Headunit prices: i've been in a cave

Noticing that my 'new-to-me' '06 AC has the OEM amp in the backseat floor covey, as was so well pointed out by @shifty in his radio upgrade 'white-paper'; nice job and many thanks shIfty!
So, I'm convinced theres no logical reason to continue use of the Toy OEM Amp- its days are numbered and the by-pass harness is noted for order. Also, the OEM Toyota non-JBL radio is exhibiting age effects: volume knob gets out of control and during daylight, its display is zero w/polarized lenses on, so may the headunit search begin.
Now, I openly admit the last time I shopped a headunit was 2017 when I replaced the 01Tacoma OEM w/an impressive Alpine UTE-62BT [half-DIN? left a void underneath for things to fall out on lower console] ...anyway, it filled that little cab fairly well w/the OEM 4 spkr + 2 doortweets- nocomplaints for cost/return-on-investmnt..I think it cost about $120.
Jump ahead to 2024...and I've been in a cave.
Looks like $300 min to fill the Radio bay w/a touchscreen headunit x 40-45watts and have rearview cam input, USB support and BT. Didnt see anything Alpine in that cost category, so apparently I'll be approaching the 400-500+ neighborhood for that.
I started by browsing Crutchfield, whom I have great regard for their in depth knowledgebase they put out, but I'm almost thinking the "BOSS" brand is their own 'in-house value brand'. Cant prove it, just feels like that since they outnumber every other make.
One thing I liked about my old 'pedestrian' Alpine is the remote control; had it on the Tacoma console and used heavyduty 3m velcro to mount it their so I could operate the headunit from the armrest; after memorizing its keyboard it was safer than navigating the faceplate while driving. When locking truck up, just pulled it off the console and stored outta sight in the radio bay void .
I sure hope the new touchscreen headunits still have this functionality option- i think that remote was about $20 back then. My 06AC is the SR5 so no wheel audiocontrols. Hoping to mount a remote somewhere on the huge console; works for me [its an 'OldGuy thing i guess].

BTW: appreciate any comments or advice on a headunit make/model that checks my above wants- not necessarily Alpine. Thanks, Joe.

 

And as I learned recently, Jensen, Dual, Boss, Power Acoustik, and Phase Linear are made the same factory in China. It's all pretty much mainland China shitware. Like, it's going to work, but spending an extra $100 on a major name brand like Pioneer, Alpine, Sony, or similar will provide you with a better experience. And there are some midrange brands that are solid, made in China at a modest price. Namely Kenwood and JVC, which are also the same brand.

Those shitware brands have absolutely nothing to do with Crutchfield, other than being "name brand but at the very low end of the spectrum" brands.

What you really need to understand is this:

They're packing an absurd amount of technology into head units these days. Even back in 2017, you could still get a non-touchscreen radio for the price you're talking about. 7 years ago, a lot of touchscreens were still shitty inductive screens vs. capacitive screens. Bluetooth wasn't overwhelmingly supported still. Android Auto and CarPlay were just taking hold, and many radios still relied on iPod interfacing for large libraries of music to show up seamlessly, or USB.

Radios in 2024, nearly 2025 now, are essentially mini iPads / Galaxy tabs, but with a built in amplifier, software crossover, etc. all packed into a dual-DIN screen. To be frank, it's extremely difficult to get a tablet for less than double what a decent head unit costs. And with wired or wireless Carplay and AndroidAuto being as good as what it is, just installing a new head unit supporting those things turns your radio - which used to be knobs and buttons - into a full-blown smart system w/navigation and hands-free for your vehicle, similar to what OEM offers now, what would still cost you upwards of $1k-2k as a feature in the mid-late 20-teens.

You legitimately get what you pay for these days. It's extremely rare to come across a smoking deal at a sub-$200 price on decent quality stuff.

Look. I know it sucks. I know some people on here are running Boss, or ATOTO, or other brands. Those are also the same people you'll see needing help troubleshooting problems with their radio, complaining "x feature stopped working", "unit suddenly died". I know FirstGenVol had an issue with his Alpine iLX head unit, we resolved that with a firmware update, which Alpine supplies regularly to fix bugs, something ATOTO and other no-name brands rarely do. I know we had another member on here who got the iLX 670, and they weren't happy with the screen brightness, this is a very common complaint about the Jensen/Dual units, but the Alpine worked and sounded great.

Your head unit is the one thing I would tell you to splurge on. It's the central repo for your entire driving experience. What I'd tell you is to think about what features you want to see in your head unit and buy once, cry once.

 

If you don’t want CarPlay, my son has a double din pioneer he’ll sell pretty cheap. Installed it in his mustang for about a year. Took it out when he got his newer mustang.

 

My Boss head unit is a boat anchor I use to listen to my phone’s music louder with shit sound and show me my phone’s maps bigger on a shittier screen.

 

Ok, here. I'll walk it back a bit...Crutchfield certainly appears to have more BOSS offerings on their virtual shelves than any other make. Yes, Ive seen BOSS and its clones at retailers like Target, etc so Im being sarcastic about Crutchfield, but I still think highly of their [crutchfield] etailing. Maybe BOSS gives them a bigger margin; dont know and dont really care...because its likely I wont buy a BOSS. At the same time, if I wanted more bang for the buck, theres already a well established market there in Kenwood/JVC...I could probly be cool with either, but I havent looked at those makes since I put a sub $100 Kenwood in the cabin of a boat I had back in 1995..and I recall being impressed with that at the time, especially since I didnt want to risk much in a marine environment [then along came Fusion-..er Garmin. whole nother story].
Currently have a Corolla H-bk DD and it came with the touchscreen display headunit and AndriodAuto. Its not the full 'Entune' system or whatever their flagship audio is, but its pretty damn good. Its screen is completely legible day or night, polarized lenses or not. I dont think its on PAR w/Alpine, but it fills that small interior w/better than standard sounds. Pretty sure a bottom shelf to mid-grade Alpine will be noticeably better than whats in the Tundra now, eventho I am impressed that Toyota designed a 3 band equalizer into the system and, of course, losing that cassete player is going to be a real conversation killer.
Anyway, I do see the point of spending a bit more to get a substantial amount more return on the experience, especially in the bigger cab of the Tundra.
BTW, @KNABORES: thanks for the offer on the Pioneer but I'm still an Alpine fan.

 

I just got my 2000 SR5 registered after sitting for 4 years, because we have 3 other cars and not much driving around needed during the lock down pandemic event. I just registered this year in anticipation of gas prices dropping starting next year. Just replaced the OEM radio with a BOSS and added a rear view camera in the tailgate handle.
Had I known how well this head unit worked I would have swapped it out earlier. It's loud enough and is upgradable with low level outputs and dedicated sub out if wanted.
Well worth a couple benjamins!

 

Well as i said earlier, Im an Alpine fan. So I'll start another thread discussing my model selection, namely back 1 or 2 gens of Alpine.
Look for a new post regarding Alpine audio as replacement for my AC Tundra SR5 if interested. Thanks, Joe.

 

more comments/advice specifically on future Alpine HU in my G1Tundra here:

https://www.tundras.com/threads/opinion-advice-on-my-future-alpine-hu.147552/

 

I was interested in moving to the 507, doesn’t it support wireless CarPlay? I can’t recall. I currently have the 650. I like it. I have an alternate solution for wireless CarPlay thanks to @The Black Mamba’s insight even though the 650 won’t support natively. But I’d prefer integrated. The CarPlay lag I experience using the Magic Link on the 650 is a bit annoying for me. I’d hope it’d be better if the head unit supported it natively.

 

Fr/my lookat the owners manual, yes it does support wireless carplay/AAuto.
Another item I read about it is that altho you can use the 2 designated Alpine amps, they do not mount direct to the HU; they can 'fit' over the HU chassis, but they will need fastening of their own.
Im loathe to fork out $600+ for a rig I'll drive less than once a week, but when I do drive, its likely 100+mi's each time.
As I stated on my AudioVideo post, I dont like the keyswitch only ON/OFF.
However, my major attraction to it is 2 fold: likely best resolution screen in Alpine under $700 [ouch] AND it has an IR receiver for HHeld remote control [i dont have steeringwheel controls].
Added bonus: it has RDS and I listen to a lot of FM and nice to know Artists/Titles...
Oh, and since I'm "frugal', Ima try running w/out amp since its native output=18 × 4; those 2 extra watts compared to the lesser models might be noticeable.

 

As noted by @shifty` and @Azblue , BOSS is just plain garbage. No diamonds in the rough. Just straight junk. Skip it. I don’t care how many offerings there are or how enticing they sound, it’s not worth it. Period.

Also, as shifty noted, there’s a ton of tech built in to head by it’s these days. Prices have gone up, but a double DIN touch screen worth its salt has started at $300 for the last 10 years, but you have a plethora of other options and accouterments offered at slightly higher price points. Those options levels are basically:

base model, one rca out, might still have a dvd drive but not usually and just called a media player;

same head unit but with a DVD drive and 3 rca outs;

Add better sound processing, possible to integrate with vehicle electronics and steering wheel controls via aftermarket add-ons like iDatalink Maestro, screen is slightly bigger, maybe carplay;

Dual zone viewing (tvs in back can watch a movie, speakers in front can play radio/bluetooth), comes with car play;

All the bells and whistles like wireless CarPlay, minus built in Navi;

Either all the bells and whistles plus navi, or larger weirdo floating screen.

Add $100-200 per tier. I usually go for tier 3 or 4. Tier three is the best bag for your buck, IMO especially if it comes with car play. My tundra has a Pioneer Avic7200 with Navi because it was the same price as the non-Navi unit at around $600 (the 7300 series model was coming out so the 7200 was discounted). The sequoia has a tier 3 Kenwood that cost roughly the same price or a bit more because, well, C*vid shorted my option to base, tier 4, or all the bells and whistles.

Happy hunting. Bargains are out there, but don’t cheap out. You will hate that you wasted money. I say that as somebody that has wasted plenty of money on cheap garbage but has spent way too much money or stereo equipment because music is something that moves my soul.

 

Damn, my BOSS is the Dodge Stratus of headunits. It will not be confused with high dollar unit. But, no problems with it. Everything still works fine, its just the "Dodge Stratus" option. ( Hey I was working in rough area at the time so I did not want to entice). PG County what up!

 

This gives me an idea. Boss / Dual chrome decals for higher end headunits. The old misdirection game.

 

I tell ya, if you like to listen to music dont go BOSS. mine is /has been great connectivity, bt, wireless calls. And sounds good under 70% volume. For what it is ( yes, i pared it with the boss $80 under the seat Sub too) its a good cheap upgrade. All my other cars I always went with Boston Acoustic/ phoenix gold. But, that area is not my wheelhouse. All I know is when I clean my carpet per Weagle or Shifty's instructions...i will be adding lots of sound deadening. Truch has a lot of NVH comparatively. I was surprised when I pulled carpet...no nvh material ...atleast behind the seats. Not sure if this was improved on later models. I want to say @Shifty said JBL? makes the best stuff for these trucks. If the Boss craps out, I will replace w higher dollar unit as the quality is ...well prob equivalent to stock base radio when iver 70% volume. Under that. I think Boss offers a good bang for $ improvement. You get f/r cameras, sub, BT, ANDROID,APPLE, for under $500. Its all low quality, but it works.

 

@BluegrapeVr6 ...your satire not lost on me [u sure u dont mean 'Pontiac Aztec'?]
...but the market has something for everyone and do you really always get what you paid for?
Reminds me of the '3rd world wisdom' Tony Sopranos' Russian hooker replied with after he recounted his psych issues:
'..you Americans..you have everything and yet you still complain..' or something to that effect. Some say we have too many choices, but i guessthis is the 'free market' competition we have that eventually shakes out the seriously deficient [i mean theres always worse than BOSS, etc.].
I remember Toyotas' infancy; no shortage of doubters. 1966, When I saw the parents nextdoor bought a new '65 Corolla, I wondered if they were spies... [they were actually USN CO fam and i think they had just returned fr/extended station in Japan]. Today, id say Toyota [&other Asian builders] has given the Euro bulders serious concern about their "sustainability".
But im off on a tangent...Im still here and there probing Alpine users [and others] on ROI of the ilx507 [or its Alpine relatives] or its 'mid-dollar' couterparts.

 

I have a couple of them as well.

 

I’ve installed a 650 alpine in my wife’s old sequoia and a boss unit in my sister in laws 4
Runner and the boss actually had better user interface and graphics. Neither woman is an audiophile, clearly…but both were happy with each respective units performance.

I have no doubt that alpine and pioneer et Al provide better audio quality for those with discerning taste, but for 80% of the rest of us that just want Bluetooth and a gps map on our head units there’s no issue with the budget units.

if you buy a $200 CarPlay head unit expecting to be blown away by audio performance you should reset your expectations.

 

I thought i said i was very happy with bang for the buck. Im frugal , and so far im quite satisfied. Any yes, U.S.A is #1 in my humble opinion.

 

Yeah, I hear what youre saying about bang for the buck, and Im starting to question my idea of dropping 600+ on audio hardware I'll really only use less than once a week. I could probly live w/a BOSS, but i do like music loud enough to drown out roadnoise. I dont think Im ever going to sound deaden my cab so Im relying on the ilx507s 18watts x 4 to be good enough and Im not noticing much NVH- actually quite impressed w/the '06 AC 2WD V8 ride quality.

 

A lot of words I this threads, the factory JBA Amps with some nice after market speakers sound pretty good and bump.

Back to some C-‘s

 

Man, this is too much to handle. Why is there so much need to be connected? Are we losing the ability to think for our self? Wake up! All this tech is making you irrelevant.

 

Connected? I use it for hands free (they 100% pull u over if you *had to take a call) . I usually pull off road regardless. I listen to music with mine, and yes sometimes the gps. But, i could use a map or a compass if I had too. Its a nice luxury to have.

But I agree, i dont get on FB, no insta or toktic poison who this guy. Although i do click on shifties marketplace adds lol

 

Yes our expectations have changed. This truck is my first vehicle with a touch screen. Never needed or wanted one. But since it's there...boy it'd be nice to have gps operational on it, instead of my phone. Bigger screen, easier to see while still watching the road.

But yeah...having come from a 98 Tacoma with cd player and OEM speakers, this Tundra is like a state-of-the-art sound system. Of course I don't know whether a PO upgraded the speakers. I know there's no aftermarket amp, no larger than OEM speakers, and it's way more than adequate for me. But I've never been a guy to blast music.

 

Big Lt turn: just got through trying to reconnect a soundbar to an hdtv; bar has always been unreliable [yamaha, hard2believe]...holys--t, i started trying to reset to basic hdmi connection at begin of CO-NE football. I have spent ALL of the 1st half of Nebraska-Colorado football doing this: powercycle, reboot, change hdmi ports, online manual read, utube, back to hard resets... and finally this MF'r comes back to life and I have no clue how! Just dont breathe in its direction..I swear Samsung HDTVs know when the peripheral component isnt samsung and it just f--ks w/you until youre on threshold of hiki g down to BB or Target and pay for a Samsung bar....f'n maddening.
And yet we go back just like CharlieBrown trusting Lucy to hold the F'n football. BTW: CO getting pantsed in public!

 

@MT-Tundra...i've lived your experience. The Tundra is like a BMW compared to my 01 Tacoma; and i thought I was livin' w/my 2.4L 4 spd, 21mpg...BUT i did have an Alpine sgl din lo-tech headunit w/stock Toy speaks AND yes, I was happy. Ignorance is bliss.

Also, my Tundra has the non-jbl amp and headunit has a Bass/Mid/Treb 'equalizer' and if it werent for its Vol knob failing and the bk-lit LQuartz display I cant read w/polarized lenses, Id be happy withit...
So since Ive gotta swap in a new HU, I guess im a victim of "..ok, but for a hundred more you get...". Cant lie, Alpine has made me a believer based on sound quality i got out of the Tacoma w/out an ext amp and Toyo OEM speaks.

 

I hear you! My Tundra came with a Sony head unit and backup camera. Nothing I would have bought on my own. But when/if they start going out...not sure I want to live without them anymore. And I want quality. I don't need a lot of bells and whistles, but it's got to be a high quality product. For better or worse, these days, bare-bones and "quality" don't seem to go together. Slippery slope...suddenly we're talking about a lot of money.

 

Only thing my BOSS is good for is a backup camera display - when it doesn't get washed out by reflection. Worst radio purchase.

 

Is Nakamichi in same category? Ive seen online AD prices that puts them in the same low-cost market.
Looks like Nakamichi label was purchased by China company- some good reviews online, but some say theyre well below old Nakamichi standards. Anyone try one lately?