Help me choose a headunit!

Six6siX

Six6siX

Six6siX

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Right, I have been looking at changing car and the novelty of the eee pc car pc I have is wearing off and I reckon I'm after something with better sound quality and good set of features.

Things I would like are:
-Bluetooth connectivity
-CD (or DVD) MP3 or USB (Memory stick or HDD compatibility)

I have been looking at these two

http://www.alpine-electronics.co.uk/home/products/headunits/cd-headunits/cde-104bti/

and

http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/products/25/121/61/FH-P80BT/index.html

Now, ignoring the fact that one is double din and the other is single, has anyone got any of these units or have any other suggestions to throw in the mix??

Budget would be roughly around the 200 mark

Thanks!
 
If your budget is around £200 you can afford one without a crappy 1 or 2 line segment display, which is essential for browsing iPods/HDDs full of music IMHO
 
Is the navigation that bad? I just assumed it would display folder names > album names etc depending how you had the folders laid out on the drive?

What would you suggest as alternatives then?
 
It will but having 10 characters on a 1 line segment display for example is going to be a much bigger faff when it comes to scrolling through it, when compared to one that has 4 lines and like 30 characters or something, if that makes sense?

I have the Pioneer DEH-P7000UB which is a joy to navigate/use. The Alpine ones are just as good so have a look at the dearer ones with proper displays too
 
I bought the 104Bti two weeks ago. I specifically wanted a single DIN unit, and it was the only one I could see which offered:

Bluetooth
Front USB socket
Front 3.5mm aux in socket

The bluetooth connects to a nokia phone very easily, but I can't get my windows mobile 5 phone to pair with it, for which I'm blaming the phone and getting a new one shortly.

Navigation around a MP3 CD is fine even with the single line display, you can choose what format to display the message with - number, folder or track. You get one set of left-right buttons to move through the tracks within a folder, or another to move folders.

Gripes:

(1) I'm not blown away with the sound quality, but then I pulled out a pair of 6x9" speakers in a acoustic parcel shelf when I made the transition (to give me more boot space), and this could be the problem rather than the head unit itself.

(2) The LED dimming (driving off my car's lights dimming wheel) only changes the brightness of the LEDs around the LCD - the LCD stays constant brightness and its pretty bright at night. Fortunately I mounted the unit in the lower DIN slot and can use my arms to block the line of sight to the LCD.

(3) The volume button also pushes to go into the settings menu, and you have to wait 5 seconds or so to drop back out before you can adjust the volume. Not a major problem, except its too easy to accidentally press when changing the volume which is annoying.

All in all, for £200 delivered not a bad headunit, does what it says on the tin :)
 
Oh forgot I'd taken a picture. You can see how bright the LCD is in comparison to the other dials.
dsc_5608.jpg
 
Last edited:
Thanks for that, hmm even more undecided now!

I have had Windows Mobile based phones for a while now so the Alpine might not be the way to go!

Been looking at what I think are some of the new range Pioneers with the better displays - can't seem to find any in any online stores.

Any idea when the new range will start to emerge? Looking at the DEH-P6100BT or DEH-P8100BT.

They're on Pioneer's site but can only find them for pre-order online.
 
Six6siX said:
Thanks for that, hmm even more undecided now!

I have had Windows Mobile based phones for a while now so the Alpine might not be the way to go!

Been looking at what I think are some of the new range Pioneers with the better displays - can't seem to find any in any online stores.

Any idea when the new range will start to emerge? Looking at the DEH-P6100BT or DEH-P8100BT.

They're on Pioneer's site but can only find them for pre-order online.
Click to expand...

Caraudiosecurity.com are estimating April 16th for the DEH-P8100BT.... clicky.
 
Ooh thanks for that, wasn't on there last time I looked.
Seems a good spec unit and looks quite nice imo. Simple and clean.
 
P77MP 2nd hand.
P88RS /RS2

9887r
9886r

they are the only headunits I would be looking at in and around your price range. 2nd hand ***.
 
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