JVC KWAVX736NAV install

[teK--]

Very nice looking head unit Sean!

[seanmau5]

thanks for the clarification mihai. how is the alpine? i'm pretty sure i wont go all out on audio gear so are there any other head units you'd recommend? i would prefer a touchscreen and nav if possible. budget is something along $700-800.

The Alpine is a great headunit. The clarity of the screen is unbelievable. And the possibilities of addon's is endless. Only downside to the Alpine units is that they do not come cheap ($1899 RRP - however you can find them 2nd hand for around the $800 mark on eBay) and that in order to have the nav also, you need to buy the separate nav module which connects to the head unit (about $800 RRP and quite hard to come by 2nd hand).

For the $699 that Lib_seanmau5 paid for his JVC + nav, that's actually a pretty good deal, however I cannot comment on the quality of the JVC head unit in terms of sound quality, screen quality, file playback etc.

Honestly, I wouldn't bother with Subaru. For the $200 removal/refit and inspection, you are half way to a fascia kit. Add $300 for a mid level single din non-dvd head unit and you will straight away have better quality and louder music than the stock head unit could ever provide.

Yea would have loved to get a better unit for 2k+ but then I figure this car isn't that long term so I'll pick myself up something better for the next automobile. Anything but the stock HU improves sound quality, bass etc I couldn't believe the difference. Removal of the old fascia & HU took me a whole 15 minutes & that was the first time I had taken a Suby one apart - there is no way Subaru can justify the expense for removal & quote etc

The single din HU is an option - but if Silent Thunder is after integrated navigation then nothing beats the touchscreens. Plus they look pimp!!

[seanmau5]

Very nice looking head unit Sean!

Cheers Jim.

[Silent Thunder]

Yea its real neat. The HU is great mate, it doesn't have bluetooth but that doesn't bother me - I can't justify paying an extra $200 for integrated bluetooth. No deadspots on the screen & its pretty responsive/sensitive. The GPS is amazing - I couldn't manage to get my GPS antenna to the top of the dash so i just hid it in on top of my steering column inside the dash & the signal is great. The model I have is the JVC KW-AVX736NAV - purchased from Sound Master for $699 including the navigation kit.

I probably wouldn't bother with the stock HU - it has a cassette deck for gods sake lol the main feature I like with the aftermarket units is the iPod integration. If you need any more advice or have any more questions just ask mate.

i'm very interested in how easy it is to reach the controls and things. i did like the stock system layout, good placement, big dials and buttons (tactile feedback is win) and was wondering how it compares with a full touchscreen setup. i'm a stickler for good layouts and usability. if its possible, could you take some pics of the hu in use? what does the normal audio screen look like, and nav? no chance to take a look until friday, and i havent found any in-use pics. also there was mention of needing a separate speaker for gps voice?

The Alpine is a great headunit. The clarity of the screen is unbelievable. And the possibilities of addon's is endless. Only downside to the Alpine units is that they do not come cheap ($1899 RRP - however you can find them 2nd hand for around the $800 mark on eBay) and that in order to have the nav also, you need to buy the separate nav module which connects to the head unit (about $800 RRP and quite hard to come by 2nd hand).

For the $699 that Lib_seanmau5 paid for his JVC + nav, that's actually a pretty good deal, however I cannot comment on the quality of the JVC head unit in terms of sound quality, screen quality, file playback etc.

Honestly, I wouldn't bother with Subaru. For the $200 removal/refit and inspection, you are half way to a fascia kit. Add $300 for a mid level single din non-dvd head unit and you will straight away have better quality and louder music than the stock head unit could ever provide.

Yea would have loved to get a better unit for 2k+ but then I figure this car isn't that long term so I'll pick myself up something better for the next automobile. Anything but the stock HU improves sound quality, bass etc I couldn't believe the difference. Removal of the old fascia & HU took me a whole 15 minutes & that was the first time I had taken a Suby one apart - there is no way Subaru can justify the expense for removal & quote etc

yeah, i noticed that with the alpines. sadly wont be able to afford such luxuries atm. i'd be willing to fork out under $1000 for a decent double din hu that wasnt cluttered and has a nice layout. most likely candidates are the jvc 736/836nav, pioneer avic-f320bt or pioneer AVH-P3350BT. loving the layout of the avic-f20bt (buttons for vol and next/prev track and big screen) but thats nearly $2000.

also on the stock unit, i was plannng to take it to a local car audio place that i've been to before and hope they'll open it up and do an inspection pro-bono. i'd be happy to pay a small price if they could unjam it. gives me time to look into this seriously, and maybe more business down the track.

cheers for all the help so far too guys. this newbie appreciates it heaps. beers if we ever catch up.

[seanmau5]

Yea its real neat. The HU is great mate, it doesn't have bluetooth but that doesn't bother me - I can't justify paying an extra $200 for integrated bluetooth. No deadspots on the screen & its pretty responsive/sensitive. The GPS is amazing - I couldn't manage to get my GPS antenna to the top of the dash so i just hid it in on top of my steering column inside the dash & the signal is great. The model I have is the JVC KW-AVX736NAV - purchased from Sound Master for $699 including the navigation kit.

I probably wouldn't bother with the stock HU - it has a cassette deck for gods sake lol the main feature I like with the aftermarket units is the iPod integration. If you need any more advice or have any more questions just ask mate.

i'm very interested in how easy it is to reach the controls and things. i did like the stock system layout, good placement, big dials and buttons (tactile feedback is win) and was wondering how it compares with a full touchscreen setup. i'm a stickler for good layouts and usability. if its possible, could you take some pics of the hu in use? what does the normal audio screen look like, and nav? no chance to take a look until friday, and i havent found any in-use pics. also there was mention of needing a separate speaker for gps voice?

The Alpine is a great headunit. The clarity of the screen is unbelievable. And the possibilities of addon's is endless. Only downside to the Alpine units is that they do not come cheap ($1899 RRP - however you can find them 2nd hand for around the $800 mark on eBay) and that in order to have the nav also, you need to buy the separate nav module which connects to the head unit (about $800 RRP and quite hard to come by 2nd hand).

For the $699 that Lib_seanmau5 paid for his JVC + nav, that's actually a pretty good deal, however I cannot comment on the quality of the JVC head unit in terms of sound quality, screen quality, file playback etc.

Honestly, I wouldn't bother with Subaru. For the $200 removal/refit and inspection, you are half way to a fascia kit. Add $300 for a mid level single din non-dvd head unit and you will straight away have better quality and louder music than the stock head unit could ever provide.

Yea would have loved to get a better unit for 2k+ but then I figure this car isn't that long term so I'll pick myself up something better for the next automobile. Anything but the stock HU improves sound quality, bass etc I couldn't believe the difference. Removal of the old fascia & HU took me a whole 15 minutes & that was the first time I had taken a Suby one apart - there is no way Subaru can justify the expense for removal & quote etc

yeah, i noticed that with the alpines. sadly wont be able to afford such luxuries atm. i'd be willing to fork out under $1000 for a decent double din hu that wasnt cluttered and has a nice layout. most likely candidates are the jvc 736/836nav, pioneer avic-f320bt or pioneer AVH-P3350BT. loving the layout of the avic-f20bt (buttons for vol and next/prev track and big screen) but thats nearly $2000.

also on the stock unit, i was plannng to take it to a local car audio place that i've been to before and hope they'll open it up and do an inspection pro-bono. i'd be happy to pay a small price if they could unjam it. gives me time to look into this seriously, and maybe more business down the track.

cheers for all the help so far too guys. this newbie appreciates it heaps. beers if we ever catch up.

I find most units are very user friendly. My particular model has no knobs, just push buttons along the bottom for volume control/input/power/open/close etc everything else is controlled via the screen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHaKnK4Fi3o will take you to a video review of 2 units that are very very similar. Please note though that these aren't the exact units but operation basically remains the same. I'll upload some pictures hopefully Wednesday when I get a chance to take them - but the video shows you a lot you need to know. Let me know once you need a hand with wiring harnesses or install, if you're located in Sydney I can give you a hand to install.

[seanmau5]

yeah, i noticed that with the alpines. sadly wont be able to afford such luxuries atm. i'd be willing to fork out under $1000 for a decent double din hu that wasnt cluttered and has a nice layout. most likely candidates are the jvc 736/836nav, pioneer avic-f320bt or pioneer AVH-P3350BT. loving the layout of the avic-f20bt (buttons for vol and next/prev track and big screen) but thats nearly $2000.

You have be wary - some units will be sold as 'navigation ready' whereas others are sold as 'navigation included' I nearly fell for that trap & nearly paid 1200 for a clarion unit with no GPS.. The F320bt is $899 brand new on eBay or $768 from Sound Master in Granville, I love the look of the F20bt; looks so clean, neat & simple. The JVC units do have a separate GPS speaker which I prefer anyway, it can be mounted on the drivers side footwell trim & with the volume up hearing it isn't an issue - not a fan of integrating it into the car stereo..

Steer clear of the cheap & nastys on eBay too - you get what you pay for in those instances. The price may be attractive but the operation of the units definitely aren't.

[Silent Thunder]

I find most units are very user friendly. My particular model has no knobs, just push buttons along the bottom for volume control/input/power/open/close etc everything else is controlled via the screen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHaKnK4Fi3o will take you to a video review of 2 units that are very very similar. Please note though that these aren't the exact units but operation basically remains the same. I'll upload some pictures hopefully Wednesday when I get a chance to take them - but the video shows you a lot you need to know. Let me know once you need a hand with wiring harnesses or install, if you're located in Sydney I can give you a hand to install.

that series looks decent. wonder if the 730/830 are the current 736/836 available in australia. american sites seem to have different model numbers which is understandable cause of different configs, but they seem to be in the same family (US P3300 vs AUS P3350bt). also crutchfield.com have some pretty in-depth reviews and detailed interface/connection descriptions.

You have be wary - some units will be sold as 'navigation ready' whereas others are sold as 'navigation included' I nearly fell for that trap & nearly paid 1200 for a clarion unit with no GPS.. The F320bt is $899 brand new on eBay or $768 from Sound Master in Granville, I love the look of the F20bt; looks so clean, neat & simple. The JVC units do have a separate GPS speaker which I prefer anyway, it can be mounted on the drivers side footwell trim & with the volume up hearing it isn't an issue - not a fan of integrating it into the car stereo..

Steer clear of the cheap & nastys on eBay too - you get what you pay for in those instances. The price may be attractive but the operation of the units definitely aren't.

saw the nav ready tags on units, and guessed they were missing the actual gps units. this just confirms it.

yeah i was very much going to steer clear of ebay. too much hassle if anything stuffs up and warranty needs to be called in, and given my recent luck...

on another note, does anyone still have their stock hu? needs to suit an MY05, and be a 6-disc unit. just a backup plan to tide me over until i decide which hu to get.

[seanmau5]

on another note, does anyone still have their stock hu? needs to suit an MY05, and be a 6-disc unit. just a backup plan to tide me over until i decide which hu to get.

Yea still have my stock HU... I stupidly removed it with a CD still in the drive what a knucklehead right?!?!?! At the moment my mate has it, he is a bit of a tech head & said he will work out a way to get it out... I'm just hoping it isn't in pieces. If you're serious about getting yourself a new HU I would suggest ordering the fascia from PHAT ASAP. I had a delay of 1.5 weeks due to the tsunami/earthquakes & was itching to install everything the whole time!

His name is Michael - email him at forumparts@gmail.com

Take it easy,
Sean

[mihai]

Yea still have my stock HU... I stupidly removed it with a CD still in the drive what a knucklehead right?!?!?! At the moment my mate has it, he is a bit of a tech head & said he will work out a way to get it out... I'm just hoping it isn't in pieces. If you're serious about getting yourself a new HU I would suggest ordering the fascia from PHAT ASAP. I had a delay of 1.5 weeks due to the tsunami/earthquakes & was itching to install everything the whole time!

His name is Michael - email him at forumparts@gmail.com

Take it easy,
Sean

If you badly want your CD out, just hook up the Batt and ACC pins to 12V and the Ground pin to ground. That should turn the headunit on and then all you need to do is press eject.

Otherwise, if you havn't chopped your wiring harness in the car, removing the headunit only takes about 5min, so you could remove your current headunit, plug in the old one, eject headunit and then screw in the new one again.

[seanmau5]

If you badly want your CD out, just hook up the Batt and ACC pins to 12V and the Ground pin to ground. That should turn the headunit on and then all you need to do is press eject.

Otherwise, if you havn't chopped your wiring harness in the car, removing the headunit only takes about 5min, so you could remove your current headunit, plug in the old one, eject headunit and then screw in the new one again.

Yea figured there would be an easier way. I never really thought about it until after my mate took it home. No, didn't chop up my wiring harness - gotta do it all properly!! I'll get around to it one day haha

[Silent Thunder]

stop your friend from opening it up! if its still in working order i'd be interested in taking it off your hands. i could even send the cd back up to you =p

mihai's suggestion is good too. you just need to give it some juice and you can just use it as normal. a few years back when i was at bosch, the elec lab guys had a "broken" hu hooked up the speakers as their lab sound system lol.

btw found my perfect hu: pioneer avic-x930bt. its out in the states but i dont think it'll make it over here.

i know all about that delay in japan. some scum stole the knobs off my lib when it was still in the car yard at the dealer. made the dealer buy me replacements. the car was purchased late march. the dealer (in their stupidity) just got them yesterday and decided to mail them to me -_-"

also i found an awesome tutorial for doing a complete sound system upgrade starring... the pioneer avic-f20bt, assorted pioneer audio bits and a manual 05 liberty. is it the 5sp gt? how perfect is this for an upgrade guide? lol http://www.mobileelectronics.com.au/article/tutorials/full_sound_system_upgrade_part_one/

[seanmau5]

stop your friend from opening it up! if its still in working order i'd be interested in taking it off your hands. i could even send the cd back up to you =p

mihai's suggestion is good too. you just need to give it some juice and you can just use it as normal. a few years back when i was at bosch, the elec lab guys had a "broken" hu hooked up the speakers as their lab sound system lol.

btw found my perfect hu: pioneer avic-x930bt. its out in the states but i dont think it'll make it over here.

i know all about that delay in japan. some scum stole the knobs off my lib when it was still in the car yard at the dealer. made the dealer buy me replacements. the car was purchased late march. the dealer (in their stupidity) just got them yesterday and decided to mail them to me -_-"

also i found an awesome tutorial for doing a complete sound system upgrade starring... the pioneer avic-f20bt, assorted pioneer audio bits and a manual 05 liberty. is it the 5sp gt? how perfect is this for an upgrade guide? lol http://www.mobileelectronics.com.au/article/tutorials/full_sound_system_upgrade_part_one/

To be honest I'm not quite prepared to part with it - it will most likely go back into the car when it comes time to move on. Yea the X930BT looks pretty cool but being in the US the maps is the wrong country. Do some research on it, the navigation module should have an SD card slot where you can do software upgrades & you may very well be able to download compatible Australian maps software. The upgrade guide seems good - nice to see that they tell you to disconnect your negative terminal first!! That's a full on upgrade though - are you doing amps & speakers or just HU? Looks like a 3.0?? I'm sure they're the right wheels.

[Silent Thunder]

To be honest I'm not quite prepared to part with it - it will most likely go back into the car when it comes time to move on. Yea the X930BT looks pretty cool but being in the US the maps is the wrong country. Do some research on it, the navigation module should have an SD card slot where you can do software upgrades & you may very well be able to download compatible Australian maps software. The upgrade guide seems good - nice to see that they tell you to disconnect your negative terminal first!! That's a full on upgrade though - are you doing amps & speakers or just HU? Looks like a 3.0?? I'm sure they're the right wheels.

fair enough. yeah i'll need to find out how the module gets updated. legacydan has the p3350bt that i'm eyeing off so i'll ask him.

probably just do the hu for now. in need of cash for a pending move to a different state for work.

you're probably right about the 3.0. looks pretty =D

on another note, just got the replacement radio and climate control knobs in the mail. so now my interior looks complete, but the stacker is busted lol

[mihai]

hey mate,

might be interested in this: http://firesport.com.au/used-nsw-pioneer-avic-f10bt-dvd-cd-head-unit--ad183956.htm

[Silent Thunder]

hey mate,

might be interested in this: http://firesport.com.au/used-nsw-pioneer-avic-f10bt-dvd-cd-head-unit--ad183956.htm

cheers for the heads up. going to pass on it; scratches on lcd screens make me sad.

stupidly, the stock hu decided to start working again. i think it got scared when i dropped by the car audio guys yesterday afternoon lol. just in case, i picked up a fascia from castek. now to find a suitable hu. kenwoods have really nice, clean gui designs. pioneer comes a close second.