Headunit with iPod and Bluetooth support?

LeperousDust · 27 May 2009 at 23:42

I've got three here ranging in price from £165 to £260. I'm inclined to obviously go with the cheaper one and/or maybe even source it second hand if i can. But i know sod'th all about "in car audio". My car is a pile of crap, speakers are poor and really need replacing (a lot, its on the list defo). I just want to be able to easily plug/charge/use my ipod in the car. And whilst i'm at it paying a bit more for bluetooth streaming and hands free seems a total none brainer.

JVC £165 Cheap Ass

Alpine £190 Middle road

Pioneer £260 Expensive but worth it?

To me the Pioneer seems "the bomb" and future proofed, one i could carry between cars and know its decent but i also fear i could be paying for a name, JVC one reeks of cheap ass but it'll work fine to a point, but thats only because thats how i read the JVC logo

The alipine one being in the middle but worth the little extra over the JVC, since it has a built in parrott bluetooth module as opposed to whatever JVC use. Although it doesn't say its able to stream music A2DP style...

What websites should i be looking to buy from, decent and cheap, or where? Chekced halfrauds randomly whilst i was in the area today and it was laughable at best obviously. Where can i look for second-hand-ness, forums and the like?

Any advice, steer clear of xxx or just shut up and go buy xxx is more than welcome. I can stumble through roughly knowing stuff, but i don't confess to know my shizzle ;D

SoliD · 27 May 2009 at 23:53

I have the older Pioneer the P700BT which you get with a usb cable where you can buy a usb adapter from ebay or officially for about 5quid or 30quid respectively, and I find it brilliant, the bluetooth is brilliant and sound is top notch and the usb works fine with the hard drive I have connected not sure about the ipod support but if its anything like the usb its quite simple and easy to use.

sampo · 28 May 2009 at 00:39

I have the Alpine 104BTi and it is brilliant. The ipod control is very intuitive, the bluetooth has excellent clarity and hooks up with my phone without me having to do a thing (other than turn on the ignition!). Excellent radio reception as well.

I went for it after it was recommended to me over anything else in the Alpine line by the place that does my car audio. They felt it actually sounded better than the higher end models in their demo vehicles. I'm running Hertz high energy components off the head unit and it does sound very good. I'm planning on amping long term...

West · 28 May 2009 at 03:36

Most people on here big up the Pioneer units.

sampo · 28 May 2009 at 10:23

Pioneer and Alpine tend to be regarded as the best options usually, they both make very good quality kit.

LeperousDust · 28 May 2009 at 12:42

I know they do, hence why i'm asking what would i "get" for the extra £70 on top of the alpine unit? Is the alpine unit able to stream music over bluetooth?

LeperousDust · 31 May 2009 at 07:08

Any more input guys, just before i go ahead and lay down money on this, alpine seems the choice now, i just wonder does it stream from an A2DP device?