Yes another roady audio thread....

[bassmandan]

Re: Yes another roady audio thread....

I've got a £100 Kenwood and I have to say I think it's great. I reckon they are very decent for what they cost.

[smart-eddy]

Re: Yes another roady audio thread....

While I agree with your post overall, I'd rather buy a used UK Alpine, etc HU than a new kenwood or cheap sony's (the new low end HU's by Sony are really inferior in SQ)based on my experience of the sound quality of high end Alpine's that were £200+ a year or two ago and are now around £60-£80

any particular model of alpine I should be searching for, I'd be happy paying £60 if I knew I was really getting something half decent?

[m1pui]

Re: Yes another roady audio thread....

While I agree with your post overall, I'd rather buy a used UK Alpine, etc HU than a new kenwood or cheap sony's (the new low end HU's by Sony are really inferior in SQ)based on my experience of the sound quality of high end Alpine's that were £200+ a year or two ago and are now around £60-£80

I totally agree, that's why I said it's not as relevant with a second hand higher end model which is a "bargain" in the first place and you wouldn't mind then shelling out a bit to refurb it if it needed.

But Eddy saying "as cheap as possible" opens up the potential of a cheap low/mid range units which could cost as much or more than the purchase price to repair which could then take the overall purchase price to more than what a decent unit would've been brand new.

It's just a case of knowing what to look for an getting it at a sensible price. I'm a massive Alpine fan too so the selections below are slightly biased. I've still got my CDA 9833 (headunit from my first properly thought out install) which we put in my bro's car a month or so back and it's still awesome :lovesm:

Prime example of potential bargains
Alpine CDA 9855 ebay (ends 10th July 4.58pm
Alpine CDA 7983R ebay (ends 11th 12.04am)
and a solid mid ranger
Alpine CDE 9850ri ebay (ends 10th July 7.45pm

EDIT: If you can find a 9833 or a 9835 (which was the same headunit, just with a posher display) you'll be very happy

[smart-eddy]

Re: Yes another roady audio thread....

hmmm ok lots of avenues opening up. I'm not headunit expert so wouldn't know a great deal about what to look for when buying second hand. If it were you guys and you had around £60 to play with what would your first thoughts be, new decent one? or second hand good alpine or the like?

just bear in mind how I was pretty impressed with the quality of the grundij unit which I got yesterday so my standards for quality arn't anywhere near as what some of you are probably used to hearing so I dont need anything madly good especially as the HU will not be hooked up to amazing speakers so I will not be using what ever I buy to its full capabilities by any means.

sorry for all the questions by the way but its interesting learning all this stuff so far so keep the opinions coming


edit: just spotted a blaupunkd unit, its certainly not a looker but its a brand which as far as I know are very well respected in the audio world, any opinions?

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/blaupunkt-milano-mp28-p-6728.html?cadid=d3d2040c36315d5b73d2bea3ac800d7a

[alchemistkevin]

Re: Yes another roady audio thread....

hmmm ok lots of avenues opening up. I'm not headunit expert so wouldn't know a great deal about what to look for when buying second hand. If it were you guys and you had around £60 to play with what would your first thoughts be, new decent one? or second hand good alpine or the like?

just bear in mind how I was pretty impressed with the quality of the grundij unit which I got yesterday so my standards for quality arn't anywhere near as what some of you are probably used to hearing so I dont need anything madly good especially as the HU will not be hooked up to amazing speakers so I will not be using what ever I buy to its full capabilities by any means.

sorry for all the questions by the way but its interesting learning all this stuff so far so keep the opinions coming


edit: just spotted a blaupunkd unit, its certainly not a looker but its a brand which as far as I know are very well respected in the audio world, any opinions?
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/blau...d2bea3ac800d7a

I've done both/. bought brand new and old Alpines' my budget has been around £80-£120 in the past and I've bought new sony's at the lower end of that budget and Alpine's at the higher end, I'll dig out the model numbers for you but the last Alpine I tried i wasn't happy with it. I think its in the list posted above but the thing I've found interesting is: just because you have expensive speakers and expensive HU doesn't mean you'll have great sound by default.

Some of the HU's sound better with certain speakers! I guess that's just to do with what frequencies the HU is good in outputting and if they match the forte of the speakers you've put in.


I'm now on a pretty costly system, 3 times of my original budget on the HU :eek: but I'm relatively happy with it.
Speakers are Focal CA-130's and I've got Rainbow's in garage just in case I want to experiment.

I'm really after a reasonably priced sub (or two) at the moment and then see how the sound scape shapes up.

[alchemistkevin]

Re: Yes another roady audio thread....

This is from one of my posts above: I can recommend the Alpine CDA7893R or Alpine CDE9850Ri that has default attachment for iPod's just don't mate it with the Focal's - I wasn't happy with the SQ.

On the lower end brand new (if you can still find them) I like the fascia and SQ of the SONY CDX-A250.

[smart-eddy]

Re: Yes another roady audio thread....

any thoughts on the blaupunkt unit I linked to, its the cheapest under that brand but they are a decent make as far as I know?

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/blau...d2bea3ac800d7a

[alchemistkevin]

Re: Yes another roady audio thread....

any thoughts on the blaupunkt unit I linked to, its the cheapest under that brand but they are a decent make as far as I know?
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/blau...d2bea3ac800d7a

check your link please

[smart-eddy]

Re: Yes another roady audio thread....

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/blau...d2bea3ac800d7a try here

[m1pui]

Re: Yes another roady audio thread....

This is from one of my posts above: I can recommend the Alpine CDA7893R or Alpine CDE9850Ri that has default attachment for iPod's just don't mate it with the Focal's - I wasn't happy with the SQ.

On the lower end brand new (if you can still find them) I like the fascia and SQ of the SONY CDX-A250.

Were you running the focals from an external amp or the headunit? I've got the 9850ri in my gf's Ka and it's running with an Audison SRx2 & Focal Polyglass comps and it sound fantastic.

Back to the thread now. Blaupunkt do make some decent stuff but not had any personal experience with their headunits (bar a factory fitted one in a car we had). It ticks all the right boxes for you so I don't see why you'd be disappointed. If you do think that you might be wanting more from your sound-system then you would be better off buying better at the start rather than having to trade up later on.

Ultimately, buy the best you can afford and second hand or a bigger budget would net you something better without a doubt but it's whether you want to, potentially, wait for the right one to come up or whether you'd be buying into a lot of features which you really don't need, etc.

If you really do want cheap & simple just make sure you buy one that you're comfortable with. I think your best bet, from a touch & feel perspective, is to go to a local Halfords which tends to stock a few Blaupunkt units and see if you like it when you see it in the flesh. You'll probably have the opportunity to play with a few brands on their display too.

[seadragon]

Re: Yes another roady audio thread....

I have been reading this thread and one other getting some tips for audio upgrade for my roadie and have ordered the following:

Blaupunkt New Orleans MP 58 headunit
Blaupunkt THx 542 co-axials.

Comps sound nice but I will be doing this myself and I am useless at DIY so I should be able to do this.

The sound from my Grundig is awful, I hate the massive difference in clarity and volume between radio (good) and cd (diabolical).

I also cant stand that the traffic report keeps coming on and off all the time (my car didnt come with any manuals so dont know how to work it).

I guess I need the radio code as well to take out the Grundig, is that right?? (why do I need the code, sorry I know nothing about this, havent had to do this kind of thing before).

[M_at]

Re: Yes another roady audio thread....

I guess I need the radio code as well to take out the Grundig, is that right?? (why do I need the code, sorry I know nothing about this, havent had to do this kind of thing before).

No - just the tools. You'll need the code if you ever wanted to restore the Grundig unit - if you want to sell the roadster with the original headunit for instance - or if you want to sell it on.

[smart-eddy]

Re: Yes another roady audio thread....

Right, so the current situation is, I re-fitted the grundig headunit again before I sticking it on ebay just to enjoy proper sound and I was wrong. Although I now had bass the quality was pretty poor and at motorway speed volumes it was terrible so I'm back to my current rubbish. So I can only really afford to buy either a HU or speakers in the next few weeks so which do I buy first speakers or replace the HU?

which will make more of a difference? which will be a better short term, a half decent HU with rubbish speakers or haf decent speakers with a dying (I think anyway) head unit?

Just a quick observation when putting my aftermarket cd player back in, on the power supply you stick into the back of the headunit which is basically a block with 20 odd wires going into it, (hope you understand which bit I mean) a pink wire keeps comming out of the block. I had no power when I stuck the HU back in so I removed it again, then I noticed it was out so stuck it back in and it worked again so maybe the reason behind my sound issues is just this wire or something. Is it possible that a new block bit would possibly solve any of this. or is

Sorry for all the questions but I am a noob when it comes to wiring and etc

[m1pui]

Re: Yes another roady audio thread....

I'd say start with a headunit first. A new/better headunit will make the standard speakers sound slightly better and louder (the aftermarket HU should have a better quality amp built in) whereas new speakers will more often than not just show up the headunit as the weak point and they will still distort at the volume which the headunit begins to struggle.

Is the wire pink or red? Red is the power so that would be why it wouldn't power on if it wasn't plugged in. I can't think off top of my head what pink is for (I think it may be the radio mute/att wire but don't want to say for definite) but I'll have a look and check. I don't think this would cause for your sound issues though and unless the plastic block is damaged I don't think you'd need a new one, the bullet connectors clip in and are usually fairly sturdy for what they're needed for. If it is slightly loose, you could dab a bit of glue into the hole (not on the end of the bullet) to help it grab between the neck of the hole and the wire/bullet.

[alchemistkevin]

Re: Yes another roady audio thread....

Pink from memory is mute... not 100% sure though...

m1pui is correct... HU first. Always. I've tested this in the smart and the Grundig's a poor poor unit.