So...I'm gonna need a new stereo soon
 

It appears that the circuit board decided to start acting up.....radio turning off randomly, buttons not working.

My car is a 05, Bose, Nav

I have no desire to keep the Nav--it doesn't work half the time (pops up then down) and my phone has an easier to use/better nav system than it has (iphone 4). I'm not sure if this changes any options outside of faceplate?

I'm not at all up on my car audio so I need some suggestions on what to get.

I read Wrathernaut's double din guide and it appears I am going to need:

-Antenna Adapter
-A Steering wheel interface
-Trim front
-PAC ROEMNIS2/ Metra 70-7550(with aftermarket amp)
-JDM AC Controller

I understand the things listed above are a sunk cost in doing any headunit, but I'm not sure on the sound quality increases vs costs by doing the things listed below.


What headunit should I be looking at/where should I be looking to buy it?
Should I be looking to replace the bose amp? How will things sound if I do upgrade the amp w/o the speakers? (Bose does weird ohms I believe) Will the same amp give good results if I want to upgrade speakers in the future?
Speakers?

Think reasonably priced but performs well.

Thanks in advance!!

~Darrel

Since you're using your smartphone for nav, I'd say you can't go wrong with any of the current-gen Pioneer AVH series of double dins. I'd say the 3400 and 8400 are the best options. 8400 is really Pioneer's flagship unit right now... the Z140 and X940 are both incremental updates to units released back in 2010. The 8400 has everything but nav and has a detachable face and works with some of the iPhone apps. The 3400's also good - built in bluetooth and HD radio, and a bit cheaper.

Since you're not doing the metra kit, I'd just go through amazon to purchase it.

Yes, you should absolutely replace the bose amp. It's the single biggest detriment to audio quality. So long as you're replacing the amp, there's no issues with the "weird ohms" since just about all aftermarket amps can take 2ohms or higher with no problem. You'll get more out of the bose speakers with the new amp, and the amp will work fine with the speakers you put in. Just don't overdo the gain and go anywhere between 100 - 200w RMS per channel. I recommend doing just front speakers, rather than all the stock locations.

Actual speaker recommendations, depends on the budget, but the Image Dynamics CTX-65cs that I just put in my wife's sound fantastic at below $200 for the pair, if you're a serious baller, there's Hertz, Focal and others that will cost as much as you want to spend.

+1 for the 8400, I was initially thinking of going with a Kenwood but the 8400 is jumping out at me now. Just waiting for some confirmation on the iPhone5 compatibility before I pull the trigger on a HU so I suppose I have time to change my mind a few more times ha ha ha. I've already done my shopping for the Wrathernaut guide... it's all just sitting in my garage mocking me every time I walk by, so I went ahead and ordered my sub enclosure for my 12w7 and the door spacers from zenclosures today..

I've heard the HERTZ HSK 165 XLs in person and they are amazing, if you look at my thread you'll see I was hesitant about spending that kind of money on speakers before, but after hearing them I think I'm sold. I'm thinking of getting those and pushing them with a JL 300/4v2 in a paycheck or two so I don't have to rack up the credit card.

3.5mm adapter vs iphone connection sound quality, big difference? I'm just thinking that I don't want my car stereo to marry me to a phone, and I'm alright with having the controls on my phone. I also don't think I'll be listening to anything high enough quality to worry about a big quality loss? (mp3s, pandora, iheartradio)

I'm leaning toward the 3400 and an amp, no speakers yet, but I know NOTHING about amps/what I would need.

There's very little sound quality difference on the iPod 3.5mm and 30-pin.

Most radios are fairly equal with iPod or Android compatibility. I'm really hoping the 2013 models have some Windows Phone support as well. It seems like Bluetooth AVRCP 1.4 is going to be the best bet for "universal" support for music control, but might not be robust enough to choose different streaming audio sources from the device.

Hmmms, I'm a bit confused...will I have issues using the front port 3.5mm on my phone to the 3400? or are you referring to the iphone being the source, but the control being the headunit? My thought was just that a 3.5mm jack is standard on phones so that 3.5mm front port on the 3400 would allow me to play through the stereo while using my phone as the control(with the side effect of me not having to tear my car apart if I get a new phone). This would also alleviate short charging sessions with my phone on my drive to work.

So, I've done some research on amps.

I want to stick with the six speaker set up. I'm looking for a 6 channel Class AB Amp (I believe this to be correct for non-subs...and some possible nicer speakers in the future), but having problems finding something outside of the Soundstream STL 6.620 or the MB Quart NAU660. Is there something else that I should be looking at?

No, there will be no issues using the 3.5mm input. I'm talking about full control of the headunit and being able to select music through the headunit that's on the device. Bluetooth AVRCP 1.4 lets you do this, and since there's no proprietary wire to worry about and it's device neutral. In a perfect world, that would be combined with the QI wireless charging standard and NFC to automatically pair and charge your phone just by putting it in a certain spot in your car. (Nokia Lumia 920 would be fully capable of doing this :biggthumpup: )

Full-range D class (HD, Digital D, whatever they call them) from a few manufacturers are going to be just as good as an AB, especially when there's any bit of wind and road noise added in.

I replaced all my speakers, then tried just the fronts. Just the fronts sounds better, it's how I enjoy live concerts with the band on the stage, it's how stereo music is mastered by the sound engineer, let movies be surround, I'll take my music in stereo.

The bluetooth + charging station would be amazing.

Good to know about the Full range D class Amps...that opens up some more choices.

I don't have an issue with playing music in stereo on home audio--but for some reason in the car I don't enjoy it, maybe I just haven't heard a good enough car system. Well to be fair I haven't heard a car system that I thought sounded GOOD.

Whelp taking a step and ordering a bit of the stuff since I have to order something off amazon anyway.

Things that I have bought:

Pioneer AVH3400BH
Scosche Ddtrb Double Din Trim Ring
Metra 70-7550
Metra Axxess ASWC Universal Steering Wheel Control Interface
Metra 40-NI10 Nissan Antnna Adapter
4 Gauge AMP wiring kit
Image Dynamic ctx-65s for the front
JL XD 600/6
Karma Kable RCA Cables

(I really don't want to have to tear my car apart again just to replace a blown speaker or something so I got these)
Some JBL 6.5s for the back-sides
and 6.5" kicker 'subs' for the rear deck.

Still Need:
JDM Faceplate/AC Controls
Heat shrink tubing/solder

Am I missing anything at all?

I updated my list above. Curious as to if I'm missing anything?

Also, where is the best place to put the crossovers in a coupe? Should I run speaker wire or reuse/how hard is it to run speaker wire?

The list looks good to me.

The only tricky prat of running speaker wire is getting it through the door molex harnesses. I'd rate it about a 8/10 on the difficulty scale, depending on the size of your hands.

So long as your crossovers are somewhat sealed, you can put them inside the door skin and re-use the factory wiring through the door.

Great!

Given that the difficulty of pulling wire is related to hand size....I think I'll just stick with the factory wiring...I don't think I got high enough quality equipment to be able to tell a difference.

Somewhat sealed is a bit subjective. Care to elaborate?

I'd like to thank you for the guides on the forum and the help you've given me directly so far, it has really made a big difference in figuring out exactly what is needed.

If they have openings that would easily let moisture in, or specifically state not to put them in the doors, you might have to go through the molex. If mounted to the interior skin of the door, there probably won't be any issue unless they're wide-open to the environment, since the skins are pretty well sealed from the exterior of the vehicle.

hey if u don't mind me asking.. How much did everything set u back? I just got my jdm DD kit in the mail.. 315.. not bad.
I think i will go with the Pioneer AVH8400BH. it's on the 487 to 600 range. only problem i'm thinking about now.. what will the 2013 radios look like (features).

i'm gonna take a guess and say i needs these as well
Metra Axxess ASWC Universal Steering Wheel Control Interface
Metra 40-NI10 Nissan Antnna Adapter

More than I wanted to spend. :D

I got everything I could off amazon. I actually ordered the Image Dynamics off newegg which was filled by woofers.com I believe.

Something I did note is that you really need to do your homework on the amp/rca cables off amazon as a lot of them are very poor quality/not what you expect to get.