New Headunit Time!

xcessive

xcessive

xcessive

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Joined
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kent
Hi

As you may remember in a previous thread my current headunit has died.
It died a couple of days ago so my brother is letting me borrow £150 to buy a new one.
There's only 1 problem though, as i havent had a headunit in the car for a week it is driving me mental so i will have to go to Halfords to buy one.
Halfords is the nearest car audio place to me and as im desperate to buy one there is no choice.
I know i could find the same headunit cheaper elsewhere but i dont care.

Anyway...
I've got £150 to spend.
The headunit MUST be able to play MP3 cd's as well as allow me to plug my amp into it.
It also must be a face off one and look quite nice!
I would also prefer it to have aux in as well so i can plug in my iPod - this isnt a necessity but it would be nice.
There are 3 headunits off the Halfords website that i like the look of and seem pretty good, they are:

JVC KD-SH9102
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10151&storeId=10001&productId=196391&categoryId=31445&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=31445&crumb=31265-31371-31445&varient=&CarSelectorCatalogId=

JVC KD-LH811
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10151&storeId=10001&productId=174046&categoryId=31445&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=31445&crumb=31265-31371-31445&varient=&CarSelectorCatalogId=

Sony CDXGT300SI
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10151&storeId=10001&productId=232751&categoryId=31445&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=31445&crumb=31265-31371-31445&varient=&CarSelectorCatalogId=

I havent managed to look over the stats properly yet but i'm leaning more towards the JVC KD-LH811.

If there are any other headunits on the Halfords website that are good (and under £150) i wouldnt mind considering them.

Also, would i need any wiring adaptors? If i so i'll need to budget for that as well so may have to spend less on a headunit.
At the moment my car has an ISO adaptor.
 
Nickg said:
anyway, why not get a decent headunit

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/pro...d=4015&cadid=1cb13f1d8b40dc725222d3a876a63a85

150 on the nose inc free shipping. great unit, colours changeable from Green LED to RED, looks the nuts.

organic OEL screen, etc etc... :)
Click to expand...

What does that headunit offer that the ones i've singled out above dont?
I will definitely be buying tomorrow as my brother has given me £150 cash.
Halfords is my only option as it's the only store near me that has a decent selection of headunits at a fair price.
 
I know Halfords can be more expensive than online stores but they have a sale on JVC units and the 2 i have selected look good as well as have decent specs.

I just need you guys to tell me which JVC one to get. Iv'e heard bad things about Sony headunits, just gimmiky.
 
Can recommend JVC - sound and build quality are very good.

I've just taken a 909 out of my car as I'm selling it next week, and it's painful having to go back to the factory fit unit :(

I had one of the original Kenwood MP3 headunits before that, and the navigation through folders on the JVC was much easier. Not sure how it compares to Sony though.

The 909 was the top of the range JVC head unit when I bought it, and cost £350. It had good reviews, but I mainly picked it because of the look - it is a perfect match for Mark IV Golf's, Bora's and all the other VW's with blue illumination and red buttons - but as soon as it was installed I knew I had made the right decision, as not only did it look great, it also sounded great. The 7 band equaliser on the JVC's is not at all gimmicky - it allows you to match the sound to the response of your speakers, and the ability to disable the internal amp helped keep the temperatures down as I added amps.

The 9102 basically the new version of the 909's little brother, with no front aux input and a smaller display, but should give a similar sound quality. It has a rear line-in so you could hard wire in the cables to connect an iPod.

You can download the manuals for them from here if you want to check out the specs - from a brief glance it would appear you can't disable the internal amp on the 811, which may be an issue if you want to add external amps.

If it was me I would just go for whichever JVC suits the look of your car best.

Hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
unclelonghair said:
Can recommend JVC - sound and build quality are very good.

I've just taken a 909 out of my car as I'm selling it next week, and it's painful having to go back to the factory fit unit :(

I had one of the original Kenwood MP3 headunits before that, and the navigation through folders on the JVC was much easier. Not sure how it compares to Sony though.

The 909 was the top of the range JVC head unit when I bought it, and cost £350. It had good reviews, but I mainly picked it because of the look - it is a perfect match for Mark IV Golf's, Bora's and all the other VW's with blue illumination and red buttons - but as soon as it was installed I knew I had made the right decision, as not only did it look great, it also sounded great. The 7 band equaliser on the JVC's is not at all gimmicky - it allows you to match the sound to the response of your speakers, and the ability to disable the internal amp helped keep the temperatures down as I added amps.

The 9102 basically the new version of the 909's little brother, with no front aux input and a smaller display, but should give a similar sound quality. It has a rear line-in so you could hard wire in the cables to connect an iPod.

You can download the manuals for them from here if you want to check out the specs - from a brief glance it would appear you can't disable the internal amp on the 811, which may be an issue if you want to add external amps.

If it was me I would just go for whichever JVC suits the look of your car best.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Thanks for a detailed reply.
By the way, i will be connecting my amp to the headunit but i never had a problem with my Sony headunit and that didnt have an option to disable the internal amp.
My amp will only be powering my sub.

Also, do the JVC headunits use ISO connetion in the back or do they use their own adaptor like Alpine do? If they do require an extra adaptor is it included in the box?

Thanks
 
Bummer said:
Morba mate, CAD suck *** they are always more expensive that somewhere else

http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/search_result.php?desc=1&keywords=9812RB&x=0&y=0

www.caraudiosecurity.com :)

EDIT - Please DON'T go to Halfrauds!

Don't spend less on a H/U for the sake of a £10 cable. Think you need to rethink this through a bit more mate. Also, try eBay for your cables, I saved about £15-£20 on bits I needed for my Focus!
Click to expand...

if you look hard enough you will find everything cheaper elsewhere....
your still out of his budget.
the one i recommended is the same price from either site.
 
At the end of the day you've got a budget get the best stereo you can with the money you've got
Weather it be halfords,car audio direct or bass junkies
But you will get more for your money from the online retailers
 
Iceman said:
At the end of the day you've got a budget get the best stereo you can with the money you've got
Click to expand...

Exactley mate you hit the nail on the head there. Sooooo wait and order one from Bass Junkies or CAD

Sam :)
 
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