M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => Electrical => Topic started by: shellback on April 09, 2006, 03:17:58 PM
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I read Zoso's stereo write-up and his Clarion looks awesome. I checked with Crutchfield but honestly I wasn't planning on spending too much.
Here are my requirements:
1) all red/amber lights
2) play recorded CD's
3) price not to exceed $175
4) Fits a E30 :rolleyes: and as close to flush or stock as possible when finally installed
Thoughts?
Thank you,
Chris
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Crutchfield is always very expensive. You can get the 645MP on ebay for $125.
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&from=R10&catref=C6&satitle=clarion+DXZ645MP
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Yes, but... I chose Crutchfield for my JVC KD-AR5500 not because it was cheapest, as it wasn't. I wanted a valid warranty in case there were problems. JVC, like other stereo manufacturers, won't honor the warranty for stuff sold from non-authorized dealers.
http://www.clarion.com/us/en/support/authorized_retailers/index.html
I seriously doubt that I will need to use that warranty, but I didn't want to take the chance. Up to you, I guess. I had an issue with one of the caps I bought - I called Crutchfield, had a new cap the next day, and mailed the defective one back, at their expense. Try that on eBay.
I've sold lots of stuff on eBay, bought even more, but electronics I try to stay with authorized dealers.
Having said that, I have a JVC KS-FX490 I will be putting up eBay shortly. Nice deck. Not as nice as the AR5500 I bought, but still not bad, and it plays cassettes! :)
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Alpine CDA 7894. Amber illumination, aux output, MP3 and XM ready.
I fucking love mine. You get find one on ebay for like $150-$185
*EDIT* just noticed your ceiling of $175. I got mine for $163 shipped...im sure you could score one for the same price
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The newer alpines have too many angles for me and look to out of place in a car... but they function great. I got the Clarion because it looks more simple and matches the interior better, IMHO. Even the newer Clarion units are a bit too flashy for me - with silver and too many angles.
John is right about the warranty. I got burned on that once with the Kenwood fold-out screen in my other car. However, if getting the until from a certified dealer means the unit is $200 and it costs $125 through eBay, I'll take my chances.
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Zoso,
would would be the equivelant to your Clarion deck? Seems like Crutchfield has some different/new year models.
Thanks,
Chris
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The newer alpines have too many angles for me and look to out of place in a car... but they function great. I got the Clarion because it looks more simple and matches the interior better, IMHO. Even the newer Clarion units are a bit too flashy for me - with silver and too many angles.
John is right about the warranty. I got burned on that once with the Kenwood fold-out screen in my other car. However, if getting the until from a certified dealer means the unit is $200 and it costs $125 through eBay, I'll take my chances.
thats why i mentioned a specific model..the newer ones suck anyway. This headunit was released i think 2 or 3yrs ago.
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The prices on ebay always seem to have inflated shipping costs. A lot of items are the same price locally after you add shipping to the total.
Most of the newer in dash units have selectable colors for the faceplate illumination. I think an important feature is an AUX input for MP3 players on the faceplate. My wife and kids love this feature. Just plug in your IPOD or other player. Eliminates a CD changer in the trunk and carrying CD's in the car. Even my 58 year old wife makes "car" compilations. Her foot gets heavier when Tom Petty comes on.
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Zoso,
would would be the equivelant to your Clarion deck? Seems like Crutchfield has some different/new year models.
Thanks,
Chris
The Clarion DXZ465MP looks the closest to the one. The models below it only have 1 set of pre-outs. This model is more "busy" than the older model I bought and it can't change the color of the screen and buttons. The ability to match the interior light color was important to me. It does have some better features such as a higher resolution screen and iPod controls.
The Clarion ProAudio DXZ665MP looks to be the next model up that can do variable button/screen color... but that one is way too expensive.
Is a warranty that important to you? I bought mine from Audio Warehouse Express. They aren't a certified Clarion reseller either, and I wrote them about the warranty. They said that they offer their own 1 year warranty on the unit because Clarions didn't apply.
Personally, I'd just get the unit from the cheapest place possible and take my chances without a warranty.
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Mike,
you are right. I'll check that link to el ebay you sent.
hey, who cares about warranty anyway! It will probably get stolen anyway....
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Mike,
you are right. I'll check that link to el ebay you sent.
hey, who cares about warranty anyway! It will probably get stolen anyway....
Does that kind of stuff really happen in Puerto Rico? :p
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I read Zoso's stereo write-up and his Clarion looks awesome. I checked with Crutchfield but honestly I wasn't planning on spending too much.
Here are my requirements:
1) all red/amber lights
2) play recorded CD's
3) price not to exceed $175
4) Fits a E30 :rolleyes: and as close to flush or stock as possible when finally installed
Thoughts?
Thank you,
Chris
http://www.bestbuy.com search headunits... I have a kenwood... it's silver... it was $112 after tax.. here's a quick pic...
(http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a192/mtrchamp/318i%20Pics/Photo_022506_002.jpg)
it's flush as can be, and easy to install... plays cd-r and cd-rw...
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Wow enthusiast, that's really stock looking :rolleyes:
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Does that kind of stuff really happen in Puerto Rico? :p
no joke - our garden hose and christmas ornaments were stolen from the front of the house :eek:
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no joke - our garden hose and christmas ornaments were stolen from the front of the house :eek:
That's sad! I would have expected that you'd be housed in a base that was secure.
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Wow enthusiast, that's really stock looking :rolleyes:
haha he said close to stock or flush...
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Wow enthusiast, that's really stock looking :rolleyes:
and shiny too! I bought a sony because the CD changer in the trunk was wired to work with the buttons for the stations. It was shiny too! You can use SEM flat black trim paint for a lot of other stuff.
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...i didn't have a cd changer... :-(
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here's a pic of my alpine. i love it. it has changeable color schemes. i can change from blue/green, green/blue, amber/red, and red/amber. I use the amber/red scheme and looks awesomely stock. I love how it blends at night. i'll try and get a night shot sometime.
(http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e61/lttlwd04/DriversView.jpg)
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*note* that plastic holder above the head unit is a bracket i custom built to hold my PSP. i have a charger cable hard-wired to a 12-volt for charging while in the holder and i have a headphone plug wired to my alpine unit w/ a special cable that puts the audio in all of the car speakers. UMD Movies = TIGHT!
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hahah nice... dude i almost bought that deck... but decided not to... i don't reamember why though.... idk, I like my deck, sure it doesn't match, but it's cool...
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*note* that plastic holder above the head unit is a bracket i custom built to hold my PSP. i have a charger cable hard-wired to a 12-volt for charging while in the holder and i have a headphone plug wired to my alpine unit w/ a special cable that puts the audio in all of the car speakers. UMD Movies = TIGHT!
PSP Nav system!
(http://portagame.com/images/PSP_GPS_med.jpg)
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I gave up on my search for a new stereo.
Why the hell are all new head units blue. What the fuck does that match? I do not give a damn if it is "cool", I want something that matches. Also, "Ipod Ready" does NOT mean an Aux input on the front (SONY!). Nor should "ready" mean you need a $120 adapter.
In the end, I settled on a decent Alpine. You guys may say the new oens are crap, but honestly, it does not look that bad. It may have a lot of facets but the color is relatively close to the dash, sounds good, and the Ipod adapter was $29 instead of $120!
Not keen on the blue look, but it fit my other requirements which was decent price, good sound, cd, and ipod ready.
The unit was just under $200, though the non-bluetooth, no changer was $20 less. Ipod cable was another $30 plus I paid $30 for a 4 year no hassle warranty. I also picked up 2 sets of Pioneer speakers, though I only installed one set as I found that while the fronts were shit BMW stockers, the rear were Cerwins. The reason they sounded like crap was that the P.O had installed the premium stereo but not the amp that it requires.
The system sounds 100 times better than before, and my Ipod is now hidden away where you cannot see it.
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what model alpine did you get.
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CDA-9856
I like it, the Ipod controls could be better, but I think a lot of that is due to it just being a slightly different intereface.
It actually does not clash that bad with the e30, at least not in daylight.
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Crutchfield is always very expensive. You can get the 645MP on ebay for $125.
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&from=R10&catref=C6&satitle=clarion+DXZ645MP
Mike,
I'm going with the DXZ645MP.
1) Does it fit the E30 without any hack jobs, alterations, or installation kits?
Thanks, :)
Chris
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Mike,
I'm going with the DXZ645MP.
1) Does it fit the E30 without any hack jobs, alterations, or installation kits?
Thanks, :)
Chris
Nice choice!
When I bought my car, the previous owner had already hacked up the audio system in the car. Whatever wiring harness was there had been cut and there were just a mess of wires coming out of the empty socket where the stereo should have been. There were also several strands of RCA cables already run to the trunk.
So I can't speak definitively about installation kits. I just figured out what loose wire in my car was what and soldered it to the correct wire from the stereo.
You'll probably need a wiring harness to connect to the stock harness in the car so you don't have to cut any wires. Beyond that, everything is pretty basic - no gotchas or hacks.
One warning about the 645 - due to the viewing angle, the red text can be hard to see when it is really bright out. Adjusting the contrast helps but I still find it bad in the direct sunlight and I end up changing the color to green sometimes just so I can read it easily if I need the display. Changing colors is easy - doesn't require you going into any menus.
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I was presented with this same problem in my m10 e30, I decided mount the new headunit in the glovebox right beneath the ECU. I took all the internals out of the stock unit (it didnt work) This does a few things.
1. Maintains stock look of dash
2. makes less attractive to theives ( leave it unlocked alot in a fairly high crime area and no problems thus far)
3. Gives you a sweet spot to hide stuff (inside the old stock unit)
4. All my passengers think its awesome
its not that bad to reach across to it and it was a real easy install. At the same time i ran new wires to all the speakers, and that that really improves the sound. The stock e30 wiring really sucks.
I will try to get some pictures up later.
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anyone considered a nakamichi? dunno what a CD400 runs to over there, might cost more than you're looking at but nakamichi stuff used to be well cheap in the states when i looked! they look pretty stock (black, basic looking with amber illumination etc) and are fantastic head units. you could always go for an e36 h/u + changer combination too, they look great in the e30 but not as good a unit as the nakamichi. i have the CD400 in mine, can take pics if you like. as for wiring, you can still get the e30 stereo harness from the dealer if yours is mangled, you can buy a DIN convertor for this cable too. can be done really neatly.