Car Audio in GVRD ... your valued opinion/suggestions please ...

[miss_swan]

My factory OEM deck in my 2005 Toyota Sienna has crapped out and i'm looking for opinions/suggestions/experiences with car audio in the Greater Vancouver area.

I've used A&B Sound in the past and have been happy with them. Obviously, they aren't an option anymore. I've also used Audio Video Unlimited and have been happy with them. Cartunes in Coquitlam and have been somewhat satisfied with them, but more of a later resort.

How about:

Beamriders?
Bestbuy/Futureshop/Visions ...
<insert custom car audio shop here>

There are others i'm aware of but not willing to drive too far to. Diamond Stereo in Maple Ridge is a little far since i'm in Burnaby.

While i'm on topic, would anyone care to enlighten me about "what's good" nowadays. I've been out of the loop for decades. Back in the day, the separates to have were MBQuart, the subwoofers JLAudio and amps the likes of Alpine, Soundstream etc ... of course, i'm leaving out a whole bunch but that list kind of dates me.

I'm looking for a basic deck without bells and whistles, so mainly i'm looking for a place to have a good experience and I appreciate your opinion before I start looking around.

[miss_swan]

C'mon guys ... doesn't anyone have an opinion about car audio in the Greater Vancouver area?

How about suggestions for good but relatively basic head units? Maybe suggestions for good value amps and coax/separates? I've had good luck with MTX in the past.

[miss_swan]

Bueller? Anyone?

[ES_Revenge]

LOLz. All I can add is to say unauthorised eBay purchases + DIY FTW! :D

As for "what's good" you're gonna get varying opinions from everyone. Alpine I was never a huge fan, they certainly have some good gear but they often get by with their name rather than anything else (just my opinion of them over a decade or two of observations). Nothing particularly wrong with Alpine, no, but just not my style I guess.

MTX used to make great amps, and they still do. But for speakers? Better to go with another manufacturer.

JL Audio makes some good stuff, but pricey. Their SLASH amps I never really agreed with the design philosophy (same power, any input voltage, any impedance within range), but they are great amps. Overpriced though IMO. I'd much rather buy an MTX Thunder series amp than a JL SLASH. There was a time when the Slash was the only amp they made (could be what you're remembering) but now they have the G-series which is less money but no different from anyone else's amps really. Great subs though, JL. W6v2 and W7 are always good bets; W6v2 is probably more practical given the pricing on the W7 though.

Really it depends on what you're looking for? Amps (and for driving what)? Speakers? Subwoofers? Price range? My answer of "what's good" would vary greatly based on those things--what are you looking for and how much money are you spending?

As for the original part, it's clear you're looking for a HU... But is it a double DIN or single DIN unit in that Sienna; and, are you looking for just a CD player or do you want something with DVD/Video and/or nav, as well?

I guess those were questions you were going to answer with local shops but given no one else had replied, there's my $0.02 anyway :)

[miss_swan]

Thank you for your two cents.

Yah, I walked into AVU today and looked around. I'm getting old and feel out of the loop for sure.

I'm starting to think of maybe checking out the fancier 600 bucks and up 6-7" lcd dvd/cd players ... not sure if it's overkill but it would be kinda neat to watch porn ... er, I mean, play kids shows while we're waiting/whatever.

Then again, it may mean a slippery slope because I may then just look at the ceiling drop down systems that good ones seem to be ~ 1k and up, not including a professional install. We'll see.

As for head units, i've had good luck with Panasonic ... but i'd check out anything. I'm looking at this Clarion double din unit for kicks ... my wife thinks it's overkill but ...

http://www2.visions.ca/catalogue/category/Details.aspx?categoryId=70&productId=3274&menuId=1&parentId1=1&parentId2=''&parentId3=''&menuLevel=1

I just like the idea of playing mp3s through dvd-rw and i'm not an ipod user.

Basically, head unit first, amp through the head unit with stock speakers and perhaps change the speakers and add an aftermarket amp at a later date - or maybe never.

[miss_swan]

Well, I went to Visions for a looky loo and picked up an Alpine unit basically because it has usb and iPod connectivity.

http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=CDA-9886

Managed to get a decent deal so what the heck. I've got a couple of 8gb flash drives ready to go and from what I hear you can also power up a WD Passport drive too. I'm kinda excited about that since we drive long distances to the inlaws.

anyways, i'll see how it turns out.

[ES_Revenge]

9886 is pretty nice; looks like a good purchase.

If you were going with double DIN I would have suggested any of the Kenwood DDXs (or DNXs if you wanted nav too)...

If you're gonna add component speakers up front, I would suggest getting a pair of Phoenix Gold Rsds from eBay or SonicElectronix, for around $90 US (plus shipping). This is assuming you have either 6.5s or 5.25s up front. For bang for the buck, these are the probably the best out there right now. Unless you're going to spend $200 US+ on a set of components, you really can't beat these.

[miss_swan]

Thanks for the tip. I don't even know what I have up front and back in my van.

I'm not a huge SQ guy. I like quality ... but i'm an average person in that running off the HU power the sound in my VW Jetta is fine off a Panny deck and OEM speakers. I'm getting too old to push the SPL anymore.

I'll run the HU off deck power and the stock speakers and see how it sounds. If i'm really disappointed then i'll consider upgrading the speakers and perhaps an external amp. We'll see. The main thing is having a huge library of music at my disposal. From kids stuff, to podcasts and adult material.

[rexseven]

my 2 cents.

I went to Beamriders in Surrey and bought some Pioneer Premier PRS Series speakers and DVC subs. I love the sound. Im running it all on my Phoenix gold 900.7ti amp. Sounds like a synphony.

They seem to know what they are talking about. I installed it all myself but the service they offer was good. I asked some people there that were shopping and got good reviews as they have come for service multiple times.