After adding an Alpine amp, speakers, an EQ, line amplifiers, and a sub, I was tired of convincing myself that the components weren't wasted on the inferior factory head unit.

Today, I had an Alpine double din CDA-W550 installed. I can't believe the difference in sound quality.....it's like my ears suddenly unblocked as if decending in an airplane. It truly is like night and day. If you're considering changing the factory head unit....DO IT! You'll be blown away by how bad it really is once you've a got high quality unit in its place.

The Alpine CDA-W550 is expensive and hard to find, but it's a beautiful piece that fits perfectly with the Metra frame. The last thing I'll probably add is the Alpine DHA S680 DVD/CD changer and the NAV-TV converter.

 

Yep, I guess the same is true for both the factory head and Bose head...I am sure they are both Bose/Clarion head units, and they are probably both pretty bad... had to rip my Bose head out too, to have decent sound.

 

I got a question. I just installed some JL XR components and I got 85W going to each from an amp, and I'm using the factory HU. I'm not overly impressed with the sound right now. Could it be the HU or that I need to sound deaden the doors? Will switching out the HU and hooking that up to the amp make a huge difference?

 

Yes. You will be shocked at the difference...I certainly was.

 

So, did you change out the factory components and use the new speakers on the factory HU first, which then you later on got a new HU? I was just curious about your comparison. So, if you do power new components with an amp, does the factory HU drastically effect the SQ?

 

Yes. Read the first post in this thread.