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Haha. Absolutely man. No problem. If you need any tuning advice let me know. Also I don't remember did you put dampener down over the big holes in the door to "seal" them?
Hey Shawn, I will contact you on the adjustments (it will be a while) and I have not sealed the big holes. Man - you like to make me work!! LOL
How do you like the 5500 Pioneer head unit? I'm thinking about getting the same one. How did the install go?
Hey Wayne,
I really like the head unit – I have not used all of the options available on the unit, but I will comment on what I have used/experienced.
It’s the 2013 model, so it only has one USB input, but I don’t see needing more than that.
It has the RCA outputs for front, rear and sub, which I used. Since I run external amps, I have no comment on the power output of the head unit. The Bluetooth feature works great without the extra expensive cables for the iPhone I can control my phone functions, access my phone book, make calls and stream Pandora all with Bluetooth using my iPhone 5.
It came with a microphone that I hooked up for voice commands and telephone conversations that I sound a good spot – a blank in my dash on the left of my steering wheel – it works great.
The controls on the unit are easy to use and figure out. It’s intuitive in that way, you don’t really need to study the manual if you can figure things out by just playing with the controls and trying them. The front panel angle is adjustable which is cool and it remembers where you set it, so the net time power is applied, it goes back to where you set it.
The equalizer is nice because there are several presets as well as the ability to set 2 custom settings. Depending on the song, a different setting is easy to choose until you hit the one that sounds best to you.
I have not used the DVD/CD at all, but it has the ability to read a large variety of formats. One of these days, I’ll throw a movie in to see if it plays. I think it should. I did wire in an emergency brake by-pass so the unit will play video, but have not yet tried it. I don’t see myself watching movies on the thing, but I could see where I might want to use a backup camera someday.
I have used the HD radio, but so far, Pandora is usually where I have been getting my music. I bought the Pandora monthly (about $4.00 or so).
I use a USB drive with the HU and it catalogues the drive and is easily searchable when you touch the magnifying glass to search. I ran the USB cable to the dash so I can plug in (or just leave the USB connected) and use when I want to.
It was purchased from Crutchfeild, so it came with their standard installation kit that worked out fine. The kits are universal, so you will have to cut off the spare attachment points that are not needed for your configuration. I read the instructions several times, tried it and then used my old radio for a template of what attachment points to leave on. It’s fairly straight forward, but take some time getting acquainted with all of the pieces and instructions. The dash comes apart easily and the old radio is a breeze to remove. I did mine in stages, so was without tunes in my car for a bit, but used my iPhone/Pandora with a portable Bluetooth speaker (JBL Charge) to get me through the week or two. This was a great solution.
The radio is in there tight especially because of the steering wheel control/On Star adapter and its associated wiring, but is definitely doable.
I ran my RCAs from the passenger side, behind the glove box and ran the rest of any wiring (microphone/amp on switch/) on the driver’s side.
I bought the equalizing microphone for the unit, but have not yet tried it to see what it adjusts. I still need to do some work to the system, like get my steering wheel controls to work and re-route/dress my wiring, but I will eventually get to this too.
That about covers it. PM me if you have other specific questions.
Joe
