What Headunit?

Psymonkee

Psymonkee

Psymonkee

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Joined
24 Feb 2004
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St.Andrews
Hi,

Looking quite likely that the Duran Duran CD that is currently stuck in my stock Ford RDS 6000CD is not coming out anytime soon....and I can't take anymore :p

What HU's are worth looking at? Not something I've really looked into before.

The car in question is a 2004/53 plate Mondeo with a Double DIN slot.

I'd like DAB but that seems hard to track down on anything < £200. I'd be more than happy with MP3/USB/SD Card support but have no idea on models etc.

Any help greatly appreciated :D
 
Any preference on styling? Must look OEM or happy with garish bling?

I'd start by saying look in the direction of Alpine and Pioneer. As ever, you'll get a lot more for your money if you go second hand.
 
Personally Pioneer are meant to be slightly better than Alpine. Looking at getting a DEH-50UB or DEB-4200SD. Both are quite suttle looking, have everything bar bluetooth, sat-nav and DAB.

Bear in mind if you are replacing the standard Ford unit, you will need all sorts of adapters, for the ISO cables, the arieal, and obiviously the DashBoard mount.

Personally, I bought the autoleads (i think) kit, and the fascia it terriable, didn't fit and snapped the connectors on it. How-ever, the adapter cables do there job fine, but rattle around in the dash, so i've shortened them a lot so they don't.
Can't remember the name of the Fascia I got, but it blended in with the dash in my Fiesta much better, and it has a handy slot underneath the Heatunit.
 
ta :)

I haven't a clue about fitting this but have been recommended a good local place. will take these suggestions in mind :)

oh and i don't mind on styling :)
 
I have and would 100% recommend Pioneer, they seem the best from my experience.

If you are looking at a USB supported HU I would recommend a rear wired cable going into the glove box. Nothing worse that having a 2-3inch plastic block sticking out the front of the HU.
 
I've had a Pioneer in the past and now have an Alpine. From my experience my Pioneer was a little better.

I'd also fit it myself. It's dead easy, all you will need is an ISO adapter lead.
 
hmmm i see your point on the USB thing. quite a few hu's seem to be coming with hidden SD slots which is mighty tempting....

i rather like the look of this despite it's lack of DAB...
 
Woot! Payday draws near!

Is it worth an extra £50 or so for a Bluetooth enabled model? Does lose the SD card slot.

Also my boss at work says there is a chance the facia adapter for a single DIN solution may cause rattles and it's worth a look at double DIN. However they seem rather pricey - any real advantages?
 
Because the hole isnt double din size :p

Shouldnt be a problem though, just get a DIN unit and a fascia adaptor
 
I've always bought Pioneers so can't say if they are any better than Alpine, I just prefer how they look.

Had my 77mp HU for years now and just fitted it in the Impreza along with a din pocket from a forester which looks pretty good (standard stereo is double din).

If I were buying one today I'd plump for the DEH-P88RS II just because it looks so cool :p
 
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Pioneers look better, alpines sound better... I spend more time listening than I do staring, so I tend to go for Alpine :)

In fairness, there's not much in it in sound terms, both make very good quality gear
 
Ive stuck with Pioneer for a while now, picked up a new Pioneer HU last week, has front USB, IPod and SD. Sounds great and allows you to browse folders on SD/USB, looks nice and not too flashy as well.
 
iaind said:
Pioneers look better, alpines sound better... I spend more time listening than I do staring, so I tend to go for Alpine :)

In fairness, there's not much in it in sound terms, both make very good quality gear
Click to expand...

Thats pretty much spot on! I've had my Alpine head unit for a year now and it sounds great! :)
 
Ace Modder said:
I have and would 100% recommend Pioneer, they seem the best from my experience.

If you are looking at a USB supported HU I would recommend a rear wired cable going into the glove box. Nothing worse that having a 2-3inch plastic block sticking out the front of the HU.
Click to expand...

I must admit to falling fowl of a protuding USB stick, but I made sure I got a brushed metal case one so it didn't look 'too' out of place and to be honest, i spend practically zero time looking there and I would be concerned about my passengers if they were fixated on it :p
 
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