Head Unit Help

BinnsY

BinnsY

BinnsY

Associate
Joined
19 May 2009
Posts
1,511
Location
Nottingham
Hi All,

After a good few months of putting up with the standard stereo in the MX-5 I've decided its time for a change. I've been doing a bit of initial research and it seems switching out the head unit is immensely simply so I'm going to do it all myself. For the time being I'm not going to bother changing the speakers but that could happen in the future so I want to make sure whatever I pick is future proof. In terms of budget I'm not too fussed, I think £250 would have to be an absoulte top whack and ideally this would include any iPod connectivity extras that are needed. I dont mind spending a few quid over this for the likes of harness adapters though.

I need the headunit to have iPod connectivity as I have an old 40Gb iPod that will be left hooked up to it permenantly. Bluetooth streaming would also be a bonus so occasionally I could connect the iPhone for longer trips. I would like it to have a CD player as well. It also needs to be able to light up mainly in red as I want it to match all the dials in the car.

At the minute it's alpine head units that seem to be grabbing my attention for one main reason.

http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-alpine-ktp-445_p-26445.htm

Should I decide to upgrade a bit more in the future this inline amp can be increadibly easily added to the headunit to boost the power from the 18ish W that most head units give out to 45w. I figure that coupled with a set of bi-ampable speakers up front (as my car only has 2 speakers) would give me all the power I could ever need. Of course I need to settle on the actual head unit first!

This one has caught my eye as it seems to offer everything and comes in at a smidge under £200 when you add the ipod cable.

http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-alpine-cde-126bt_p-26748.htm

Yet this one seems to offer less and be more expensive even though it does come with the ipod cable? Are the CDAs considerably better than the Es?

http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-alpine-cda-105ri_p-23880.htm

This one looks like it might be even better again?

http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-alpine-cda-117ri_p-25867.htm

I think after having another look I'm leaning towards the third one as I can live without the bluetooth.

Any other opinions or advice would be welcomed though.
 
I don't know which model specifically mine is but it's an Alpine one in the style of the first two (it may even be one or the other) and I'll say one thing - I really do wish it had more than a one line display. I like it aside from that, it all works as it should and never plays up, but I really wish it had a more detailed display like the third one you link to.
 
I know this thread didnt get an awful lot of traffic but I thought I would give a quick update just in case anyone stumbles across it.

In the end I did go for the CDA-117Ri and have just finished getting everything done on it. I must say it's pretty impressive. The graphic equalizer gives you a good range to play with and lets you customsie the sound an awful lot more than my previous head unit did. The thing that has really impressed me though is the time correction. Even in a small car like the MX5 it makes a huge difference. The sound stage sounds central once you work out the correct differences its more like having headphones in than listening to a new stereo.

The problem is now I have it in I find myself yearning for more and I think I want to replace the speakers as well. I have a maximum budget of £200 but I really dont want to have to buy an amp which is where my next query comes in.

Does anyone have any idea as to a decent set of 6.5" components that run well when fed a lower wattage? The head unit I have actually outputs 18W RMS per channel so its more powerful than the majority of head units but obviously nowhere near an amp.

As the MX-5 only has 2 speakers I believe bi-amping is an option depending on the crossover network that comes with the speakers (the Alpine SPX-17REF would allow it for example) but I dont think the head unit offers quite enough customisation to run a completley active setup and I would risk blowing the tweeters if I tried to do it that way. So if I go down the bi-amping route I do need the crossover to have dual inputs.

Any opinions as to a set of speakers would be appreciated :) At the minute its probably the afformentioned alpines that are the top of my list.
 
i managed to pick up the deh-7300bt in the halfords sale last week for £90 i think it was.

bluetooth - yes
front usb - yes
ipod - with special lead yes
light up red - yes
mp3 - both cd's and usb sticks
front aux in - yes

brilliant head unit, absolute steal for the price, it has now been replaced by 3 other models this year, why i got this one for so cheap.

http://www.pioneer.eu/uk/products/25/121/61/compare.html?__P4=58073&__P6=51347&__P7=58072&__P8=58071


the 8400BT, 6400BT and the 4400BT

the only new feature these models have above the 7300BT is bluetooth audio streaming for playing songs through bluetooth, which you would think impairs SQ.
 
To be honest, £200 speakers need an amp. I'd consider the Alpine in-line amp you specced before and consider some slightly cheaper speakers.

I don't particularly like the idea of bi-wiring off a headunit, but I've no scientific backing on that ;) It's just you don't know if the HU has a bias of power for the fronts, how the fader effects it etc.

I'd get something a little cheaper speaker wise which is optimised for a lower wattage. These are apparently well suited http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/jl-audio-evolution-tr650csi.html but I haven't had a listen.

If you'd consider spending more. some Hertz Components are competitive at £130 ish and JL do some EXCELLENT small form amplifiers which have reviewed very, very well and are TINY.
 
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