Does anyone have a Stinger Heigh10?

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Not to talk shit, but this forum seems really dead, like days go by without a post, but anyway I'll see what happens with this, I'm considering swapping out the 8.4" in my 2019 Ram Classic single cab. The pros are a bigger screen, a Toslink out (I use a miniDSP 8x12DL, I can get rid of some RCA cables and my AudioControl lc2i pro, some extra info displayed that the stock radio doesn't. Cons are not quite as clean looking as the stock unit, the price for the whole kit, and having to rewire some stuff and do a reinstall physically.

I have an aftermarket wiring harness now that goes between the factory harness and the factory radio, because I wanted the radio to power the rear 6x9's even though they're pretty much shut off, and wanted to use the factory wiring for the door 6x9's to connect to my amp and I didn't want to cut the factory wiring. I don't know If I'll need to keep that harness, as I don't know how the Heigh10 harness is. So I may end up with a lot of wiring behind the dash. I could get rid of the harness if the Heigh10 allows the speaker outputs to by connected together, or routed elsewhere, and not a continuous harness that would need to be cut.

Anyway, I'm wondering if people like the Heigh10 overall, and if the Toslink out is cleaner than through the AudioControl LC2I pro. I'd assume so, but real world experience is better than how things "should" be. So thoughts, your experience with it.
 
i've got one. i use toslink as well into my dsp. carplay works well. siriusXM tuner works well. usb playback works well. glare management on the screen's good. the heigh10's plastics match my car's interior well. software's got enough options. takes about 20s to boot though. if i start the car and throw it into reverse, the backup camera seems to come up quickly/first.

but if you like the integration with the factory radio, might consider a PAC or navTV unit. you'll get toslink as well and probably save some money compared to the stinger unit.
 
My Morel teammate has one, but recently switched to a Kenwood. I asked him about it and he replied...

The software was kind of glitchy in mine... It has trouble playing certain high-res files and when using Android Auto it was very finicky at times.I feel like firmware changes can fix a lot of the issues I had. I just wasn't going to wait around for them to get those done. I still have mine I'm just not using it
Click to expand...
 
i don't find the value in high-res content, so i don't encounter that issue. the high-res content i do have, i play through carplay and it plays fine.

my dsp shows 48k/23b on toslink from this radio, so any high-res content will get downsampled. toslink generally doesn't do above 96k/24b anyway, so i could see some challenges with high-res.

the mishmash of incompatible standards and behavior of high-res equipment further destroys any other value i see in it. you know what they say though - if it ain't difficult to use, it ain't sound-quality. :)

maybe the high-res stuff will improve over time.

i haven't tried android auto.
 
48/24 is technically considered hi-res. 48/16 or less is not. I'd say almost no one could tell the difference from 48kHz at 24-bit from 96 or 192. I think 48/24 is a good high end to push for these days. Most people struggle identifying difference of 44/16 lossless over lossy 320mbps mp3 :)
 
Thanks for the inputs. I don't really have any true high res files, most of my music is FLAC, not 96k, because the files are too big, for little if any audible gain, and 320k MP3, so the Stinger unit wouldn't be a problem in this regard. I'd really be interested in the difference between it's Toslink out vs my AudioControl lc2i pro, although I don't have any hiss or other noises. The Heigh10 doesn't look bad in a Ram, but it's not as nicely integrated as it is in Chevy trucks and a few other vehicles, but the Ram dash doesn't allow it I guess.

My setup as of now:

Stock 8.4" headunit to lc2i pro
MiniDSP 8X12DL
Kicker Key 200.4 (just used as a straight 4 channel amp, no processing. I tried using the processing originally, but it just didn't quite cut it, and I needed a lot of sub eq so I got the miniDSP)
CDT CL69S in the doors and behind the front seats (the rear ones are powered off the headunit, but not really doing anything)
CDT Unity 8's in the dash
JL Audio ACS112LG-TW1 (powered sub with built in 400 watt amp)

I'm considering replacing the Kicker Key 200.4 with an AudioControl ACM 4.300 as that amp seems to be under rated by about half, even though the Kicker gets pretty loud, I wouldn't mind more power up front. The down side to a single cab truck is there isn't a low of room for equipment, and I want it to look as stock as possible, so I have to use mini amps, and as little equipment as I can get by with.
 
using a PAC unit or toslink from the heigh10 should probably clear up the sound a bit compared to the lc2i.

if your concern is getting toslink-out but you're otherwise happy with the factory radio, i'd look at getting the PAC unit. https://catalog.pac-audio.com/catalog/amppro-amplifier-interfaces/ap4-ch41-r2 and related modules

if you want a bigger screen and a newer toy but also get toslink-out? grab the heigh10.

the heigh10+ram kit seem like a pretty pricy set together to retain all the factory integrations and have an install which looks closer to factory. maybe you can get a good price on the PAC+Stinger stuff. https://catalog.pac-audio.com/catalog/radio-replacement/srk-ram13h

but if you're gonna pull it all apart to run toslink, i'd run a USB cable and spdif coax as well. saves you some heartache down the road when you want to change stuff up. maybe add some 4ch rca too. :)

(i do toslink from radio to 8ch dsp and analog/rca from radio to minidsp 2x4. having the wiring already there made some of the decisions easier down the road)
 
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seems to integrate w/ my dash pretty good though :)

IMG_1065.jpeg
 
Wow, that looks a lot better in that car than I would have thought. I would have expected it too look too big and out of place, but it doesn't. I'll probably just bite the bullet and get the Heigh10. It does have some cool features, for one the screen is big and looks nice, the toslink output, you can add cameras, it has some performance stuff, vehicle info pages, and without losing anything the stock radio has.

BTW, that's a pretty awesome speaker install you've got going on.
 
installs for different vehicles are all over the place. some installs stick out too far. some are offset too high or too low. some people don't even set the LED colors to match the factory lighting.

maybe AAMP will make a bowl mount for ram trucks, seems like there's space for it.

ensure you've got some pick/hook tools around, they'll help removing the screen if you need.
 
I would have preferred the Ram kit looked a little more like how they did it for the Jeep Wrangler, with like you described, more of a bowl mount, but it doesn't look too bad as it is. At least it looks centered and doesn't stick out all that far, not quite stock, but not too bad. I think I have some pick type tools somewhere in my tool box.
 
I've got the Heigh10, using the variable Toslink out to my C-DSP 8x12 DL. This is in a Wrangler. It looks fantastic, and integrates with all the factory controls seamlessly. I had issues during installation, which turned out to be a defective "Radio Pro Advanced" module from PAC. That really, really sucked to debug, but they were helpful in getting that debugged and getting me a new one.
 
nadams5755 said:
i don't find the value in high-res content, so i don't encounter that issue. the high-res content i do have, i play through carplay and it plays fine.

my dsp shows 48k/23b on toslink from this radio, so any high-res content will get downsampled. toslink generally doesn't do above 96k/24b anyway, so i could see some challenges with high-res.

the mishmash of incompatible standards and behavior of high-res equipment further destroys any other value i see in it. you know what they say though - if it ain't difficult to use, it ain't sound-quality. :)

maybe the high-res stuff will improve over time.

i haven't tried android auto.
Click to expand...
I know this post is a few months old but just now seeing it and laughing my ass off at the bolded part. Not knocking people who jump through hoops for sq gains that may or may not be audible but personally think it's a silly thing to worry about outside of a top tier sq build.
 
my usual list:
- if it's not hard to use, it's not sound-quality
- if there's no dash mat, it's not sound-quality
- if you're not laying down, it's not sound-quality
 
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