I need to replace my current Sony CD Head Unit because the LCD screen is busted and it has a horrible time reading CDr's. I don't know anything about Car Audio and I was planning on getting it at Best Buy or Circuit City. I think Best Buy has free installation of all head units this week. I don't want to spend more than $150. In that price range are they pretty much the same quality? I have rockford fosgates in the front and infinity reference(?) in the back...just average speakers, nothing fancy.
Car CD Head Unit Reccomendations/Help...
- Thread starter shurato
- Start date
Do you happen to know the model number for that Alpine unit? I need something that will read CD-R's well as I have a ton of underground dj mixes on CD as well as normal cd's. My sony unit will keep skipping at random points and sometimes just stop reading it at all. I have a sony cd changer and it doesnt read cd-r's at all so i think i want to stay away from sony this time. How are kenwood units? Should i stay away from buying one and getting it installed at your local circuity city or best buy?
DON'T GET IT FROM BestBUY, have heard WAY to many stories. Some of them were even from this forum so maybe somebody will add more.
Circuit City is way better.
But look at the JVC players. Most of their newwer ones have MP3 and the cheaper ones at least play CDr's and Maybe CD-rw's.
Good luck
Circuit City is way better.
But look at the JVC players. Most of their newwer ones have MP3 and the cheaper ones at least play CDr's and Maybe CD-rw's.
Good luck
Do yourself a favor and spend a few more dollars for an MP3 deck.. I personally went with one of the best deals around the JVC SX980 there are unlikely to be any others in that range that can compare to how complete it is.. does everything but pause and who really uses or needs that? You could switch to FM/AM anyway which works like pause and it will start where you left off when you switch back to MP3 mode..
BTW JVC SX-980 can be had for less than $185 if bought online and it's one of the best deals out there plus the deck isn't a bright silver that shouts "steal me now!" to any passerby it's got silver and red and blue highlights with a nice bright LCD, all in all it's a beautifully designed deck and if you're on a budget it's the best way to go till you can afford an Alpine or something in that range.. I bought mine here for $183 shipped though you could get SoundDomain.com to pricematch they have a % off type of pricematch and buy your harness and trim kit if needed there too..
The actual stereo installation is damn easy to do even if you are the dumbest sack of @%$& the world will ever see. All cars are the same for the most part.. I suggest you buy your deck online and maybe go to a site like SoundDomain.com to get where you can also buy a wiring harness for your car's model and year and a trim plate install kit if needed.. or you could go locally and check Walmart, Bestbuy, or auto supplies stores like Autozone for the install kits but don't buy the deck in a retail store, you get ripped off.. Buy new radio trim plate if required, if it's a DIN Mount (Check Crutchfield.com or the like to be sure) then it'll be very simple.. Wire the harness together with the one that comes with the stereo to the wiring harness that you bought to adapt to your car, just match the damn wires to each respective color twist them together and wrap them in electrical tape, or if you want you can solder or crimp them so it's a more bulletproof install. Remove stock or old stereo, Plug adapting harness into car and stereo. Mount the stereo's sleeve then push the deck through the sleeve till it locks and your done..
BTW you should probably disconnect the negative terminal on the battery or pull the radio's fuse so you don't accidently short something while wiring though that's unlikely with a wiring harness if you match up the wires correctly to begin with..
BTW JVC SX-980 can be had for less than $185 if bought online and it's one of the best deals out there plus the deck isn't a bright silver that shouts "steal me now!" to any passerby it's got silver and red and blue highlights with a nice bright LCD, all in all it's a beautifully designed deck and if you're on a budget it's the best way to go till you can afford an Alpine or something in that range.. I bought mine here for $183 shipped though you could get SoundDomain.com to pricematch they have a % off type of pricematch and buy your harness and trim kit if needed there too..
The actual stereo installation is damn easy to do even if you are the dumbest sack of @%$& the world will ever see. All cars are the same for the most part.. I suggest you buy your deck online and maybe go to a site like SoundDomain.com to get where you can also buy a wiring harness for your car's model and year and a trim plate install kit if needed.. or you could go locally and check Walmart, Bestbuy, or auto supplies stores like Autozone for the install kits but don't buy the deck in a retail store, you get ripped off.. Buy new radio trim plate if required, if it's a DIN Mount (Check Crutchfield.com or the like to be sure) then it'll be very simple.. Wire the harness together with the one that comes with the stereo to the wiring harness that you bought to adapt to your car, just match the damn wires to each respective color twist them together and wrap them in electrical tape, or if you want you can solder or crimp them so it's a more bulletproof install. Remove stock or old stereo, Plug adapting harness into car and stereo. Mount the stereo's sleeve then push the deck through the sleeve till it locks and your done..
BTW you should probably disconnect the negative terminal on the battery or pull the radio's fuse so you don't accidently short something while wiring though that's unlikely with a wiring harness if you match up the wires correctly to begin with..
Sometimes it's just not worth the effort to take apart your entire dash just to remove your car cd player. (Yes there are some cars where you have to do that)
Supermercado
Diamond Member
- Jan 18, 2002
- 5,893
- 0
- 76
My dad put a CD player in his car a few months ago and had to do that. Literally. I put a new one in my car a few weeks ago and it took just a few minutes because of the way the car is built. Might be something to check on before you go gung-ho on your car.
Do yourself a favor and spend a little extra on the Alpine units. Sound quality far exceeds 95% of the crap you see in retail stores.
You can buy Alpine at Crutchfield. No other dealer selling online is currently authorized to carry Alpine, so buy at your own peril if you decide to order from someone else.
I?d look at this Alpine, and the two just above it in price. Places like Circuit City and Audio King should have all three available by now.
The retail stores like to gouge for dashboard kits and wiring harnesses (like they do for printer cables), while they?re free at Crutchfield, or like $4-6 each at Sound Domain. They can be up do $40 total at Circuit city depending on what you drive.
Please do not cut any wires in your dash, it is asking for trouble. Consider the wiring harness a requirement.
I?d look at this Alpine, and the two just above it in price. Places like Circuit City and Audio King should have all three available by now.
The retail stores like to gouge for dashboard kits and wiring harnesses (like they do for printer cables), while they?re free at Crutchfield, or like $4-6 each at Sound Domain. They can be up do $40 total at Circuit city depending on what you drive.
Please do not cut any wires in your dash, it is asking for trouble. Consider the wiring harness a requirement.
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