Pioneer or Kenwood HU?

Thanks!

 

Good to hear as I ordered one and waiting on it to come in.

Holding off on amp/speaker replacement until after this is in and I know what I'm dealing with.

 

I prefer Pioneer ( the previous AVIC's) but have no experience with Kenwood. I have always replaced factory HU in any used SUV, I have done Pioneers mostly, but put a Sony in a 2003 SUV for the CarPlay and my son loves it. GPS off his phone, great phone integration and great music streaming. The biggest bonus is a physical knob for volume. The CarPlay integration is excellent. Hate the Pioneer UI but the Toyota stock entune is not tolerable. Should have waited for 2020 stock CarPlay in Tundras.

Re: my 2018 Tundra...Just bought the Pioneer 4500NEX for the Wireless CarPlay. If you show bestbuy the Amazon price, they meet it. $550, a full $150 off with $100 towards install. I am going to use the iData TO2 for Toyota to keep steering wheel controls. Keeping the JBL amp since it drives the 18 stock speakers with the iData harnesses and the Pioneer has good sound out of the HU. Not planning on Sirius, hate monthly fees. Bought Scosche surround rather than Metra, perfect match to OEM look. Planning to use HDMI from HU wired into center console to play Netflix to the back seat for road trips. Will post pics of install and finished setup.

With the Toyota wireless charging mod already installed in the center console, my dream is to hop into the truck and be connected. No more cords and full Apple/waze integration!

 

I've owned both and they are both good.

But given the choice I prefer Kenwood.

More audio options, touch quicker, and I like the layout better.

 

Ok just finished install of Pioneer w4500nex. I have to say, amazing! The sound system is reborn keeping the JBL amp and all the stock speakers, the sound is loud, crisp and clear.

Wireless CarPlay is the feature I was after, but with the wireless charger in the center console it is unbelievable. Just jump in and go!

Not sure about the value for the idata maestro. An extra $200 to adjust volume and answer calls on the steering wheel? the other features are a gimick. However, the fact that the harness was plug n play makes it worth it. I have never installed car stereo and by carefully matching up maestro and pioneer installs, not hard to figure out.

Highly recommended to anyone with entune. Ditch that dog and enjoy the latest tech!

 

Forgot to mention. The maestro also supports the oem backup camera. Plug it in and it works, harness coverts to 6v automatically. Hooked up the hdmi and ran into the glovebox for steaming Amazon or Netflix without having to use video switch override. Oh, and bought the maestro cable to keep my factory usb in the dash for android guests. Love it, let’s see how long it lasts...phone calls crystal clear to callers ... using Waze and pandora more than anything else so far....

 

Also, in case anyone is looking for a cheaper option that foregoes the extra info screens, the Crux SWRTY-61n will also allow you to retain the factory back up camera, as well as the usb input. Thought it might help anyone budget conscious shopping.

 

My brother in law sells both at his car audio shop and told me kenwoods have less problems and run faster then pioneer. I have owned both and alpine and prefer kenwood

 

I put a Pioneer 4500 NEX in my wife’s 4Runner. I really like it. It does sometimes just shut off. But the Entune unit was rebooting all the time - even after replacing under warranty. The pioneer also supports anytime camera along with an additional camera. Mounted one in the grill and it’s easy to switch back and forth.

 

Can you show the details for the camera you minted in the grill? Was it easy to mount?

I would love to make use of that second camera input on the NEX!

 

Switched HU to Kenwood and sold the stock HU and it almost paid for the upgrade.
@1lowlife - I went with the same 9903s and I have just gotten used to the stupid warning screen. Good luck with the new HU

 

Very easy install. I do have to confess that the installer did it but he said it was easy. Used a camera from Amazon less than $30. Need to make sure the camera is reversible.

 

What did you get for the stock HU? I have my old one lying around that I need to sell...

 

Oh man, it's been 3 years ago... but I think around 4-5 hundred

 

Do you remember where you sold it? I have my Navi JBL i need to sell

 

I sold my nav non-JBL on here earlier this year.

 

Mornin’
Great thread btw.

I’m researching between Pioneer DMHWT8600
Vs Kenwood DDX9906XR

I plan on keeping stock JBL amp, stock speakers for moment to see how the system performs.

 

Looks great. Do you have a list of additional cables and adapters you had to order? Did you have to replace the Bluetooth mic?

Thanks, Mike

 

You won't be able to retain the factory mic, but a lot of people have ran their new mic to the factory location. I went simple and mounted it on top of the steering column.

 

K,
Found a decent auto sound shop in OC, the guy has done several Tundras.
He recommends the Kenwood at moment for the Hi- Resolution but said to wait a week for the Pioneer 10.1” floating tablet style.
He also suggested going with infinity audio “kappa” series component set.
keep the JBL amp/sub and try that before going all new everything.

 

Try the HU first. I may be in the minority, but my Kenwood HU totally woke my stock speakers up; and I'm completely happy with them.
It depends on your expectations but if you're looking for something slightly better than good enough, the HU may be all you need.
It wasn't until I started fiddling with all the sound effects on the Kenwood that I became happy. Loudness = low, Sound Stage = High.

 

Cool,
I’m one of those mechanical/scientific idiots that like to change one parameter/component prove it works better/worse than just blast out everything at once.
I played around with my current Tesla head unit and IT IS cool and nothing else comes close to large hi res screen with OEM like fit.
I just don’t have the time to tinker and really dial it in.
If I sell on here I’ll be completely upfront with my frustrations with it

 

I have no intention of watching DVD’s in my truck but how easy is it to override the parking brake connection so I can adjust settings while I’m im at a red light without having to engage the parking brake.

 

With Kenwood, all you have to do is ground with the parking brake wire. Very simple.

 

Update !

Researched the hell out of multiple head units, went to a few audio places, twiddled knobs, mashed buttons.
Tried Pioneer, Alpine, Kenwood.
I like the look of the Halo 9 but the resolution is noticeably crap compared to Pioneer or Kenwood.


Chose the Kenwood 9906XR. Paired to my phone flawless, car play is cool. Interface is straight forward.
Screen is smaller than I like, however it’s crisp and clear with a tilt function to help with glare.
Will get installed sometime next week. Gonna be working my socks off tonight thru Sunday.

 

You won’t regret it. I went with the 996xr, which is the same just with built in Navi. UI is very intuitive and straight forward. The capacitive touch screen is super responsive. Not to mention being able to see my screen completely in daylight and with polarized sunglasses on is sooo nice haha

 

I forgot to write that... living in SoCal I drive with polarized shades or prescription sunglasses.
Neither of which let me see the current head unit. It was a pleasant surprise in the audio shop.

 

Well...
Dropping Sancha off tonight for Audio install tomorrow and these were being unloaded from a UPS truck.
Takes the 9906XR adds more of...everything really.
Plus the 7” screen is damn near perfect, clean, crisp colors, adjustable tilt and I can see just fine with polarized and prescription Transition glasses.
It’s being installed as I type this...
Will report on it tomorrow after I play around tonight !

 

so how do you like it? Did you happen to try the iphone USB screen mirroring? (curious as I still cant get mine to work)

 

does it work with the factory mic or is there a separate one with the HU that has to be run?