Very General Head Unit Question

[Geo-Aggie]

Hello ClubWRX world.

I own a 2010 WRX sedan with the stock 6-disc changer installed. I know very little about car audio and electronics, but I do know that the stock deck doesn't give the speakers nearly enough power and is pretty boring looking. I want to replace it, but since I know little about car audio and hate installing things I'll take it to a shop to have installed.

I've been to the nearby car audio shops and for a basic bluetooth deck with a USB plugin I'm looking at $180+, on Amazon they're closer to $60 and $160 gets me one with a flip out screen, so clearly buying on Amazon is the way to go. The problem here is that I don't have any car audio experts to ask "Will this go in my car?" Hence why I am here. So my question is this:

Is there any special head unit or option on a head unit that I need to look for when purchasing one for my WRX? What ~$100-150 (from Amazon) deck do you use? Also, do you care about maintaining steering wheel controls? I've been told that's roughly $100 more, on top of deck installation and I'm torn if I actually care or not.

Thanks for your help, friends!

[scarmack]

My HU was 700


ahhhhhh...I have no helpful input sorry. Welcome and good luck (backs away slowly)

[Mikie13]

Well what it comes down to is what do you want in regards to looks and features.

Any standard stereo or Double DIN unit will fit. If you go double-DIN route (double size), I believe you'll need a new dash surround piece (JDM unit fits, and is about $70 if you google it) in order for it to fit perfectly.

Honestly if you're looking at a head unit that only costs $70-$100...you're looking at something that's probably garbage. I'd stick with Pioneer, Alpine, or Kenwood brands (there are others, but those are my personal favorites).

[Geo-Aggie]

Those brands do appear on Amazon for a pretty good price, but all right. Also, you may consider it garbage, but I'm not really into tuning and modifying my car, so anything that has bluetooth & a front USB input is good to me. Thanks for the input, though.

It seems any single deck will fit, but if I do a double DIN deck I'll have to get a new surround piece? Can anyone confirm this? Some of the double ones are really nice and not much more. However if I have to get a new surround piece I'm not interested in going that route.

[Mikie13]

Those brands do appear on Amazon for a pretty good price, but all right. Also, you may consider it garbage, but I'm not really into tuning and modifying my car, so anything that has bluetooth & a front USB input is good to me. Thanks for the input, though.

It seems any single deck will fit, but if I do a double DIN deck I'll have to get a new surround piece? Can anyone confirm this? Some of the double ones are really nice and not much more. However if I have to get a new surround piece I'm not interested in going that route.

Either way, you're going to have to find an install kit that will fill the rest of the hole that's left by removing the stock piece.

It's not about tuning...but generally in the audio game, you get what you pay for. You don't want to cheap out otherwise you'll regret it in the end with something that doesn't work. Spend a little more now to make it look good and sound right, and it will pay for itself quickly and last much longer.