Car Stereos.. so many choices!

_Kaiser_

Hey all,

Given that I have now entered the world of car ownership (finally! ), I've been looking at new stereos to replace the "default" radio/cassette that came with my 99 Mitsubishi Colt.

Anyone have any opinions on these:

PANASONIC CD MP3 CQ-C3301

or

PANASONIC Car Radio CD MP3 CQ-C1311

There's a few Pioneer's on that site I was looking at too, but it will have to match a grey/black interior... what ye think of the above, or any suggestions yourselves? (must support CDR/RW and MP3 playback )

Cheers!

JohnCleary

Mu suggestion would be...
Don't be skimpy when it comes to buying a car CD player. You definately get what you pay for. I was gutted when I missed the oppertunity to buy a cd.mp3 player from aldi for 80euro...Ended up paying 220 for a Clarion.

Oh and it was the best choice EVER! I have mates that have good named systems, but paid about 110-150 euro for them and theyre crap..No decent power to the speakers, always skipping over bumps etc..

SouperComputer

i bought a clairion off argos a while back. plays MP3 & wma and also comes with theaft insurance & free fitting.

couldnt find it cheaper online either!

cormie

I think the best way to get audio in a car is to hook up a portable MP3 player to the stereo with a cable and then you will have 800 albums at the touch of a button, take it with you when you get out of the car. Less risk of your stereo getting stolen etc.

Dub_Ster

im farely involved with the car audio secter i no it bit about it as far as im concerned
theres two makes that are worth the money

Pioneer
Alpine


as for the other makes they just dont cut it , the sound quality from them is fantastic there well able to pump music out at such level that its so impresive ive had a fair few different models but i would spend about a grand a kit out your car properly with components sub a company called vibe make a fantastic 8 inch sub that dilevers a sweet amount of low end and is suprisenly loud to as for speeker u can spend hundreds but go for a set with cross overs thats if ya want the cleenist sound possible from ur system

cross overs a low mid end and high end freqauncys into the door speekers and u then have the bass comeing from ur boot .

the place to go to if i was going to spend would be safe sounds .

_Kaiser_

Dub_Ster wrote:

the place to go to if i was going to spend would be safe sounds .

Don't suppose you have a link?

Cheers for the input guys...

Dagon

Does anyone here know if I can buy a system from the US? I'm looking at a Pioneer DEH-P4600MP at the moment, good price, (under €100) but problem is - what if I buy it and it won't work in my irish car?

also, will the radio work? do they use the same am/fm as us?

ds20prefecture

Kaiser2000 wrote:

Don't suppose you have a link?

Cheers for the input guys...

Here's another place www.besecure2000.com.

Big Nelly

Dagon wrote:

Does anyone here know if I can buy a system from the US? I'm looking at a Pioneer DEH-P4600MP at the moment, good price, (under €100) but problem is - what if I buy it and it won't work in my irish car?

also, will the radio work? do they use the same am/fm as us?

http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/86520/art/pioneer/cd-car-radio-deh-4700mp.html

Cheapest I have found.....shipping is 13 euro!!

Big Nelly

Buying this one myself for a Passat

http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/89574/art/pioneer/cd-deh-4700mpb-car-radio.html

Only thing is no anti-shock system....could this be a problem in the long run????

dub_dan

just ordered from this site caraudiosecurity.com prices seem to be pretty cheap!

Big Nelly

dub_dan wrote:

just ordered from this site caraudiosecurity.com prices seem to be pretty cheap!

Nice prices....how much for shipping? wont let me see unless I join!!

Dagon

So does anyone know if it's ok to buy one from the USA or not? Good deals on Ebay!

CrowdedHouse

For the radio both the FM and AM frequency steps are different
I think you woulld not be able to tune a station with and odd decimal frequency like 98.1 100.3 88.5 etc.

blastman

CrowdedHouse wrote:

For the radio both the FM and AM frequency steps are different
I think you woulld not be able to tune a station with and odd decimal frequency like 98.1 100.3 88.5 etc.

From what I can remember, the US radios go up in steps of 0.2MHz at a time (in FM), compared to 0.1 MHz per step here. That's why you can't get the odd frequencies. Not sure what the scenario is with AM.

stratos

It,s amazing how times change.
In my day your first thought on owning your first 8 year old Escort was , how do I change the default engine and suspension........oh well.

_Kaiser_

stratos wrote:

It,s amazing how times change.
In my day your first thought on owning your first 8 year old Escort was , how do I change the default engine and suspension........oh well.

Well I have already been asked what kinda changes I'll be making to it.. there'll be no "Pimp My Ride" style mods tho!

Atomic Pineapple

Kaiser2000 wrote:

Well I have already been asked what kinda changes I'll be making to it.. there'll be no "Pimp My Ride" style mods tho!

praise the lord a man of sense! as for cd players theres a platinum kinda coloured pioneer one, tis top of the range costs €600 - €700 but it is just pure class.

I myself have a Kenwood head unit i got for €450 and its class quality sound and never ever skips at all.

OLDYELLAR

cormie wrote:

I think the best way to get audio in a car is to hook up a portable MP3 player to the stereo with a cable and then you will have 800 albums at the touch of a button, take it with you when you get out of the car. Less risk of your stereo getting stolen etc.

Im getn a car an old one reckon it`ll only have a cassette player , I have a philips mp3 player , how do i rig it up in me car ?what kinda cable do i need to get , whats the craic with it like?

Thumper Long

OLDYELLAR wrote:

Im getn a car an old one reckon it`ll only have a cassette player , I have a philips mp3 player , how do i rig it up in me car ?what kinda cable do i need to get , whats the craic with it like?

just need a headphone jack to tape converter about €10 in argos / dixons etc, or if you want to be really fancy but an iTrip for your ipod on ebay, or a belkin tune dock [spelling], they are "illegal here as you need a licence to broadcast on FM" but who cares i use one and love it, not harming anyone , no wires.

OLDYELLAR

thanks thumper

ButcherOfNog

In Car Express is where i've got my last two in car systems. I got great prices and great service both times.

Stephen

I use ye olde headphone->tape convertor gadget in my fiesta, but I'm considering getting a decent CDRW/MP3 head unit (existing one is a crappy ford 3000, doesn't even have rds). I understand there's some akwardness involved here, since the ford radio is not the same size as your average aftermarket head unit - apparently I need some kind of fascia adaptor and some other bits and pieces to connect the ford wiring to a new head unit?

_Kaiser_

Went for this one in the end:

http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/86520/art/pioneer/cd-car-radio-deh-4700mp.html

Any recommendations on where to go to get it installed for a reasonable price?

John R

Stephen wrote:

I use ye olde headphone->tape convertor gadget in my fiesta, but I'm considering getting a decent CDRW/MP3 head unit (existing one is a crappy ford 3000, doesn't even have rds). I understand there's some akwardness involved here, since the ford radio is not the same size as your average aftermarket head unit - apparently I need some kind of fascia adaptor and some other bits and pieces to connect the ford wiring to a new head unit?

Yes, any good seller should be able to provide the fascia adapter and a wiring one if your car needs it. In-car express' website (linked above) will tell you what parts are needed for your car.

Dagon

Kaiser, I'm doing the exact same thing as you right now - buying a CD player online. I'm prolly going for
http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/87539/art/alpine/cd-car-radio-mp3-cda-9847.html#
or else:
http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/51771/art/sony/cdx-m8800.html

I assume the unit comes with instructions on how to install? I'm hoping it should be pretty simple.. I mean, should just be a case of removing your old stereo, and then plugging the wires into the right places on the new one following the instructions.

Or maybe there is more to it than that?

Big Nelly

My mate got a JVC off these and came with huge manual so I guess full instructions are in that.....I have gone for this one to suit the colours of the Passat

http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/89574/art/pioneer/cd-deh-4700mpb-car-radio.html

_Kaiser_

Just a note on Pixmania guys...

I ordered via CC at the weekend and received a mail from them asking for additional proof of ID (CC/Utility bill statement, copy/scan of Passport etc) to "reduce Credit Card fraud"

Bit of a pain... thought I'd let ye know tho!

Big Nelly

Another note on Pixmania...ordered from them....radio was due in about 8-10 days....got info last nite it was bring shipped about 6......from my experience with Komplett and so on I said sound but wont get till next week.....10 o clock this morning delivered.....class....now all I have to do is try and install

irlirishkev

Kaiser2000 wrote:

Went for this one in the end:
http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/86520/art/pioneer/cd-car-radio-deh-4700mp.html
Any recommendations on where to go to get it installed for a reasonable price?

Give it a go yourself. Seriously. I paid fifty quid to get a guy to put mine in. When I watched him do it, I started kicking myself. I got a replacement recently and put it in myself. You'll get a couple of little tools to take out the one that's in it at the moment, then it's just a matter of attatching the wires at the back (mostly standard these days) to the connections on the new unit, and slipping it into the slot (sounds dodgy!).. Then just clip on the supplied surround, and bobs yer uncle!

K.

_Kaiser_

mine's an import though and I gather they're a bit more complicated?