Ganun ba... if that is the case you should get the most sensitive speakers para kayanin yung HU power which i think is 50 watts max. But the rated 25-27 watts is good enough for background listening-medyo malakas ng konti sa background listening without the distortion.

Some experience is better than no experience! Hehe

BTW, how long do you think it will take to install and tune this? Say I show up at the shop at 830AM and yung HU lang and speakers yung ipapagawa ko, and I have all the harnesses needed na for less splice work? Will a little more than half day suffice?

Basic installation for the speakers are 1 hour to 1.5 hours max lalo if 1 man army lang yung gagawa (2 hours siguro if front and rear speakers ang papalitan. Head unit takes another 30mins to an hour with basic tuning. If 5050 yung kukunin mo, i suggest doing the autoEQ and TA in a very quiet place probably your in your home garage or somewhere you know na quiet kasi every noise na madedetect ng microphone will affect everything. Kaya if dalawang tao ang gagawa, i think less than 3 hours lang job done na and you'll drive home grinning ear to ear

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Parang may naririnig akong distortion even if the EQ is flat sa x595bt ko. Stock speaker limitation kaya yan? parang may times nag tre-tremolo yung mga high notes. Maganda naman yung stereo image pero yan lang concern ko. Maari din kayang nag va-vibrate yung door panels nung VIOS?

Stock speaker limitation yan boss. You need to lower the frequency. Possible na may vibration din door panels that's why i recommend deadening the doors. Pero if deadening is not an option, lower the gain nalang sa EQ to minimize/eliminate distortion pero baka mabitin ka na.

[mda]

Thanks sir.

Leaning towards Z5050BT or Kenwood DDX917s and Morel Maximos nalang kung hindi sulit yung Tempos unamped. Depends how lucky / rich I feel on that day.

Bali normally what will happen, correct me if I'm wrong...

Replace HU - pag may harness, just plug and play.

Replace Speakers - Use stock wiring, w/ harness

Replace Tweeters - Tweeters to have their own wires, di na gagamitin yung stock wiring for this?

----

Other plans:

Will move the stock Toyota speakers into an older Toyota.

Will move the stock 2DIN AVT Head unit into an older Toyota din without an integrated radio.

Across the board upgrade, and only yung pinaka bulok na head unit and speakers (on a 2003 Toyota) will get stocked for future/spare use hehe.

Yung honda will leave it for now... Ok na sa akin yung Polks + Stock HU. Peg na rin for future reference hehehehe.

Hopefully we'll get everything done before year end... at least medyo clear na yung steps moving forward.


Thanks sir sleepcare -- laking tulong talaga hehe.

[Sleepcare]

Thanks sir.

Leaning towards Z5050BT or Kenwood DDX917s and Morel Maximos nalang kung hindi sulit yung Tempos unamped. Depends how lucky / rich I feel on that day.

Will PM you regarding this maybe tonight or tomorrow as i'm leaving the office already... this may make your day boss i assure you

Other plans:

Will move the stock Toyota speakers into an older Toyota.

If the size is the same with your new and old toyota, this might be feasible..

Will move the stock 2DIN AVT Head unit into an older Toyota din without an integrated radio.

Pwede ito actually this will improve/worsen the sound quality depending on the older toyota. If i may, what older toyota is this? Is this a camry?

Across the board upgrade, and only yung pinaka bulok na head unit and speakers (on a 2003 Toyota) will get stocked for future/spare use hehe.

I'll answer this kapag nalaman ko na yung "older" toyota. hehe

Yung honda will leave it for now... Ok na sa akin yung Polks + Stock HU. Peg na rin for future reference hehehehe.

Nako... ang mangyayari neto yung newer toyota na paglalagyan ang magiging future reference as ito yung mas ginastusan

Hopefully we'll get everything done before year end... at least medyo clear na yung steps moving forward.

Thanks sir sleepcare -- laking tulong talaga hehe.

No problem sir. I enjoying helping out as much as i can.

[mda]

Hehe ito yung plan sir...

Currently---
Fortuner - Stock AVT + Stock Speakers + Tweeters
2004 LC120 - X9650 + Stock Speakers
2003 Camry - Stock Kenwood na mapanget at mahirap gamitin + Stock Speakers

Planning to move the Fort AVT and the Stock Front Speakers + Tweeters to the LC120, dunno lang where I can put the tweeters; X9650 will move to the Camry.

The next time, pag may newer vehicle for upgrading speakers, the old stock speakers can go to the Camry's hehe.