To be honest, if I was buying a year or so ago I would have to go with the 3000 because the 5000 just didn’t have that many more features over the 3000 to justify the price. But the newer models of these head units nowadays (the 3200 and the 5600) I just bought the 5600. They made the difference between the units much larger by adding an hdmi port to the 5600, extending the warranty of the 5600 to 3 years over 1 year with the 3200, the 5600 had 5 Volt pre-outs vs 2 volt pre outs on the 3200 (resulting in better sound), all while having those same original differences in the 2 USB ports vs. 1, the capacitive touch screen vs. resistive, and the slightly faster response time, load up time, and slightly less glare, slightly better resolution all for only $100 more than the 3200. Both the 3200 and the 5600 upgraded to both having WebLink and SiriusXm. But the biggest difference between the 5600 and the 3200 for me personally is that capacitive touch screen and hdmi input. If I ever plan to add an aftermarket amplifier to my system, that 5 Volt Pre-Outs on the 5600 will come in handy as well.
I found this video at the perfect time. I am having an XAV-AX5500 installed in my Toyota Highlander today at a local independent audio shop here in the States. I am guessing it is an updated version of the AX5000. I could have gotten an XAV-AX3000 cheaper at Best Buy but since it was not in stock and would have taken several days to arrive and I liked the screen on the 5500 much better I decided to spend the extra money. I know I'm going to enjoy Apple Car Play which I have never had before. Thank you for this video. It definitely helped me to make up my mind.
Great….. been looking for this exact review. Had a tough time figuring out the difference between the units. But I’m going for the 5000 because of the screen
Thanks guys! I was able to pick up a 5000 for only AUD30 more than the cheapest 3000, so I think I got a good deal! Wouldn't have done it without your video :-)
I guess a good comparison would be between the Sony AX 3000 and the Pioneer DA160, that one has a smaller screen but it's capacitive, and adds an AUX input that can be useful if you like using an iPod or something, for around the same price. But the Sony looks better, IMO.
Both were a significant improvement over factory, but beyond that it was hard to tell them apart as they were in separate vehicles powering different speakers unforunately.
I have a Blaupunkt stereo which is pretty antiquated looking. But it does not take 7 minutes for it to turn on after the car starts. I would say about 3 minutes maybe. That means, I can get to my office before the 3000 turns on.
Thanks for the review guys!! Decided to purchase one of these (still unsure which 😅) for my bt50, same shape interior as the ranger. How did you go with finding the surround for the ranger? Did the head unit come with a generic surround?
No worries at all! The unit didn't come with a surround unfortunately, although I've heard others have bought the same unit and it did come with one so perhaps mine was the odd one. I ended up having to buy a new fascia with the infill panal built in to fill the gap which is seamless now. Here's the one I bought: www.ebay.com.au/itm/274360946081
@@explorebound thank you! That’s bizarre, they usually did I thought, but obviously watched your install video and followed that yours didn’t come with one… did the 5000 come with a surround?
Good review but you should have also commented on the sound quality comparative to the head unit that was in each vehicle. Is the sound crisper? Louder?
Tough to compare the units in this area as both cars have different speakers unfortunately, however both were a significant upgrade over factory though, not so much for volume but definitely for clarity and sound quality.
@@explorebound yeah, not compared against each other. But in terms of how the sound quality changed in each vehicle compared to what it was with the old head unit.
I have seen some info somewhere about a way to bridge any device to make it work with CarPlay or AndroidAuto by some bridge app that allows you to use Netflix, RU-vid, anything from your phone, can you please make a video about that?
Bianca's reflection. 3:16. is better on the 5000, than your's to. haha. Anyways, just got the 3000. Hope It's good enough, screen wise. I did notice in the store, the screen looks a bit faded. Oh well. at least it's still very awesome in functionality and output etc. It's way way better than my 2008 standard VW Eos radio. Although the EOS radio styling was brilliant.
I recently purchase the AX3000. I have an issue I am having since I listen to all my music through youtube. When I play my music through Iphone it actually shows "Artist Name - Song name" but when I play my music from youtube it shows no description of the song or anything. Have you ever experience this or know the fix to this?
Hi, I don't listen to music through RU-vid but I will have a look this afternoon and see if I can figure anything out for you - I think perhaps the issue may lie with RU-vid not having the required meta info for the head unit to determine artist/track name. Have you seen any other stereos display artist/track info from RU-vid?
@@explorebound I havent seen any stereos display artist/track info from RU-vid. It only shows artist/track from apple music I have purchased from the past but it wont show any display from youtube. If you can take a look that would be awesome. Thank you man.
Hey mate what is it like to view the screen in direct sunlight or light i have an older Sony unit now and you can't read text when theres alot of light and UV and it annoys me a little
Hey man, do you know if the Sony XAV-AX3000 is compatible with a 2015 Holden Captiva 7 LTZ and can you recommend somewhere in Rockingham that is reasonably cheap that I can have the Sony XAV-AX3000 installed into my Captiva 7 LTZ? I would prefer to have it professionally installed instead of doing it myself because I'm not confident in doing it myself. Thanks.
Hi mate, any 2-din stereo like the AX-3000 should be compatible with your Captiva, it's just a matter of finding an appropriate fascia to enable this (perhaps something like this: www.ebay.com.au/itm/293504245718, just double check it suits your model first). As for installation, I haven't had any first hand experience as I usually do my own work, however there's an Alberts Car Stereo in Rockingham and they've been in the business for quite a while, worth a look I'd say! If you wanted to give the install a go yourself, I did make a full installation video of my AX-3000 🙂 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-inOrfnAzpMc.html
what do you think about the brightness of the ax5000? I have mine installed and I think it needs more brightness, also its kinda dark when I use reverse cam. I got it on max brightness jus so you know.
Hmm, we find the screen plenty bright enough - I wonder if perhaps there's a wiring issue with yours and it's dimmed to the "headlights on" mode? Does it dim further when you turn your headlights on or stay the same?
@@explorebound im not sure about the headlights on mode. I cant see thru the options here. As far as I know I turned off the dim mode to make it brighter but still too dim for me.
Headlight mode dims your stereo when the headlights are turned on, if this is wired incorrectly it will result in the screen being dimmed all the time (even when brightness is set to max). That would be my only suggestion to check - good luck!
I don't like that there's no AUX & also when I connect android auto it doesn't use USB for audio it will still turn on your phone Bluetooth for audio 😒 in case you didn't know AUX & USB is the best for audio quality
Hi G-FUNK, some actual feedback would be useful here as ‘they suck’ doesn’t provide any value for others deciding which to buy. Personally, I’ve had both pioneer and kenwood touch screen units in the past and found their screens quite unresponsive. Cheers.
@@outdoors5352 not true at all i run a car audio business i understand the prices, xavax3000 can be compared to a pioneer dmhz5350bt or a kenwood dmx8020s all 3 units have been sold under $500 in shops when on special and even retail price is $80 difference