OEM Audio + Reference 300CF System installed in the iQ
 

I had the honor today of having the very first OEM Audio + Reference 300CF System installed in my iQ. Daniel and Richard from OEM Audio + met me at the FIVE:AD secret garage and installed the system.

To say that the stock audio system in the Scion iQ is lacking is more than an understatement. There is not a lot of room to add an audio system inside the iQ so I was overjoyed to have OEM Audio + use my iQ as the first to get the system installed.

Here is what the system consists of:

Two 1" Soft Dome Tweeters
Two 6.5" Carbon Fiber Cone Woofers
One 8" Carbon Fiber Subwoofer with enclosure
One Mulit-Channel 32-bit DSP Power Amplifier
One Quick Sync Wiring Harness

The speakers are installed in the stock locations and the amplifier is mounted under the dash behind the passenger side airbag. You can see the subwoofer enclosure mounted behind the rear seat but other than that the system is invisible.

The sound quality is nothing short of amazing. I had heard the system demonstration last year at the FVIE:AD open house event and knew right then they had something special. Even my wife was impressed and she is not easily impressed.

Along with the installation there is a CD included that really tests out the system. If you start the CD and close your eyes you would never guess you were sitting in that little car. The sound is big, really big and clean. Listening to all different types of music today gave me such a thrill, some rap, classical, vocals and even country sounded spectacular. If I sound like I'm gushing over this system, you will be too when you hear it.

If you see me at a show or event come over and I'll demonstrate it for you.

Here are some pictures of the system and installation...

Richard from OEM Audio + wiring the power.

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You can see the difference between the stock door speaker and the OEM Audio + 6.5" Carbon Fiber Cone Woofer. The bass that comes from the door now is deep and clean.

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Installing the door speakers in the stock location. No speaker rings needed, these are made to fit exactly the stock mounts in the door.

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Shows the difference between the wimpy little 1" tweeter from Scion and the beefy 1" soft dome tweeter from OEM Audio +. Super clean highs.

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The tweeter is installed in the stock location.

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The 32-bit DSP Power Amplifier is mounted beneath the dash and behind the passenger side air bag.

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The 8" Carbon Fiber Subwoofer Enclosure is specifically designed for the iQ's cabin and fits perfectly behind the rear seat. (removal of the storage bin is required)

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There is no way to explain how great this system sounds without hearing it in person.


Many thanks to OEM Audio + for the system and installation today at FIVE:AD. I'm in love with my sounds!

OEM Audio +

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shweet. I would personally ditch the rear seats all together and have a cool looking fiberglass box made, but I definitely appreciate how...well OEM... it looks. Super clean!

Wow, never even heard of this setup until now. How much was it? How does it sound?

It sounds amazing. The quality is like driving with headphones on. Price point is scheduled to be around 995 installed.

You can check out the system here:

http://oemaudioplus.com/audio-system...-scion-iQ.html

That looks great! If it sounds as good as it looks, I'm in as soon as it is available.

Price??
 

Seems inflation has hit this hard. Now $1399...damn. And $995 was a sweet spot.

Waste of money!!! For a fraction of what that cost, I put in a system that will blow it away. I was able to change out all the speakers, not just the front/tweeters, and the head unit for a much better than factory one and install a much more powerful amp and bigger subwoofer. OEM audio is just trying to market their products to people who don't know anything about stereo systems and trying to use ease of installation as their sales pitch. Don't waste your money on their stuff when you can get far more bang for your dollar!
Current setup:
Pioneer DVD head unit with apple app control
Pioneer components in the front
Pioneer 2 ways in the rear
Pioneer 12" sub in a slant box ( sealed)
Sound-stream 600 watt amp
Purchased it all for less than the OEM audio system, and I'll put it side by side with their system any day of the week, I guarantee the sound quality will be far more clear, and the bass will hit far harder then the diminutive subwoofer that comes in their kit. I give them an A for effort but when it comes to pricing out their product, they are way off and over pricing it something crazy!!!

I think it is unfair to bash a company and the product you haven’t tried or listened to extensively. Also, why put down consumers who are willing to pay more for easy install and stock/hidden looking system? Can you breakdown the cost of your components? Im sure your setup sounds great, but I’m sure the cost difference will not be that much factoring the tuning and getting all the components to work together. Oh, are they well "hidden" considering the limited space on the iq? Also for the record, I am just a happy owner and not connected with the company.

I know a little bit about stereo systems and my entire home only has components mostly not available in local chains and can hit concert levels. I love loud but clean and clear music and I found the oem audio plus to be the perfect system for my ride.

I listened to their system on many different occasions before deciding and tried as many settings as possible. The staff is very professional and helpful. The only initial issue I have is that my low bitrate tunes sound like low quality tunes and need to be ripped again to a higher rate or lossless format.

I am enjoying the system every time I drive for some time now. I don’t mean to repeat their slogans, but “clear,” “clean,” and “like a pair of great sounding headphones” are repeated a lot by people who listened to my system both casual and some by owners of aftermarket systems as well. The best way to sum it up is from my friend who heard it before informing him about the system that “it sounds clean, I hear everything clearly, and I know it is not cheap.” Yes, I agree the system is not cheap. But for me, everything from the product tuned specific to the car, the helpful staff behind the company and the factory look makes the entire thing worth the cost.

Anyone interested should at least be fair and just listen to their demo and make their own decision.

Rip off
 

I think it's perfectly fair to speak the truth about a company that's over charging for a product, and taking advantage of customers who don't know any better about what they are purchasing.
Many companies feed off uneducated consumers and sell them what they call a package and try to market it as tuned to the car, and a bunch of other fancy stuff.
My system is completely hidden, better yet than theirs even. If I don't tell someone it's in the car they would never know it was there.
As for a tuned system, that's a bunch of BS also.
Any system you put in a car, has to be tuned to the individual listeners preferences. Sure there's a certain pre set that most people will find acceptable and even be happy with, but a true audiophile will want to fine tune it to their personal likings.
Face it, you over payed for a system, because you where sold on what the company advertised and what pictures you saw online. I'm willing to bet anything if you sat in my IQ and heard my system that you would have a different opinion.
As for bashing a company, it's a free country and we enjoy the freedom of speech, I didn't simply bash their product, I gave an educated opinion backed by many years of knowledge working with car stereos.
If a product is overrated, or a company is overcharging I'm gonna tell it like it is. If somebody decided to over pay or gets insulted by me speaking the truth, then I'm sorry, but it is what it is!!

Here is a picture of an install I did on another friends IQ, after hearing my system he decided to fix his up a bit, I did a nearly identical install on mine as far as the amp placement goes. I placed the amp under the rear seats, to keep it completely hidden. The Box my friend choose was a slant box with a 10" pioneer subwoofer, I choose to use a 12" for a bit more bass. Also, I didn't mention, but I was able to sound proof my car and have enough material left over to soundproof my friends, while still staying under the cost of the OEM audio system another added benefit to doing the setup myself.
Installing my system was not much harder than installing theirs would be, I'd say if I replaced only the components that they replaced, it would be no harder then their system is to install.

Clean install
 

Here is my subwoofer enclosure just peeking out from under the back seats, carpeted to perfectly match the interior, when the seats are up, you can't even tell it's there, no gaps, just a glove like fit and a 12" subwoofer that can drop a bass note hard enough to rotate the rear view mirror or soft enough to compliment any song.

Not just a front speaker swap
 

I also changed the rear speakers for two ways with the same cone material that OEM audio uses, how are they going to sell a component kit and call it tuned, and leave the junk factory rear speakers in place? That's not quality in my book!!

i dont question your skills and experience and your system sounding great. but who are you to tell me i over paid, when i enjoy the system to this day and find it the best thing i spent on my ride? also, who are you to tell the folks who heard my system from casual to experienced installers and enthusiast wrong on what they think about my system? what is your beef with the company? overcharging? they made money off me and other happy customers? last time i checked, they are a business and have to make a profit.

another installer at a local shop heard my system recently. he's done work with me from alarms to ipod interface and other audio related work and he currently runs alpine system on his ride. he did not know oem audio plus and i did not tell him what i have. i simply asked him to listen to my system and let me know what he thinks. after a few mixed songs and cranking the system up, he concluded that it is a sweet and clear sounding system. he even asked what company made them, expecting a big brand i guess (somewhere along our conversation, he thinks pioneer is crap and stop using them long time ago). after i broke down the components and the msrp, he thought the system is priced well and he expected it to be more. he also explained that he can put together a similar system and considering everything, the cost will be close to the msrp on mine.

i got no problems with opinions, but i think there is a difference when you put down a company simply from not agreeing with them or having a different system. should i say you made a mistake and your system suck simply because im using xx brand?

Just to much money
 

Hello Shtrimp,

If you don't feel you over payed, and that my opinion is not a good one, then why do you care so much to justify yourself?

It's just my opinion, other readers can come to their own conclusion. As for bashing a company as your saying I am, call it what you want, as a consumer I feel that $1399 is outrageous for a 8" sub in a box, 2 single cone speakers, a small amp, and two tweeters. $1399 goes a long way, and in the hands of somebody who knows how to put together their own system it goes a long way!

As for trying to bash my pioneers, have at it man I'm not going to take it personal. A lot of people like to talk trash about pioneer, and that's ok with me. Pioneer has been making audio equipment for a long time, and I've used it and many other brand name equipment for a long time, for me their reputation has withstood the test of time, and bang for dollar you get a really good deal!

I'm not saying your system is trash, and maybe your misunderstanding that point, I'm simply saying the company is charging a high price for the amount of components in their kit, and their companies lack of name brand recognition. I'm sure a lot of people will have their opinion in either direction, and if you come on here and try and defend yourself every time someone thinks you over payed your gonna stress yourself out for no reason.
As for the installer saying that he broke down the components in the kit, and saying that he came up with a value close to what OEM audio is charging, I don't know what he was basing his calculations off of, but shop around at components and unless your pricing some serious top end stuff the components that come in that kit, just don't add up to the $1399 price tag. Back when they started they where pricing it around $900 which was still high for the amount of components in their kit, but if they where able to initially sell it at that price their cost was below that value, so raising it to the $1399 mark just shows they are trying to multiply their profit quite a bit! As for them being a business and having to make a profit, that's completely understood, but there comes a point at which a price is just not realistic, and if consumers like yourself choose to pay it, then so be it, but don't get all defensive just because someone feels the company is being abusive, you said it yourself you choose to pay that price, and your happy with the product you purchased.

P.S. If you want to try and start bashing pioneer, you might as well start pulling your head unit out of your car, because it's made by pioneer, and even the best speakers in the world aren't going to sound great, if the signal they are getting from the head unit is not a good signal.

the pioneer was a comment by the other person. for us less experienced and average owners when it comes to building a great system, the actual skill and effort which is probably free for you can cost quite a bit for us. this is how i justify the extra cost of the system.

i think i shared my opinion as an owner and in response to yours which i find strong that i felt like responding to and we can leave it that way and move on.

Agreed. .. $1399 seems high for what you get. I will say, it does sound amazing but that price is way unaffordable I MO