Hello! I am a proud new owner of an 05 H2 Been wanting one for years and finally made it happen - so excited! The first upgrades on my list were new wheels and stereo. I changed the wheels and bought a kenwood dvd, bluetooth, gps, cd, etc unit that I am going to have professionally installed next week. (I am not mechanically/electrically inclined lol). Has anyone else replaced the factory system for a Kenwood and if so do you like it? Can you share any pics and/or have any tips? I am planning to keep the OEM Bose system unless someone suggests otherwise. Also, were you able to get the factory dvd headrest dvd system to work with the new Kenwood? Best Buy guy says it is possible he can get them to work together but gave no guarantees....

Kind of nervous something is going to get screwed up but am hoping for the best! Thanks for any replies

 

I would cancel your appt to get an installation at best buy, and just buy the equipment. Then find a better place to get it hooked up. I've heard nothing but bad news about best buys installs. Plus, if they 'wont give any guarantees' then that's a flag. Any reputable install tech is going to know if they can make your equipment work in your vehicle or not and will advise you accordingly.

Best of luck.

 

STAY AWAY FROM BEST BUY LIKE THE PLAGUE!!

They will literally wire everything to the easiest point instead of the best point. A buddy of mine had a basic head unit installed at a best buy and they tapped his 12volt wire he ran for his CB as the main power for the head unit. Not only did the CB no longer function correctly the entire system hummed like it was giving off radiation.

I wouldn't trust them one bit to install anything in one of my vehicles!

 

I also replaced my factory stereo and hooked up a kenwood 6140 and kept the factory bose speakers, no complaints with the sound....one happy owner here....

 

'06 here, replaced the factory unit with a Pioneed Appradio 3 and kept the bose factory amp/speaker setup. It actually does sound better than the stock stereo, but coming from an H3 and H3t as my previous vehicles I still find the sound kinda crappy. I don't know why Bose has such a good reputation, I've never heard a Bose system that was truly impressive. Decent, even good, over priced, not spectacular. Eventually I may add a sub-woofer and replace the speakers, but I plan to keep the stock amp setup. What I was told is things like door chimes and Onstar have a separate connection through the amp and replacing it means work-arounds. Separate speaker stuffed under the dash somewhere for door chimes, no more Onstar (which I would never use, but resale is a consideration). Not sure if it's true or if there are other ways around these issues.

I don't think you can get great sound unless you replace everything, but I think you can get pretty good sound if you pick and choose the right parts to replace AND have it installed by someone that really knows what they are doing. I don't have DVD headrests so no idea on those.

 

Yeah, It's best probably just better to stay away from Best Buy for their installation.
I had some issues with a stereo/dvd/navigation in dash install a while back.
While I was there to have it corrected I "purposely overheard" a story going on in angst about an alarm that was installed, then the vehicle was broken into during the recent time period of the install. That was just what was being said in other conversation, so I never heard anything else about it, and felt it inappropriate to ask questions.

 

I installed a Kenwood eXcelon DNX6990HD and it works fantastic for me, but I still have stock speakers, and I need some really high quality ones to install. Does any one have any suggestions for them?

 

Kenwood DDX419 head unit here, very happy with the touch screen. I agree with the comments about Best Buy- have a car audio specialist do it right the first time.

 

For the 2 guys above, do your HU's fully integrate into the factory system? As in OnStar still works, steering wheel controls still work? I'm not new to installing aftermarket HU's in newer vehicles and using the interfaces such as the PAC. Also do you guys have the Lux Bose system?

 

Yeah, I have the Lux with Bose and installed a 2 year old JVC DVD /touch screen. If I recall it required 3 harness to keep it all working as factory (steering wheel controls, OnStar & powering itself on & off) I believe I had over a$100 in harness. If I had it to again would have relegated the OnStar to the scrap heap were it belongs.