Hi all,

Firstly, I apologize if this has been covered many times. I did a search and found older posts or not directly covering my questions or my may have missed the posts altogether. Is there a sticky somewhere for aftermarket audio replacement?

Anyway, I am doing a mild upgrade to my PCM 2.1? head unit. Currently, I have replaced the unit with:

- Pioneer AVIC-W8500NEX (seems to work fine)
- Scosche LPPE15 harness kit (steering wheel control's mute doesn't work and the Man button does nothing also; it also does not provide retained access power).
- Metra 99-9604b Dash Kit...fits fine.
- Metra 40-EU10 Fakra antenna adapter (not sure if I should get the dual Fakra ones).

1) I'm wondering if others have tried/recommend any other smart harness brands? I found Metra / Axxess Interface AX-PO90032 but they claim it's not for my year (up to 2007). They suggest the AX-PO90042. The difference that I see are the connectors. The former has the 16 & 20 pin ISO harness and the latter provides the 40-pin Fakra connector. My OEM head unit is the 16 & 20 even though mine is an early model 2008. I use that from the Scosche kit also (as mentioned it does not have R.A.P.S. so it powers off the deck when I turn off the motor).

2) I plan to replace the speakers first. Are the speakers just straight replacement or are they actively crossed-over? And does any have fitment specs (depth and diam)? I see online searches list 6.5" as well as 5.25". The front woofer looks like a very shallow mount too.

Thanks again in advance.

Regards,
Hedwig