In Car MP3

[DarkBlue]

I am after an in-car MP3 player. Any recommendations?

[Graeme*Kustom*]

Blaupunkt MP72 - it's the business :)

Doesn't do WMA though, but other than that a really good all rounder

[DarkBlue]

Cheers Graeme, I'll check that out.

[DarkBlue]

Hmmm... looks pretty good Graeme. What sort of security features does it have? Detachable front, etc?

[smeld]

Or you could go for an Alpine 7893R - quality kit and the looks suit some cars better than Blaupunkt :D

Try www.mcs-direct.co.uk for a good deal in car hifi. Should be able to get the Alpine for £239, well worth it........ dual illumination, removable face, multi-angle (5 I think) tilt facility....etc, etc.

Doesn't have memory card facility tho.

[jetsetjimbo]

A couple of my mates have that Alpine head unit and have been very pleased with it, and from what I have seen of it I would have to sayit does seem very good... especially at that price.

[DarkBlue]

Thanks for the link smeld. Unfortunately that head unit is not my cup-of-tea at all, far too fussy and in-your-face. I prefer discreet, sophisticated style in my car.

Car is a BMW, so stereo should be black with orange lighting if possible, I definitely don't want an animated display!

[smeld]

Each to his own and all that but you did state you liked the look of the Blaupunkt MP72, as mentioned by Graeme. That is pretty lairy too, maybe more so, with all the bright blue and red stuff going on. Also, it has that animated display you don't want:rolleyes:

I don't particularly find the Blaupunkt's style particularly "discreet" or "sophisticated". I suggest you check them out in Halfords or somewhere like that.. they definitely look pretty cheap compared to Alpine kit, imho.

btw; the illumination on the buttons on the Alpine can be set to orange instead, if you want. That's what I did. Still, if you don't like it............

I like Alpine kit, what can I say? They do it for me :D

[jetsetjimbo]

I think you'll probably struggle to find a resonably price MP3 head unit that isn't slightly 'lairy'... I know what you mean about animated displays but they are what sells.... so unfortunately they tend to be pretty much everywhere these days....:(

The Alpine stuff is really good kit for the money.....

[DarkBlue]

but you did state you liked the look of the Blaupunkt MP72
I know. Problem was that I just looked at it in its own right, when I should have been looking at how it would sit in my dash (if you know what I mean). :confused:

When I look at these now, they just look cheap and tacky - very boy-racerish. No offence meant to anyone who's into these, they are just not for me.

Is there anyway I can hook an Apple iPod into my car stereo (but not the headphone to tape-deck widget)?

The Alpine stuff is really good kit for the money
I know. Alpine have a good reputation and their prices look reasonable. But this type of kit would look awful in my car, it's as simple as that. :(

[jetsetjimbo]

If your car stereo has a line in of some description it'd be possible to you that, otherwise it might just be the tape deck thingy which is a bit of lame solution give the loss of quality involved and how expensive ipods are...

[DarkBlue]

I'm sure it has, so I'll probably go with that. I post here when I get it sorted.

[Flash]

just having look around what about a clarion DB538RMP

no flash display not too many buttons

and at £135 good vfm

[DarkBlue]

Yes, this is the sort of thing I'm after. All it needs now is an orange display...

I wonder what the sound quality is like. I know the sound quality of my iPod is excellent, so it might still be the better choice for me personally.

[smeld]

It's not so easy to find the "right" head unit is it? They mostly seem to be aimed at the "my kit is brighter/flashier/brasher than yours" brigade. I struggled for what seemed like weeks. Now, if my pockets were deep enough I might consider something like the new Becker MP3 headunit...... quality and (very) subtle style.
Go to www.becker.de and search MP3 and you'll find the Monza

;)

[DarkBlue]

Oh yes smeld - that is the one. Looks like the dog's testicals. Damn credit card is going to take a hit again! :eek:

Thanks for the link.

[Graeme*Kustom*]

The Blaupunkt has a removable face and also uses an MMC card for coding. Quite neat, if you take the MMC card away with you and the stereo is swiped, Blaupunkt give you a new head unit if you send them the card and crime number.

Not had to use that service yet, thankfully.

The Blaupunkt display is quite bright, but the aluminium fascia with blue lighting looks really classy, even in a black dashboard.

It's also the only manufacturer that offered an adaptor to allow the steering wheel controls to be used - they do a wide range of these kits , more than any other manufacturer I've seen.

Sound quality is top notch - I use it to drive 6" mids / 1" tweeters in the front, 6 x 9s in the back and a phono output to an alpine amp / SPLx sub and it sounds terrific . Plenty of settings to adjust audio (which I like) or if you're scared of that, it comes with a microphone so can adjust the tone controls for you, adjusting the sound by 'listening' to itself playing back various frequencies of sound.

If you don't like the animated display, you can switch it off so that only the basic info is displayed, and there's settings to adjust the brightness and angle of the backlight.

I know everyone will tell you they love what they bought ( and I don't think you really get many *bad* stereos now anyway ) but definitely consider this unit - I'm very pleased with it , and think it sounds miles better than the Pioneer DEH6000 I used to have...

[DarkBlue]

Thanks for that Graeme.

[master baits]

maplin is doing a head unit for a ton , dont know anything else cept it does the mp3 thing

[Tristan]

I can heartily recommend this bad boy -

http://www.jvcmobile.co.uk/assets/images/KDSH909R_2.JPG

Not too flashy in my opinion, just about right. Bought from caraudiodirect.com for the princely sum of £350. Probably halved in price by now tho' :rolleyes:

Oops, I forgot to mention, its the JVC SH909R.