Any good car stereo recomendations?

quarryman · 05-01-2005 4:08pm #1

I'm considering a a new Radio/CD (MP3) unit and possibly speakers for the car. Have no idea on what to look at. Ideally i'd like something that will support mp3 and sound a bit better than what I have.

Can anyone provide websites maybe to get me started, or maybe stores in the Dublin area? I'd say i'd consider paying €300ish.

_sheep · 05-01-2005 4:19pm

http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/incar/dension/products.htm?catid=398

Im considering ordering that(20gig) in the next few minutes, but maybe out of your price range.
Its a cd based mp3 player your after tho is it ? I had a sony cdx 8800(i think) and i got bored of that very quick, not enough music on one disc for me, even tho i was sure id be happy with the 250 or so tracks i was getting on it.

quarryman · 05-01-2005 4:32pm

they're pretty expensive alright. tbh the speakers in the car at the moment just wouldn't do it justice. also, at that price i'd be almost better considering an ipod and plugging it in. i found this place www.caraudio.ie which seems pretty good.

good luck with the new stereo.

_sheep · 05-01-2005 4:45pm

also besecure2000.com are great, used them and found them fantasic for support/aftersales etc

John R · 05-01-2005 6:07pm

quarryman wrote:

they're pretty expensive alright. tbh the speakers in the car at the moment just wouldn't do it justice. also, at that price i'd be almost better considering an ipod and plugging it in. i found this place www.caraudio.ie which seems pretty good.

good luck with the new stereo.

That site is just a mirror of www.incarexpress.co.uk the only thing Irish about it is that they deliver to Ireland.

Having said that they are the cheapest place about for car stereos even after delivery costs and are very reliable.

mayto · 05-01-2005 6:26pm

have a look at pixmania http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/sound/autoradios/46/4/categorie.html which is even cheaper than incarexpress. delivery only e13 and have good selection.

Eoin · 06-01-2005 12:45pm

Probably not relevant, but something similar came up before - make sure you don't buy one from the states - I bought a sony cd & mp3 player on eBay, thinking I was getting a bargain, not knowing that American radios don't pick up even frequency increments. For example, I can listen to 98.1 and 100.3, but not 104.4 or 103.8 FM

Eoin

quarryman · 06-01-2005 2:29pm

thanks for that. the head units on pixmania seem to a bit cheaper alright.

Jefferson Darcy · 06-01-2005 2:44pm

Quarryman, what is your current set-up and what car is it? Replacing speakers is only worthwhile if you invest in a good set of mids and tweeters, something from Infinity or similar and this is much €€€, however some cars come with decent speakers these days and only need a good deck to drive them.

Check out Alpine, Pioneer and Blaupunkt for quality decks, you'll want to match your dashboard illumination so that will influence your choice.

At your budget I'd highly, highly recommend the Pioneer DEHP77MP. Its a classy looking unit with none of the Tokyo-by-night flash (uses simple white matrix lettering), has gold plated outputs, high outputs (50x4) and is rated well by the audiophile types. Handles mp3 and is an ideal starting point for a nice system. Good interface with not many fiddly buttons. I'm using a high-spec Kenwood MASK at the mo and its very good but I regret not getting this, especially now that its so cheap.

Jefferson Darcy · 06-01-2005 2:47pm

Check also

caraudiodirect.co.uk
caraudiosecurity.com

quarryman · 06-01-2005 3:25pm

the current setup is crap, its a punto. I'm not gonna go overboard, just something to improve on what i have.

invest in a good set of mids and tweeters, something from Infinity or similar and this is much €€€

do you mean mids and tweeters together or separate, ie mids in the back and tweeters in the front? Would this be lacking bass then?

also i have four speakers in the car, would i just be better of getting 2 really good ones for the front or getting 4. In that case i'd need low/mid/high in one pair wouldn't I?

the Pioneer heads seem highly recommended alright. the one i'm looking at is a slightly cheaper sony here http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/39799/art/sony/car-radio-cd-xplod-cdx-r3.html

thanks for the help and the links

Jefferson Darcy · 06-01-2005 3:39pm

Separate mids and tweeters but they'll both go in the front of your car (don't know much about Puntos, the tweeter position could be in the door near the handle or on top of the dash). Its not really worth it putting sound in the back of such a tiny car.

Check how it sounds with the new mids and deck. If you want more bass, the cheap option would be a pair of 6x9 speakers in the back shelf running off the deck. Or my preferred option, a small 8 or 10 inch sub with its own dedicated amp in a small boot enclosure. This will give you tight bass for clarity, not Max Power style ground shaking stuff.

I have a Golf so I'm gonna get something called an Infinity Basslink to add some tight bass and body to the music. Its a neat unit with a built in amp and a quality subwoofer and works well in hatchbacks. Pioneer do a similar one.

That Sony looks alright, one thing I'll recommend is to try and play with one in a shop before you buy on the net. Halfords will probably be a good bet, take an mp3 cd with you to try. The reason I say this is because some mp3 decks are a nightmare to navigate through the folders with or are very, very slow switching between folders.

quarryman · 06-01-2005 4:04pm

ok so tweeters and mids in the front. gotcha.

just went out to have a look at the car. the front speakers are on top of the dash and are crap compared to the back ones, which aren't fantastic but better.
so, if i was putting in mid/bass speakers in the front i'd have to place them in the doors somehow. ughh.

Jefferson Darcy · 06-01-2005 4:19pm

Are the back speakers in the door or the shelf?

Also you could replace the ones in the dash - with decent branded ones of the same size. Pull the grill out of the dash and check what size they are.

trotter_inc · 06-01-2005 4:20pm

John R wrote:

www.incarexpress.co.uk

Having said that they are the cheapest place about for car stereos even after delivery costs and are very reliable.

I'll definateley second this site - I've bought 2 stereos from them in the last 6 months and find that their prices are the best I could find on the web or in any shop!

The site says that normal delivery time to Ireland is 5/7 days but it took only 4 days for my first order and just TWO for my last order - I ordered it this Tuesday and it arrived here TODAY at lunchtime which was excellent!

They get my thumbs up

davidclayton · 06-01-2005 4:20pm

or you could pull the dash off your car and replace the front speakers with better ones [like i did]

jefferson, is there any halfords in ireland? if so, where?

trotter_inc · 06-01-2005 4:21pm

davidclayton wrote:

jefferson, is there any halfords in ireland? if so, where?

I think there is one out in Tallaght.

Jefferson Darcy · 06-01-2005 4:31pm

They're new to the country. I believe theres one in a place called Coolock industrial park and there'll be one in Blanch retail park soon.

What size are the dash speakers David? This will allow quarry to check his options. If they're a regular size he can still get a good set of splits and mount the tweeters anywhere he wants.

quarryman · 06-01-2005 4:32pm

Jefferson Darcy wrote:

Are the back speakers in the door or the shelf?

Also you could replace the ones in the dash - with decent branded ones of the same size. Pull the grill out of the dash and check what size they are.

back speakers are on the shelf.

i think the back ones are 10cm and front ones are 8cm

is it even possible to replace the front ones with decent replacements considering the size?

davidclayton · 06-01-2005 4:34pm

i don't own a punto. i have 13cm coaxials under my dash.
and a 6.5" jl audio sub in the boot.

davidclayton · 06-01-2005 4:35pm

ps. mine's a smart car

Jefferson Darcy · 06-01-2005 4:41pm

quarryman wrote:

is it even possible to replace the front ones with decent replacements considering the size?

Definitely. You can replace those and add the tweeters if you think the backs sounds alright as they are. Or you can replace the back ones as well.

quarryman · 06-01-2005 4:50pm

i reckon i might be better off getting 6x9s for the back and turning down the volume on the front ones.

saw these which would prob do the trick.

davidclayton · 06-01-2005 4:54pm

they are £12 cheaper here:
http://caraudiosecurity.com/catalog/product_info.php+cPath+60_66_105+products_id+1004

quarryman · 06-01-2005 5:09pm

no indication of delivery charges though.

davidclayton · 06-01-2005 5:25pm

i ordered my jbl's from there.
don't remember it being expensive for delivery

DirtyDog · 07-01-2005 8:51am

_sheep wrote:

http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/incar/dension/products.htm?catid=398

Im considering ordering that(20gig) in the next few minutes, but maybe out of your price range.

let us know how you get on, i'd be interested in getting one of those

trotter_inc · 07-01-2005 8:53am

Is it hard to install a stereo yourself?

Most of my mates paid people to fit theirs for them, is it hard? Dont fancy paying €30 - €50 if I could just do it myself!

heggie · 07-01-2005 9:21am

who'd they pay ? wanna get mine installed

trotter_inc · 07-01-2005 9:24am

heggie wrote:

who'd they pay ? wanna get mine installed

Should I take it thats it not easy to do yourself then?

One was in Limerick and the other was in Arklow - if you're in those areas pm me and Il give you the numbers.

If you ring your local motor store they'll give you the number of someone you can ring. Or else, do a search in the golden pages.

davidclayton · 07-01-2005 10:11am

it's very very easy if you have a the standard ISO connectors in your car for the stereo. the problem is that some car manufacturers use proprietory connectors, so you have to buy converters, which is still an easy job. i heard you can get them in halfords. or try here:

http://www.incarexpress.co.uk/catsearch.php?cat=Installation%20Parts&subcat=Harness%20Adaptors

or here:

http://caraudiosecurity.com/catalog/index.php+cPath+48_207

Any good car stereo recomendations?

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