its been a while...need some audio tips

[StrykeBack]

Hey guys, I used to frequent this forum about 3 or 4 years ago and have been a way awhile..amazing my login still worked.
Anyways my Gen 4.5 camry is starting to have trouble reading burned cds and I want to add an mp3 player also, not an ipod!

I've got the premium 6 speaker jbl system but with no cd changer. I saw someone talking about a mod for an aux in in the back of the stock decks...does that go for my gen 4's premium single cd slot dual din deck? if so i can grab my ZenSleek now and just go rca in and wait for a new deck.


Also, what decks do u guys recommend. I wanted an alpine but i'd have to have the top one and don't want to spend 4 or 5 hundred. used to have an old kenwood 5 years ago, the new ones are ugly as heck, and i was really eyeing either a sony cdx-f7715x or the cdx-m8815x.
However a ton of people are saying these decks are complete crap now days. I really liked the simple, yet elegant look to those 2, plus all blue led setup would be a plus.

What do you guys recommend these days? how are the pioneers? i don't have an amp or sub right now though adding a small sub would be nice, and so far i've liked the sound of my stock 6 speaker and jbl premium stock system...am I nuts? considering i'm an audio engineer perhaps this is a problem

[scootertrog]

StrykeBack,
I think just about every brand out there right now looks ugly and cheap, except for the McIntosh unit. I guess I'm an old throw-back, I loved the looks of the older Concords, Alpines and Eclipses. Same for the amps, anyone remember Spectron or Linear Power? I'm sure those folks old enough to remember this stuff would agree that the general build-quality, feel of controls and styling were quite a cut-above the stuff available now.
Something's not quite right when the last good Alpine I bought 5 years ago cost more than a upper-level Alpine unit now. I know consumer electronics have dropped in recent years, but so has the overall quality.
I'm wanting to replace the OEM crapper in the dash, but am having a difficult time with the aftermarket styling. Why the fark did Eclipse go with that ugly silver?

scootertrog

[StrykeBack]

yeah i can say that silver on all these radios looks pretty crappy. it looks cheap and i don't need anything else shiny on my dash to reflect sunlight. those kenwoods are damn ugly. so are clarion and eclipse, 2 many damn chunky buttons on the eclipse.

I still might just grab one of the higher end sonys that have no buttons on them for 200 bucks, not a big investment and really i just want an aux in for a zen sleek mp3 player and a nice eq atleast 5 bands. the kenwoods are only treble and bass, 2 bands, what the hell, are we still in the shitty 80s!

anybody want to spout off their favorite radios right now in the 2 to 3 hundred range?

[scootertrog]

Yea, I just bought my wife a Creative Zen Micro. I could be wrong, but if the head unit you get has an aux RCA input in the back, you should be able to get a cable at Best Buy or similiar store, that has an RCA male to phono male. The cable could be run into the cubby-hole area in front of the shifter, where you could stash the mp3 player. Just a thought.

So far, for the money, I'm leaning towards the Alpine 9847. It can be had for $199 from Crotchfield which includes the dash kit, good instructions/tech assistance and free shipping. There was a posting on this forum where you could mention a discount code and get another $20 off that. I got the code, but not with me right now.
I've seen just the HU itself as low as $160 on a couple of on-line sites.

scootertrog

[StrykeBack]

I could be wrong, but if the head unit you get has an aux RCA input in the back, you should be able to get a cable at Best Buy or similiar store, that has an RCA male to phono male. The cable could be run into the cubby-hole area in front of the shifter, where you could stash the mp3 player. Just a thought.

thats actually exactly what I have planned for mine. I've just had a lot of people complain about alpines reliability lately, that and no matter what it has to be shipped back for a week or 2 for repair, you don't get a new one. whereas if i buy a higher end one at a bestbuy and get the 40 dollar insurance, something goes wrong, then i just get a brand new one, or the money from the last one towards a brand new deck of my choice. my gfriend has had a kenwood and now a jvc die on her and shes about to get a new one free via bbuys insurance policy.

[sasair]

I'd recommend the Peripheral Aux2Car unit to add RCA inputs to your factory unit. I used the iPod2Car unit for a while and had no problems at all. The Aux2Car is the same box just a different cable.

As for a new head unit, The Alpines are nice. Great sound and more elegant looking than the Pioneers and Kenwood type brands. But the Pioneer type have more bells and whistles and great expansion capability for the amount you pay. Either will sound better than the factory head unit though.