What is the best head unit for my 2014 SR5?

I want it to look clean and have apple car play. What is the one most on here would choose?

 

I have a Kenwood DMX 957 XR. I love it!!

 

We put a Kenwood Excelon DMX958XR in my buddy’s 2016 sr5 with upgraded speakers and a 5 channel amp with sub.. he really like it. He got a red theme going for the interior and he radio leds matches real good.. great radio..

 

I put a system in my 2018 non-JBL that I have been very pleased with. I got a large screen Pioneer, a 5ch amp+sub kit from Tac*Tunes, and door speakers from Tech12Volts.

It depends on what you want versus how much you can spend.

I'd say definitely get a 5ch amp and a sub. Definitely get new door speakers (this won't break your bank), and then spend as much as you can on a reputable head unit. The last thing you want is to take the time and $$ to do this and then have a glitchy set up that sounds bad or is hard to connect to and glitchy.

From the threads, Kenwood, Pioneer, and Alpine seem to be consistently good choices. There are others, but just not enough volume to reasonably assume they are reliable and good. I'll post my installation thread here so you have an idea what goes into this.

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/new...600nex-into-a-2018-sr5-entune-non-jbl.100157/

 

I like big screens and I cannot lie... (Sung to the tune of Sir Mix-a-lot's "Baby Got Back")

Very happy with the big ol' Kenwood.

 

How do you get the digital dash with transmission temps?

 

What Kenwood model is that?

 

It's a function of the iDatalink Maestro interface that you need to retain your steering wheel controls. That was one of the ways that I justified spending the money, since I have a '19 (w/No trans cooler) I wanted to be able to monitor trans temps.

DMX1057XR

Love it.

 

Nice, thanks. Is the iDatalink Maestro necessary to retain the steering wheel controls? Did you have to purchase a specific wiring harness for the Tundra?

 

It is. I sprung $50 extra for the Maestro RR-2 over the RR.

You not only retain steering wheel controls, but you gain a few. You can program some of the buttons for a secondary function if you Press n' Hold. I have the Arrow Up button bring up the front camera, the Volume Up button brings up the gauge package, and Volume Down brings up the TPMS on screen.

The only thing I lost is the steering wheel button to answer and hang up phone calls, you have to tap on screen.

The RR-2 is bluetooth so if it ever needs to be re-flashed you can do it with an app and not have to pull the unit to hook up to PC or tablet. It also gives you two programmable relay controls, so if I ever install a light bar or something I can control it through the HU and not have to run wires through the firewall for switches.

I had a stereo shop I like do the install, but yes.

Tundra harness adapter, dash kit, XM adapter to use my Tundra XM antenna rather than have another XM antenna on the dash.

My understanding is that the install is really not that difficult, I just don't have the patience for that stuff anymore.

I'm sure I could've saved a nice chunk of change self-installing, but I'd rather just go surfing and pick it up when it's done. The shop did a fantastic job, the sting of the OTD price is now long gone, and I really enjoy it.

It made everything better; sound quality improved, NAV is better using my phone's Google or WAZE, much better voice commands, (with the Toyota NAV I couldn't even speak an address into it, I had to stop and type it)
Android Auto lets me just say "Text John" "Okay, what's the message?" Or "Hey Google, how old is Salma Hayek?"
And the Screen mirroring to my or wifey's phone is great for a long road trip - Netflix, Prime, YouTube.

 

Did they run an aftermarket phone microphone or use the factory mic?

 

Little aftermarket microphone clipped into headliner just above left side of rearview mirror, I don't even notice it anymore.

My understanding is that the factory mic &/or location are usually very problematic with aftermarket systems.

 

I am looking to upgrade my radio and was wondering how well it holds its position on dirt/fire roads?

 

Rock solid so far.

Not racing the Baja, but I've done some fairly aggressive ripping around in desert washes, (Mama likes it when I romp on it) exploring miles of trails and washes, some sections of which are pretty washboarded, a bit of very mild wheelin'....

So far it's held it's position perfectly. Seems to be a non-issue.