old radio? keep the look and era of car

Sun Feb 20, 2011 11:46 am

cool, display looks green and faint though, going to fit mine today just to see what its like.

amp, cd multi changer and speakers will follow later

Sun Feb 20, 2011 12:16 pm

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BLAUPUNKT-MEMPHIS ... _500wt_922

Sun Feb 20, 2011 4:02 pm

i installed it today, and the sound quality is awsome, even through my 5.99 knackerd front speakers, its awsome and worth every penny.

The wiring in my car was well........ stevie wonder could have done a better job.

thought the tape player was stuck on but then relised it had a cooling fan in it.

very executive. even the tape player will skip tracks rather than just fastforwarding till you tell it to stop

Love it

Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:06 pm

I was thinking of doing this exact same thing, want an oem looking headunit, just slightly better radio function and better sound quality. How easy is it to maintain a working aerial when putting in a new stereo? I have a mate who's fairly nifty with wiring, but i just want to make sure it can be made to work before buying a headunit.

Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:09 pm

ive got my woodstock running through an AMP now sounds superb, going to get a sub when i have enough cash

Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:25 pm

Great stuff Alex!

I've had mine in with a BQA80 amp for a month or so now and coupled with some Alpine components up front and some BMW HiFi pack speakers in the rear it sounds great! Sound quality is much better than i expected!

I still need to fit the BEQ2 equaliser but i need to make up a bracket first instead of mounting it to the centre consol.

Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:29 pm

bss325i wrote:Great stuff Alex!

I've had mine in with a BQA80 amp for a month or so now and coupled with some Alpine components up front and some BMW HiFi pack speakers in the rear it sounds great! Sound quality is much better than i expected!

I still need to fit the BEQ2 equaliser but i need to make up a bracket first instead of mounting it to the centre consol.

the speakers and amp ive got are aftermarket stuff but ive installed everything so it looks oem, used bmw fabric tape, on all cables and followed rca and rem cables thought the cars wiring loom with bmw fabric tape.

ive got a set of 6.5" nakamichi speakers in the rear and some vibe comps for the front still waiting to go in. (only have rears connected at present) going to go for a sub, i dont like them but for decent sounds you need one imo

Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:36 pm

Ive got this Pioneer to go in mine.
bit older than my car but still a cool unit with amber illumination.
Just waiting to pick up a changer to go with it and ill stick it in.
Lovely condition too,pins havent even been bent on the cage.

Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:39 pm

Agreed, a sub is really needed for the best sound but im happy enough and its got rid of the mess that was two amps and a sub in my boot.

I was thinking about something like this.

http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/produc ... oduct.html

Nice and hidden!

Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:44 pm

now thats pretty cool, wonder if the wheel would fit over it????

Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:54 pm

It says it will fit inside a 14" wheel. and its 5.6" deep to should fit inside a 7J + wheel.

Nice head unit Tony!

Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:24 pm

Thats pretty good. Seems quite alot but i guess its unique. Would love one

Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:36 pm

TBH, i would want to hear it before forking out the £250. I might be crap but probably isnt.

Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:43 pm

Has anyone tried an under seat active sub?

I'm tempted

Wed Mar 30, 2011 10:01 pm

Something like this?

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalo ... CCcQ8gIwAQ#

Wed Mar 30, 2011 11:21 pm

Just bought a 8" which I can finally replace my hideous 12" with does not fit under hood compartment and messes up my weight distribution.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 500wt_1156

Wed Mar 30, 2011 11:31 pm

bss325i wrote:Something like this?

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalo ... CCcQ8gIwAQ#

Yeah mate, seen a blaupunkt one for about a ton

Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:12 am

Link?

Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:24 am

On old headunits like these Blaupunkt ones, will i be able to run my front mids and tweeters via a seperate amp as i've already got high end speakers and amps which sounds awesome but will be wanting to revert to a retro stereo capable of taking my Ipod input instead of the foldout screen and remote processor i have? Will also be wanting to rub my sub and another amp as well.

Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:27 am

There are two ways of doing this.

One is if the head unit has and output which will be an 8 pin DIN on a blaupunkt but adapter leads to phono/RCA are available.

Two is if the amp you are using has a speaker high level input.

Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:44 am

Will i be able to do that with only a single output?

Both the amps are Genesis Stereo 60, not sure whether they have a high level input

Spec from the website - http://www.genesiscaraudio.co.uk/uk-en/ ... -three.php

Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:46 am

Yes you can do that with a single output as you can also get phone/RCA spliter cables.

Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:59 am

So a Memphis would be my best bet then i assume, will check out you audio guide and see if any others have the outputs.

Wed Apr 06, 2011 4:23 pm

excellent thread this !

1stly- i have a £40 under seat sub in my ford xr3, it sounds ok for the size just adds that bit of bass for the standard speakers

in my e30- i have pioneer bluetooth ipod stereo with hands free built in,which is pretty cool to be driving down the road and someone rings it just cuts out the music with the ringing, and you can drive and chat away, and an ipod in the glove box , and a remote control which i think must be bluetooth ? it lights up amber or any color i want, and looks nice without being too new jazzy, nice at night, and a pre amped sub in the boot which is 2 seconds to remove and take out if need be

like the original poster... ive long thought about if i could have a period casette player in there, but connected to an iod in the glove box,and my pre amped sub , would that be possible with one of these blaupunkt sq88 or similar ? i never play cds, just use the ipod, or radio occasionaly

Wed Apr 06, 2011 7:54 pm

Ipod plugs in the front with a 3.5mm jack lead but you have to control the ipod from the ipod, no head unit control of the ipod basically.

Yes you can run an amp of any sort as there is a 8pin DIN output.

Thu Apr 07, 2011 12:14 pm

i gathered no ipod stereo control but excellent on the jack, although a rear would of been better

not sure if my subs an 8pin din tho ? its a pre amped sub normal sub leads ?

Mon May 09, 2011 3:49 pm

Just taken delivery of this;

Now any ideas where i source a plug for what i assume to be the speaker outputs?

Also how do a rig this up on a test bed as Barry has done to make sure all is working well?

Mon May 09, 2011 4:21 pm

is that the one from ebay kedge ? how much did you pay ? (looks super)

have no idea about the plug, but it might be just connectors to fit in there you need for the ends of the speaker wires ? halfords do a load, pop in there and ask and any local stereo shops woudl be a better bet independnt types and say you want this testing and fitting what do i need ? (even if you dont want them to fit it youl get the info on whats needed)

Mon May 09, 2011 7:27 pm

Yea was the one from Ebay, think a link was posted earlier in this thread. Bit of a bargain compared to Alex's

Don't think i'll be keeping the CD player though as i really can't think of a decent place to locate it

The car has never had a stereo fitted so i'm starting entirely from scratch with this install

Mon May 09, 2011 7:31 pm

Kedge wrote:Just taken delivery of this;

Now any ideas where i source a plug for what i assume to be the speaker outputs?

Also how do a rig this up on a test bed as Barry has done to make sure all is working well?

I was watching this on ebay. I would like the CD unit to match the SQR88 i already have but there is no where to mount on an E30.

To test, hook up the live and earth on the back of the unit to a 12v battery.

For power and speaker connections you want this,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AUTOLEADS-16-PIN- ... 421wt_1199

Mon May 09, 2011 7:39 pm

If you car has never had a radio then you will need a radio loom that plugs in behind the glove box then solder it to the DIN plug in the link i provided.

The SQR88 really needs an amp, if keeping it period then a BQA80 or a BQA 107.

Have a look on google images for them.

I use a BQA80 with some BMW HiFi pack/premium rear speakers and some Alpine components in the front and it sounds good.

Mon May 09, 2011 7:44 pm

Thanks for think link Barry

Will be looking to tips when it comes to sorting the wiring out on the car for this when the time comes.

Only way i can think of mounting the CD player is by hacking a center console apart, even then it'll probably look pretty crap.

Mon May 09, 2011 7:55 pm

Kedge wrote:Just taken delivery of this;

Now any ideas where i source a plug for what i assume to be the speaker outputs?

Also how do a rig this up on a test bed as Barry has done to make sure all is working well?

Thats the set I'd said to the seller on Ebay I'd like to buy if it has the code with it. It was advertised at £70, saying it had come from a Carlton. Next day I saw that the listing was ended, but was then relisted at £100 with the code available. I lost confidence in the deal from that moment on, so didn't persue it any further. Hope you got it at less than his asking!