advice on choosing a new head unit

[gareth]

i'm looking to buy myself a new CD head unit for christmas and am after some advice.

I want it to have the following demanding specification:
* MP3 compatable CD
* look 'right' in a E30 dash
* phono out
* the tricky bit: i want a USB port on the rear so i can use a USB memory stick, routed through into the glovebox on a lead. if i have one coming out of the front, i'll punch it off while changing gear!

I've seen the becker ones on here and they do look very good indeed but how do they stand on the MP3 and USB front?

[E30gore]

APLINE

[pac1982]

As above you cant really go wrong with an Alpine only one brand that’s some people may class as being better but I cant spell it something like nakamuchi lol they sound as good as alpines if not better but look horrid

If you buy a budget alpine a top line alpine or something in the middle you wont be disappointed

[pukar]

i recently went for a pioneer p700bt

it has bluetooth, usb, cd, mp3, ipod compatible, 50wx4 amp....pretty much everything. it has a usb connection lead which i fed into the glovebox and attached a 32g memory stick (ok for flash drives, but will not power a portable hard drive such as western digital passport etc..). i went for this one as i wanted all those things but wanted it to be amber aswell to match the dash. you can choose lots of colours, amber included or you can actually manually configure what colour you want it to be using RGB... (the newer pioneers only come with blue lights)...heres an official pic

http://i.testfreaks.nl/images/products/ ... 815889.jpg

the only problem is its discontinued, but i managed to find one on ebay for around the £180 mark. sound quality is excellent...even makes my blaupunkt blue magic speakers sing!

[Barx325i]

I'd say alpine, if you need up to date technology with uncluttered sound then alpine get my vote - I don't know what they offer fo your exact needs, but as cheese as this will sound, check out halfords they'll have a good range on display

depends how much are you willing to spend though..

[BadDave]

Any of the newer Alpines(since 95' ish iirc) that have the Ai-net system can run an add on for the Ipod or a USB interface. There is also a cable available which connects directly between the Ai-net lead and the usb device you wish to use,although the H/U won't be able to controll the USB device

[Royalratch]

Alpines are great but they look awful.

My Becker has Full Bluetooth phone, Europ-Wide SatNav, RCA out/in (adapter) MP3/WMV CD etc etc.

It doesn't have a USB port but it DOES have a ConmpactFlash Card slot in the front that is hidden behind the face - I have a 4GB in there at the mo but it;s also used for the Map Data.

iPod adapter is your best bet.

My opinion, only Becker or Blaupunkt look decent in that they are tech but retro looking - it's not enough to have Amber lights and a black face.

The E36 Business CD is pretty awesome too.

[BadDave]

Pukar-Please reduce the size of your avatar or remove it.

[Alyman]

I recently got a head unit with an SD card and USB slot in the front. It has a CD player too, but I doubt I'll ever use it much - I'm in my car A LOT, so I need loads of music, and havings loads of CDs in the car is a pain, they always get damaged. Mechless is the way forward!

The SD card reader only reads up to 2GB cards, but the USB has no limit. I'm going to get myself a couple of Eagletec 8GB drives and that should do me nicely - no chance of punching one of these off the front of your head unit!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0405806928

[Royalratch]

Problem with USB / Card media is you can't navigate through thousands of track can you?

[Barx325i]

Problem with USB / Card media is you can't navigate through thousands of track can you?

I stick radio 2 on and leave it locked - no time to fiddle with distractions behind the wheel of an e30

[Alyman]

Problem with USB / Card media is you can't navigate through thousands of track can you?

Why not? On mine I press a button, then twist the selector knob to cycle through the album names in alphabetical order. Once you've selected an album, you just skip backwards and forwards as if it were a CD.

[Royalratch]

Yeh but you are stuck with that Artist unless you twiddle again. No Playlists.

I have an iPod adapter in mine with full on screen replication of the iPod menus - awesome!

[gareth]

some good pointers there, cheers lads
re looks, as long as it's about the right colour illumination (no neon blue tat) and is generally black / dark grey, that's enough for me.

the ability to navigate through a USB flash device via the head unit controls is a must though. Also, i don't have an ipod, nor the need for one so there's not a lot of point shelling out for one of those when i'd only need it for storage

those teeny weeny flash drives could open up a few possibilities though, very neat

oh as far as budget goes, i'm not looking to spend a great deal. sound quality in a E30 (especially a touring) is always going to be an issue and i can;t hear a great deal over the top of my exhaust anyway

[polsta]

i recently went for a pioneer p700bt

it has bluetooth, usb, cd, mp3, ipod compatible, 50wx4 amp....pretty much everything. it has a usb connection lead which i fed into the glovebox and attached a 32g memory stick (ok for flash drives, but will not power a portable hard drive such as western digital passport etc..). i went for this one as i wanted all those things but wanted it to be amber aswell to match the dash. you can choose lots of colours, amber included or you can actually manually configure what colour you want it to be using RGB... (the newer pioneers only come with blue lights)...heres an official pic

http://i.testfreaks.nl/images/products/ ... 815889.jpg

the only problem is its discontinued, but i managed to find one on ebay for around the £180 mark. sound quality is excellent...even makes my blaupunkt blue magic speakers sing!

+1 for these

have one myself and its fantastic ! ...can change the colors, and mix too, can have it all red/amber so it matches in with the dash lights of the e30, or somethign like bright blue with green

remote control too, class piece of kit

[Royalratch]

[Blitz]

Wow thats nice.

[gareth]

Ratch, that really doeslook the dogs danglies
that one has no USB port though does it?
i wonder if any of the others do...

[Blitz]

Royalratch thats expensive

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

[Royalratch]

It is. But it does everything including Europe-wide SatNav and full onboard phone.

I have an iPod adapter but I think you can get an aux-In and a USB in.

But the price gets you the retro style with super tech.

[pac1982]

Fook that the becker is a good unit but not worth £800 at all

[Royalratch]

Fook that the becker is a good unit but not worth £800 at all

Okay.

Decent Head Unit - £400.
Parrot Unit - £80 + £100 installation.
TomTom - £200.
iPod Adapter £80.

And it will still look like modern silver nastiness.

[pac1982]

Fook that the becker is a good unit but not worth £800 at all

Okay.

Decent Head Unit - £400.
Parrot Unit - £80 + £100 installation.
TomTom - £200.
iPod Adapter £80.

And it will still look like modern silver nastiness.

Nope decent head unit that does all the above about £500 dont ask me to quote you one you know they exist

edit prehaps not the sat nav but even so i would still run a tom tom if i had the becker as the sat nav on those units aint exactly user friendly. Plus you can get a perfectly good sat nav for under £60 these days

[pac1982]

Besides people with old skool houses dont run old looking TV's hifi's cookers etc and if they do thats just being anal

[pac1982]

How about this add a parrot unit for £80 and a cheap sat nav unit for under £100 and your away, its black its lights up orange, ipod ready and also has USB port.

Oh and you'll need a £20 cable to link it to ur ipod

http://www.celstores.com/p/alpine-cde-1 ... -101rm.asp

all in all just under £300 with a sat nav unit thrown in for good measure

[Royalratch]

You came to your sense with your edit. Style costs money dude.

Who wants a ANOTHER silver box stuck to their windscreen that you have to remove all the time and is a pain to update (and usually is UK only).

Have you used the Nav on these Beckers? No.

The house analogy made no sense, especially given the OP's specific requirements.

Finally, I paid £600 for mine brand new + £45 for the iPod adapter (which is originally £105).

[pac1982]

You came to your sense with your edit. Style costs money dude.

Lets face it it looks nice in the E30 dash but as far as it goes it has not more style than an OE unit from an audi

Have you used the Nav on this unit? No. So please...

Yes i have actully matey and like i say you have to admit its not very easy to use compared to a tom tom or any other of the big name sat navs

[Royalratch]

Perhaps if you're a gaggle of blondes out on the razzle.

I have everything I need in one place that does not disrupt my dash. I am willing to pay for that convenience.

You are not, and would rather have 2 silver boxes with lots of lights. We differ in this instance.

The thing is, you would go for the Becker in a heartbeat, you;re just being anti cos you think it's cool.

[pac1982]

Perhaps if you're a gaggle of blondes out on the razzle.

I have everything I need in one place that does not disrupt my dash. I am willing to pay for that convenience.

You are not, and would rather have 2 silver boxes with lots of lights. We differ in this instance.

The thing is, you would go for the Becker in a heartbeat, you;re just being anti cos you think it's cool.

In all honesty I would rather have yours than my current old alpine cda 7876rb as its silver and lights up blue does look out of place in the E30 and it can't even play MP3's because its that old but the sound quality is top notch hence why I’ve had it so long and faultless for about 7 years I think.

The motorized alpine screen I have fits in nicely to the dash though as its got an old skool black alpine look to it, with minimal lighting and a suble old skool digi display when the screen is closed even if it does lights up green which is why I’m looking for a modern alpine unit to match it to replace my CDA that lights up green and works with all the latest tech

Still going to stick with alpine a great sound and better value for money IMO

Like I said first place not really trying to insult your unit its the dogs bollocks, just way too pricey

I'll be Alpine till i die

[Royalratch]

Flip out screens are super chavvy and really do look bad in an E30. Nothing but respect for Alpine but they're units, even the amber ones still look dodgy.

This Becker is cheap and old school but tech:




This Mexico reissue is awesome. If I had a proper classic I'd rock this, it's about £1G tho:



Becker kit is pricey but the build quality is awesome - plus they were OE for a lot of E30's at the time so it's kind of cool to have them now, albeit in a modern guise.

[pac1982]

Super chav are the stand alone screens people have stuck to there dash or head lining at least with a motorized its tucks away neatly and just looks like a head unit and in my case a very old skool looking head unit

If your willing to spend big bucks and want proper old skool cool then you need one of these bad boys if you can find one.....................

Alpine 7909

[Royalratch]

That looks awesome. But needs to be Amber.

There's a guy on another forum that actually swapped all the diodes inside to make them amber - Yank of course. Went from a garish green LED Pioneer to this:

[Low_E30]

Im with Ratch all the way on this one...

Becker rules by a country mile, im in the process of restoring + improving my Merc W124 cabriolet at the moment, im only diverting away from the factory specs of the car with quality makes & brands in keeping with the car, such as AMG for the kit & wheels, Bilstein & H&R for the suspension & Becker & Rainbow speakers for the sounds...

In terms of SQ, Germanic build quality, ergonomics & understated beauty...Becker is the complete package.

Im keeping it simple though & going for a Becker Grand Prix.

[pac1982]

Im with Ratch all the way on this one...

Becker rules by a country mile, im in the process of restoring + improving my Merc W124 cabriolet at the moment, im only diverting away from the factory specs of the car with quality makes & brands in keeping with the car, such as AMG for the kit & wheels, Bilstein & H&R for the suspension & Becker & Rainbow speakers for the sounds...

In terms of SQ, Germanic build quality, ergonomics & understated beauty...Becker is the complete package.

Im keeping it simple though & going for a Becker Grand Prix.

I'm with you on everything but the understated beauty, you gotta admit there are vans out there with just as nice looking OE headunits

[Low_E30]

They are very simple in design & pleasing to the eye, nothing there just for the sake of it. its all just very functional...& is 100% better looking than anything on offer at your local Halfords.

I dont know about vans but if they are deemed good enough for Porsche & Ferrari (& lets face it everything in a Ferrari is about Vanity before practicality!) they are good enough for me & your average E30.