Review of Pioneer AVH-X8500BHS system installed in a FRS

[mit_peid]

This is a review of Pioneer's new AVH-X8500BHS head unit installed into a FRS integrated with a number of additional components. I originally bought a Parrot Asteroid Smart, but returned it and am now much happier with this Pioneer HU due to the sound quality improvement I heard going from the Parrot HU. I still have power/ground/RCA/speaker wire clean-up to complete to make the installation look cleaner but I think this is a very good option for FRS/BRZ owners out there to consider. I just don't like the fact that with the HU installed it is probably more attractive to potential thiefs now... the X8500BHS does have a detachable face, but knowing myself I probably will never take it off unless I'm parked in the sketchiest of areas (anybody know of any 10mm nut-locks to make it a little harder to steal?).

To start off, here are the pieces of my system:
+Pioneer AVH-X8500BHS ($520 - Amazon)
+Microbypass for Pioneer ($20 - Ebay)
+Rockford Fosgate P500X4D 500 Watt Class D Amp (~$180 - Amazon)
+JL Audio CS110-WXv2 10" Enclosed Sub ($150 - Crutchfield)
+MBQUART PVL216 6.5-Inch 2-Way Component ($115 - Amazon)
+Monster MPC I304 4-Channel Car Stereo RCA Cables ($30 - Amazon)
+KnuKonceptz 4 Gauge Amp Kit ($26 - Amazon)
+Apple Lightning Digital AV Adapter ($40 - Amazon)
+Rydeen Duo Backup camera ($100 - Al&Ed's)
+PAC 6' USB Cable with Mounting Bracket ($11 - Amazon)
+Axxess USB Adapter ($13 - Ebay)

The total comes out to about $1200 which is about the same as the OEM Audio+ system. I love the way how clean the OEM Audio+ system installs, it sounds quite good, leaves more trunk space compared to my system, and is very easily removal (so is mine), but in my opinion this system I put together totally blows it out of the water as far as sound quality (SQ), power (highs, mids, and bass), and the various extras that comes with the X8500BHS. I still want to do some Dynamat for the doors, trunk, and behind the doors to notch up the SQ just a little bit more.

Pioneer X8500BHS
First, the Pioneer X8500BHS is awesome. I had my expectations for AppRadio very low from reading reviews online and having come from the Parrot Asteroid Smart that I returned to Crutchfield because of lack of physical buttons and the fact that it crashed often on me, I was over have full-blown internet in the car (and for that matter Torque on the screen). The X8500BHS is just awesome with 2 USB ports, SD card, and DVD. Mixtraxx is quite good in my opinion and the visual layout of the HU is great (much better than the Parrot HU). BT calling and audio works great too. AppRadio is not quite working for me at the moment, and I can't seem to figure out why, but I can mirror my iPhone 5 onto the unit and it is probably good enough for me for navigation in the car when I need it.

Rockford Fosgate P500X4D Amp
This is my first RF Amp and now I finally understand why people love their RF amps. First of all the physical build is quite impressive - it is heavy (not necessarily a good thing for the FRS), sturdy, and feels like high quality. I have always heard how RF likes to underrate their amps and this one was no exception. This model is marketed as a 500W amp, but the birth certificate that came with it tested it to be a 645W RMS amp. I have gain turned to about 50% of max for both the components and the single 10" JL sub and it sounds perfect.

MBQUART PVL216 Components
Similarly, this is my first set of MBQuart speakers. I previously had Infinity reference components in my 4Runner but these sound better. It might be partially due to the fact that I'm driving them with more power, but something about the MBQuarts you just get fuller sound. I have the tweeters attenuated -6dB down from the max. You can set them to -0dB, -3dB, and -6dB. -0dB was just too sharp for my ears. -3dB was better, but now I'm at -6dB just to get used to them to bring the 6.5 woofers out a little more. The speakers had an option to mount the tweeters coaxially and I was considering doing that since there's a dude at DIY audio that is convinced that's how components are supposed to be configured. But I put the tweeters on the dash, a lot of it due to the fact that I didn't care to run two sets of speaker-wires through the door grommet. Even with the tweeters in the dash and the 6.5" in the doors, it sounds awesome. Hopefully with some Dynamat coming soon, the 6.5" speakers will be even more lively.

JL Audio CS110-WXv2
The CS110-WXv2 is probably as cheap as you can go with JL subs, but man I have no idea why anyone would need anything more. It hits hard and fast and provides excellent lows for rap, R&B, electronic, and pretty much any type of much you'd want to listen to. I was running an Infinity Basslink in my previous car so there is absolutely no comparison between this and the Basslink... the Basslink just blows in comparison. The sub enclosure also serves the purpose as the amp install location. I originally wanted to install the RF amp under the seat, but it just wouldn't fit. It does rattle the trunk area and rear-view mirror quite a bit with the volume turned up. Again here, I'm hoping some Dynamat treatment will go a long way in making things sound even tighter and better.

Rydeen Duo Backup Camera
I saw some BRZ owners use the Rydeen Duo for their stock nav/stereo and liked its OEM look so I looked into installing it with the Pioneer HU on the FRS. Wiring wasn't too bad through the trunk lid (I just used a coat hanger to fish the wire through the grommet). The part that was annoying was tapping into the tiny pink wire that sends power to the back-up lights. The X8500BHS has an option to let you to switch to the backup camera when not in reverse, but I will have to wire it up different to get that to work. I will basically need to tie the Duo camera's power to ACC or the Remote Amp Turn-on signal via a relay (and possibly also a physical switch as well so the camera isn't necessarily always on when I'm driving). Regardless, I'm happy with the Duo's build quality, image quality, and I also like the fact that there are colored distanced lines that can be turned OFF by tying some wires together (I left them on).

The Integrated System
The greatest thing about the system is the SQ. Oh my god, I enjoying driving around in my FRS now. I know the FRS is more about driving than audio, but the clean 4V preouts from the X8500BHS combined with the MB Quartz tweeters, the RF amp, and the simple low-end 10" JL sub is a winning combination. Everything just works, sounds great, and still looks stock OEM. I decided to mount the tweeters off-axis from the 6.5" door woofers cause I wanted my sound stage higher. The rear speakers are still stock and driven by the HU (the single 4-channel RF amp powers both the MBQ components and the JL sub). I have my gain turned up about 1/2 way for both the components and the subwoofer and with the X8500BHS volume turned up to just "11" it is already very loud - clean sounding where you hear all the various pieces of the music - lows, mids, highs, instruments, etc - but very loud already. I have a little loop tied to the JL sub box so it won't slide around while hard cornering like we all like to do in our FRS.

Here are some photos I took today. I'll come back to update this post with additional details later.

[ph0en1xtk]

any more info on the mbquartz speakers? Im currently in the market for new speakers, and if these sounds better than the oem audio plus set up, i might just pull the trigger on them. Did you have to order 2 sets? The amazon link to them looks like it comes with one tweeter and one 6.5".

Im guessing by your pictures and description that you removed both speakers from the dash and replaced them with just the tweeters, and replaced the door speakers with the mbquart 6.5? Do you have the amp feeding both the sub and the mbquart speakers? Would that amp be able to 2 10 inch subs and those speakers or would i need a better amp?

Sorry for the massive amount of questions, this is my first audio install and im still very new to this sort of thing :p

Any help is awesome!

[mit_peid]

Originally Posted by ph0en1xtk

any more info on the mbquartz speakers? Im currently in the market for new speakers, and if these sounds better than the oem audio plus set up, i might just pull the trigger on them. Did you have to order 2 sets? The amazon link to them looks like it comes with one tweeter and one 6.5".

Im guessing by your pictures and description that you removed both speakers from the dash and replaced them with just the tweeters, and replaced the door speakers with the mbquart 6.5? Do you have the amp feeding both the sub and the mbquart speakers? Would that amp be able to 2 10 inch subs and those speakers or would i need a better amp?

Sorry for the massive amount of questions, this is my first audio install and im still very new to this sort of thing :p

No worries, the reason why I posted is to help others if they wanted to go with a similar setup.

Here's the link to the MBQ components on Amazon [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004PW8H86/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]link[/ame]. I bought 1 set that includes 2 tweeters, two 6.5" woofers, and 2 crossovers. Yeah, I removed all the factory speakers in the dash (2 tweeters and the two 3.5" drivers) to install the two MBQ tweeters. The 6.5" MBQs obviously went into the doors. Yes, the RF Amp is driving both the MBQ components and the 10"JL sub with plenty of extra juice to go if you ears can handle it. I think the 500w RF Amp I have can probably drive two 10" subs no problem (the birth certificate that came with the Rockford Fosgate amp actually had it tested to output 645W RMS - I love how RF underrates their amps), but there's a 1000W version of the same amp [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Rockford-Fosgate-P1000X4D-Channel-Amplifier/dp/B004T15WAE/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1367096021&sr=8-7&keywords=rockford+fosgate+4-channel+amplifier"](link)[/ame]if you wanted extra assurance on power.

[briang0901]

I recently got the head unit also and am running JL Audio C5 3 way's with a JL 400/4 amp and a pioneer sub with a kenwood amp which will soon be changing to a JL 10 for the fiberglass sub box integrity concepts is making. I gotta say, sound quality and the user interface for the head unit is great! Have you seen integrity concepts sub box? would clear up the trunk space.

[TRD_86]

You have a nice sound setup. Have you compared the 8500 with Z150 nav before got it? 8500 & 5500 have difference OS setup and layout compare to the other 150, 950 nav units.

[mit_peid]

Originally Posted by briang0901

I recently got the head unit also and am running JL Audio C5 3 way's with a JL 400/4 amp and a pioneer sub with a kenwood amp which will soon be changing to a JL 10 for the fiberglass sub box Integrity Concepts is making. I gotta say, sound quality and the user interface for the head unit is great! Have you seen integrity concepts sub box? would clear up the trunk space.

Where do you have your 2 amps installed right now. My JL sub enclosure is acting as an amp installation location because the bottoms of our FRS seats just don't have much clearance. It would be nice to get the Integrity Concepts box (or even the JL stealth box) to save on some trunk space, but my best guess is that both of those two options would be upwards of $300-$500+ just for the enclosures. Have you heard how much they'll cost?

[briang0901]

Originally Posted by mit_peid

Where do you have your 2 amps installed right now. My JL sub enclosure is acting as an amp installation location because the bottoms of our FRS seats just don't have much clearance. It would be nice to get the Integrity Concepts box (or even the JL stealth box) to save on some trunk space, but my best guess is that both of those two options would be upwards of $300-$500+ just for the enclosures. Have you heard how much they'll cost?

I currently have the crossovers/both amps mounted to the sub box, a buddy of mine is going to try and move my crossovers to where the stock amp sits, I seen another guy mount his 5ch amp opposite of stock amp (so passenger side) that’s where I’m thinking to mount 1 amp, not sure on the other, I’m hoping my 4ch amp can support the added sub so that I can eliminate one amp. If not, I seen a guy mount his amps on the roof of the trunk so that’s another option. Integrity Concepts has a preorder sale right now for fiberglass boxes ($299) granted it’s pricey I opted for it since it seems to be the best viable option if you want increase trunk space usage. There is the option of making your own box, going to take some work though...

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34301 (Sub Box)
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34335 (Trunk Roof Amp install)
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17068 (Pass Side Amp install)

[mit_peid]

Originally Posted by TRD_86

You have a nice sound setup. Have you compared the 8500 with Z150 nav before got it? 8500 & 5500 have difference OS setup and layout compare to the other 150, 950 nav units.

Yeah, the Z150 and 950 were nice looking units too since I did want navigation but both were more expensive.

The 950 was a bit of a non-starter with the 2V preouts compared to the 4V on the X8500.

The Z150 only had one USB port and no music dedicated SD card reader (just for navigation) compared to two USB ports and a music dedicated SD card reader on the X8500.

[Mo7ammed]

Is that HU running an Android OS or is it mirroring your phone/tablet that is connected?

[mit_peid]

No, I'm mirroring from an iPhone 5 in the photo. Pioneer's AppRadio does a pretty good job at navigation with Waze, iGo, or Xmotion options.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[cfusionpm]

After reading some woeful reviews of the X950bh,especially in regards to navigation and bluetooth calling, it sounds like this would be a fantastic choice.

[cfusionpm]

Is the screen single point touch? Multi touch? Resistive or capacitive?

Mostly curious for things like pinch to zoom for maps in app mode for the 8500.

[mit_peid]

Originally Posted by cfusionpm

Is the screen single point touch? Multi touch? Resistive or capacitive?

Mostly curious for things like pinch to zoom for maps in app mode for the 8500.

I actually don't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure it is just single point touch. I can confirm later tonight when I'm back in my car if pinch to zoom works. (My guess is that it won't) I would highly recommend that if you go in thinking AppRadio needs to work in a certain way, that you go find someone who has a X8500-BHS or AppRadio 2 and use it yourself first.

Quite honestly, AppRadio is just a passable attempt at getting this phone-to-car-integration thing right. My bar for AppRadio was set very low after reading the many bad reviews online. If the head-unit would just allow for non-AppRadio music to be played while in AppRadio mode, I would be much happier with it.

My fondness with the unit was for the entire package: SQ, BT, expandability, etc... and AppRadio was way down on my list of priorities for a car stereo.

[mit_peid]

Original post updated with installation & short review of the Rydeen Duo.