I have just purchased a 2001 AP1 and I was wondering if the late model OEM head units offer any sound advanage as a direct swap to my 2001?

I know late models have XM or Sirius but I am not really insterested in this really.

I do have new door speakers now and don't want anything fancy just a hair better than what I currently have.

 

go to bestbuy and find a $99 headunit.. you'll be better off.

 

I appreciate you comment but I have not interest at all in an aftermarket head unit. The OEM will be just fine for me, I was just wondering what the changes were specifically from 04-08.

 

sound wise i think they r the same, only diff i know with the later models is the ipod compatibility

anyone on this forum who knows anything about car audio will tell you 1st thing you should do is ditch the OEM head unit, its known for kinda sucking

but i too am like you, i really dont want to go after market, not really into that kinda look, but i might havta to get the sound im looking for

 

Nope. An aftermarket HU could give you a slight improvement (depending on the specific HU). That's why the other poster above suggested it.

Yeah you gotta decide which is the bigger priority. I don't really spend much time looking at my head unit (though I also don't care for the look of the stock head unit). YMMV, of course.

 

The later model has ipod connectivity? really?

 

did replacing the door speakers give any better sound at all?

 

i just put a set of infinity perfect 6.5" components in. its makes a huge difference especially at speed or if you have an exhaust.

 

As for the headunit I found a free 2007 OEM HU which was barely used (in the car for 10,000 miles) so I will put it in and see how it sounds. I will report back when I get a chance to test it.

Here is my rant on aftermarket head units

There are no head units that I could foresee buying, I used to like Pioneer, Kenwood, Alpine..... however it has been a VERY long time since I bought on that was reliable. I starting installing aftermarket head units when tape players were still popular. Back in the day primarily used Sony and Pioneer and actually had great luck. Then came the Clarion AutoPC, I believe that was 1996, it ran Windows, had voice activation, GPS, cell phone adapter, Apps, played MP3's................. Even today the features it had are better than most. That being said it also required a lot of patients and was not without fault. After this unit I have yet to have one without some major fault. My feeling is that they are trying to pack too much crap in the new units and the users are the beta testers. There are no simple replacements that just work and are easy to use.

I recently purchased a AZIC-Z130BT and in the first month the Ipod input literally went up in smoke. I plugged in my phone and there was no connection, the next thing I know I smelled electronics burning!!!! I pulled it out the next day and ordered an Excellon DNX9980HD and was VERY disappointed with the Navigation, Bluetooth, controls..... and put the factory Head Unit back in. On that not the install was a PITA with all the accessories that were required and the steering wheel control interface was terrible. Neither of the units had very good dimming and I was forced to put a shade over them when driving long distance at night, neither were easy to use the OEM..... I spent a week trying to figure out how to use it with my Kenwood before discovering that a specific resistor needed to be installed during the setup then removed to make it work. Now I am sure Modifry's adapter is better but I am not going to spend that kind of time and effort again for something that "Might Sound" a bit better using just the (2) door speakers.

 

what head unit are you running?