ICE Advice plse...

merlin · 6 Apr 2006 at 09:25

Really no idea what I'm doing ICE wise - I just want to change my double din unit to something a bit better (and single din to get some storage space) and I want something where you can change the colour of the display to red to match the interior.

Went to my local place & told them I dont want to spend any more than about £300 plus fitting for a HU and some component speakers.

They're coming up with a Pioneer DEH-P55BT - £229 and some half decent 6 1/2 inch speakers are about £70. They want £30 + VAT and hour fitting - 2 hours approx. Does anyone know if I can plug a USB type MP3 player into this model? I dont have a CD burner - just want to put tunes on a USB MP3 player and plug that into the HU.

Do these prices sound ok and is the HU any good? I dont want an amp or a sub or any of that stuff - it weighs too much.

Ta.

merlin · 6 Apr 2006 at 09:29

bradbcam said:
That is a lovely headunit - multi colour options bluetooth for phone. You can't use a USB mp3 player BUT you can pick up the ipod control adaptor for a snip.

Sounds like a good deal to me!

Hmm

Dont want to spend money buying an i-pod + adapter when I can get an MP3 player for peanuts.

merlin · 6 Apr 2006 at 09:32

Morba said:
How about one of the newer alpines, im sure they have silly amounts of colours that you can choose.

I had a play with the alpines - looked gorgeous, but the menu systems were confusing - very finicky and awkward to use especially in a car that has a rock hard suspension - my fingers would be all over the place pressing the wrong buttons. Also on the ones I looked at - the display colour you could change np but the buttons stayed blue which just was stupid.

merlin · 6 Apr 2006 at 09:34

Firestar_3x said:
a CD Burner is £12 and dvd burner £34

Ahh. Well that's different then - last time I looked a DVD burner was £400. Kinda lost interest in computer things over the last few years....

Right, so if I buy a DVD burner - can I put my albums on it and play it in the car and will I need any special software to do that?

merlin · 6 Apr 2006 at 10:03

Morba said:
Have you seen the ones with the long bar rather than the buttons, you just move your finger along the bar

Yeah, that's the one I looked at - lol it'd be a total nightmare.

Definately want something that will take an MP3 player - reason why is that the car is a bit stiff and I always get CD's skipping as I go over even slight bumps - drives me mad & with an MP3 player that wont be a problem.

merlin · 6 Apr 2006 at 10:29

The skipping is really bad, I thought most modern HU's had a buffer but this Clarion thing can't remember anything. Sometimes the whole track resets to the start. :mad:

Definately want an MP3 compatible one. I'll order an MP3 player using my works account and tell them it's a USB pen drive for me to move files around with, net result - MP3 player free of charge

Just waiting for some cash from selling my old wheels & i'll book the car in.

What about the DEH-30MP? I've got the catalogue in front of me but it doesn;t show prices.

merlin · 6 Apr 2006 at 10:34

Firestar_3x said:
£89.....

Tis pants.

Ahh Blx.

Also can't change the colour. Totally gay.

merlin · 6 Apr 2006 at 11:10

Seems I can't have my cake and eat it with the Pioneers. This is what I'm after ideally -

Total colour control (or just plain red as standard)
Will take an MP3 player
Single DIN
50W x 4

£200 - £230 budget for te HU.

merlin · 6 Apr 2006 at 11:33

Ok that JVC looks ideal.

Although funnily enough I can get that Kenwood KDC-W808 for £190, they've got them discounted on the shop floor - although web price is the same

Going to pop in lunchtime and look at that JVC - pretty sure they've got that one in.

Thanks for your help guys - no idea what I'm doing although I know what I want.

What 6.5 inch speakers would you recommend for £70 the pair? And also - the tweeter things - are they best mounted close to the speakers cos my OE ones are miles away from the actual speakers, but I could leave the OE ones there and mount the new ones in some kick plates at foot level.

merlin · 6 Apr 2006 at 11:44

thebrasso said:
Do you have tweeter pods already in the Teg merlin?

Yeah, in the dash right next to and pointing up to the windscreen. But the guy in the shop said it's better to have them close to the speakers ideally, although I dont know why tbh.

Anyway, I've got kick plates in the footwells they could go into no problem, but just wondered about the positioning. To be fair the car is somewhat noisy so little things like this wont make a fat lot of difference, all I can hear is engine noise. There's also a fair bit of vibration - the picture in my rear view mirror is a haze all of the time because it buzzes. Little intracacies (sp) are going to be wasted.

merlin · 6 Apr 2006 at 11:52

agw_01 said:
I take it you don't want to start drilling holes in the door cards to mount the tweeters?

Woah, scary. No ta!

Jesus, Honda want £35 for a proper single din pocket thingy.

merlin · 3 May 2006 at 11:36

Just dropped car off for:

Kenwood KDC-W5534U - CD/MP3/USB TUNER
Kenwood KFC-P703 - 6.5 inch components

Plus they're charging £60 to fit it all.

"Bought" (read as - acquired

) a 512mb USB thingy & loaded up some tunes on it.

Should do the trick, they said go back at 2.30pm and it'll all be done.

Excited but I hate leaving my car with people I dont know

merlin · 3 May 2006 at 12:11

ramirez said:
Checked trip and mileage before you left it?

Sure did.

Plus I got the added bonus of the fuel gauge reading smack bang on the half way point.

And I'm going to turn up unannounced a bit early too.

Talk about paranoid.....

merlin · 4 May 2006 at 08:27

Man I love it.

Not the most lavish installation ever - £305 all in for the HU and speakers (the speakers were £75 tho). Of all the cars I've had I've never had a decent audio system so this sort of quality is all new to me. I'm used to hearing songs that sound like they're coming out of a biscuit barrel.

Playing old CD's I'm hearing notes I never knew were there - the old clarion system really was just kack. First time in a car of mine I can feel the bass as well as hear it.

The USB system works a treat, lead terminates in the glove box, got 9 albums on the stick and still plenty of space left on it.

The HU is now the same colour as the trim in the car - brushed silver and I've changed the buttons on the HU to glow red to match up with the clocks etc.

The audio engine thing I'm still playing with - you can change the bass, trebble and volume of three channels - low, mid and high notes. Dont really know what I'm doing but I'll just play around with it & see what sounds nice.

Just one niggle :-

I'm not happy with the fit of the HU - basically it's not quite flush with the console - the top of the HU is sunk in maybe 3mm and the bottom is flush so it looks tilted. Going to call them when they open and ask them to refit it. Pretty ameteurish tbh, but it took them 3 hours and they only charged me for two.

merlin · 4 May 2006 at 08:43

See it's not 100% flush. Maybe I'm being picky...?

merlin · 4 May 2006 at 09:02

Cheers guys.

Think I'll just call it a day then and leave it. Not like there's any unsightly gaps or anything but you know what it's like with your car - like to try to get things perfect if poss.

merlin · 4 May 2006 at 10:20

It's solid - wont budge, nothing lose.

They put the tweeters into the OE positions which are in the dash, just under the bottom of the windscreen - one far left and one far right. I've no idea where they put the crossover box things though.