Any recommendations for a new headunit?

[Ben S]

Looking to upgrade my headunit in a 197. Anyone got any particular models they would recommend? Don't trust the guy in the audio shop not to rip me off.
Thanks all and have a happy new year!

 

[marky-f1]

Most audio shops will rip you off online is ur best bet, I love alpine myself

 

[Gary pa28]

Most audio shops will rip you off online is ur best bet, I love alpine myself

+ 1 just had alpine fitted in mine second alpine I've had :thumbup:

 

[andyrob92]

made up with mine, a lot less than the alpines. paid £450. pioneer 6300BT (bluetooth model) quality with iPhones and iPods.

 

[Cam]

I have had a Alpine CDE 9880-R, its not the flashiest model, has CD, MP3 via usb, proper ipod connection, MW FM and LW very reliable had a sub connected to it for best part of 18 months.

Never had any problems. Makes using an ipod via head unit so easy, both usb and ipod are taken from rear of head unit so u can hide them in glove box. Also if needed has bluetooth but that's around £100 and is an extra, in my opinion your better off buying a £20 jabra unit and that does the same job for much less.

From what I have seen/heard Alpine are generally very reliable and are slightly more expensive than other competitors but are slightly better quality.

 

[mitch78]

If you can find one, I'd go for a Becker Grand Prix. They look much more OEM than the Japanese stuff (so less likely to be noticed and nicked) and the sound quality is absolutely fantastic. Better than any of the Alpine or Pioneer stuff I've had, but pricey (and hard to find now they've not got a UK distributor).

 

[Ben S]

Cheers for all the advice guys! I've been recommended Alpine by a few other people as well. Anyone know anything about the IDA-X305S? Looks like its quite good with iPod etc. is it easy to replace the unit yourself cos I know it's all under the seat and trying to fit anything before was a nightmare!

 

[RalphyBMW]

If yours is under the seat then it will be more complicated. The wiring for the power and speakers is also behind the dash, so that isn't a prob, but you will either need to extend or reroute the wiring for the display, aerial and steering wheel controls.

Also, the Cabasse stereo has a different display, so if you were hoping to get a display adaptor this may complicate matters.

What are you hoping to achieve with the new head unit? If it is just iPod control and Bluetooth, you might instead consider the Parrot Mki9200.

 

[smiler]

If yours is under the seat then it will be more complicated. The wiring for the power and speakers is also behind the dash, so that isn't a prob, but you will either need to extend or reroute the wiring for the display, aerial and steering wheel controls.

Also, the Cabasse stereo has a different display, so if you were hoping to get a display adaptor this may complicate matters.

What are you hoping to achieve with the new head unit? If it is just iPod control and Bluetooth, you might instead consider the Parrot Mki9200.

i didnt realise they display was also different, in terms of complications getting an adaptor to get it working how bad??

 

[RalphyBMW]

I don't honestly know, I didn't look into it that far, but it is something to consider.

 

[Ben S]

If yours is under the seat then it will be more complicated. The wiring for the power and speakers is also behind the dash, so that isn't a prob, but you will either need to extend or reroute the wiring for the display, aerial and steering wheel controls.

Also, the Cabasse stereo has a different display, so if you were hoping to get a display adaptor this may complicate matters.

What are you hoping to achieve with the new head unit? If it is just iPod control and Bluetooth, you might instead consider the Parrot Mki9200.

I've got the Parrott which I think is really good for Bluetooth etc and I'm happy with that I'm just trying to get better audio quality and power for the system.

 

[RalphyBMW]

Fair enough, you probably do need to go for a better HU then.

 

[Surrey-Paul]

Cheers for all the advice guys! I've been recommended Alpine by a few other people as well. Anyone know anything about the IDA-X305S? Looks like its quite good with iPod etc. is it easy to replace the unit yourself cos I know it's all under the seat and trying to fit anything before was a nightmare!

Use this unit myself, but with optional HU power (9"x3"x2" foot print, mounted mine under dash) amp they do. The amp makes Massive improvement to sound quality + HU sounds best when you run components with separate sub. As I found running this without sub the sound was muddled but when you activate sub output you can then tweek mid/high pass filters on it and quality is very good with after market speakers.