Ultimate E30 Head Units...

[Royalratch]

The Story: Need a premium Head Unit that look as stock as possible but must have or accept Bluetooth / iPhone interfaces.

The Problem: Not many are capable and look okay.

I have narrowed it down. I currently have this Becker Cascade but I only got it because it has hi-end Nav built in so no secondary screen anywhere plus it looks old school. I now have TomTom on my iPhone so this is kind of overkill and redundant now.

This is it:





So I'm thinking these...

Becker GrandPrix @ £260 - Has Bluetooth built in and I can use my existing Becker iPod Adapter so full marks for features and integration. Great looks and SQ.


Nakamichi CD500 @ £300 - Arguably the best SQ, great OEM looks and can accept a Parrot Bluetooth - but no iPod adapter...?



BMW Business CD @ £150 used - Perfect OEM looks, decent SQ and Parrotable but again, no iPod interface or Amp Pre Outs?

[sihooker]

The Becker GP is the one i'd go for.

BMW business reminds me of my dad's E46 too much...it's cold.

[Royalratch]

The Becker is top at the moment as it;s all modern tech but old school looks. The Business CD looks the best by faaaaaaar - I love the no nonsense looks - anyone know if you can get an iPod interface for it? Maybe if I search for an E36 one...

[sihooker]

What does parrotable mean?

[Royalratch]

Can fit a Parrot unit to it for invisible Bluetooth functionality.

[cecotto479]

Let me know if you're selling the Cascade.

[sihooker]

Can fit a Parrot unit to it for invisible Bluetooth functionality.

Oh bugger...i've come to the stage where i need to ask my 21 yr old son to explain an explanation given to me in regard to new technology

[HartgeH27]

Can fit a Parrot unit to it for invisible Bluetooth functionality.

Oh bugger...i've come to the stage where i need to ask my 21 yr old son to explain an explanation given to me in regard to new technology

Love it !!!!

[pac1982]

I know we've had arguments about this kind of thing in the past but do you really think these units look old skool??

They look extremely modern to me and very much like what come in modernish VAG cars

Don’t get me wrong they are good units but there not "old skool" in the slightest

My alpine 7998R looks more old skool than these and that don’t look old skool either

[skyway]

Dont both of the above head units have reliability issues?

[Simon]

I don't think it's so much old skool, but they fit in an E30 dashboard very well, and are simple.

Suit an E30 dash a lot better than some silver unit, with lot's of different colours etc.

I'd be going for the becker, I know how good the Nakamichi's are, but I don't think it looks as good quality as the becker.

[pac1982]

I don't think it's so much old skool, but they fit in an E30 dashboard very well, and are simple.

Suit an E30 dash a lot better than some silver unit, with lot's of different colours etc.

I'd be going for the becker, I know how good the Nakamichi's are, but I don't think it looks as good quality as the becker.

As good as i know nakamichi's are they looks like a £20 ripspeed head unit if i had to choose between the two i'd go for the becker but i think you need one of these bad boys............

[sihooker]

Pac, that is the most Corsa-tastic thing i have EVER seen! It would be a complete sin to put that into an E30.

[pac1982]

Pac, that is the most Corsa-tastic thing i have EVER seen! It would be a complete sin to put that into an E30.

Its all about sound quality matey and this is about the best alpine have to offer just under the F1 status stuff, it actully looks quite nice in my dash IMO..........





I'm a sound system junky and its function over form for me i'm afraid

Dont think many Corsa fools would have an £800 unit in there car

[sihooker]

Each to their own... I've only got a cheap Kenwood in mine, with a modest upgrade to the speakers (Sony X-plod 2-way) which do the job. The main reason i bought it was because it looked ok in the dash, and it was only £35! It's all about being happy behind the wheel

[bss325i]

Ratch, the Nak CD500 has an Aux input so you can use an ipod, just not control it.

I have a CD500, Nak FTW!

[toby]

The Story: Need a premium Head Unit that look as stock as possible but must have or accept Bluetooth / iPhone interfaces.

The Problem: Not many are capable and look okay.

I have narrowed it down. I currently have this Becker Cascade but I only got it because it has hi-end Nav built in so no secondary screen anywhere plus it looks old school. I now have TomTom on my iPhone so this is kind of overkill and redundant now.

This is it:




So I'm thinking these...

Becker GrandPrix @ £260 - Has Bluetooth built in and I can use my existing Becker iPod Adapter so full marks for features and integration. Great looks and SQ.


Nakamichi CD500 @ £300 - Arguably the best SQ, great OEM looks and can accept a Parrot Bluetooth - but no iPod adapter...?



BMW Business CD @ £150 used - Perfect OEM looks, decent SQ and Parrotable but again, no iPOd interface?

The decision on the BMW head unit - it is low powered compared to what you have I guess - so are you running an amp? If so it might need to have speaker input, as opposed to RCA connections as I don't think the BMW unit comes with RCAs (to avoid faffing about with voltage adaptors).

The BMW unit also matches the dash lighting perfectly and you don't have to worry so much about someone nicking it - I guess - but it doesn't have a removable panel. That is to say, it's less desirable but has less security. I suppose it's coded - which is no real deterrent and mostly a pain for the user.

The head unit you have looks great - why not hang onto it? It's a handy backup for sat nav.

If you have to change, from your selection, the Grand Prix looks the sensible choice in terms of features, it blends with the dash best but the colour might not be a perfect match for the dash lighting - if that bothers you.

Sorry I've listed a load of guesses and unqualified opinions, but I must say I wouldn't want to be without the iPod in my car now I'm used to it.

[RicoSuave]

Bav Soundwerks do some iPod and iPhone integration kits but not sure if they do any for the Buisness unit.

Might be worth a look?

http://www.bavariansoundwerks.com/

[DanThe]

Pac-man that is about as appealing as the clifford LED blinker! Ratch is after OE looking stuff that will work his executive hands free parrot toss, my old pioneer has finally given up the ghost and im also after a new OE looking headunit but must be DAB, cant be arsed with ipods and mp3 crap, I just want to get in the car and tune into some decent music which is not easy if your restricted to FM

[bss325i]

Sorry I've listed a load of guesses and unqualified opinions, but I must say I wouldn't want to be without the iPod in my car now I'm used to it.

You can use an ipod with the Nak.

[B7]

Pac, that is the most Corsa-tastic thing i have EVER seen! It would be a complete sin to put that into an E30.

Have to agree. Completely out of place in an e30's dash.

[magpie]

pacs lost the oem homo bug.

[spook]

Its alright having a flash head unit, but its rendered pretty much useless when you listen to Coldplay

[bmwsport]

I've heard the Nak's end up nak'd, they do have some well documented reliability issues which put me off them especially with their high price tags. I'm looking into getting a Becker Grand prix, have you got any links to some places that still sell them? I'm thinking maybe the 7992 iirc with red background.

My only concern is all this DAB switch over nonsense, if it goes through what will happen to all our FM AM car radio's!? Will they end up useless scrap?

[bss325i]

I've heard the Nak's end up nak'd, they do have some well documented reliability issues which put me off them especially with their high price tags. I'm looking into getting a Becker Grand prix, have you got any links to some places that still sell them? I'm thinking maybe the 7992 iirc with red background.

My only concern is all this DAB switch over nonsense, if it goes through what will happen to all our FM AM car radio's!? Will they end up useless scrap?

The problem that Naks suffer from is the internal amp failing due to the heat generated by it.

Not a problem if you using a seperate amp. Im using an Alpine PDX 4.100.

[bmwsport]

Is this guy sticking M badges over ROVER emblems and charging double...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-BUSINESS-CD-P ... 414f8566cb

Rover unit...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ROVER-25-45-CD-PL ... 483a8c2bbc



How hard would it be to cleanly remove the Rover logo altogether? They are exactly the same unit and are less than half price just because of this.

[kieran325]

As you know RR, I've got 2 Beckers 7992 in the sport and the M3 -





I really do rate the Becker gear, they look timeless in the E30 cabin.

Did you get my last pm

[bmwsport]

Where's the best place to buy the 7992 unit from (who actually have some stock)?

[Jozi]

Not sure if it's been mentioned but Becker has stopped producing aftermarket head units. So if it's Becker your going for you might get a good deal on left over stocks?

[kieran325]

Not sure if it's been mentioned but Becker has stopped producing aftermarket head units. So if it's Becker your going for you might get a good deal on left over stocks?

I searched high and low for my Becker for the M3, the one in my sport came from Sextons Direct, 7992's are retailing for £319 now

I got mine form MNC, searched and found these to be the cheapest.

[Felix79]

This is what I have in mine. Has the caple for the ipod/iphone , can play a number of types of disc. Very good sound too boot and a quality brand

[Royalratch]

Dude.

That isn't old school or retro it's just old! No offense but that is hideous and the exact opposite of what I'm talking about.

The units I threw up are minimal and chunky just like the E30 dash with the correct amber lighting. You throw up a black and silver neon-green fest of Japanese noise - how on earth did you come to the conclusion that is an acceptable set up for an E0!?

Felix - Blaupunkt are alright. had a couple of their systems but their Bluetooth/iPod add-ons are rubbish and don't work Plus they only come with white or blue faces.

I'm feeling the BMW CD but I need the tech.

[Felix79]

Yes the blue glow spoils the ambiance some what with the orange/red glow of the BMW lighting.

Ratch one thing you may want to look into is the iphone tomtom cradle to go with any head unit your planning. When I was reading reviews of the tomtom app before I paid for it there were alot of people commenting on the gps dropping down a lot with the standard handset.

[pac1982]

[[img]http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h25/p ... 7998Ra.jpg

Dude.

That isn't old school or retro it's just old! No offense but that is hideous and the exact opposite of what I'm talking about.

The units I threw up are minimal and chunky just like the E30 dash with the correct amber lighting. You throw up a black and silver neon-green fest of Japanese noise - how on earth did you come to the conclusion that is an acceptable set up for an E0!?

Felix - Blaupunkt are alright. had a couple of their systems but their Bluetooth/iPod add-ons are rubbish and don't work Plus they only come with white or blue faces.

I'm feeling the BMW CD but I need the tech.

I guessed it wasn’t your cup of tea as we've discussed the same thing in the past but I can quite confidently say that in an SPL contest two cars running the same systems but with any of the units you have listed above running one and mine running the other, my alpine would walk all over others you have mentioned.
I didn’t say it was retro in fact I said it wasn’t retro and neither are any of the others.

I'm a sucker for quality, And the 7998R oozes quality, I was amazed when I first hooked it up it sounded better than my old head unit before I had even adjusted any of the settings.

Function over form old boy, I’m willing to have a slightly jazzy looking unit for the sound quality it kicks out

[Royalratch]

The SQ is not nearly enough to put up with that facia. I'm running a Genesis Amp off my Head Unit so I have more than enough SQ. The Becker is a class act, controls are heavy weighted and precise and just oozes quality as does the BMW.

The units I have thrown up definitely are retro, the Becker twin-dial set-up is a classic, the Nak is very 80's clean tech looking and the BMW is perfect.

The Alpine just dissolves into a sea of tacky Japanese stuff I grew up with - flashing lights and BASS BOOST 30000MEGAWATTS plastered all over them.