Boss brand car audio (any good?) or go w/ JVC at Best Buy?

The xB needs a new stereo, no aux input for the iPod and the Bluetooth doesn't work. It seems to be a newer Scion Pioneer model I'm guessing the previous owner swapped out of a newish iQ or tC, and doesn't have the wireless microphone and maybe other bits to make the BT part work.

Rather than source all that crap and possibly still not work, I'm looking for a decent double-din player that just has an aux input. Amazon has a few Boss Audio units but I've never heard of them.

Boss Audio Systems 850BRGB Boss Audio $74

Another model for even less, $59 and probably similar features.

But Best Buy up the road has this JVC for sale this weekend for $99.

JVC - Built-In Bluetooth - Apple® iPod

So......Boss? Or go with local pickup and JVC? (Not picky at all, if it has an aux input I'm good)

Just out of curiosity, why a double din and not a cheaper single din with a dash kit so it fits perfectly and you get an extra cubby for your phone?

I've had good experience in the past with jvc.

Apparently jvc and Kenwood merged a few years ago, so not sure what that means for jvc car audio in terms of quality. But given both companies history, id expect at least decent from them.

After messing around with lots of low end audio brands for head units, I learned to just call Crutchfield and get Alpine.

In reply to Javelin:

Or Kenwood. I find that Kenwood's Excelon X500 isn't too flashy, is easy to use, and goes with everything.

The jvc you linked was a good, solid performer for me. Loved it, and fixed the lack of hd radio with an add on tuner.

I have no experience with the boss stuff, but bought one of their amps to try in the miata.

G_Body_Man wrote: Just out of curiosity, why a double din and not a cheaper single din with a dash kit so it fits perfectly and you get an extra cubby for your phone?

Because I had no idea that was a thing. What are these "dash kits" you speak of, young man?

I had a Kenwood in my old Nissan Hardbody. I didn't like their typical tiny buttons, and the sound just seemed like it lacked some bass (despite 6-1/2" 2-ways, a shallow sub and two amps).

When it stopped giving my CD's back, I bought an Alpine. My first Alpine. I have had many decks, but the Alpine sounds better than all of them.

Pass on both, go with alpine. More money but worth every penny

I like JVC's electronics, but their interface and display is not fun for fat fingers. The volume knob in particular has very little friction, so one pothole while you're adjusting the volume can mean scaring the pants off yourself and everyone in the car.

Boss is junk. Skip it. Terrible electronics, low quality. Boss and Dual are the Kraco and Sparkomatic of the 21st century.

Otherwise, many of the brand-names will suit you well. My ex-wife has that JVC's predecessor in her xB. Easy fit, nice looking, great sound, good BT pairing once you figure out the initial pairing. Kenwood, Alpine, Pioneer Premier, JVC, Clarion; all good names that won't let you down.

This is a $2500 car for carrying stuff and a pit bull. Thanks for the Alpine recommendations but I'm not spending that kind of $ when all I want is an aux input for the iPod. (USB for a flashdrive would be nice too.)

I tried Best Buy today but saleshelp was lacking, so I left. Maybe I'll give them another shot for the JVC.

Why even go to Best Buy? Crutchfield.com has a great selection and the reviews are very helpful, and they will usually throw in a dash kit or some discounted speakers when you buy from them.

pointofdeparture wrote: Why even go to Best Buy? Crutchfield.com has a great selection and the reviews are very helpful, and they will usually throw in a dash kit or some discounted speakers when you buy from them.

THIS. unless they don't offer what I want (which lately has been discontinued pioneer hd radio), i don't even shop anywhere else. They add all the installation parts and instructions for free. And their tech support rocks.

If you want more options, as gbody man suggested, get a single din pocket. You can get single din cup holders, pockets, and even pockets with a door or drawer.

Here's a xb single din conversion for less than $20.

What about the "import" stereo that Tom installed in the former GRM E250? Seemed to offer a lot for the $ (if it still works...)

Dusterbd13 wrote:

pointofdeparture wrote: Why even go to Best Buy? Crutchfield.com has a great selection and the reviews are very helpful, and they will usually throw in a dash kit or some discounted speakers when you buy from them.

THIS. unless they don't offer what I want (which lately has been discontinued pioneer hd radio), i don't even shop anywhere else. They add all the installation parts and instructions for free. And their tech support rocks.

Damn, not bad. I assumed Amazon was about as cheap as I was going to find, but I found a few models in the $70 range and indeed they seem to include the harness and everything free. Sweet. (Quite a few lower end models out of stock though.)

That time of year. Everybody's kid is getting gear for Christmas.

I used to be/still sorta am into car audio. I've used JVC, Kenwood, Pioneer, Sony, and Alpine in the past. My thoughts:

JVC: Their stuff is pretty good. I used a similar double DIN head unit in a family member's Scion Tc and it was a great replacement for the factory "Pioneer" that crapped out at 60k miles. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one if the price was right.

Kenwood: Good, solid receivers. I actually just put THIS ONE in my truck last week, and I love it so far. Their audio menu systems can be a PITA to navigate sometimes, but they sound great.

Pioneer: Much like Kenwood in the fact that they are good, solid receivers. Usually on the affordable end of the scale too. Lots of audio options to make any car sound decent.

Sony: I haven't used one in a very long time. The one we had was an early CD receiver, so it didn't have much for sound options. It lasted about 6 years before it crapped out.

Alpine: The most expensive of all the major brands, and the one I've had the most problems with. They also lean toward Apple compatibility, so YMMV. Out of the three that I've had over the years, all three of them failed in various ways: two of them being the CD player dying, and the other had internal electronics problems that had to be fixed by an authorized dealer. They do offer clean sound when they work, especially with a subwoofer, but the audio options are not as robust as others.

I've bought from Crutchfield in the past, as well as Sonic Electronix, Amazon, eBay, Best Buy, and the now-defunct Tweeter, etc and Circuit City. All of those places were fine to buy from. If you buy from eBay, beware that manufacturers may not honor their warranties because they are not considered an authorized reseller. Alpine is especially vigilant on this.

Last stereo I bought (the Kenwood I mentioned earlier) came from Best Buy on sale for $69.99, and I bought the wiring harness adapter at Walmart for $9. I already had a "dash kit" in the truck. I could have reused the harness adapter that was in the truck too, but I was lazy. That Kenwood replaced an Alpine that was failing, and to my surprise, it sounds better than the Alpine ever did. FWIW, my Dakota has a set of Eclipse 6.5's up front and Blaupunkt 6x9's in the rear. There are a million and one ways to adjust the sound on this head unit, and one of them actually takes into consideration speaker size. Pretty cool.

I'd stay away from the "bargain brands" like Boss, Jensen, etc, especially when the better brands are so cheap these days.

Another thing worth noting: Kenwood and JVC tend to have the most powerful built-in amps at 22W RMS. Pioneer is usually one of the weakest at 14W RMS, and if I recall correctly Alpine and Sony are usually in between at about 17W RMS.

They all claim to make 50-55W "peak" but that number is meaningless, it's the RMS rating that matters. That's one reason JVC and Kenwood receivers tend sound much more powerful than the others when an external amp isn't involved (and some brands have higher preamp voltages than others which is worth researching if you do want to run a discrete amp).