Phoenix Tesla Radio Review

Just finished installing. No instructions. Fortunately I’ve a done stereo install in my truck before.

No apparent 12v remote power for my sub amp. I checked all three wire leads. Two give 3V and the other is 9V. Not enought to turn my amp on.

Audio is a complete joke. You’ve never heard anything this bad in your life, except for those old dry rotted cabinet speakers you hooked up to you grampa’s 1962 stereo. It’s not that bad. It’s worse. I can’t even fully describe how terrible the audio is. Maybe mine is defective lol.

I’m gonna try to do a return. I almost hope they give me a hard time so I can just do a chargeback. What a complete joke and waste of time.

 

https://www.adcmobile.com/product/2014-2020-toyota-tundra-gen-4-t-style-radio/
checkthis one

 

Do you own this one?

 

not yet

i want it but its going to cost me 500 more to get it in the netherlands so thats almost 1600 for a radio
and this wil be my xmas present this year

 

I've had my tesla style radio for about two years now, the sound is way better than the stock HU so you must have gotten a lemon. I've added an amp and all new speakers and nothing from the factory sounds this good. Sounds like you've had bad luck with yours. I'd try to return it. There's also a FB group that can answer any questions with install and/or problems.

 

I've also had this radio for a good while now and like it very much. I will say that it is not "out of the box" plug and play and does take some settings and configuration adjustments to get it dialed in. But once dialed in, it is nice.

There is a facebook group dedicated to this radio for the tundra. It's a very active group and work directly with Phoenix with changes and design of the upcoming version. It also has good tips, tricks and links to items such as adapters to plug into factory GPS antenna and such.

 

Check out Alibaba. These are all probably the same units across different rebrands. Maybe Phoenix is doing something on the software side but I doubt it because it ships direct from China. Return process with Phoenix has so far been painless. I got my shipping label with no questions asked. My unit was probably defective because the audio was so bad. I’m not going to risk my time and effort waiting another 6 weeks for a product with no apparent quality control.

i might go back to a Kenwood DMX1057XR. It looks stupid but it worked awesome when I had it.

i cant get back into the FB group. For some reason my request to join is not being approved. Maybe just a coincidence that every post in the group is very positive, as I recall.

 

Just sell it $50 less than you paid. I sold mine in a day I think. Went with kenwood

 

Sell a piece of garbage to someone else? Or I could put this return label on it and send it back...

 

Well if it’s clearly broken then no. A lot of people like the units. I did not.

 

I doubt that it was broken. If I remember correctly, it required an “amp” setting to be turned on for proper sound. Without this setting on, it sounds like trash.

Their problem is that they make this for over 100 vehicle models with all different settings. The internals and software is universal and requires adjustment after install for proper working order to match each vehicle model. The problem is they provide zero documentation to guide one through the process. It took users to figure it out and guide everyone else through the process. A couple of years ago there was a 1000+ post thread here with all these tips and tricks. The Facebook group is very active helping all along and also helping to design the next generation. As I said before, once you put the effort into it, it sounds quite nice and functions well.

 

Seeing that I didn't have an amp at all when I initially installed this year's ago would mean no... you didn't need an amp setting. I have since added an amp and box and speakers and it only gets better and better. Like someone previously posted... if you want something that's set up out of the box that you don't have to do a thing to... then this isn't the HU for you. But like everything else that I've put on my truck and spent hours tweaking.... this was exactly the same process for me.

 

I completely agree. This unit is not for instant out of the box satisfaction. Anyone looking for that is in for a heart attach. I actually enjoyed putting the time in to dial this thing in. Everything works perfectly and has for quite some time. The Waze navigation is great and the kids really enjoyed the Cookie Monster voice when they had it.

 

I'm on that FB group. They are releasing a new version. 13" screen, better internals, and what appears to be a brushed finish similar to the stock HU's. I'm gonna let some folks be the guinea pigs like last time, but if its g2g, I will definitely be buying it!

 

I just installed the Kenwood DMX1057XR,
and it’s such a huge difference in any head unit I’ve ever had. I listen to Hi-Res music from Tidal and am picky about music quality, and have been using an Audioquest Cobalt dac through the aux, but it’s inconvenient and I was wanting CarPlay, and this gets me about as close to my home audio quality that I’ve been looking for. I also have a JL VXI amp and use the DSP on it to make it sound even better.
I was concerned about the massive size of it, but I think it looks really good and have it sitting back enough where it doesn’t look obnoxious. I really recommend it and there’s really no competition in specs with this double din.
The 5 volt output is clean and can go loud without straining the amp.

 

There is a whole thread this radio here on this link https://www.tundras.com/threads/android-headunit.16037/page-92#post-2062123
I am sure you'll find your issues alike and solutions there.