recommendations for a head unit ~£200

[cheesebox]

I'm looking to get a new head unit, but don't know what make to get.

I want something which plays mp3 CD's and ideally has a usb port. I've spotted a couple of Kenwood units (eg http://www.justkenwood.co.uk/stock01/kdcw7537u.asp) which have these features, but maybe there's some alternatives? I appreciate quality hi-fi sound, so most importantly I want something with the best quality sound for the money. I'm not too fussed about additional features.

Any suggestions? I was looking to spend about £200, and will budget for speakers separately - the ones in the car at the moment aren't too bad.

Cheers guys

[mattyb240]

Mp3 Cd's i find arent that good and dont last that long and i have "premium" cd's. I bought a Cd changer lead for mine with a mini stereo jack on the back to hook up my mp3 player. My headunit wass £120 a year back (Blaupunkt) and has been great to me with about 45watts rms per speaker.

[BadDave]

one word

ALPINE

[beardymat]

ive just bought a kenwood 7534u which was last years model for £130 off amazon. looks similar to the one youre looking at. not had chance to play properly yet but it seems a good unit and the usb capability is such a godsend for those of us who dont like loads of cd`s rattling around in the glovebox. inbuilt crossovers make it easy to customise your system for the speakers you have.

[tailoutcharlie]

another word

ALPINE

or has that one been said

[DaveD]

got to get one with a usb port...a 2gb stick holds 20 cds...

[iDreamBeemer]

I went with JVC KD-G731 and I think it does the job very nicely.

http://www.incarexpress.co.uk/view_prod ... tno=KDG731

plus it'll save you £100!! It has 3 preouts so its good when looking to set up a reasonable system.

[chu346]

one word

ALPINE

another word

ALPINE

or has that one been said

another word

sh*t

That needs to be said!

[cheesebox]

another word

sh*t

That needs to be said!

It's all getting a bit weird in here...

Are you saying Alpine is no good? If not what's better, or is there nothing "good" under the £200 mark?

[cheesebox]

I went with JVC KD-G731 and I think it does the job very nicely.

http://www.incarexpress.co.uk/view_prod ... tno=KDG731

plus it'll save you £100!! It has 3 preouts so its good when looking to set up a reasonable system.

Thanks for the tip, looks good. That site seems pretty good on prices for other stuff too.

[chinchilla]

[chu346]

[cheesebox]

Alpine shmalpine, no models have a usb flash drive compatability as far as I can see.

[cheesebox]

JVC is looking like the favourite at the moment...

[chu346]

I think morat was going to buy this http://www.bluespot.co.uk/stock/hamburg.asp

Looks good and has all the features i'm thinking about buying one. I dont usually like the looks or features of Blaupunkt but this does look good.

Oh and a bargain at £169.99

[touringandy]

jvc have good selection at mo not exactly top end material but good for price quality an features
mines got mp3 cd ipod all the gear for boot installs flip motorised front an remote control for 120 reduced from 189 not to bad?

[tailoutcharlie]

jvc is cheap suck ass crap......imo or course lol

[SHAZ325iSPORT]

alpine cda-9855r

[Riley]

I have just installed a Becker Grand Prix 7992, this weekend and it is the best thing since sliced bread. It is as if it was an origional fit on the E30 Dash. It has bluetooth for handsfree mobile, display track names of your mp3 cd's. shows the phone number of who is calling. you can dial numbers from the head unit. With an extra lead it will control and display your ipod tracks, it has a cd player. But as i said it looks perfect on the E30 dash. i would recomend it 100% (apprently Becker supplys head units to Porsche and some BMWs)

http://www.becker.de/beckerCC21/www_roo ... anguage=En

check it out, every E30 should have one.

[Morat]

I think morat was going to buy this http://www.bluespot.co.uk/stock/hamburg.asp

Looks good and has all the features i'm thinking about buying one. I dont usually like the looks or features of Blaupunkt but this does look good.

Oh and a bargain at £169.99

Yep, I've been using it for a month or so now and I'm very chuffed with it. Sound is good, bluetooth/mic for the phone is superb and the seek time on the USB socket (using a 2Gb flash drive) is very fast indeed (2-3s on random seek). The only thing that lets it down a bit is changing between playlists which works well but involves holding down a button for a couple of seconds to change modes on the mp3 control. This is a minor niggle really, you can skip forward/back and change to random mode really easily so its not like you have to use it often but I'd recommend waiting till the next traffic light. The good news on that front is that you can create playlists on your PC in winamp, media player or whatever and it will pick them up in the car.

There is a audio jack on the front for sticking your MP3 player in, if you want full control over an iPod you need to buy a special cable.

I've also found the radio to be excellent, and it includes a LW tuner which is essential for old farts like me who want to pick up Radio 4 in France

The screen is only black and white, but I like that - especially since its pretty high resolution unlike the previous generations of LCD. If you want colour it is available on an identical but higher priced version.

The illumination is a nice red apart from the blue dot which is not a power on/off button but is a Mute button. This doesn't make much odds apart from the way the unit restarts exactly where it left off when you unmute it. IE it doesn't need to rescan the USB drive/CD before playback as long as you haven't turned the engine off since you were last listening.

[cheesebox]

I have just installed a Becker Grand Prix 7992

I see what you mean about it suiting the e30 dash, it has got that oem look to it. Looks bog standard but has some great features. Bit pricey though, and I don't see a USB port.

I think morat was going to buy this http://www.bluespot.co.uk/stock/hamburg.asp

Looks good. Similarly I was never keen on the blaupunkt styling, but it looks like they've moved on. Is it hi-fi though?

Still don't see an Alpine stereo with USB, unless you buy that massive interface box for your boot, which I've heard it doesn't work very well. OK if you have an iPod but I don't!

[Riley]

There is no USB port on the Becker, but will play mp3 tracks burn't onto a cd, and display the track name on the head unit. I accidently ended up buying two of these stereos on ebay. I am currently trying to return one, a couple of scratches on the left hand corner of the face and the mic is missing, but seems to work fine. If interested i will sell for £175 delivered, as long as you are in the UK.