http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=332991 ill be getting it from halfords though as i am useless with car installations so itll cost me £149.99 instead. all i need is a relatively inexpensive bluetooth car radio handsfree thing to go in my old almera w-reg. the thing is that its either this or a no-name one from maplin for around £120, or just too much - ie sony bt5000 or the pioneer one. i need a bluetooth handsfree-type car radio, id love to have dab, but just cant justify spending so much more for it. your thoughts?
Personally I have found the Sony headunits to be (place negative word here). I would by a Kenwood or Alpine unit, though they come at a hefty premium. Have you tried searching online for reviews.
I've got a Sony headunit in my car and it's not much cop really. Depends how good you want it to sound to be honest, that's a good set of features for the money I think (haven't really looked recently though).
thats the thing, not seen any real reviews that tell me the things i need to know. i still cant tell if the face comes off it.
Had a Sony head unit in my dad's old people carrier and it was fine. Was using the standard speakers though so any poor sound quality from the head unit wouldn't have been noticeable through them. Haven't you got a mate or can't you do a bit of reading somewhere to fit the head unit rather than paying extortionate prices at halfrauds?
I would personally be inclined to say steer clear from the Sony HU's I've never found them to sound very nice, I myself prefer Alpine or Pioneer but it's what ever you are used to I guess. As to the installation, providing its a reasonably new car you can't go far wrong, you may need an ISO adaptor to change the wiring loom around but generally its pretty straight forward, remove old HU and cage, put new cage in, connect wires, put new HU into new cage.
Yeah definitely have a go at fitting it yourself. It's really easy and you can spend the extra money on a better head unit. Cheap Sony head units are generally pretty bad. Probably the last big-brand-name ones that I would go for.
Its an almera, so you might need a harness and fascia adaptor to get it to fit, nissan do some strange things with stereos and installation, but it is sony and therefore pony, never ever let halfords install a stereo, if it don't plug straight in they generally balls it up, try one of the local independent car audio shops you'll get a better level of service
i have got a little hole in the front dash thing at the bottom that looks the right size to fit a stereo in it. i also have the built-in radio too, but at the bottom there is a hole with a black piece of plastic in it. i think that is where it goes. if it is as people say so, ill go get a pioneer (DH55?) or something similar. but i dont want to spend more than £200 (including the ISO cable).
Have a listen to it in the shop and compare it to some others - you'll never be able to make a proper decision based on other people's opinions alone. The cheaper sub £80 Sony HU's seem to be inferior to some of the comparably priced products, but beyond that they seem fine - infact I prefer my Sony GT500 to my Alpine CDA-9856R. Using any aftermarket HU with standard speakers is never going to sound great - think about upgrading your speakers too and you'll soon appreciate the improvement over the OEM unit. (get a separate amp for the speakers and you're laughing )
thanks for the advice but this all seems to be going out of hand. all i wanted was a radio (preferably DAB, but i know this isnt going to happen), cd whatever with good bluetooth functionality. upgrading HUs myself and then changing speakers and then adding amps etc just seems to me to be overkill - i like classical music and death metal like anyone else, but i dont tend to use the car for the sole purpose of listening to said music (i like to concentrate on the road - had a few near misses with high-tempo music loud!). thanks for all your input though, im going to go into a store and take a good look at these things and then decide whatever. will probably goto bassjunkies too as there are a few locally.
the radio goes where the funny shaped Nissan radio is, that gets removed, a fascia plate put in , harness adaptor connected and then the radio inserted, the plastic panel you have where you want to put it will have no wiring or aerial connections behind it, they're all plugged into the Nissan radio. Modern cars can be a nightmare to fit stuff into, if you're feeling brave give it ago, if you're frightened of breaking it, let the pro's have a go they do it all day as do I
If its a cd player your after could allway try the likes of ebay for the right one to fit your car we got one for our senic like that otherwise would have cost summet in the area of £300 minuimum, as my dad wanted to keep the control stork and display work which in them selfs need £50 adptors plus an compatible stero plus facial.
