Headunits

[Hobnobs]

I'm looking to get a new head unit for my car, and need a bit of advice as im pretty clueless about this sort of thing.

All i really want is something that will sound nice, look good and have a wire so i can easily plug my ipod into it.

I've looked on amazon and seen a few nice looking Sony ones, including this which does exactly what i want, but is it worth £110?

I also saw this which also looks good and has good reviews, but what would i need to connect my ipod to it?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Phil.

[Broomer]

i know nothing about stereos etc, but i will be getting this hereits got an aux cable for my mp3 and its fairly cheap. sound quality should be good.

Edited December 15, 2007 by Broomer

[Danny]

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/ipod-frien...t=5a&page=1 - Is a good start

[Hobnobs]

So is it just that front aux in thing that is needed to plug an i pod in? What cable do you need for that?

Edit: Cheers danny, i did assume amazon wouldnt be the best place to look, but was too lazy to google for something better

Edited December 15, 2007 by Hobnobs

[Broomer]

So is it just that front aux in thing that is needed to plug an i pod in? What cable do you need for that?

Edit: Cheers danny, i did assume amazon wouldnt be the best place to look, but was too lazy to google for something better

think it just comes withe he cable with the jacks on each end. only disadvantage is that you have to choose songs from the mp3, where as in robins golf, he has the sony head unit with the usb input as well as the aux in, so he controls what song he wants off the head unit, and keeps the mp3 in the glove box (he doesn't keep in the glove box while the cars locked up by the way)

[MadManMike]

think it just comes withe he cable with the jacks on each end. only disadvantage is that you have to choose songs from the mp3, where as in robins golf, he has the sony head unit with the usb input as well as the aux in, so he controls what song he wants off the head unit, and keeps the mp3 in the glove box (he doesn't keep in the glove box while the cars locked up by the way)

Is that an advantage though?

I've used one where you control the iPod on the headunit and frankly I found it annoying. I'd rather do it on the 'pod myself. They're probably cheaper with just Aux in too, you pay a premium for anything iPod related.

[Hobnobs]

Yeah, thats what i was thinking mike. I cant see it being as easy to navigate through the player than directly on the ipod, and I've always used an ipod to tape adapter before anyway.

Im guessing i'll be safe with anything sony?

[MadManMike]

Yeah, thats what i was thinking mike. I cant see it being as easy to navigate through the player than directly on the ipod, and I've always used an ipod to tape adapter before anyway.

Im guessing i'll be safe with anything sony?

From experience, the cheaper Sony Xplod stuff isn't much good, but if you're looking at over £99 you're probably safe with Sony!

That could be their new slogan: "You're safe with Sony"... lol

[Fish-Finger-er]

Is that an advantage though?

I've used one where you control the iPod on the headunit and frankly I found it annoying. I'd rather do it on the 'pod myself. They're probably cheaper with just Aux in too, you pay a premium for anything iPod related.

yay and nay, in my car, ive got an aux in on my head unit, which i plug my ipod into, then put me ipod in an ipod sized hole in the centre console by the handbrake, if a song i dont like comes on, its rather awkward to change song whilst moving, and nigh on impossible to change playlists without breaking the law.

of course if you had a nice cradle mounted on the dash itd be a different story or an inline remote stuck on the dash near the cd player, or if youve always got a passenger in the car, but i drive 90% of my miles solo. so itd be real nice to have an ipod linked to me stereo so i can change songs.

[SamHolmes]

Is that an advantage though?

I've used one where you control the iPod on the headunit and frankly I found it annoying. I'd rather do it on the 'pod myself. They're probably cheaper with just Aux in too, you pay a premium for anything iPod related.

Mine controls the iPod from the headunit, you can select which playlist you want then just click through each song which I found annoying as it's hard to find the song I want.. Suppose it would be awkward to change song from the iPod though whilst driving

I use this one btw

http://www.caraudiodesign.co.uk/product_in...ady-cdmp3-tuner

[RobinJI]

Yeah, you do pay a preimium for the I-pod conectivity. The sony headunit I've got isnt the one in the link in your first post, its identical, but without the I-pod drivers, so its the same, but wouldnt recognise an I-pod, just a sony mp3 player, or a drag and drop style one/memory stick, which is all good by me as I've got a sony MP3 player anyway.

Like people have said, it is harder and slow to find what you want on the headunit, but its also A LOT less distracting, all you do is skip album or song untill you hear what you want, and after a while you learn the alphabetical order of your albums pretty well. Doing it on the I-pod/mp3 player your eyes have to be off the road watching what you're about to select.

I recently got a phone which uses a normal 3.5mm jack plug and i've been using it in the car, into the aux-in socket, but its really anoing when an album ends, or a song you dont like comes on, you've pretty much gotta wait for a red light or you're risking it way too much.

Anyway, yeah, its a nice advantage in my experience, but for the one that works with I-pods, I'm not sure I'd pay the extra.

[F-Stop Junkie]

When some junkie scumbag decided he'd like my entirely factory Ford stereo, I ended up with a bill for the excess on my insurance claim, and an iPod ready Alpine headunit. (Of th Full Speed Ahead ones, it's not the cheapest and not the expensive one that plays WMAs)

It's not perfect by any means, but having used a Griffin iTrip before, it's a lot better in terms of sound quality and not having to retune the damn thing!

In terms of usability, it's pluses and minuses...

Good points:

Steering wheel controls can be used

Easy to change tracks, select random and so on without trying to find iPod, take the lock off, watching what you're doing...

Navigation easy once you learn how

Bad points:

Navigation not obvious

Short message space on screen makes it hard to choose between tracks/podcasts/playlists that start with the same few letters

The Alpine system isn't perfect, but it's pretty good. I'm glad I paid a bit extra to get it, and i'd look for proper integration in the future, not just an aux in on the front.

As an aside, would a USB connection work properly with an iPod because of the way it stores files and folders with odd names, and keeps playlist data in a different file?

[Fish-Finger-er]

As an aside, would a USB connection work properly with an iPod because of the way it stores files and folders with odd names, and keeps playlist data in a different file?

no, not as far as im aware it wouldnt. unless it states ipod compatible its a safe bet its not.

it may, and its only a may, play files in there folders (f00 to f49) but those files will be in a pretty random order(there not random,they make sense to iTunes(and possibly iCharlie) but to us they are in a muddle) and thats doubtful as there all stored as hidden files and folders.

ive been interesting in getting a clarion 7" screened unit in my next car. currently got a clarion touchscreen unit in this car(like a small screen 2 cm x 10cm, just displays monochrome pictures) with aux in and optional ipod interface(which ive never got round to purchasing) and ive been really impressed with it.

the reason the 7" full colour touchscreen appeals to me, is the fulll length display of playlists, heard a couple of different way on how it works, some say it runs through a scroll bar up and down, others have said it comes with like 2/3 of the screen displaying the playlists then a rotary "clickwheel" style control on the remaining portion of the screen.

[James Quigley]

I have this one and it seems quite good Blaupunkt

Although that site have stopped selling them I believe they're still available on Amazon for something like £70. (problem is you need to pay another £10 on top to buy the leap for the mp3.

[Phatmike]

As others have said, sony car audio really isn't that great. They call it Xplop for a reason!

It took me ages to figure out what head unit I wanted, but in the end decided on a Pioneer DEH-P77MP. You should be able to find one easily enough used for £100, the price I paid for mine.

It's a couple of years old, but has a massive amount of features:

Impeccable sound quality, regarded as one of the best sounding HU's.

IP-Bus, which means you can attach aux in/bluetooth/ipod (being able to control the ipod too)/usb/harddrive/cd changer.

Steering wheel control ready.

Remote control ready

MP3/WMA CDR+CDRW compatable.

6 pre-outs (2 sub, 2 front, 2 back).

Great Styling, aluminium front fascia.

I'd go for that!

[max-t]

As others have said, sony car audio really isn't that great. They call it Xplop for a reason!

It took me ages to figure out what head unit I wanted, but in the end decided on a Pioneer DEH-P77MP. You should be able to find one easily enough used for £100, the price I paid for mine.

It's a couple of years old, but has a massive amount of features:

Impeccable sound quality, regarded as one of the best sounding HU's.

IP-Bus, which means you can attach aux in/bluetooth/ipod (being able to control the ipod too)/usb/harddrive/cd changer.

Steering wheel control ready.

Remote control ready

MP3/WMA CDR+CDRW compatable.

6 pre-outs (2 sub, 2 front, 2 back).

Great Styling, aluminium front fascia.

I'd go for that!

Ye Boi! Makes the random trips even better

But makes you feel like you have head lice

[Hobnobs]

Cheers for all the advice guys. Ill probably plump for that pioneer or something similar, looks good to me.

On another note, can anyone suggest some good 6x9's, no price limit really, but obviously nothing crazy. Just solid well priced goodness.

Edited December 18, 2007 by Hobnobs

[haydon_peter]

6*9's are evil unless you are on a budget and also have a smallish boot space.

I swear by JBL / Infinity for budget speakers though.

[Phatmike]

What car is it? And what sized speakers are stock in the front?

Your money & time is *much* better spent getting some decent component speakers in the front, amping them, and a small sub in the back. Putting any speakers in the back just makes it sound totally gash really.

Give me a shout if you want any more advice.

[Hobnobs]

6x9's just sounded like the thing to have, i know nothing about ICE

Its a mark 4 golf, so plenty of room, no idea about the front speakers, but its annoying having nothing at all in the rear as i think the previous owner removed the stock ones in the back.

I think I've still got you on the old messenger mike, so ill probably give you a bell at some point!

[SamHolmes]

With the mention of components I need abit of help.. Been looking at getting some components but not really sure where to start

Can anyone recommend some decentish components and an amp for fairly cheapish?

Already running a sub and amp in the back so got that sorted

[Phatmike]

Depends what you mean by cheap-ish!

I'm selling one of these:

http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/p...ts_id/2910.html

Which is only like 2 weeks old.

Call it £50?

As for comps, you get what you pay for. Just depends on what you want to spend.

Also, you're as better off getting decent speakers as you are ensuring they're securely mounted and sealing & deadening the doors they're to be mounted in!