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Any experts?

Need a new one for my Z3 (yes, that obviously make me a gay hairdresser).

Has to hook up to my iPhone 5 for handsfree calls and music, standard radio fine, don't need a CD.

Don't know where to start. Tried looking online and got confused. Any decent local suppliers? How much will it cost?

Not sure if autoelectrix still exist over west swindon but they used to be very good.

Budget?

I have a Sony head unit which does Bluetooth hands free, Bluetooth music streaming, iPod/iPhone connectivity, radio and cd. I got it at a good price at the time, but you should be able to find a decent one for under £200.

Other things to consider:

Single DIN or double DIN size
Do you have stereo controls on your steering wheel? Add an extra £35 for cables to keep this function with an aftermarket unit.


It's a piece of piss to fit a new one yourself.

Don't want to spend a fortune, but want to get the features I want. Not overly bothered by the sound quality, fine with the current system and I imagine it will be better than that. Main thing is the iPhone link. Especially for hands free, which must work well and be simple.

Most of the ones I've seen are around the £100-£150 mark which is fine, difficult to go much above that with the main brands.

Single DIN. No steering wheel controls. Which brands are best?

I'm in the market too. Am looking for a head unit/amp/speakers/sub.

Have used these sites in the past and they were decent

http://caraudiosecurity.com/
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/

Brand wise, I'd go for Alpine or Pioneer.

Do you still live in oxford MG?

There was a place in marston that sold all that stuff you want

some of you might laugh, but halfords have some great deals.

I recently did the same exercise...top priority for me were ipod and digital radio, everything else is a bonus...

ended up with a single din, phillips from Halfords, unsure of exact model no., was about £140

...quite frankly though (mr shankly),  its shite.

Too much functionality for too cheap a price

As above, stick with alpine, sony or pioneer.

Yeah, Oxford Car Audio, great shop.

I think they might be severely undercut by the internet retailers though, but am popping in there on Thursday to see what they say. I'll probably end up buying the bits online and getting them to fit it.

Halfords do seem to do pretty well on their fitting service. But I'd rather give my money to a local, family owned business than a massive national firm who've caused me a lot of hassle in the past.

Don't get the appeal of subwoofers in cars but each to their own. Honestly no need for an amp as well, a decent head unit will have a good enough amp to drive the speakers.

I did see some twat driving with massive headphones last week though.

[url width=640 height=426]http://eandt.theiet.org/magazine/2011/11/images/640_pilot.jpg[/url]

I suppose at least if he had headphones on he's not 'treating' everyone else to his shit taste in music.

I used to have two 400w subs and a 1000w amp in my old 106 quiksilver.

Proper gangsta bumping the choons out i tell ya

Did you manage to get it off the drive?  ;)

Yes thanks. I even managed to roll it.

Ha ha. Mugged off by 4D.

A sub is key for me, just like on a home audio system. Takes the pressure off the 6x9's in the back of the car too, since most of them are pretty feeble at creating the low end frequencies that sub bass utilises. If you're going to run a sub then an amp to power it and probably the back speakers (fronts can go off the head unit okay) is also a must.

I went to the car audio shop here in Marston today and got some pretty good advice. I'm replacing the current cassette (!) head unit for an Alpine CD one (bloke in the shop said Alpine has the lead on Pioneer in terms of sound quality), keeping the current rear 6x9's, upgrading the front speakers, and putting this little badboy sub in beneath my seat which has an amp built in:

[url width=439 height=289]http://pioneer.jp/carrozzeria/products/ts_wx110a/img/feature_img01_01.jpg[/url]

Oh and also putting some deadening material in the doors which improves sound quality. I'm massively looking forward to picking it up next Thursday evening.

6x9s too? Chavtastic!

6x9's are factory fitted in the back of Mini's as standard. Probably quite shite with tweeters made of cardboard, but you won't really notice them with a separate sub and good front speakers.

Think I'll be going for a Pioneer from Halfords with them fitting it as well - so I've got one place to blame if something goes wrong. Looked at other brands but really wanted a bigger display and in my price range that meant Pioneer.

Did try Autoelectrix but they said they only do Clarion, which I didn't fancy.

Why do they still insist on including CD players? Who uses CD's in a car, especially on a stereo that links to your phone?

I do

I do. Better sound, and better than faffing around with an iPhone whilst driving.

There is no way you could tell the difference between a CD and an AAC 256kbps on a car stereo. And that is a fact.

Why do you have to faff around with an iPhone whilst driving? You control it through the stereo, the same as a CD.

AAC 256kbps?

Apple Lossless my friend.

you don't need anything more than two tin cans and a piece of string

I use it for ripping my CD's, but it's overkill for playback especially on a mobile device with limited storage.

I use an SD card

I have a 160gb ipod so not a problem for me, plenty of room.

I like to play old cassettes and turn off Dolby.

Apple Lossless sucks donkey dick. FLAC every time baby.

I often use 320kbps mp3 for ease of reading by various devices however. When it gets to that stage I find it difficult to differentiate between it and losless formats in knockabout real-life listening.

Fucking hipster.

[url width=900 height=1200]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Hipster_example_.jpg[/url]

me irl

Do you have auto-reverse?

The difference in quality between a CD and iPhone connected by a cable would be minimal but I'd just rather use the best one. And if I've got an iPhone sat next to me I'm inclined to start browsing the artist list whilst driving, with a CD you can press the skip button without looking.

My car stereo is broken, and I can't eject the cd that is in it. I have been listening to The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth for the last 3 years.

 :D


Aah I see, you're saying you can skip tracks in the same way? I didn't realise you could do that.

Road noise and wind resistance are going to impact listening quality.

If you want to hear higher quality sound then buy some decent 2.0 channel hifi equipment.

Provided I haven't got the wrong impression, yes - you get full control over the music from the stereo. I think.

Will probably go in to Halfords tomorrow and plug my iPhone in to a demo unit to see what happens.