What to do? Stereo related

Relentless81

Relentless81

Relentless81

Soldato
Joined
18 May 2010
Posts
12,852
Hi people

So my commute is about to get longer and involve motorway as I have a new job and the radio is really really starting to bug me so I want to be able to listen to MP3's, I currently have this radio broadcasting thing that sits in the lighter socket but for a million and one reasons its frustrating to use and i'd prefer better quality, I was going to replace it with a better version but the quality will only be the same

If my car didnt have the built in sat nav I would just rip the current stereo out and bin it but it does however i've only used it once since I bought the car as I really dont need it I would prefer a standard head unit but I cant be bothered with a cheap nasty rattly fascia that doesnt match and this rather shady sat nav was a laughable £1000 option so it seems a shame to get rid of it

Heres some options, what would you do or what have you done?

1 : Rip it all out and get a new head unit, lose sat nav function and risk a shady fascia, attempt to sell NAV for what will realistically be peanuts or keep it and refit it when I come to sell the car (CBA) I can have a bash at fitting this theres a decent guide on Fitaudio (great site)

2 : Get an X-Car link and upgrade the speakers and hope it sounds good enough, this retains the OEM look and keeps the sat nav but i'll maybe have to find a local fitter as fitment is a little more complicated, where does the unit go, etc?

3 : Leave it as is, its really not worth the hassle

I'll probably need to find a fitter anyway as I want upgraded speakers and i'm one of those that would rather pay someone else to a good job and then take it back with any problems however finding a good fitter is a challenge in itself, i've had some really bad experiance with car audio fitters! Anyone know any good ones in Manchester area?

Thanks
 
Quite an annoying first reply to the thread, to be fair.

Are there really no radio FM transmitters that have decent quality? I am in the same situation. No line in and no ability to play MP3 cd's.
 
alexthecheese said:
Quite an annoying first reply to the thread, to be fair.

Are there really no radio FM transmitters that have decent quality? I am in the same situation. No line in and no ability to play MP3 cd's.
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The way I thought of it was that ultimately all FM transmitters are going to be the same quality, let me find a thread of recomendations on here
 
I'm not sure he was 100% trolling, the way I read it was that leaving the factory-fit sat-nav option will leave the car to be more desirable when selling, and given he was under the impression you were selling, it makes sense.

Anyway, regardless of your personal circumstances, I'd leave the satnav in situ, and look at what is available as an addition to the system. Is there nothing available that acts as an interim between the standard stereo and the CD changer interface? Something that would let you use either an iPod or generic USB mass storage/MP3 player as the "changer"?

FM transmitters are all gash.
 
Here you go, still tempted by this type of thing but I want something with better quality as i'd like better speakers fitted but also on the flipside of that is there any point in better speakers running off the standard stereo?

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18203217&highlight=mp3+username_Relentless81

paradigm said:
I'm not sure he was 100% trolling, the way I read it was that leaving the factory-fit sat-nav option will leave the car to be more desirable when selling, and given he was under the impression you were selling, it makes sense.

Anyway, regardless of your personal circumstances, I'd leave the satnav in situ, and look at what is available as an addition to the system. Is there nothing available that acts as an interim between the standard stereo and the CD changer interface? Something that would let you use either an iPod or generic USB mass storage/MP3 player as the "changer"?

FM transmitters are all gash.
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If you read the other thread you would understand, its obvious he's trolling, the £2k remark is the sure fire give away and the recomendation was sarcastic

How its set up is the head unit is the NAV and trip computer as well as the stereo. The NAV reads a map DVD off a pointless (in modern) terms DVD drive under the passenger seat. The DVD drive plugs into the AUX port, as does an XCarLink (device that reads MP3's off of USB and SSD) however there is a Y-Cable that will split the connection enabling both to be connected, not sure if this will work though
 
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Relentless81 said:
Here we goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo :rolleyes:

Can we just ignore The Dean please, he is referring to another thread and thats why i'm calling him a troll, because he is one
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I admit, he has posted to just be a pain, but your response is what trolls are after. ;)



As for your problem, personally I'd lump it...which I know is quite a rubbish reply. :p

I've got a 6disc CD changer in the boot, FM+Tape headunit and don't want to replace any of it...this means I too can't have MP3s and I've never really liked the idea of the FM transmitters and the Tape adapters are costly (for what they are) and not that great. Because of this I've stuck with having normal CDs in the changer, when bored of those on long journeys, then switch to FM, when bored of that either switch back to CDs or just turn it all off.

So yeah, I say option 3, not very helpful I know. :p
 
Alternatively, get an eBay special 3rd or 4th gen iPod (even one with a knackered screen is fine, you don't need it), and use the Harmon Kardon Drive & Play, using the direct RF cable, yes technically it's still "FM" broadcasting, but as it's direct cable, the quality is ok.
 
I take it the current head unit only has cd and no tape deck? If it does have a tape deck then splash out on a cassette/mp3 connection. I use a nice one with gold plated connections and it's absolutely fine. Don't bother with the cheaper ones as you'll just end up with a humming noise ruining the music.
 
As this was an edit i'll ad it as a reply because most will miss it and my OP doesnt explain it too well, yes its a CD drive, more info below

Relentless81 said:
How its set up is the head unit is the NAV and trip computer as well as the stereo. The NAV reads a map DVD off a pointless (in modern) terms DVD drive under the passenger seat. The DVD drive plugs into the AUX port, as does an XCarLink (device that reads MP3's off of USB and SSD) however there is a Y-Cable that will split the connection enabling both to be connected, not sure if this will work though
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Relentless81 said:
Here you go, still tempted by this type of thing but I want something with better quality as i'd like better speakers fitted but also on the flipside of that is there any point in better speakers running off the standard stereo?

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18203217&highlight=mp3+username_Relentless81
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that thread sums up your **** attitude towards people trying to help you, someone suggested a fix (parrot bluetooth kit) that will only cost £100, will give you bluetooth handsfree as well as a usb and ipod interface and a headphone socket, as well as a2dp bluetooth streaming from phones, will be transferrable to a new car, and you shrugged it off because you "couldnt be arsed it's not worth the effort, read the requirements again".

Well, there isn't going to be a much better option tbh, I'd go as far as saying that it's people like you that can turn legitimate kind people into common garden trolls
 
rG-tom said:
Wahhhhh
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Wow, someones a few days away from leaking. I dont want to stream from phones it emntions that no where in the OP, at the time I was after an FM transmittor MP3 player but a decent quality item as its temporary as I wasnt sure how long I was kepping the car for, its pretty obvious in the OP what I was after and they cost a fraction of £100 :confused:
 
Relentless81 said:
First post from a troll, now no one will help with what I orginally asked and the thread will spiral into a shower of pathetic no life arguments

First off troll, its £5k.

Second off, i've just got a new job so things have changed.
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Touchy.

It's a valid question, if you plan on selling then there's little point spending loads.
 
Janesy B said:
Touchy.

It's a valid question, if you plan on selling then there's little point spending loads.
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Dont try and continue the off topic discussion Janesy, its obvious what he's doing and its got nothing to do with the OP, i'm keeping the car for now, my commute is getting longer as i've already explained, lets try are hardest to stay on topic for once eh? Any suggestions Janesy?
 
Not trying to troll. My point was; if you are planning on selling, leave the car totally stock. No point chucking money down the drain is all.
 
Why not get a Parrott kit, they connect between your headunit and speakers and many of them can play MP3s, A2DP etc.
 
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