can someone reccomend a second hand head unit

[liam012]

haven't a clue wat to pick up as a head unit - i have heard the 2 year old alpines are good but dont know which,
ideally i would like it to be black with orange lights...
doent have to be disc changer ability
would prefer mp3 readable unit
must have "amp out" phono's
dont care about blue tooth or usb really.
other than that as long as it sounds good i dont mind - i have an amp for my rears so it will ust be powering the fronts
any suggestions?

[placey]

budget?

[liam012]

would i be flamed by audiophiles if i said i'd like to keep as close to 100 ponds as possible if not under?

[dark_sounds]

touch over i think u could get something alright,,

i got a alpine 9812, these can be picked up for around 110-140 on ebay, good headunits from 2004, hence very cheap, where ex 300+ back in day

[cliffybabe]

my kenwood dmask MP3 unit was 40 all in from flea bay, Ali i know ur gonna kick me again another good deal

[placey]

i bought this: nakamichi and although it's not without it's problems: see new head unit when it's playing it is truly and absolutely sonically superb.

the alpine cda9813r is the unit of choice from a couple of years back as alpine claim it has 3 4 volt pre-outs. they aren't really - you'll be lucky to see 2.5 volts before distortion but it's a step up from the 9812 models that only claim 4 volts for the sub output. (high voltage signal levels make a huge difference but line drivers are generally expensive. this is where nakamichi units really excel.)

another alternative is the pioneer deh-p77mp. this plays all formats, sounds good but does not suit the e30 dash so well.

i don't believe there is a perfect head unit out there. at least i haven't found one and i've tried a few now.... so it's all about where are you prepared to comprimise. i've comprimised a bit of convenience for sound quality.

paul

[fowler]

sorry to hijack placey is the nakamichi still for sale and does it have an Aux input to it ???

[dark_sounds]

the line voltage in a bog standard system seriously isnt a major,, it only becomes noticable when you have alot of distribution, ie,, very long RCAs, with splitting of the rcas, or all Rcas being used. etc.

for example, im running just one 3m length to the active crossover.

the preout voltage is matched up on the amp via the gain, so regardless of preout voltage, you just match it on the amp and hence no more distortion.

so what is the rest of the system your running?

[dark_sounds]

mind you just had a look on ebay, and ebay prices,,, the 9813 seems to go qutie a bit cheaper and theres one on their at the mo..

a unit above the 9812 yet cheaper,,, tempted myself

[placey]

fowler - i don't know whether to stick with it or not ben. i certainly don't have anything to replace it with - so it's not for sale just yet. want me to shout you when? no promises mind, as i'm on other projects at the moment, not e30 related. (i.e. money gathering/collecting/hording whatever you want to call it)

paul

[dark_sounds]

i'm on other projects at the moment, not e30 related. (i.e. money gathering/collecting/hording whatever you want to call it)

paul

ahh good old debt collection ;) mind, can imagine you as a loan shark. lol j/k

[cliffybabe]

Ali stop tlaking about it and finish it already OMG just get it done, u know we all want to hear it at ace's

[placey]

hmmm i'm not debt collecting. i'm gathering the money for a fairly major purchase. it's a car, begins with 'a' and sounds like ribena...

paul