03 Stereo Replacement- Opinions

[SwiSh]

Howdy,

I own a 2003 CR-V, and recently the gears in the CD player started making grinding sounds, which inevitably lead to it crapping out. Radio is still good, revived my cassette collection, but the CD player is officially done and I want it replaced.

I'm aware that it would be cheaper to replace it with an after market stereo. Although, I've also found a factory replacement online, but I'm not sure how legit it is.
http://www.buyautoparts.com/buynow/2...-40009_ON.html

I'm sure this is a redundant subject here, and I've searched through the forums for answers. But I thought it might be useful to start a thread. I'm simply looking for opinions from those who've replaced their stereos, and/ or suggestions on good stereos to buy.

Thank you for your time, and input!

[Jepalan]

"Best replacement" is a personal decision and depends on what is important to you. Were you happy with the factory headunit before it failed? Do you like the steering wheel controls? How much do you value your time for the install? Are your speakers still factory? Is sound quality important? How important? Etc.

[EpicLenam]

Hey,

I own a 2005 CR-V.
It still has the factory speakers.
Recently installed pioneer avh 1400dvd, which led to a considerable improvement of the sound quality in general.
However, when I crank up the volume a bit, I still feel "speaker distortion". Specially when playing tracks with more "bass".

What I would like know is this:
If I had to choose one of the following, what should I do first? Replace the speakers for better ones, or install a subwoofer and keep the original speakers?

I'm a beginner at this, but I really apreciate sound quality!

[Jepalan]

You have a really nice head unit. The Pioneer AVH-1400DVD has the ability to bridge the rear speaker outputs and direct drive a sub at 70watts without an external amp. For a budget upgrade I would replace the front speakers only with a decent set of Polk speakers (or similar). I would by an affordable enclosed sub and drive it directly with the Pioneer rear speaker outputs. Disconnect the rear factory speakers - you won't miss them.

Here is a link on how to connect the pioneer for bridged sub output. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmkZ0fZE9X8

The Rockford Fosgate Prime R1L-1X10 fits really well in the back of my 2012 CR-V and doesn't need too much power. It might be a good choice. Don't get a really high powered sub if you are going to connect direct to pioneer - get something rated around 100-150W max. The AVH won't have enough juice to drive a bandpass enclosure so get a sealed or ported one.