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Comments
Just to make sure...you're saying the narrow frequency range does or does NOT warranty the expense of replacing that speaker? If you're keeping the OEM head unit in place...you could be right, however...drop an aftermarket head unit in and you'll see just how that poor OEM center channel will distort and sound like crap. In my case...the swap was warranted. However, as I stated before...the aftermarket speaker uses the power from the OEM amp more efficiently than the OEM speaker will so it will sound better (if even marginally), but will definitely provide you with the ability to crank your music without the distortion.
Changing the door speakers was a no brainer for me. I went with the coaxial speaker to add another set of tweeters up front to broaden the sound stage across the front of the car. The one thing you've got an advantage with is that Reference coaxial has the adjustable tweeter so you can increase or decrease the output of the tweeter by +/- 3 dB, the JBL I installed does not have that feature, but for MY listening enjoyment...I don't need it.
I think the biggest key here is...are you keeping the OEM head unit or are you swapping it out. If you keep it...then the upgrade may seem marginal at best depending on the listener's ear. Some are less sensitive to changes than others. Me...I heard a big difference when I did my initial swap while I still had the OEM head unit in. Changing to an aftermarket head unit made the difference even more noticeable since I now have more sound shaping controls at my finger tips.
No I'm not going to change the OEM head unit.... If I knew about the narrow freq.
range of the center speaker I would not have purchased an upgrade.
Sounds like you have a hell of a sound system.....
thanks for all the input
regards
HJC1
Yeah...if you were keeping the OEM head unit, I probably would have told you not to swap out the center channel. However, replacing the door speakers will make a difference. Because they do use the signal more efficiently and there's another set of tweeters involved, it opens the sound stage more. What I found was that instead of the overall sound being centralized @ the center channel, it now only centralizes the vocals, but the music is spread across the front more evenly. Well, at least that is what I hear.
Sorry you feel you wasted money, time and effort. Then again...maybe you'll get curious as to just how much better the system can sound with some upgrades.
I'm very happy with my sound system even though I'm still tweaking it. The one thing I truly love is being able to crank it up without distortion. If you do ever decide to make other upgrades, let me know.
Mike
Eclipse AVN52D
1) Does this unit enable all the steering-wheel buttons?
2) Does it still provide a speed-sensitive volume control?
Pacific Audio Corp. makes steering wheel interafces for various vehicles.
Pacific Audio Corp.
I looked it up and the model you would need for steering wheel interface is SWI-ECL2.
Speed sensitive volume control...I doubt it, you would need to check the features on the actual head unit itself to see if it's offered. Personally...it's an overrated feature, but that's just my opinion.
I saw your message on the steering wheel adapter. I will purchase one of those, probably off eBay. A scosche wire harness should do fine, right? Also, do you think I will need a custom install kit or is this puppy going to fit flush with the opening? I'm going to wait to hear the sound before I decide whether or not to switch out the door speakers. I also have to look into cracking the lock on DVD mode, so that it will play DVDs even when the car is not in park.
You will need to make sure you get a dash kit when you order the unit, a well as a wiring harness. As far as the sound...you'll definitely want to replace the factory speakers when you swap out the unit because the OEM speakers will distort much more quickly when you turn the volume up than with the OEM head unit. Reason being is the Pioneer unit has more power.
There are options out there for you...all of the speakers are 2 ohm speakers except for the tweeters. I know for a fact that you can go with Infinity Kappa or Reference series, JBL GTO and Power series speakers as well.
Here's a link to my page on Car Domain and you can see everythign I've done with my Azera to date...
Allmet33's Car Domain Page
As far as cracking the lock on the DVD mode, I don't condone it and you have to be aware that it can get you a ticket, but from my understanding it's all about bypassing a wire (grounding it) so that the unit thinks the car is in park.
I finally got the AVN52D and am ready to install it.
I have installed a few cd players in cars before so I feel like I can handle the installation myself, but I really want it to look right. Best Buy is charging around $160 to do the install. A local audio store is charging $60 an hour and acting like it will take them 3 - 4 hours, which is how long I figure it would take me to do it myself. Personally, the prices they are charging make it worth it for me to give it a try myself.
I am purchasing the dash kit over lunch today. It is by the same company as yours.(Metra). Can you offer any advice on how to get the original unit out of the dash? Any other instructions or advice you can offer to save me time and make it a high quality installation? Your help is appreciated. In fact, you are the person that made me aware of the AVN52D - the gf got it at a steal of a price $600 - 30% live.com cash back, bringing the price to $420, includes hands free bluetooth and ipod adapter!)
link title
Basically it is a promotion by microsoft where they offer "cashback" or basically a rebate. The biggest savings can be had through eBay when using the buy-it-now function. So, the price on my AVN52D bundle was $600, but I searched for it through live.com while they were offering 30% back, and within 60 days or so, the 30% savings will be credited back to my account.
I tried installing the unit last night but for some reason I am not getting any sound through my speakers. I must have crossed a wire when hooking up the wire harness. Color coding of wires should make it fool proof, but apparently I found a way to mess it up. Round two sometime this week/weekend. It really looked great mounted in the dash.
Hyundai Azera Factory Stereo Removal
Please let me know if there's anything else you may need in the way of assistance. With the prices you quoted for an installation, you now see why I learned to do it myself. Another thing, when you've installed it...the sense of accomplishment and pride you'll have that you did it yourself is priceless! Good luck and Happy Holidays!!!
Mike
I remember reading something you posted about the bad wire harness and I thought I had taken care to make sure I had an updated one, but I guess not. Oh well, I'll try to get a good one and we'll see what happens! Thanks, and I'll let you know how it goes when I finish the job.
If you wish to try and move the wire yourself...memory is fuzzy on it, but I believe it needs to be in the 3rd location from the left on the bottom row of wires (holding the harness with the wires facing you). That 3rd spot on the bottom is empty now (if memory serves me correctly). Another way you can work around it is to use a jumper wire from the red wire to the factory amp turn on wire. You can use splice connectors to achieve this, but it makes the wiring look crazy and it's a bit more work for yourself. If not...be patient while you get the harness issue taken care of.
Oh yeah, one more FYI...with the new unit in place, you'll notice your speakers will distort if you play your music loud. The new unit is putting out a bit more power than the factory one and it's more effecient as well. You may find yourself wanting to upgrade your speakers so the output can keep up with the source. If so...here's a guide for replacing the factory speakers too:
Replacing Door Speakers In A Hyundai Azera
To get the optimum performance out of the factory amp, you'll want to go with speakers that have a 2 ohm impedence. Currently, the only ones I know of that offer that are Infinity Kappa Series, the newer Infinity Reference Series, JBL GTO Series and JBL Power Series.
Almost any aftermarket unit you go with will offer better performance simply because the power output is going to be higher than that of the OEM. You figure the OEM unit is producing no more than about 5-7 watts rms and then the factory amp is boosting that signal by by 45 watts rms. If you get a good aftermarket unit, you're looking at a power boost of anywhere from 14-18 watts rms.
Anyway, I have pulled mine and replaced with the Pioneer FH-P4200MP double din unit. I selected this unit because it offers the ability to set different cut-off frequencies between the front and rear speakers as well as the subwoofer as well. I've had a Kenwood unit before, but it only allowed you to set the high-pass filter to the front & rear (same setting) and low-pass to the sub. Not only that, the unit I have also has a 9 band graphic eq to allow me to make adjustments all the way from 50 Hz (low) up to 12.5 kHz (high). Another nice feature the unit has is that you can select a seating option so the sound adjusts to center the sound to where you're sitting (front left, front right, front & all) I really don't use that feature because it does change the sound a little bit. The other advantage to the unit I have is that it plays all formats of music (MP3, WMA & AAC). You can play burned CD's as well as CD-RW's. Lastly, it does offer an AUX input to hook up another source, MP3 player, DVD player or whatever.
There are plenty on the market that have a lot to offer, XM, Bluetooth, builtin iPod control, Nav, DVD...the works. The question is...how much do you want to spend and what exactly are you looking for.
If you have any more questions, please...let me know.
Mike
The solution...pulling the speakers out, removing the adapter rings and re-installing the speakers using 3/4" MDF (hearty birch ply-wood would work as well).
I marked an 8" circle, then centered the speaker using the adapter ring as my guide. Cut out the speaker opening, then cut out the ring. I held it up in place, drilled a hole within 1/2" from the outer edge of the ring to ensure it would drill through the door panel as well, ran some 1" screws to secure the ring to the door panel (Make sure you have run your speaker wires behind the ring and out of the way of anywhere you might be drilling or installing screws). I then put the speaker in the opening the way I wanted to mount it, marked the hole locations, drilled the holes, connected the speaker wires and screwed the speaker into place.
The difference...watching the speaker handle some of the lower frequencies (when the woofer moves a lot) the plastic ring flexes with the action of the woofer and it's like a ripple effect going into the door panel. With the wood ring, the only thing moving is the woofer cone as the wood is much more rigid, it absorbs the energy from the speaker basket (frame). I think I will pull them off and run a bead of latex caulk under each ring to seal it to the door panel as well.
So...if you have done the speaker upgrade and you get a "buzzing" noise when you listen to certain songs...that could very well be a very low cost, simple solution to resolve the issue. Let me know if you come up with the same results.
Mike
Found the picture, check out Edmund's Sonata Audio posting #217.
Perhaps some others can post their experiences.
Also, post #304 in this forum would seem to indicate no input port to the back of the radio. That would mean that the Monster Cable is not going to work either.
Thanks,
firecracker70
There HAS to be a way. The problem is, the after market people don't give any priority to Hyundai IMO.
When folks are ripping things out/changing things - PLEASE take/post pics of these things.
Universal FM Modulator for iPod
If you wanna know how to get the OEM head unit out, I created a guide that would assist you in getting to it. To be honest, it's really pretty easy and if you have about 30 mins, anyone can do it with a little patience.
Azera Stereo Removal Guide
If you need a guide with some images to assist you, here's the guide from Metra's website that comes with the dash kit you can order...
Metra: Azera OEM Radio Removal Guide
With all due respect allmet33, the installed cd player looks hideous. I am sure it works well. But, it doesn't flow. Dang it. That looks cheap, too. It's a bad HGTV after effects. It's very retro. Sorry. I am sure this sounds very disrespectful.
Couldn't you find a better audio unit that flowed with the angle of center stack? I don't think it offers better functionality than the standard Infinity unit that comes with Limited. It doesn't have aux, usb port, or anything.
I know I haven't been able to, unfortunately. All after-market installation would look like that. I wish there was better design options... :-(
Nonetheless, you did it, so it's more than what I could have done. So, this isn't a knock or criticism. It's like taking out a cancer but left a person with bad disfigurement or a giant scar.
Very nice wheel, though. Again, you did more than what I could have done. So, it's something. I just wished that you had found better solution.. Maybe, there isn't a better solution... Also, your contribution to this forum is amazing. Thank you for that.
I think after reading many posts here, Azera's audio expandability is limited. I think it's time for new Azera to have better technical audio solution.
I'm sorry that YOU'RE disappointed, however...it's MY car and stereo system, so I'm not even worried about that as I thoroughly enjoy it myself. You are entitled to your opinion.
As far as finding a unit that "flows" with the angle of the dash, one doesn't exist that isn't OEM. Considering I have the tan interior, I didn't feel a black unit would look right in there. Oh...there's a unit that can be purchased @ Korean Auto Imports that has a built in screen in that location and you can install your own single din unit where the cubby hole is, but I'm not paying $850 just to be able to do that. For that money, I can have a complete system.
As far as cheap...hardly, it's one of the better units that Pioneer has made. Maybe you should look up all the features it offers as well as the expandability too. As far as increased functionality over the OEM unit...surely you jest!!! Granted, I can't load 6 CD's at one time (you can only listen to one at a time), but I have more control over my music, as well as shaping the sound to suite my tastes. I can also add satellite radio with no problem, I have an aux input for anything I may want to add AND the ability to control my aftermarket subwoofer as well. Oh yeah, I did lose my steering wheel control, but I have a remote...big deal. I can probably find the adapter that would allow me to utilize my steering wheel controls if I really wanted to.
I am actually going to be pulling that unit out and installing a double din DVD unit, which I'm sure will look better to you. Then again, maybe not since you seem to like the OEM look. Here's an Azera with a double din multi-media unit in the dash...
See more Car Pictures at CarSpace.com
The one thing that makes it easy in this is that the dash is black, so pretty much anything you put in will flow.
You're right, I did it because it's what I wanted. I looked at what was available at the time and made the choice based on what suited my needs and wants. Now, the market is flooded with so many options your head will spin when you go searching. Everything isn't for everyone and I don't expect to get everyone's approval when they look at what I've done with my Azera. In the end, it's what I'm happy with that matters.
Maybe one day you'll get the nerve up to do something that you will end up enjoying.
Happy Easter!
That Korean import unit doesn't do the gps nav. So, it's no better since it offers no enhanced functionality, thus no substance. oh. and the G8 doesn't have gps nav either. Isn't that stupid, too.
I think a gps nav unit with the mp3/wmv like capabilities with usb and/or compact/sd/xd flash drive compatible unit would be really cool.
You're absolutely right, the unit that Korean Auto sells is really only good for having a screen in your dash to either watch movies/tv or have a back-up camera. GPS isn't an option, so to be quite honest...it's a total waste of money.
Yes...that is why I'm upgrading to the new Pioneer unit I came across. Take a look and you might see why I like it so much. I don't need a nav unit as I have a phone with built in nav feature that works GREAT!
Pioneer AVH-P4100DVD
When I did my initial install, units with USB connectivity weren't available. However, it is able to play CD's loaded with mp3, wma or aac files. Not to mention, the sound output of an aftermarket unit is much better than what you'll get with the OEM unit.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130AVICF70/Pioneer-AVIC-F700BT.html?tp=144
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130AVICF90/Pioneer-AVIC-F900BT.html?tp=144
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130F90BT/Pioneer-Premier-AVIC-F90BT.html?tp=144
Some of these units have MSN traffic info service. You can pay $129 for the life time service (for this particular unit). You get the MSN info thing like those watches that they sell. This is far better than the XM traffic where you have to pay $10+ to get this service. However, I never came across how MSN traffic things works. I am just speculating that it works like way it should or like the Sync/Microsoft Automotive 3.0+.
These cost bit more than the AVH-P4100DVD. However, a Navigation Option is something. So, if you add $200 to AVH-P4100DVD, then you get the AVIC-F700BT op AVIC-F900BT. The product descriptions say that a person can use voice command to control the system. That's also worth something, if it works like way it should (Microsoft Sync).
If you have a SD card or usb flash drive option, CD aren't really necessarily. CD holds 700MB +. If you have 6 discs, that's 4.2GB +. That's less than 8 or 16 GB SD you can buy for $30. Also, you don't have to burn the CDs all the time. I actually find the CDs annoying now. I think if this function works way it was intended, it would be a great functionality.
Considering I enjoy listening to my music loud (when situations permit), voice command does nothing for me either. I've got a hand and a remote that will do everything I need done.
Now you're getting there. The main reason I like the P4100DVD is that it offers options. I can plug thumb drives into it and play music off of them. I agree, I'm getting tired of burning CD's too. Thumb drives and SD cards are so much better!!! I can hook an iPod directly to it and control everything from the screen. Honestly, you wouldn't listen to 4.2GB of music at one time, unless you were driving across the nation. I've burned an MP3 cd and played it from DC to Orlando, FL and didn't start hearing songs repeat until we got into FL...on a single disc. Like I said before, I don't miss being able to load 6 cd's at one time.
While we need to pay for this info here in US, In Europe, this information is actually free! (But then again, they're socialists! ))))
See more Car Pictures at CarSpace.com
See more Car Pictures at CarSpace.com
You will definitely benefit from upgrading your speakers as well. Are you planning on doing it yourself? It's really pretty easy. I've created a couple guides that can assist you with the speaker replacement.
my biggest concern is the "white noise" i hear when the audio is turned on. radio reception is shoddy at times as well. did you run into these problems?
i bought the steering wheel control adapter for my AVN52D but i'll be damned if I can figure out how to hook it up and program it according to the instructions. I guess I'll have to scan it and post the image in my carspace and see what you guys think.