Ok before I get started, I know there are a lot of people who don't care for the Metra dash kit. I am one of those people. However anyone who has done a competition level sound system knows sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Choosing to deal with this kit in lieu of better sound quality the sound quality wins.
So, with that said, the alpine hd149 became the radio of choice. It offered the aux input in the rear for my tablet setup, steering wheel control adaptability Sirius radio, and Bluetooth. It has a 24 bit dac. Currently it's hooked up to the factory speakers. More on that in a moment. I ran the rca's for when I disconnect the factory speakers.
Now I have to remove the screen and install the dash hood from a regular 2012 fiesta. The space where the small screen on that console will be taken up by my iPhone 6plus for navigation. The tablet will be mounted below the radio. I will post pictures when I have that completed.
Car toys used a PAC adapter for the steering wheel controls. Everything was maintained except the Bluetooth button. That is now a source selector switch. The phone button is within reach on the alpine radio so I'm ok with that. Remember the purpose here was sound quality.
Now what I noticed listening to the alpine is it images the same as with the factory unit. That tells me as I suspected the radio behind the dash or box, houses all the electronics but does not house the tuning component. If you tap into the factory speaker wires you will not be able to get around the factory tuning without something like the JL audio piece.
Car functions 100% without the box.
I'll post pictures once I have the new dash hood installed.
As for the other pictures these are pictures of the 4" speaker pods that will be on the dash. If you have been following the install, there will be a tweeter and dual 4" midrange on each side of the dash. This is the prototype.
The radio is straight the factory screen is tilted making the alpine look off.
So, with that said, the alpine hd149 became the radio of choice. It offered the aux input in the rear for my tablet setup, steering wheel control adaptability Sirius radio, and Bluetooth. It has a 24 bit dac. Currently it's hooked up to the factory speakers. More on that in a moment. I ran the rca's for when I disconnect the factory speakers.
Now I have to remove the screen and install the dash hood from a regular 2012 fiesta. The space where the small screen on that console will be taken up by my iPhone 6plus for navigation. The tablet will be mounted below the radio. I will post pictures when I have that completed.
Car toys used a PAC adapter for the steering wheel controls. Everything was maintained except the Bluetooth button. That is now a source selector switch. The phone button is within reach on the alpine radio so I'm ok with that. Remember the purpose here was sound quality.
Now what I noticed listening to the alpine is it images the same as with the factory unit. That tells me as I suspected the radio behind the dash or box, houses all the electronics but does not house the tuning component. If you tap into the factory speaker wires you will not be able to get around the factory tuning without something like the JL audio piece.
Car functions 100% without the box.
I'll post pictures once I have the new dash hood installed.
As for the other pictures these are pictures of the 4" speaker pods that will be on the dash. If you have been following the install, there will be a tweeter and dual 4" midrange on each side of the dash. This is the prototype.
The radio is straight the factory screen is tilted making the alpine look off.