Ok, my audio build is finally finished. Strap in, because this is going to be a long post.
First and foremost, I'd like to thank
http://www.audiowerks.net (Audiowerks) in Tewksbury, MA. They did the entire design and install of the system. Troy, Matt, and Mike do PHENOMINAL jobs. So if you're looking for fantastic audio work, check them out.
Now, with my shameless plug out of the way, on to the build/review....
Front Speakers: Hertz HSK 163 3 way components
These speakers are the real deal. They sound absolutely amazing at all volumes. For the woofers, I used @
phenryiv1's spacers, which made for a perfect fit. No modifications were necessary. The mids and tweeters fit nicely in the stock locations on the dash. Some very easy, and very basic brackets had to be fabbed up for them.
Amplifier: Hertz HDP5
The HDP5 is a 5 channel high efficiency amplifier. It's small for the power that it packs. 70W RMS x 4 for speakers and 380W RMS for subs. The small size of the amp allowed it to be installed opposite of the stock amp, under the trunk cover. Some removal and light modification of the stock styrofoam was necessary, but nothing too extreme. It's a really clean look and opens up more trunk real estate.
Subwoofers: Hertz ES250 (x2)
These subwoofers pound. The custom enclosure was made by Audiowerks, and as you can see by the pictures, they almost look factory. Very clean, pretty light, and doesn't take up a ton of real estate. The bass is very smooth and sounds natural.
Head Unit: Adayo AN6B01 (Rydeen DV621)
I saved this for last because of how blown away I am by this unit. 99% of you have never heard of this unit or the company. You are truly missing out.
I've played with and owned a number of double din "all-in-one" head units ranging from Kenwoods, to Pioneers, to Alpines, and even a Clarion mixed in there. They all pale in comparison.
I'll start with how the unit looks. It's a rather standard layout for a 6.1" double din unit. At the top, you have the CD/DVD drive, and microSD slot that comes prefilled with a 4GB card loaded with North American maps for the included iGO navigation app. To the left, you have the main buttons of "Menu", "Home", and "Back". You can probably guess where this is going.... Also along the left is a decent size volume knob, microphone for hands free, and a little plastic door that opens up to the full size SD card slot, USB slot, and 3.5mm audio/video jack.
In the box was a plethora of connetions. Your typical stuff like car hookups, speaker connections, front/rear/sub out, rear audio/video in/out, GPS dongle, and also an Apple cable for connecting to your iCrap. Also, connection for steering wheel controls... but more on that later. There are also USB connections for BOTH a WiFi dongle and 3G dongle. A 150Mbps USB Wireless N dongle is included. Capping off the package is a remote, guide, and stylus (which isn't necessary to operate the unit).
This head unit runs on TRUE Android. It is only 2.2, so some of the number snobs might scoff, but the unit itself runs buttery smooth.... similar to my Nexus 7 tablet. I threw everything at it that I could. Live Wallpaper, playing music, using the OFFLINE navigation app, connecting to bluetooth. Nothing so much as stuttered the unit. The interface is VERY fast and smooth. I may take a video of it at some point, just to show everyone. The launcher is AOSP android with a slight modification. Along the bottom on the home screens, there is a dock of sorts that contains the functions pertinent to being a head unit (Music, iPod, Radio, Aux In, Bluetooth, Equalizer, Video Out, Navigation, etc). You can still customize the home screens (5) with all the widget goodness of android. Oh, and yes, there is the full Android market. And yes, Torque works (but you need the Wifi version of the ELM).
The radio interface is rather old school. Changing the station was quick and reception is great.
Playing music off an SD card or USB stick is also quick and easy. The interface is basic, with the major tag info displayed as well as a decent size album art, if available. Again all functions were fast and fluid.
Once you hook up an Apple device, it recognizes and opens the iPod app. This allows you to view all the Music, Videos, and Photos on your iDevice. While playing music, you have access to all the songs, as well as playlists and any sorting options you would want (artist, album, genre, etc). Reading, displaying, and navigating was quick and responsive. Even scrolling through the lists was fluid.
The equalizer is pretty basic. You have your High/Low/Mid frequency adjustments. Note, this is for the speaker out only. Subwoofers have their own control page. So you can adjust the frequency gain, as well as high/mid/low filters. On the second tab, there was sound stage position adjustment, and subwoofer level. In the settings menu of Android, there is a filter for the subwoofer as well. Not sure why it wasn't on this page.
There is a customizable steering wheel control interface. You can program any button on your steering wheel to whatever function you want, not just what the car manufacturer designed it to be. This doesn't apply to us as the 86 doesn't have steering wheel controls (one of my few gripes with the car, actually), but in other cars, this is pretty damn cool.
I haven't had the chance to test out the dual zone video features, or auxiliary input features, or the video playback features. I grounded the brake line so Watching videos should be enabled. I know I am able to input an address in the gps while driving. Speaking of...
The navigation, is one of the best systems I've used. The amount of options on it are ridiculous. I took a couple screen shots, but they don't come near the amount of customization you can do. I'd need to do an entire video just to cover it all. You have options for 2d/3d, elevation 3d (hills and valleys are reflected in the 3d), 3d buildings, points of interest actually show up on the map without having to search for them, you can customize your car icon to any one of the 107 included 3d models (most are actual cars, sadly no BRZ was included). They also include fun things, like mario in a mario kart and tanks, motorcycles, a chick on a vespa, etc. Google search is one of the options for inputting a destination. I have my phone tethered to the unit so it has internet wherever my phone does. This is only like 25% of the navigation has to offer. The actual movement on the screen while driving was very smooth, not stuttery like a lot of GPS systems. Oh yea, traffic works great too and you have the option to display alternate routes while driving along the one you're currently on.
Of course if any of the included apps don't fit your fancy, you are more than able to download an app that does, off the Android market.
I'm sure I've missed quite a bit, but I think this unit and android as a whole has a real chance to take off here. The user experience is the best I've seen (even from really high end units). If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'll try and post up pictures or videos to help explain anything.
Lastly, the LED's light up either blue or red. The red matches our interiors pretty well.
