In-Car Audio System...

Ren.182 · 2 Oct 2006 at 20:07

Hi guys, looking for a bit of help.

Recently passed my driving test and i'm using my moms car. I'll probably be using this for quite a while so I thought I'd put a decent sound system in it.

Thing is I know pretty much nothing about in-car audio systems.

I've looked around some places and noticed a deal in a shop (Competitor, otherwise i would link it

). It includes a CD player with 2 6x9in 4 pair speakers and some other little extras for £89.99 (Full spec below)

CD Player
* 4 x 17 watts RMS.
* FM/MW digital tuner with 30 station presets.
* RDS/EON.
* CD-R/CD-RW/MP3 playback.
* Repeat, random play, search, skip functions.
* Multi coloured LCD display with LED backlight.
* Bass, treble control.
* Balance and fader.
* Equalizer.
* Full detachable fascia with carry case.

* In Car Speakers:
* 6 x 9in 4 way pair of speakers.
* 350 watts peak output.
* Mounting depth 11cm.
* Overall diameter 26 x 18cm.
* Common terminal. 4 x screws.
* 2 x cables.

Extras
* MOS Gear Knob:
* Aluminium and chrome finish with MOS logo (Not compatible with lift reverse style stick).
* Fits: Manual / Automatic transmission shaft with diameters 8mm, 8.5mm, 10mm and 12mm.
* Aluminium tax disc holder.

That any good? Or would it be decent at all? Would be nice if it was, save me a bit of money.

If not, then could someone spec me a system. Willing to spend around £150 - May stretch to £200... Cheaper the better!
My car is a Vauxhall Astra 3 door. L reg. Must have MP3/WMA/CDR/CDRW support. USB and all those extras are a bonus.

Ninja edit... Are these things hard to install at all? Not got any experience with this type of thing. May be able to get a friend of a friend to install it for me.

Thanks for any help

<3

Psypher5 · 2 Oct 2006 at 20:11

might be a note to say he only want something that sounds ok and does the job. No banging tunes out at 500db bombing down the road

Something nice and simple with some features!

agw_01 · 2 Oct 2006 at 20:14

Get a budget Pioneer or Alpine headunit and a set of front co-axials or component speakers... Pioneer/Infinity/Magnat... all reasonable speaker brands.

Will sound MUCH better than some cheapo MOS crap

Check out www.caraudiodirect.co.uk for some ideas.

Luke · 2 Oct 2006 at 20:18

Forget that rubbish you listed above.

Tesla · 2 Oct 2006 at 20:21

emailiscrap said:
Forget that rubbish you listed above.

Yea, who wants a MOS gearknob!

The kit you have posted is FAR from decent.

Firestar_3x · 2 Oct 2006 at 20:22

Tesla said:
Yea, who wants a MOS gearknob!

A corsa owner?

Stick with the Pioneer / Alpine idea, you can get good units for very little now.

Psypher5 · 2 Oct 2006 at 20:25

any suggestions on a few speaker sets then?

All good looking through a site but when you dunnoh what good or not its square one again

One More Solo · 2 Oct 2006 at 20:28

For £200;
This headunit; http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=4680
This amp; http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=2756
These speakers; http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=4797

You'll need a wiring kit and fitting adapters on top of that.

Psypher5 · 2 Oct 2006 at 20:32

how about this? with some speakers.. head unit and amp in one.. has a remote and stuff too

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=5414

Ren.182 · 2 Oct 2006 at 20:47

Is an amp necessary?

And a spec of head unit and speakers would be nice, like posted above.
As Psypher said, I just want decent quality, nothing uber.

Also, the aerial for the radio is pretty messed up on my car and hardly works. What would I need to buy to get a good radio reception? And if possible without having to remove the old aerial and replacing it with a new one.

Cheers for the help guys.

yak.h'cir · 2 Oct 2006 at 20:51

I've just brought the Pioneer DEH-P4800MP for £100. It's perfect for me. It even sounds really good through the original micra speakers!

Ren.182 · 2 Oct 2006 at 20:59

The speakers in my car are pretty bad (I think). Not been able to test them to see what their quality is like, with me not being able to get a decent reception or being able to play a CD.

Been looking at the Pioneer DEH-2820MP a lot recently, seems to be pretty good. Is it?

Edit:
Made up a list of things...

Now, would those speakers work with that head unit... guessing yes... but will I need an amp or could I just connect them into the back of the head unit?

And according to the site I would need the ISO Cable adaptor, arial adaptor, and the front speaker adaptors to get all this into my car. I'll find out the make/model/year of the car tomorrow if you guys want specifics.