Just installed a whole new stereo system in my truck. Heres a list of the components:

Kenwood DDX-7015 Double-DIN DVD Receiver
Kenwood KTC-SR902 Sirius Sat. Tuner
Kenwood KHD-C710 Music Keg
Infinity 50.5cs Kappa Series 5.25" Components (front)
Infinity 572.5cf Kappa Series 5X7 two-ways (rear)
Rockford Fozgate 551X 70 watt 4 channel Amp

Installed it all myself, took about two days but well worth the work. It sounds great and looks clean. Coulnt find a sub setup I was happy with so Ill probably end up building my own box, like others have done. There are pictures in my gallery, let me know what you think.

 

Very sweet setup. My only advice, go for the NAV system as well. I had a very similar system installed this past weekend and absolutely love it - I've already had several complements on it...This is how the F-150 was intended to be outfitted!

I bought my truck with the audiophile system so I already had decent speakers and a sub and opted not to replace them at this time...I gotta pay for these goodies first.

My components:
Kenwood DDX-7015 Double-DIN DVD receiver with 6.5" touch screen
Kenwood KNA-DV3100 DVD NAV system
Kenwood KNA-VC300 NAV system voice recognition mic (so I can talk to my truck)
Kenwood KTC-SR902 Sirius satellite tuner
Kenwood KDS-P901 Dolby DTS surround sound processor
Kenwood KHD-C710 Music Keg
Kenwood KTC-V500N TV tuner
SWIX I/R steering wheel control transmitter (I couldn't part with the controls

Of course all of the features are enabled to work while I'm driving because what fun would it be if you could only use them if you are parked!

I have a few pics in my gallery.

 

i am looking at the same unit, how much did it cost ya??

 

I love that receiver but have questions as to the legality of it. Twellman posted that he has it all set up so that he can use all of it while he is driving. That's what I'd like to do but is it legal? I'd also hate to spend that kind of money and not be able to use it while driving. I understand it's a dangerous distraction, bla, bla, bla.

Also, is there any similar model head unit that has a detachable face?

Thanks.

 

I have the audiophile also, how does the system sound with the stock audiophile speakers?? or should I just have the new speakers put in at the same time as the rest of the system?? Would it be worth the money??

 

benglue22,

What Twellman did was to bypass the parking brake switch wiring to make it work while driving. In my area it is against the law to drive with a monitor operating within the drivers view. I hooked mine up per the instructions so the Video/DVD will only play movies while the parking brake is applied.

 

Installed, it cost me just under $4000...so basically, get your wife to approve $4k of upgrades. I'm probably going to add the 5.1 center channel speaker yet and call it a day.

The only things I didn't get are the CD changer (with the Keg, it's not needed) and the reverse camera. The camera would probably be overkill since I've got the reverse sensors.

If you want the Keg, go find a Best Buy that still has them. They've been selling the 10 gig unit out for $199 because they aren't going to carry them any longer. I did some research on PhatNoise.com forums and found that the 10 gig and 20 gig are basically the same unit. There were are couple new chips but no new functionality. You can buy larger DMS cartridges from them to get more storage.

I'm not aware of any units that have a detachable face...which sucks because it's a bigger target for theft...but I guess that's why I've got insurance on my truck...I just hope they don't trash the inside too badly if someone tries to steal the unit.

As far as the legality goes...it's not legal, but neither is speeding...If you were worried about proving that it didn't work in the event that you got pulled over, you could hook a "kill switch" up that would toggle the modes. One nice thing about the F-150 is that it's got a very high stance and hard to see in from the back...it's even harder if you've got a tonneau cover on the back because it raises your truck stance a couple inches.

I like the audio quality coming from the unit and don't plan to replace them. If you already purchased the Audiophile system, you've got "upgraded" speakers so you should have better sound than a non-audiophile system. You can always upgrade your speakers later if you'd like, but I think you'll be really happy with the sound out of them - I am.

Currently I have a "pop" when the sub gets powered on...My installer had to get a different connector to interface with the sub amp. He said it pops because it's getting a power on signal that's greater than 5.0 amps. He's got the new connector, I just need to get back to him to have it hooked up. If that doesn't solve the problem I'll need to replace that amp with another one, but that should only cost about $100.

The only thing I haven't figured out yet is how to control the bass...I'm not that techy when it comes to audio systems so I don't understand all the various settings to tune the sound...I haven't found a simple bass or treble slider in the system.

The only complaint I have is about the user interface of the head unit. The graphics are rather ugly...They either had an intern working on it or they rushed it to market. The graphical interface on the NAV system is top notch and really sweet...I wish they would have done the same thing on the head unit...

 

Took at look at the gallery and it looked very nice. I had an Infiniti FX35, traded it for my F150, and it has a built in nav system that i got totally spoiled with.

I have been going back and forth between the ones that pop up and hide versus this unit. What pushed you over the edge. Some of those, escpecially the Alpine have a great UI on them. That is one of my issues. But I guess mainly the Nav is on all the time anyway.

Decisions, decisions.

Also where did you get the dash kit for this to fit?

 

I didn't want one of the single DIN units where the screen pops out and flips up even though you can get a bigger screen because I felt that it looked "cheap". I personally think it's cooler to have the "built in" look as much as possible and it seemed silly not to go that route when I had room for the double-DIN unit.

I looked at the Eclipse and Clarion unit but couldn't get a nice complete package that had good support for both NAV and a MP3 keg type device (ie a hard drive). The TV and satellite radio were just nice extras I added just because I could.

The install shop I used got the dash kit...there is a company that has been making them for the 04 Ford's for a few months now...they make both a single and double version. I don't know the name of it but if you bug a few shops someone will know.

You're right, Nav is always on anyway so it's not that big of a deal and you do get used to the basic UI of the head unit...I just wish they would have done a little better job on it. Maybe Kenwood will offer some sort of an upgrade. It would be really cool if you could download a file, burn a DVD and have it upgrade your unit....but I'm sure that's not possible.

 

For anyone considering Satellite radio, you might want to look at XM.
Many new cars come with it... it looks like it will be around when Sirius goes under. I have XM..duh!

Just my 2 cents

 

I've heard that XM stock is doing great while Sirius' stock is in the toilet. Something to think about.

 

Even if Sirius goes under I am betting that XM will find a way to support the differences in the standard so they can pickup all those additional subscribers.

Albeit that is one of my worries, i.e. who will win. Seeing as they actually support less text display with each station ( 16 charactes versus 32 for Sirius ). I would think they could find a way to work across both networks.

But who knows.

 

This looks exactly like what I want to do. Where did you get the dash kit from?

Where did you install the amp and the keg? I couldn't tell from the picture.

How hard was it putting in the rear spearkers?

What kind of satellite antenna did you get and where did you wire it through?

Sorry for all the questions but it will help all of us who would like to do this ourselves.

 

I have a Screw so I had a few options for hardware locations:

The Nav system is installed under my passenger seat.

Keg is installed behind the rear seat. I wanted it under the drivers seat but the unit was too tall and would interfere with the power seat mechanism. Since I wanted easy access to the keg without yanking my rear seat out so I could pop the cartridge out I had it mounted such that I was able to take the seam apart in the backliner of the fold down arm rest.

The Sirius antenna is mounted on the roof of the truck - it's a Kenwood. They ran the wire out of the top of the brake light. The Sirius receiver is mounted behind the back seat.

The DSP, TV Tuner and other hardware are mounted behind the dash in the center...there's a lot of room there for all sorts of toys.

I didn't replace any speakers...since I originally had an audiophile system I was happy with the sound quality and didn't want to spend more money on the system...I can always replace the speakers later.

I don't know the name of the dash kit...talk to a few installers they should be able to tell you who makes it.

 

I don't blame you for not changing your speakers. I have the Audiophile and the Boston Accoustic speakers are superb.