[Blue Flame]

hey all,
my buddy's HU got ripped off and he wants to get an MP3 HU and was wondering which one is the best SQ wise? the amp inside doesn't have to be all that great because he's gonna get an external eventually (summertime) so he just wants a good quality HU for a decent price.......can ya gimme ideas?

 

[MADBUG]

Re: MP3 players (Blue Flame)

JVC SH-99.Very good price,lots of usable features and sounds great!! You can turn off the internal amp if you are running external,which helps keep the hu from overheating.That's just one of the actually usable features.Also,will play mp3 that has been burned onto cd-r and cd-rw.

 

[Blue Flame]

Re: MP3 players (MADBUG)

cool, thanks madbug, i recommended that one to him already, any others?

 

[Blue Flame]

Re: MP3 players (Blue Flame)

^^^

 

[Blue Flame]

Re: MP3 players (Blue Flame)

i know there's gotta be some other good ones.......

 

[mnguye8]

Re: MP3 players (Blue Flame)

www.highwaymp3.com
It's got a list of all the HU plus a message board for each one where owners discuss problems and review them.
There's also a hardrive based one which works with the stock HU and goes into the changer slot in the trunk but that one is $900. You can find it at www.phatnoise.com

 

[TDI Vroom]

Re: MP3 players (mnguye8)

I just love the Empeg... the original, and still the best. That thing is getting on 3 years old now and still kicks ass. I just checked out the website and they said they stopped production of them, but i found some on eBay for around $350. If you don't know what it is, it's a hard drive based player... the ones for $350 are 20GB models, but they have slots for 2 drives. Running Linux on a 206MHz Intel StrongArm processor, and fully upgradeable (just upload new software to the system). Man, seeing this just reminded me off how much i love those things. Anybody around here have one? I'd be interested in knowing how well they integrate into a dub. I could throw away my cd changer for good.

 

[ColdFlameGTi]

Re: MP3 players (TDI Vroom)

I think as far as MP3 cd players are concerned there are several possibilities:
1. SH-99 as MadBug mentioned
2. Pioneer MP7400 - super cheap case

3. Kenwood z828

 

[wgreen]

Re: MP3 players (ColdFlameGTi)

Well, the only MP3 deck I've seen in use is the Alpine 7878 with XM. Very nice deck, but pricey compared to the others. Excellent specs though. Builtin amp (may or may not be good for you), 3 4-volt preouts. I might add that the JVC deck allows you to turn the internal amp off, not sure if the Alpine will allow this or not.

 

[Raganoo]

Re: MP3 players (ColdFlameGTi)

id say get the 99, awsome deck well worth teh price tag.

 

[genixia]

Re: MP3 players (TDI Vroom)

Mine's awaiting installation...SonicBlue.com still had them in stock last week (US Orders only), or carplayer.com for international.
It's gonna look sweet in my 2000 Golf, although fitting all the wiring is going to be fun.
I'm going to be keeping the stock HU for a while for occassional radio/tape use, and also because the Empeg is line-out only and I don't have an external amp (and I can't get that past the wife at the moment - I just bought an Empeg remember

)
That causes a coupla little problems. Firstly to use the CD in on the stock HU as an aux in I had to buy a Blitsafe VW Aux in adapter - special order direct for $108 including shipping. But my bigger problem is finding the reverse wiring harness that plugs into the stock HU so I can build a power-splitting harness to power both the Empeg and stock HU. I don't want to hack my main wiring loom.
I went to my local dealership today to find out if they stocked it. Only if I buy the rest of the loom... $3000. I said thanks but no thanks... LOL.
Anyone know of an online source for this connector? Scosche vw01r

 

[Yorick]

Re: MP3 players (Blue Flame)

wait for the pioneer 740 mp3 head unit.. should be better than the 7400, and won't be much more moolah..

Can't wait to get one meself, only I just got a kenwood x917 for cheap.. Maybe for the mustang..

-Ian

 

[TDI Vroom]

Re: MP3 players (genixia)

I think I'm going to pick one up later today as well... I've been wanting one of these puppies for almost 3 years now and I can't believe the prices have come down so low. What size did you get? All i really need is 10GB (plus, i already have a 2nd 6GB hd sitting at home), but I don't think the SonicBlue store has those, only the 30GB & 60GB. I'll probably be looking at the 10GB model from carplayer.com.
I'm not sure how I'll get it installed... I'll most likely keep the stock HU for now and ditch my 8 disc changer. But I may pick up a new HU with single CD in the future if i can find something decent without spending too much. I don't know where they are, but I think there are quite a few people around here with these things.

 

[TurboJetta18T]

Re: MP3 players (TDI Vroom)

Funny all this talk about MP3 in cars. I just picked up a Alpine 7878 and the sound quality is awsome in regular cd mode but when I throw in my burned MP3 files it is too damn bright. I just do a straight copy and my software has no equalization. The deck has a built in 7 band eq and basically I have the highs all the way down and it is still way too bright. My deck is hooked up to the factory monsoon system and still running monsoon speakers. When I was running the stock system it sound nice and warm but with this deck it seems too bright. Should I get new software where i can eq my files before i burn it in?
Thanks guys.