Replacement Radio
- Thread starter Mal_4859
- Start date
kp.taco
Well-Known Member
mrproduxn
Well-Known Member
So I was shopping around for a reasonable head unit, to rid my 2008 of the bare bones stock unit, and the best bargain I could find was a Kenwood cd/dvd player that was between $270 and $300. I also wanted to add a backup camera. Then I also needed the harness adapter and a double din dash kit. So that was going to be around $325 total and still no android auto option, no navigation, a single usb input and a dvd player that, frankly, I didn't want or need. Then I started reading recent reviews for the new version of the Atoto A6 android unit. After shopping around and making comparisons the Atoto seemed like the best thing on the market at a super reasonable price. I bought the head unit, the harness kit, the dash kit and the camera for $256 total. That price included an instant $28 off coupon from Amazon. I figured it was worth trying. With Amazon returns are free and easy so why not. That Kenwood will always be there if I change my mind. Well, let me tell you, this Atoto is the bomb. It has 2 usb ports, both 3.0, with long cables, it has a built in gps and wifi antenna, it has android audio and apple car play capabilities, has google maps and other features built in. I spent a couple of hours soldering and shrink wrapping all the connections and laid out the camera wires. The installation was simple and straight forward. At first boot up the music sound was great, it connected to my galaxy phone with ease and the apps work well. It has maps, pandora, youtube and multiple apps ready to use. I can connect to my sirius xm thru my phone so I don't need to pay for service in the Tacoma (have it in another vehicle). I had already replaced the front door speakers with Kicker 6 x 9's and Kicker/Subaru tweeters. After making some equalizer adjustments the sound is phenominal. I can actually hear my rear access cab speakers that were virtually non-existent with the stock radio. I have only had it a couple of days but I am thrilled with the unit and the features. Some people told me that the 2 gb ram was not enough. They were wrong. I see no issues with this for the money. Makes me feel like I am in a new truck again (better than the entune premium that was in my 2016 Sport). I did not hassle with removing the dash to replace the lighter with a dual usb extension. Just used the lighter sleeve with a grommet for the included usb cables.
