You might remember me from my old post, where I replaced the stock stereo in my 2005 CR-V with a Pioneer unit. I added two new buttons to the controller on the steering wheel, and used the existing Honda wiring to connect to the new head unit, making changes only at the ends and without running any new wires through the dash.
Well, it turns out that the Pioneer deck was utter garbage. Like most modern stereos it's designed for the iPhone crowd, who think bluetooth sound is acceptable. I do not, though I didn't fully realize how bad it was for a long time. No amount of fiddling with the sound of the deck, whether via USB or bluetooth or the AUX inputs, could create decent sound.
The problem was the deck itself, it simply couldn't produce high-frequency signals. The equalizer topped out at 8kHz, which is -half- what the average human being can hear. So the battle could not be won, and I decided to replace the deck Modern units from a stereo store were crazy expensive. Where the Pioneer was $150, the cheapest -good- deck I could get, according to a dedicated car-stereo store, was $600 (Australian prices).
So I bought a 13 year old Sony head unit. It was originally more than $1000 USD, and so I felt pretty confident it would be decent quality. And it is.
But it required new wiring. The Pioneer used a mono-headphone plug for inputs, but the Sony uses an infrared remote controller. Obviously this caused trouble, but after several hours of pondering and poking I worked out a very elegant solution:
I took apart the Sony infrared controller, shoved its guts into the steering wheel of the CR-V (which will cause my dealer fits when they replace the airbag, I'm sure!), and used the two wires in the Honda harness to move the LEDs from the remote to the hazard-lights switch under the stereo.
The full story is on my website: http://nfgworld.com/?p=1776
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Also, in the unlikely event anyone's looking for info on the Sony 7700MDX stereo, the RM-X6S remote controller, or just likes to hack CR-Vs, there's a heap of documentation and stuff there as well.
Well, it turns out that the Pioneer deck was utter garbage. Like most modern stereos it's designed for the iPhone crowd, who think bluetooth sound is acceptable. I do not, though I didn't fully realize how bad it was for a long time. No amount of fiddling with the sound of the deck, whether via USB or bluetooth or the AUX inputs, could create decent sound.
The problem was the deck itself, it simply couldn't produce high-frequency signals. The equalizer topped out at 8kHz, which is -half- what the average human being can hear. So the battle could not be won, and I decided to replace the deck Modern units from a stereo store were crazy expensive. Where the Pioneer was $150, the cheapest -good- deck I could get, according to a dedicated car-stereo store, was $600 (Australian prices).
So I bought a 13 year old Sony head unit. It was originally more than $1000 USD, and so I felt pretty confident it would be decent quality. And it is.
But it required new wiring. The Pioneer used a mono-headphone plug for inputs, but the Sony uses an infrared remote controller. Obviously this caused trouble, but after several hours of pondering and poking I worked out a very elegant solution:
I took apart the Sony infrared controller, shoved its guts into the steering wheel of the CR-V (which will cause my dealer fits when they replace the airbag, I'm sure!), and used the two wires in the Honda harness to move the LEDs from the remote to the hazard-lights switch under the stereo.
The full story is on my website: http://nfgworld.com/?p=1776
Also, in the unlikely event anyone's looking for info on the Sony 7700MDX stereo, the RM-X6S remote controller, or just likes to hack CR-Vs, there's a heap of documentation and stuff there as well.
