rainmn

Looking for some suggestions from anyone who has recently purchased a new stereo for their car. I've searched on this, and read a ton of threads, but honestly didn't get what I was looking for. Not to mention, since the manufacturers change them every year, older threads aren't much help.
Right now, my '95 is all stock, with the exception of an Alpine changer added to the CR-1. The changer isn't working, and I suspect it's the head unit, rather than the changer itself. The plan was to pick up an Alpine single disc with changer controls, but that's out the window. Only 1 or 2 new Alpine units will control the older changer, and even worse, Alpine had to jump on the bandwagon and make almost all their new product silver.
So, it looks like I'm starting from scratch. So far, the only head unit I have found that I like the looks of is the Nakamichi CD-400. If it weren't for the looks, this really wouldn't be my first choice. I've heard all the Nak horror stories, and witnessed them first hand. Many years ago, I was an installer, and the shop I worked for carried Nak gear. About 1 out of 3 products was bad out of the box. (It got so bad we had to drop the line.)The tuner section of Nak head units has never been a strong point, and from the specs on this new deck, I see it still isn't. To top it all off, I'm not too sure about adding a changer to it. If I can, it will probably cost a small fortune.
Has anyone found anything from one of the more "Common" brands that isn't silver and looks like a video game? Some of the new Clarions look fairly calm, other than the electric blue displays. I'd really like to get something that isn't likely to break, and if it does, can be easily fixed or replaced.

graham_mitchell

Maybe it's a good time to take a technological leap forward and abandon the CD format altogether. If you get the iPod and the Alpine iPod controller, you will be able to keep 10,000 songs in the car at all times with no messy CD cases, and saving weight at the same time!

ventoGT

The Alpine CDA-9835 is black, has a ton of color choices for the lighting, has an iPod controller [optional--you have to buy the controller], mp3, CD, XM-Ready, and a host of other things....this head unit is what I bought and have yet to install--others on the board have used this, and personally, I would not buy any other head unit than Alpine--I have had 5 and love them.

Good luck.

Chris W. - '96 Targa

I ran into similar struggles with the look, but finally just decided to get one with the features I want, and live with the aesthetics. In my case, it's a Sony head unit that handles MP3 discs. I decided to go with MP3 capabilities so I wouldn't have to worry about a changer. That way I save trunk space.

I read a thread a while back about someone who bought a head unit that was silver and took it apart to paint it black. That might be another option for you too.

Best of luck with the project.

-Chris

Firren

I have tried both JVC and Sony head units and I am not happy with the resulting sound. I do have the HiFi option though, so replacing the amp under passenger seat is the next step - although there is an inbound iPod so the Alpine choice sounds really nice!

Good luck with your upgrading!

jago

cdr 220 takes phatbox i understand. i have cdr 210 w 6cd in p-car, but in wife's bmw i installed the phatbox, an mp3 player that works thru the stock HU. see phatnoise.com for details. not affiliated.
j.

Tom W

I'll be putting an Alpine 9835 with iPod controller and XM in our ML as soon as Alpine releases the XM boxes. This elimiates the need for the CD changer which has died and MB wants big bucks to replace. I have an Alpine head and changer in the 993 and am considering upgrading the head unit to an MP3 capable one (what I have is a few years old).

jusafan

I recently installed a new head unit in my '95 Carrera. FWIW, here's what I learned in my research, what I decided, and why.

The Nakamichi is great because it looks like it could be a stock Porsche radio. It blends in very nicely with the dash, and it has decent performance, though I have heard that the radio reception is not as good as some of the other choices. The Alpine CDA 9835 is a great unit, and I liked the fact that you can change LED colors on the Alpine to make it whatever suits your fancy. It's a great unit, looks great in the dash (though it doesn't look like a stock unit), comes with lots of features, including XM, and you can run your iPod on it. You won't go wrong if you go with the Alpine. I went with the Pioneer Premier series DEH860MP. It is really very comparable to the Alpine in performance and features (though it is Cirrus ready, as opposed to XM), but I was swayed by the 6 volt pre-outs. The Alpine pre-outs are only 4 volts. The difference seemed to give a brighter, cleaner sound to my ear. Just a personal thing, no doubt. I also like the graphics of the Pioneer Premier. Instead of changeable colors like the Alpine, it has changeable face graphics, that allow you to have different background such as landscape scenery, techno visuals, even fish swimming undersea. You can also go online and find other visuals to download into the unit. Looks really cool at night, and, like the Alpine, the unit looks great in the dash. So, either the Alpine or the Pioneer Premier are my recommendations. They're both great, but I am very happy with the Pioneer Premier for the reasons I listed.

By the way, you'll probably need to upgrade your amp, as the stock HiFi amp is not very powerful, and I have heard it may not interface with the new unit (I didn't have the HiFi option on my car, so I didn't have to face that issue). If you decide to get a new amp, I'd say take a look at Audison. It's light, and powerful, and small enough to fit under the passenger seat were the OEM unit sits now.

That's my $.02. Good luck, and let us know what you decide.

Happy Holidays!

Dudley

What about the Traffic Pro? They have dropped below $350 and with the Porsche faceplate it certainly appears OEM. Decent Naviigation and reasonble sound. Becker supplies an aux cable perfect for an Ipod.
I do not profess to be an audiophile but it sound good to me. I just need to buy a speaker upgrade from Rod Birch.

Dave

nile13

While we're on the subject...

I have a stock head unit in my '95 and an Alpine changer. Hi-Fi option as well. I'd like to change the amp and speakers but retain the head and changer for now.

The amp under passenger seat appears to have a DIN plug connector on it. Does anyone know if that is head-to-amp cable connected this way? Or am I looking at something else? Is there an easy way to connect an aftermarket amp to a CR-1 head and retain CD changer? I'm not sure at this point how the changer is actually connected, but it's controlled directly from CR-1 stock head.

jusafan

nile13 - You are just about reaching the limits of my knowledge. Here's what I have been told. Apparently, the stock head and amp use a unique connection that does not allow either to be easily connected to aftermarket equipment. There is supposed to be a way to make an adaptor so that the connection will work, but most people will tell you to just get new equipment, and improve the sound. I'd say you should ask the experts, though, and that would be the folks at Car Audio Innovations (run by Rod Birch), just outside of Sacramento. They know our cars very well, and can tell you exactly how to handle the question you have raised. And they don't mind answering questions over the phone, provided you don't take up too many hours :-) You can reach them at 800-892-6430. Anyone there will likely be able to help, and if not they'll put someone on the phone who can.

Dudley - I have found that Focals are the best speaker upgrade for our cars. MB Quarts are really good too.

rainmn

Thanks for all the input so far. I forgot to mention that I would like the new HU to at least play MP3 cds. It remains to be seen whether I'll actually burn some, and also how easy it is to find a track on a cd with 200 songs. If that works out well, I obviously won't add a changer.
For those who mentioned the Alpine 9835, and specifically, the iPod interface, have you actually tried it? I was considering this unit for a number of reasons. For one, the display is supposed to be easy to read, even in direct sunlight. (I have a cab...bonus.) Two, it's one of the only Alpine units that isn't silver. Three, I've had dozens of Alpines and always had good luck. On the flipside though, I've read some not so positive reviews of this unit, especially the iPod interface part. It also has WAY more features than I need, but again, the lower models are all silver.
Oh, and I don't have the hi-fi option, thankfully.

Macca

kenwood CD01.Audiofile with AUX In. Hand selected components. Indash CD and Radio only - no MP3, equaliser or other gimmicks. Billet alloy front and 1.3kg weight. I have seen - best you can get and best looking. Search under Kenwood Japan. Best sound yet.

Cheers

ventoGT

Rainmn--I cannot tell you about the iPod interface, as I haven't tried it....however, I do know that the sound is going to be second to none--not like the radio frequency players that distort the sound. I have heard/used the unit in action, and I used to have a CDA-7998 [pretty much the same thing but 1.5DIN size, so won't fit in the 993 easily]. I absolutely loved that unit. Based on my previous experiences with Alpine, I'm sure this unit will be no different once installed. The file system on board allows you to easily navigate through hundreds of songs on an .mp3 CD provided that you set up the CD with good organization...I would definitely go with this option if I were you, especially if you are interested in the mp3 playback ability.

Just my blabbering $.02 as usual.

grmnxtc

Nile13,

check out the post on PP that I did some time back,

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showt...hreadid=190005

All the connectivity you could wish for...

Posting here too to save "flipping" between BB's

***************

When replacing the head unit, I found the harness already had connections that matched the Blaunpunkt MP34 I wanted to fit. Note however that the PO had an Alpine CD player installed, but the wiring harness looked original.

Here's the connectivity that I had (taken from Blaupunkt manual) See below

The wiring is, I believe, according to DIN standards (Germans are great about standards!)

Then I figured out the wiring to the amp itself (my car has the Hi-FI option fitted) which is here (this info is not in the service manual wiring diagrams): (see 8pin diagram below)

The other connector (long an thin) on the Amp goes to the speakers themselves

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pin# Wirecolor Function

5 Brown Power GND
6 Brown Power GND
10 Red Power +12V
11 Red Power +12V
13 White/Red Speedo signal

7 Shielded Blue/Black Gnd for DSP controller
8 Shielded Blue/Red Data for DSP controller
9 Shielded Blue/Yellow Clock for DSP controller

16 Brown/Green Front Left Woofer -
17 Green Front Left Woofer +
24 Brown/White Front Left Mid/Tweeter -
25 White Front Left Mid/Tweeter +

19 Brown/Yellow Rear Left -
18 Yellow Rear Left +

20 Red Rear Right +
21 Brown/Red Rear Right -

23 Black Front Right Mid/Tweeter +
22 Brown/Black Front Right Mid/Tweeter -
15 Violet Front Right Woofer +
14 Brown/Violet Front Right Woofer -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pin numbers are taken from the Service Manual wiring diagram for the 95/2 model (sheet 9).

Perform your own sanity check before re-wiring anything!

Hope that helps!