OEM Audio Plus BRZ review
 

I recently purchased the OEM Audio Plus system for the BRZ from Mann Engineering. I installed it this past weekend. A couple of things first... as most of us know, this system was outsourced by Scion to OEM Audio Plus to be a dealer installed option on the FRS. But, OAP (as I shall now refer to them) does not have a relationship with Subaru, so if you want it for the Subaru you cannot get it from the dealer, you have to go through them. The BRZ audio system differs from the FRS in just the headunit. That being said, the OAP system had to be specifically tuned for the BRZ headunit, so it is a different system than the FRS one is. Here's the information:

"Components

Front 1" Soft Dome Tweeter
Factory Speaker Optimization
Multi-Channel 32-Bit DSP Amplifier (360 Watts RMS @ 2-ohms)
Subwoofer Amplifier (120 Watts RMS @ 2-ohms)
Quick-Sync "Plug & Play" Wiring Harness
8'' Dual Voice-Coil Subwoofer System"

That being said... installation: Plan about 6-7 hours, that way you won't be pissed if it takes that long. I had never taken my BRZ apart before, so naturally I was cautious and it took longer. The system is directly plug-and-play, meaning no splicing or modifying anything. Everything just plugs in to the factory harnesses. This really makes it easy to install.

Sound quality: I think it's phenomenal, especially for a system on a sub $30k car. This is more of a balanced, audiophile type system. If you're wanting to rattle your fillings with bass, this isn't for you. Don't think that the system doesn't put out bass though. The 8" sub really blends in perfectly with the music. Bass drum hits will thump your chest and bass guitar riffs are tight and controlled. The new tweeters have excellent highs and don't clip at higher frequencies like the stock ones do. They're noticeably better. So what about this 32 bit DSP amplifier retuner bullcrap?... It works. Not only does it drive the stock speakers with substantially more wattage, it retunes crossover frequencies, etc. The stock BRZ system had a very strong front sound stage, with the rear speakers barely even audible. This retune gives you much more of a surround experience, bringing the rear speakers into play much more, yet still keeping the sound stage in the front, just less so. It also takes a lot of the bass load off of the door speakers, making them less boomy and actually letting them play the frequencies they were designed to play. As cliched as it is, I was noticing things in my music I never had before; A tom hit here, an extra brass instrument there. This will make you rip all of your songs in 320kbps from now on. This system makes all music sound much better than before, but really shines on acoustic stuff and/or high production values. Dave Matthews, new Sublime, and Incubus sound fantastic. That being said, it's not bad at heavy metal either :)

Is it worth it? That depends. It's $1,099. I am keeping my stock HU forever, I don't want to cut and splice and tack on amps and subwoofer boxes that look out of place, etc. Just look at this as a factory hi-fi stereo option. Would you have ticked a $1,100 option box for a much better stock stereo system, or would you go for the base stereo and piece everything together yourself? If you said yes to the first question, get this. You won't regret it.

Thanks for the review. Sounds like exactly what I want. As soon as they make it available for my car I may just bite.

Where is the pictures? Would love to see where the sub is placed.

Not bad, but I wonder what $1100 would get you at a local Automotive Audio shop. Does anyone know? I've always just bought off the shelf parts before and never had anything fabricated or tuned specifically for a vehicle.

Thanks for this write up! I have been considering the OAP upgrade for my FR-S as I want clean audio (proper cross overs for each range of speaker and a dedicated woofer) but not a lot of ear piercing power. I was wondering what reviews would show, and yours is the only one I have seen so far. I am wondering how far (if at all) it would be thrown off if I had the OAP upgrade AND a Pioneer AVIC 950BT HU upgrade. With the stock unit being Pioneer, will it throw off the 'optimizations' that much?

Would this still work if you were to upgrade to an aftermarket headunit in the future?

I heard this system in young's car and I can vouch that OEM audio plus is phenomenal. upon hearing macklemore's thrift shop, i went in my car and listened to it again on my stock system and I was sad lol

Hopefully I'll be getting this within a few weeks. I'm opting to get my audio right before an exhaust lol.

I added a Powerbass 8 sub to my FR-s. IT has 150 watt amp. I am very happy with the system as it sounded great before the sub now i have the lower end i want. To be honest, I was very happy with factory BeSpoke system with the DSP stuff it had. I just had a few extra dollars and got a powered sub.

I wish you could get those tweeters. Does anybody know if other aftermarket tweeters will fit as easy as the ones in this kit?

This kit is incredible, one of the best investments to date.

Well I bought mine the other day from toyotapartsoutlet. Hopefully it will be in next week. I was sad to see a grand go lol but I want my audio sounding good and feel like this car deserves this upgrade. I also plan on keeping my bespoke and stock speakers so this is good for me.

I bought my OAP unit just under a month ago and am taking delivery this Tues - it took a while bc I bought the carbon fiber encloser ($1500). Daniel from OAP said that the 2012 Pioneer AVIC models are indeed verified units for this unit's tuning. I have the Pioneer ACIC z140. Will post when I finish the install.

I recommend those guys - I got mine there also.
price is under what is listed as msrp also --
I paid and had it at my door within a week.
the instructions say it will take you 2hrs - it took me about 4-5 but still worth it.

I have the nav system, and have replaced the door speakers with image dynamics which were a huge upgrade. I'm now trying to improve the dash speakers. Did you upgrade from the nav system? Or base audio?

Steve

All US BRZ's come with navi.

Doh! My bad.

So I'm not looking for more bass, but much better mid/high details. Can someone comment more about this??

So what can I expect from the system in terms of an upgrade? Other than the sub, is the sound quality better?

I just finished self installing the system today. It is a lot better than stock.

It is not just about the subwoofer since it comes with new tweeters, DSP power amplifier and subwoofer amplifier.

With the stock system, things get muddy with the volume knob set to 30+. Also, you couldn't get decent sound on the freeway with the windows rolled down.

This system seems to have enough power and has much cleaner sound. I'll evaluate the system more in the coming days and respond back if my opinion changes.

Note to self installers: In the instructions it will tell you to start putting back the rear speaker panels at a certain point. Don't put the passenger side back together until later, after you put the subwoofer clip in. Otherwise, you will be removing the pieces again. There might be a couple more gotchas if anyone is interested.

Why did you ave to remove the rear speaker panels? Does the system come with different rear speakers?

Steve

Probably the new amp had to run direct to the rear speakers rather than back to the HU harness.

I think Foobar is right. There are no wires run to the OEM amp area for the rear speakers according to the BRZ wiring diagrams.

I am seriously thinking of getting this system for the BRZ. What if I get the speakers in the doors and the rear dynomatted too. Anybody thought of doing that when they get this system upgrade?

Thanks for the review. I was looking at this but I already have some high end equipment left over from my 2006 Jeep so I'm halfway to building a really solid aftermarket system.

I'm really surprised so far by the stock system as I've never seen OEM speakers in a sub $50k car that weren't absolute crap so I'm in no rush.

What I want is a more versatile headunit. Ideally something Android based but the current options aren't impressing me and the fact that they come from no-name brands really bothers me.

I've always used pioneer units because, to me, they are superior in all aspects to other big boys. I have one of their older audiophile grade single DIN headunits from my old system that I just installed in my beater/winter vehicle because the old one SUCKED. (Clarion)

The other thing that bothers me is the way the rear speakers are mounted. They are just sort of suspended by a mounting bracket in a void behind the panel. I saw one build where they essentially build a plywood/fiberglass enclosure into this void and significantly boosted the capabilities of that mounting location.

Hey, thinking about getting one of these. I'm leasing, so OEM approved is likely my only option. Some of the reviews I've read call it well balanced, which fits my style perfectly - I'm not looking for booming bass, but a really reference-type experience in sound instead of the way the stock system is setup.

What I'm wondering is if anyone agrees with this assessment. Also, did anyone get it installed at the dealership? If so, how much was the install?

I have one in my Canadian BRZ - its a solid upgrade over stock and sounds very good. This is not the upgrade for bass heads or SPL Junkies but for the rest of us it fits the bill nicely.

Double check you are getting the system for your SPECIFIC head unit. Daniel at OEMAudio will help you out. The DSP settings are specific to each model of head unit and you just need to ensure you get the right one.

I installed mine and as long as you have a bit of skill and some patience, it's very doable. For me it was 3 hours. Take a look at the install video:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbnpadJUTwE&list=UUbD2fme6Xpp8I9HLYtzxeOA& index=2"]Scion FR-S | System 400+ upgrade by OEM Audio+ - YouTube[/ame]

Read the manual and if your still not comfortable, call you dealer to install.

Enjoy!

Yeah, I haven't heard about the settings for specific head units before. I'll make sure that it's correct for mine.

The thing about having it installed at the dealer, on top of my lack of experience messing with cars, is that it doesn't affect my lease. That's likely worth more than the savings of installing myself on its own, I'm just wondering what I'd be looking at price-wise on top of the $1100 investment in the system.

Thanks for the info!

For those of you that have ordered from their website and installed on your own, how quickly did it ship?

Planning on a gauge cluster and a new HU to fill the double din void of the stock unit.....wonder if / how this would work out with those plans. I like a solid sound setup, in my previous car (04' tiburon) the sound quality increased dramatically with just a head unit.

The current speakers and setup aren't too bad but as others have said it does tend to get muddy also want to save the door speakers from their low frequency hell.

Great review.

Yes, I agree that it is a well tuned system. The main DSP amplifier balances the tweeter, mid, door, and rear speakers well. Of course the subwoofer then also gives the system the extra punch it needs.

I installed it myself but in the following thread on post #8, ravenMTgirl states how much her dealer charged which was $110.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...tall+oem+audio

I ordered mine online through TRDSparks. I paid $975. I ordered on a weekend and it as at my door by the coming Friday. I also read that people who bought it from toyotapartsoutlet had good results and paid the same discounted amount.

The funny thing is that I believe TRKSparks didn't ship it from their dealership but sent an order to OEM Audio and then OEM Audio shipped it to me.

Edit: I forgot I am in a BRZ thread. TRDSparks only sells the FR-S version.

The rear speakers are stock but to channel the wiring harness from the front of the car to the trunk you have to remove so many parts.

If you want to know what is involved in installing yourself, here is a link to the instructions.

http://www.oemaudioplus.com/images/I...0-20120626.pdf

Edit: I forgot I am in a BRZ thread. The instructions are for an FR-S but I think everything should be the same except maybe the head unit?

Up here in Canada we don't have access to the Optomize Scion Program so after a few phone calls I got in touch OEM Audio Plus directly who referred me to their Canadian Distributer....TRDSparks.

I had exactly the same experience. Which as an international buyer was a really great one!

I just emailed to see if they can get the BRZ version, would be nice.

Yes it will, and if you stick with a Pioneer brand radio the Reference 400's DSP/staging/timing stays pretty well matched too.

Does the Pioneer reference still work with the BRZ system? i understand there are differences?

Cool let us know, I am interested in the BRZ version too.

They can't. They seem to think you can only get it through Subaru.

Yes, it's the same unit but with DSP settings flashed for Subaru Fujitsu head units. OEM Audio can also reflash the DSP in the Reference 400 to match yhe FRS/BRZ signal timimg/staging to Pioneer Scion or Scion BeSpoke or aftermarket AVIC and Pioneer App Radios system too (if you're local I think...)