This is my first ever auto DIY upgrade and first ever after market radio install, so I thought I'd share my experiences for others...
My 2005 Subaru Forester XT Premium came with the premium sound package that included 6-disc CD changer, door tweeters, and rear subwoofer. The CD player has been giving me issues lately and it had to AUX inputs of any kind, so I decided it was finally time to upgrade. I did some research and discovered the issue with the factory head unit having a built-in amp for the faux factory subwoofer in the rear. I researched adding a mini amp to power it or just using a new under the seat subwoofer. In the end, I decided to go with the following:
Jensen 6.2" Navigation Receiver DVD CD Touchscreen Monitor VX7020 (Amazon)
Scosche SU03B Wiring Harness (Amazon)
Kenwood KSC-SW11 Subwoofer (eBay)
Backup Camera (eBay)
I debated for awhile on which head unit to get, but so far I am EXTREMELY pleased with the Jensen VX7020. First of all, it looks great. Huge screen, nice menu button, and the volume knob is just about where it was on the factory unit. The unit has very little illumination since it is mostly screen, but the illumination it does have is great which matches the gauge and other dash illumination in this year and trim line of Forester. It looks fantastic. I am so excited to finally have USB MP3, AUX input, Bluetooth for phone, and navigation. The navigation isn't as complete as the upper end units, but for less that $300 for the entire unit, I'm really impressed by what it can do. The fact that it can play DVDs is just a nice extra bonus.
I decided to go with the powered under the seat amp to keep it clean and easy. Maybe someday I'll hook up the rear factory sub, but I'll probably just leave it so I can revert, if necessary, when the time comes to sell.
Getting the trim off around the shifter and radio was a massive pain in the butt. It took some time, but I managed it with no visible damage. At this point, the head unit is temporarily in and hooked up. I soldered and shrink-wrapped the wiring harness connection and all is well. It looks very clean and professional. Right now I just have the H/U mounted with 2 screws and the main trim around it hanging in place and hooked up loosely so that the turn signals and air controls work.
The GPS works great; I ran the wire up the driver side pillar and stuck the antenna up by the rear view mirror. I am still trying to determine best place for microphone as the first place I put it does not work well. I am waiting for my sub to arrive this weekend. I am trying to decided whether to put it under the driver or passenger seat. The backup camera will take longer since it was a cheap one coming from china. I also got an extension cable for the rear A/V inputs to make them accessible from the glove compartment.
So far, so good! The trickiest part will be mounting the rear camera and running the video cable from the rear to the front. I also plan to get replacement rear view mirror since my original one is going dark.
My 2005 Subaru Forester XT Premium came with the premium sound package that included 6-disc CD changer, door tweeters, and rear subwoofer. The CD player has been giving me issues lately and it had to AUX inputs of any kind, so I decided it was finally time to upgrade. I did some research and discovered the issue with the factory head unit having a built-in amp for the faux factory subwoofer in the rear. I researched adding a mini amp to power it or just using a new under the seat subwoofer. In the end, I decided to go with the following:
Jensen 6.2" Navigation Receiver DVD CD Touchscreen Monitor VX7020 (Amazon)
Scosche SU03B Wiring Harness (Amazon)
Kenwood KSC-SW11 Subwoofer (eBay)
Backup Camera (eBay)
I debated for awhile on which head unit to get, but so far I am EXTREMELY pleased with the Jensen VX7020. First of all, it looks great. Huge screen, nice menu button, and the volume knob is just about where it was on the factory unit. The unit has very little illumination since it is mostly screen, but the illumination it does have is great which matches the gauge and other dash illumination in this year and trim line of Forester. It looks fantastic. I am so excited to finally have USB MP3, AUX input, Bluetooth for phone, and navigation. The navigation isn't as complete as the upper end units, but for less that $300 for the entire unit, I'm really impressed by what it can do. The fact that it can play DVDs is just a nice extra bonus.
I decided to go with the powered under the seat amp to keep it clean and easy. Maybe someday I'll hook up the rear factory sub, but I'll probably just leave it so I can revert, if necessary, when the time comes to sell.
Getting the trim off around the shifter and radio was a massive pain in the butt. It took some time, but I managed it with no visible damage. At this point, the head unit is temporarily in and hooked up. I soldered and shrink-wrapped the wiring harness connection and all is well. It looks very clean and professional. Right now I just have the H/U mounted with 2 screws and the main trim around it hanging in place and hooked up loosely so that the turn signals and air controls work.
The GPS works great; I ran the wire up the driver side pillar and stuck the antenna up by the rear view mirror. I am still trying to determine best place for microphone as the first place I put it does not work well. I am waiting for my sub to arrive this weekend. I am trying to decided whether to put it under the driver or passenger seat. The backup camera will take longer since it was a cheap one coming from china. I also got an extension cable for the rear A/V inputs to make them accessible from the glove compartment.
So far, so good! The trickiest part will be mounting the rear camera and running the video cable from the rear to the front. I also plan to get replacement rear view mirror since my original one is going dark.