Well before my outlander I had an 05 corolla sport with a stock system but put 2 12" Rockford subs, an amp and I believe it was a pioneer deck and this outlander has all upgraded speakers and I find that this isn' that much better than my old corolla. So like someone said in here to upgrade the head unit. Another thing I wanted to know is if I did get aftermarket would I still have all the options and settings on it that will link with the car or is that just the mmcs that will link with the car? And what I mean is being able to adjust settings like the blinkers, wipers ECT that kind of stuff. Btw what do you have for the head unit 6 CD changer or the nav system?

 

Aftermarket systems, like the Rockford you put in your Corolla are different animals. They often sound much better than the best stock systems. They have higher, clean output and speakers make a huge difference. Most stock systems I've seen use the cheapest possible parts but are tuned to work together really well, but still not as good as an aftermarket full system. The surprising thing about the Outlander is that it has so many speakers and in relatively good locations, but they just don't put out great, clean sound. I said they sound muddy, as if all of the sound were coming out of the lower speakers near the feet and not anything out of the tweeters up high. Also, the stock systems typically have lower wattage than aftermarket so they don't get as loud or sufficiently drive all the speakers.

I have the non-nav Rockford and no CD changer. I don't think they offer the CD changer option anymore so we could possibly have quite a different "Rockford system". Hard to compare to what you have. Like I said, personally I feel my system is just adequate, nothing special. But I do have quite a bit of experience with aftermarkets and some other "higher end" stock systems. Nothing compared to my aftermarket setups in past cars. If you look at the parts themselves, the crap paper speakers and the "dedicated" miniature amps in stock systems don't compare to full aftermarket systems, so my expectations are adjusted accordingly. If I got to listen to more than just my kids' music, I would upgrade my system. It seems pretty easy in the Outlander as there seems to be a lot of space everywhere. I like good sound, but if I can't listen to my own content, no point for me.

Edit: I forgot to answer part of your question, apparently their are add on modules to add full functionality to aftermarket head units. This has been the one thing holding me up from upgrading to an aftermarket head unit that has Apple Carplay. I don't want to lose any built in functionality like reverse camera like steering wheel controls. AFAIK these are the only car functions that the stock head unit controls, but I'm not totally sure. I was waiting to see if any owners upgraded to make sure everything else works. I saw kits on Crutchfield that have the Outlander specific modules. Head units themselves have standardized inputs for these, but the modules link the car specific lines to the standard head unit inputs. Let me know how it goes.

 

Sweet thanks a million. Yeah I have the 2010 outlander xls and that 6 CD changer stopped after the 2013 years and I was thinking of going with the oem mmcs because then you don't loose value to the car and it' also a kenworth. Also with the MMCS it's most likely plug and play while aftermarket I'll probably have to make some adjustments to it to make it work. I have seen ppl in these threads say that the MMCS is great for sound just the head units that you and I have are garbage and I did notice that in my corolla. The sound was crap and they were just stock speakers only had the 2 12" subs, amp and deck. As soon as I put the new head unit in wow what a difference so I might be going with the oem mmcs which my brother in law said it would be the better way to go. It will sound better than what I have but maybe not as good as an aftermarket one but I'll still get all the nicks and cranys that I'll be able to adjust linking with the car that an aftermarket will not be able to do since it' not a Mitsubishi head unit. I'l be letting you know how it goes still need to order the stuff and install it hoping by this spring I'll have it install. Thank you so much for your insight it really helped me out a lot!

 

Sorry to rain on your plans, but I am not hopeful that changing your head unit to a stock MMCS one will help sound quality. It could, but unlikely. Stock head units are usually tuned and optimized for the complete speaker and amp set up. Changing just the one component that does the least for sound quality is unlikely to help. The reason it sometimes helps adding an aftermarket head unit is that often they are higher wattage than the stock amps that they replace. Aftermarket head units with built in amps are not necessarily better, they are often just louder. Dedicated, stand alone amps work best and depending on the setup, speakers usually make the biggest difference, assuming whatever amp you are using can drive them sufficiently.

 

Thank you for that I will definitely keep that in mind. Still trying to find the specs for the oem navigation to see if it does have a built in one if i find any specs on it i will be letting you know. A few ppl said the systems with the navigation sounds better than the one that I have but I'm taking peoples words on it so yeah.... Lol thanks again.

 

I found the features and specs for it I'll post it maybe you can let me know if it's good enough. I'm pretty sure it won't be as good as aftermarket but will it do the trick? I'm not smart when it comes to this kind of stuff lol.

 

Is there a way to add bluetooth music streaming to the 2008 nav unit? Can I fit a 2010+ unit and keep all the mmcs controls?

 

I am unsure about that but I the 2008 and 2010 might be the same. Don't quote me on that.

 

Not a lot to glean from those specs. The only thing somewhat relevant is the output wattage but even that is misleading. Max watts do not equate to better sound. If anything continuous RMS wattage is the best indicator for loud, clean sound. But hard to tell from stock specs. You'll just have to try it. Since the nav package is more expensive, manufacturers often put the better stereos in those packages as incentive, so it's plausible it will sound better. I don't know the differences from the two so I can't help much. Just trying to help with some general information.

 

Oh okay that makes sense about the manufatures and you have helped me plenty and I appreciate that thank you and I will be letting you know how it goes but it won' be installed for a little bit yet. But I will let you know!