1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Motors Car radio.. which one?

Discussion in 'General' started by Buzzons, 12 Jul 2006.

  1. Buzzons

    Buzzons Minimodder

    Joined:
    21 Jul 2005
    Posts:
    3,069
    Likes Received:
    41
    Just managed to get a car (yay) but it has a poor radio in it, I am just wondering what you all would recommend for a basic radio / CD (has to play MP3s) head unit, does not have to be amazing, just work and sound ok. (not an audiophile :p).

    I was recommended Alpine, but open to other ideas.
     
  2. Mr.ME

    Mr.ME Minimodder

    Joined:
    22 Jan 2006
    Posts:
    292
    Likes Received:
    86
    alpine is pretty expensive but verry good :D
    had a sony first (xplode series) verry hapy with it but someone stole it a while back :'(
    now a kenwood, still happy with it, but the quality of the sony was better, kenwood feels kinda cheep
     
  3. Buzzons

    Buzzons Minimodder

    Joined:
    21 Jul 2005
    Posts:
    3,069
    Likes Received:
    41
    thanks :) i shall now search eBay for some kit, next I need to get some better speakers... Ah well that will be another thread soon :p
     
  4. chemo

    chemo True Jungle Brother

    Joined:
    20 Feb 2005
    Posts:
    3,581
    Likes Received:
    22
    kenwood gets my vote as ive had loads of them and soony are pretty good too :)
     
  5. samuelellis

    samuelellis What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    19 Apr 2002
    Posts:
    4,633
    Likes Received:
    0
    stay away from anything with the sony brand in car audio

    i had a blaupunkt in my dash for a while - only reaosn i swapped it was for a becker nav and apart from lcak of ipod support (I have a drive & play for that) i cant fault it
     
  6. Buzzons

    Buzzons Minimodder

    Joined:
    21 Jul 2005
    Posts:
    3,069
    Likes Received:
    41
    well it doesnt have to be at all expensive or good -- just make sounds lol -- its goin in a nova :p (it was free before you complain :p)
     
  7. Xen0phobiak

    Xen0phobiak SMEGHEADS!

    Joined:
    8 Aug 2002
    Posts:
    3,847
    Likes Received:
    18
    I stuck one of these in my nova last week, along with some 2 way 6x9 xplods. I'm fairly happy but i'll be replacing the dash speakers and their cabling soon, and I'm considering a small sub. The head unit seems great for <£100 delivered though.

    When you fit whatever head unit you deiced to, the plug in the dash will be an ISO one, but you'll need to swap the lives over (vaux swap over the switched and perma lives), the harness that came with my sony allowed me to swap them over easy as pie, but I had to take the glovebox out to get my hand around the back when I was fitting it to pull the cables out of the way (mark 1 dash). The glovebox went straight back in afterwards.

    Make sure you replace the standard speakers and cabling, even if you only use cheap(ish) ones, and I think most of the wiring to the rear of a nova goes under the sill by the passenger side door(but I was lazy and ran my new cable that side anyway).
     
  8. iddqd

    iddqd Minimodder

    Joined:
    6 Feb 2006
    Posts:
    371
    Likes Received:
    0
    Sony car audio is good, it's not NEARLY as bad as it used to be. Alpine, JVC, and Blaupunkt are the higher end. If you have stock speakers, you can look for lower-output setups though, 45Wx4 is probably an excess considering the car :p
     
  9. samuelellis

    samuelellis What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    19 Apr 2002
    Posts:
    4,633
    Likes Received:
    0
    no sony really are not good - not in the slightest, sony honestly should not even sell car audio - for the size of the company the R&D they put into car audio is a joke to put it simply, everything is built down to a budget and tbh sounds crap - a cheap 80 quid jvc deck will wee all over a sony - same with speakers

    the only sony that would go near my car is the old sony c90 without the built in amplifier


    and i hate to say this but there is no way in hell ANY headunit will do 4X45 watts - you will be lucky to get 10watts if that

    i wouldent class blau as high end there midrange - my old one was high end but that was a good 9ish years old i think (motorisation still works perfectly)
     
  10. Buzzons

    Buzzons Minimodder

    Joined:
    21 Jul 2005
    Posts:
    3,069
    Likes Received:
    41
    Last edited: 13 Jul 2006
  11. Buzzons

    Buzzons Minimodder

    Joined:
    21 Jul 2005
    Posts:
    3,069
    Likes Received:
    41
    Seeing as the CDE range doesnt seem to have the AiNet , how about the Alpine CDA 9831R?
     
  12. Ab$olut

    Ab$olut What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    22 Dec 2004
    Posts:
    590
    Likes Received:
    1
    stay away from kenwood

    Order i'd get audio in

    Alpine
    Pioneer
    Sony
    JVC
     
  13. iddqd

    iddqd Minimodder

    Joined:
    6 Feb 2006
    Posts:
    371
    Likes Received:
    0
    *AHEM* Kenwood, and for under $100. So Blaupunkt isn't high end, but yours was, and it was 9 years old? :confused:
     
  14. ufk

    ufk Licenced Fool

    Joined:
    3 Jan 2004
    Posts:
    760
    Likes Received:
    10
    definitley stay away from sony..cheap amps and crappy laser eyes are their stock in trade

    alpine is definitley a better bet and the prices for them have come down a lot so they are definitley affordable
     
  15. samuelellis

    samuelellis What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    19 Apr 2002
    Posts:
    4,633
    Likes Received:
    0
    trust me when i say this

    take any 4ch amplifier - open it up - look at how packed and crouded it is in there with large transfoerms etc

    now look at the amplifier stage on the headunit

    there is no way in hell that headunit will give you 45watts RMS - not at all, i very very very much doubt you will get more than 12ish watts RMS but even then it will sound shite

    yes blaupunkt are mid-range IMO - lovely units, they used to be high end, mine was a really old blau i bought 2nd hand but now blau have moved to the midrage to mid-high end units - still cracking units but no exactly the top of the range
     
  16. SteveyG

    SteveyG Electromodder

    Joined:
    23 Nov 2002
    Posts:
    3,049
    Likes Received:
    8
    You can get 45W RMS from a headunit without the need for any step-up circuitry without any distortion or sounding "shite". Above about 65W you'll need step up circuitry like you'll find in a separate amplifier.

    I did some measurements with my Sony headunit - fed in various waveforms and got undistorted outputs while the equaliser was set to flat. Managed 35W fine, and clipped at around 47W... :confused:

    The amp in my Sony it is the same one as my girlfriend's £140 Alpine :yawn: .
     
    Last edited: 14 Jul 2006
  17. samuelellis

    samuelellis What's a Dremel?

    Joined:
    19 Apr 2002
    Posts:
    4,633
    Likes Received:
    0
    i will honestly say i ahve yet to find a headunit that has any sort of half decent amplifier and there is no way in hell i can see you will get anything more than 15ish watts

    i have yet to come across a headunit that does not distort the speaker output toe buggery
     
  18. micb

    micb Minimodder

    Joined:
    4 Sep 2002
    Posts:
    1,949
    Likes Received:
    2
    Sam is right 35 real watt form a headunit in your dreams! They are weak as hell. More like 9-15 WRMS if you are lucky.

    Have a look on ebay there were some great JVC deals to be had out there.
     
  19. Freedom

    Freedom Minimodder

    Joined:
    27 Oct 2004
    Posts:
    810
    Likes Received:
    16
    Not much help but they do that on absultely every peice of buget audio eqipment like cheapeo home hifi they never do what they stated, my freind had a explode sony unit didnt seem to bad to me, but i anit no expert
     
  20. Pookeyhead

    Pookeyhead It's big, and it's clever.

    Joined:
    30 Jan 2004
    Posts:
    10,961
    Likes Received:
    561
Tags:

Share This Page