Jordan 27

The Ipod uses the same input as the cd changer, so it's an either/or situation. I installed the Ipod cable and it sounds great....but my car never had a changer to begin with so it was an easy decision

2Many Cars

Jordan 27 is right, it's an either or situation. If you want to play a CD you'll have to do it one at a time with the player built in the headunit.

PNogC2S

They did it for me in December. They gave me the option of modifying mine or sending me a new one and taking mine in as a 'core'.
Maybe this is a new development.

paa502

Appears so. And maybe someone figured out they were a lot better off selling $500 radios to a limited market rather than $100 faceplates. Especially considering it is most likely inventory on hand.

(Just being cynical, forgive me.)

I have an e-mail from Becker dated 12/30/09 stating they would exchange my faceplate for a modified unit for $100 plus $10 shipping.

In mid-March I called SW Stereo to get the unique cable allowing the CDR-220 to plug into the 8 pin DIN speaker cable (964). Stephen (?) wanted to make sure I was aware that I wouldn't be able to read the display and prompted my first call by telling me Becker no longer offered the modified faceplate.

Just got off the phone with Becker service (second call) and they said the same thing. The "modified" faceplate was a different unit, no longer avail, would not modify mine.

My impression was the same as comments above, that they were adjusting units and sending them out on an exchange basis.

There is a RLster on the 928 board that has had some success adjusting the circuitry, I'll consider that option.

Just in case anyone needs more info, thought I'd follow-up.

e9stibi

Will only increase the market value of the modified face plates. Good to know that i have two (and none for sale)

LJ993

HI, does anyone know if Becker is doing the faceplate modifications. I have been searching around today and was pretty excited to get a cdr220 and after doing some searching find that the revised faceplate may not be available. I did hear that La Jolla Audio in San Diego can do a revision, any other? Thanks Phil

Kika

I believe Becker still does the faceplate mod. Search the archives though, as I recall someone figure out how to DIY it.

Rinty

Phil:

Check with these guys. They advertise every month in Pano:

http://www.swstereo.com/stereos.php

I have no experience with them.

LJ993

I have been playing around with the CDR 220, got the revised faceplate from Becker, looked incredible, sounded pretty good, better than the CR210, but the a Cab, the differences were not that perceptible. I did have an issue using the $110 ipod connecting cable. The Ipod cable has a two part plug-in for the back of the HU, power and sound. If I plugged both the sound and the power plugs in, I got a whinning, bad ground like sound. Sound plug only and all was good. Talked to the folks at Becker and they said that occasionally the CDR 220 HU will not connect correctly to the Ipod power/sound cable. They invited me to send my CDR220 HU to them for a bench test. I sent it back and talked to them today, no test results yet, but I started looking at the Becker Grand Prix HU, looks great, it isn't cheap, but it has a few modern options, ie bluetooth. I have done a couple hours of searching on the Forum and still have a few questions reagarding the Grand Prix that don't seem to be answered.

Does anyone that has used one in a 993 have any input regarding the following:

1. Does the bluetooth work with streaming media, ie Pandora, Slacker, etc.
2. Does the AM work properly in the US
3. Does the FM work properly in the US
4. Any FM HD capability?

It appears that it provides full on screen control of the iphone/ipod if using the available connecting cable, any experience?

Does anyone have a negative experience with the Grand Prix?

I have also peeked at the Alpine HU and the Kenwood Excelon, both very nice with lots of features, and bot are substantially less than the Becker units and both companies are currently in production, more than can be said for Becker. I wonder how long the Becker Service Center will remain open. If it closes, who knows what it will be like to find service parts. The Kenwood and the Alpine, as nice as they are, just seem a little much for the spartan dash of the 993, thoughts?



Thanks, Phil
1996 993 Cab

GC96

I have a Becker Indianapolis which is similar to the Grand Prix. The FM will work fine in the US, it tunes in 0.1 increments rather than 0.2 so it is not an issue. The AM will not work properly, the tuning increments are different but I cannot recall exactly what they are.
I also have the ipod cable and it does allow control of the ipod from the radio itself. The cable was pretty expensive and somewhat hard to obtain, I ended up having to get one from Germany.

GC

LJ993

Thanks GC, does the Indy have the bluetooth option? If so, does the bluetooth work with paddora and other streaming media music? Thanks Phil

palmfish

1. Bluetooth does not work with streaming media. Only telephone calls.
2. AM works (I can't say properly because I never listen, but I do receive local stations).
3. FM works as described above.
4. No FM HD capability.

As for the iPod, it works...mostly. I use a 3rd Gen Touch and 5th Gen Classic and I can use the GP to control both iPods menus, but not perfectly. For example, If I search by "Artist," I can scroll through them alphabetically and select one, but I cannot then search for albums under the artist. Instead, it starts playing the first song on the first alphabetical album. You can then rotate through the songs in numerical order until the end of that album and then continue to the first song of the next album of the same artist that appears alphabetically (I hope that makes sense).

So instead of searching by "artist," which is my usual preference, I instead search by "album." This search lists all albums alphabetically (regardless of artist).

Now the manual states that the GP is compatible with iPod, iPod Mini, and iPod Photo. This leads me to suspect that the older model iPods that used Firewire may function normally (the iPod adapter that came with my GP does look like a Firewire connector). I'm still on the fence about spending $60 on eBay for an old 3rd Gen iPod to see if I'm right since searching for albums isn't a big inconvenience for me - it's just a little weird, that's all.

The GP is a very nice looking unit that matches the lighting and matte finish of the instrument panel very nicely. It's not quite as intuitive to operate as a Kenwood or Alpine, but I really like the look of it a lot. Honestly though, if I had to do it again, since I don't really need Bluetooth I would have found a clean CDR-220 instead. As it stands though, I have no regrets. Bluetooth is cool and I do think the GP looks cleaner than the CDR-220. Here are some poor quality pictures of mine - the camera and poor lighting exaggerate the color and sheen of the GP. In real life, it matches very closely...

LJ993

Thank you, great info and photos. do you have a cab? If so, how did you route your microphone for the bluetooth? Thanks again. Phil

palmfish

Nah, the pictures make the radio look blacker and shinier than it really is. Also, the display doesn't look so bright yellow in real life. I have a little Canon instant camera with a very cool (as in Kelvin) flash. I'll try some daylight pictures tomorrow.

I have a Coupe. The mic is on top of the steering column. You can remove the plastic shroud behind the steering wheel and route the wire behind the dash.

TheBen

Does it fit perfectly? Did the stock harness plug in or did you have to modify?