Opinion/Advice on my [future] Alpine HU

Looking for Opinion/Advice on my [future] Alpine HU. Please chime in, whether or not ur an Alpine fan...

Premises of my choice are that:
1. the Toy OEM unit is played [volume control has its own mind, other than that, lacking BT, USB & steeringwheel control; but that cassette player will 'really' b missd]
2. Im an Alpine fan.
3. I want a handheld remote. Prefer most frequent used controls in my rt hand; much safer to me than leaning forward w/rt hand. [minor for most peeps- i guess an 'old-guy' thing]

So, this means going back as far as 2019 models, such as the

$280 iLX-W650 7" double DIN touchscreen digital multimedia receiver with bluetooth, apple carplay and android auto

iLX-W650...there may be a newer unit that retained the IR receiver, but this was 1st to show up on search.
Curious if anyone here has this Alpine [or a newer model w/IR receiver] in their Tundra [doesnt need 2b Gen1] and what, if anything, they are missing that newer models have. I'd especially like to hear about sound quality and touchscreen/UI.
Thanks for your input.
Joe.

 

Having read too many negative reviews of [not only] Alpine standard resolution displays, Ive considered stepping up to the hi-res 7" screen as in the ilx507.
Yes, big jumpfrom ilx650 price, but I dont want to struggle w/visibilty issues fr/day 1.

Or, is my screen visibilty bias [1280x720 v. 800x480?] over influenced by negative reviews naturaly outnumbering the positives?

Small Related negative of nearly all the Alpine [newer] TouchScreen HU's [maybe other makes as well:
Only ON/OFF is ignition keyswitch. Would it be impossible to add a simple in-line switch between one of the power leads of the harness, to minimize batt draw while parked w/ACCESSORY On [ex: need to be able to operate windows but dont want audio ON]

 

interesting observations as i browsed Alpine on BestBuy website today, only bcuz theres one nearby and I wanted to see the actual HU on display.
1. The Q&A for my interest: ilx507, was verbatim, exactly whats shown on the Crutchfield page, .but different font.
2. This particular BB had 3 of rthese Alpine units, but no single display board as they have for Pioneer, Kenwood, JVC and Sony.
3. In my case, the ilx507 listed on BB at regular retail, also has an "openbox" unit advertised at 616.99 vs the Crutchfield "openbox" unit at $617.45.
All somewhat conspicuous; almost thinking one etailer bought out the other.

 

It looks like the current Alpine head units that have an IR panel are the ILX-407 and ILX-507. Crutchfield doesn’t list a remote as box contents with either, but, I was looking at the Alpine RUE-4360 remote and Crutchfield says it is compatible with both head units. Not sure if your 2006 has any steering wheel controls, but Crutchfield notes that with the remote, if you connect any steering wheel control harnesses, the Alpine head units will disable the remote receiver panel.

The other cheapest most current option is the ILX-W670 but I don’t see any indication of an IR panel/remote and Crutchfield doesn’t list it as remote capable if you filter by that.

Between the 407 and 507, both are on sale through Crutchfield right now for $400 and $650 respectively. Beyond that, it looks like the main difference is that the 507 has wireless carplay/android auto whereas the 407 is wired. Both have capacitive screens, with the 407 having a resolution of 800x480 and the 507 being 1280x720.

That said, it’s hard to say how discernible the resolution difference is. Obviously the higher resolution would be nicer.

In either case, and really with any head unit, what I’d do to solve your remote turn on question, is run an add a circuit from your fuse panel from one of the circuits that’s only on when the truck is fully on, to the back of the stereo and connect it to the new head units remote input wire rather than connecting it to the factory radio remote on wire, that way when parked etc. you can use the windows without the radio on too, but honestly i wouldn’t be too worried about the draw from the head unit.

If it were me and I could afford it, I’d probably spring for the 507 with the thought being, you’ll be guaranteed to not have any resolution problems, wireless carplay/android auto is pretty nifty being able to just hop in and go, no pulling out your phone to plug it in, and worst case scenario if your truck dies in a few years, you’ll have the higher end head unit that’ll probably have a longer lifespan specs wise compared to the 407.
At the end of the day I think both would be great head units and you’d be happy with either.

 

thanks @Snert.
All good points and Im still leaning toward the 507. As far as amp draw by the 507 when "OFF", the OM states small ["several hundred milliamperes"...continuos memory circuit?] draw is still an issue. For most peeps that drive more than 1x/week, likely not an issue. Im concerned about parasitic amp draw since I only drive 1x/week or less.
OTOH, any chance the Tundras' ECM doesnt like an 'appliance' outside its ACC/ON/OFF switch? In that case, maybe just as well wired dIrect to ACC/ON/OFF as most installs do.
Here's the Alpine OM page on that:

 

I believe @shifty` has an Alpine in his 2006. He may have valuable insight.

 

Another item that has my attention w/this Alpine:
it [507] apparently can display Engine data, IF the truck can output to a iDatalink product.
Im guessing Gen1Tundras do not have the electronic engine hardware required to output that data. Yes, No or wishful thinking?
A search for 2006 Tundra + iDatalink came up zero...

 

I don't see anything on iDatalink for a 2006 and a Maestro RR. A Maestro RR is what reads the canbus info and feeds it into the new head unit to display. As for wiring, at least in all vehicles I've used add-a-circuits in, I've never had an issue with the vehicle not liking the added circuit. Just have to make sure you orient the add-a-circuit the correct way and then it should have no influence on the original circuit.

It looks like in the driver side fuse panel, some potential candidates would be:

#4 AC INV 15 Power outlets
#8 CIG 15 Cigarette lighter
#22 PWR OUTLET 15 Power outlets

You'd just have to test and find one that only has power when the truck is actually on and running, not just with the key in the accessory position. A small fuse of a few amps or less would suffice for the remote circuit. No need to add a switch. Also, the milliamp draw is referring to if the unit is wired directly to the battery. Using the factory radio's remote turn on wire should also eliminate that draw.

 

Thanks. glad i asked.
Presuming then that Gen1Tundras lack a CANBUS or other interface to collect/transmit engine data?

 

I'm not 100% certain so hopefully a more knowledgeable electronics/gen 1 person can chime in, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say gen 1's don't have it. I think in the U.S. it was required around 2008, so if I had to guess, I'd guess that Toyota didn't implement it until the 2nd gen in 2007 or later.

 

Yes, that sounds about right @Snert.
If G1Tundras have it, more likely will be the last year and by now, would be a common retrofit of iDatalink just for the engine data output/logging. We would have seen forum discussions on installs, HU support, etc by now.
As I recall, Yamaha outboards didnt incorporate it until about 2006-2007 and today its a standard aftermarket mod done on almost every outboard with a modern MFD [multi function display aka Chartplotter/Sonar]. Its so common that its become one of the first checks mechanics look for outboard motor troubleshooting.

 

I though Toyota went to CANBUS architecture in 2005. Can’t verify as my truck is earlier.

 

I think they did on some vehicles. 2nd gen Tacoma started in 2005 and I’m pretty sure they have it, but I’m guessing Toyota knew that in 2007 they were going to roll out a new gen Tundra so rather than add it the last couple models years they just waited until gen 2 started 2007.