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General => Car audio => Topic started by: jv on 09 January 2004, 14:42
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Anyone give any feedback on mp3 headunits?
I want to get one soon but a couple of things put me off. Had a demo of a Kenwood and Clarion one, both low-end and the time to move between folders on a mp3 cd was really poor. A 300 quid Alpine one was almost instant in comparison.
Secondly, I want a head unit that can display id3 tags (mp3 title/artist names) properly and scroll them on the display without you having to mess about. A mate has a Pioneer 3500 that is super quick to move between files but you have to hold down a button to get titles. I want them displayed all the time, preferably more than 8 characters at a time!
Thinking of a Pioneer 5530MP or 77MP at the moment. Anyone got either?
Cheers,
jv
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Try looking at another Kenwood model, I know the CD has an auto title/track scroll option. Maybe if you check out a top of the range Kenwood system, it might be better.
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Just taken a Kenwood PSW 9521 out of my MkIV, as I've just got a Pioneer screen to replace it.
This was the top of the range unit in 2002/03, with rotary control, d-mask, remote, 5volt pre-outs (x3) 3d dot matrix display etc. Retailed at ?499.
This does the auto scroll thingy you're looking for, and I found the time to change between folders perfectly acceptable.
Prett damn cool unit all in all.
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yeah my mate got a kenwood mp3 in his MG (pah hiss!!!) seems pretty good not sure of model though will try and find out.
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I've got a Sony Xplod CDX MP40.
It's a nice little unit, costs about ?180. (I actually got mine at a discount for ?140)
Does all the usual radio/cd/mp3, displays ID3 tags as the mp3 starts, scrolls the title, then holds the first bit of the title on display.
It's pretty good at changing tracks quickly, when you first load an mp3 CD it's a little slow but that seems to allow it to index the disk enabling faster track and album switching.
IE, if you organise your mp3s on the cd by artist then by album in directories, it will allow you to flick from one album to the next with one button push.
Just need to move it from my Mk3 to the Mk2 now.
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JV you should of had a play with mine yesterday!
I've got the kenwood PS9524.
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cheers for the feedback people :)
dizzie, oops, totally forgot! next time :)
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I've just fitted a Kenwood KDC-M7024 to my mark 3 (kind of, theres too many wires at the back of it to seat the stereo properly, ideas anyone?). The stereo itself seems pretty awesome (then, I've always been a sucker for Kenwood MASK's), am just about to burn an mp3 CD to try that particular part of the unit out, will report back when its done.
But the best news? www.caraudiodirect.co.uk were doing them for 200 quid, 150 less than retail. And for 200 quid, it's a bargain.
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I got an alpine 9815r it can play wma's aswell as mp3, and has continous scrolling of the id3 tag on 2 lines of dotmatrix display, comparable to the kenwood but generally regarded as being just that tad better, get either you cant wrong
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Bodhi, remove your glove box. it's only 5 screws. then you can see the back of the headunit. you need to get all of the wires out of the way so it can slot perfectly. the otherside can be seen if you remove that little cover that's 2 peices.
if the 7024 is like my 9524 then the RCA connections, ariel, changer and 'the other one' are on 3 inch wires. they need to be routed out the way.
www.cel-direct.com are doing 7024's for ?184.99 :o
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I too have just fitted a Sony Xplod CDX MP40 and as said further up it is a good unit (bonus of a remote control) and cheap. I have one niggle with it though, I have a Mk2 which has green illumination. The Sony comes with blue screen and red buttons so I doesn't match it. Would be better suited to a Mk4 (can't remember what colour illumination a Mk3 has)
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Bodhi, remove your glove box. it's only 5 screws. then you can see the back of the headunit. you need to get all of the wires out of the way so it can slot perfectly. the otherside can be seen if you remove that little cover that's 2 peices.
if the 7024 is like my 9524 then the RCA connections, ariel, changer and 'the other one' are on 3 inch wires. they need to be routed out the way.
www.cel-direct.com are doing 7024's for ?184.99 :o
Ah excellent. I assume removing the govebox is equally straightforward on a Mark 3?
Heh, that "other one" that you mention is the steering remote cable, which I've already managed to wrench off accidentally whilst trying to get the bloody thing to seat properly. I shat it until I confirmed that the stereo still woreked let me tell you.
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I dont get the whole "mp3" thing thats going around, i have over 300 mp3's stored on my pc and to select them is easy.. point and click... but id hate to have to sift thru each one to get to the song i want...
i mean... if u want track 247 and ur on track 3 then u got a long way to search .. lol ... and thats IF u know which track u want.. u mite only know the name of it and mite not have entered the ID3 tag correctly etc etc
bleh, too much hassle for me... burn it to CD in .WAV format and be done with it.
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I burn my mp3's into seperate folders on the cd - each folder represents one normal cd's worth of music, so you can easily flick up or down through the folders to get to the tunes you want. So just create different folders for different moods and away you go.
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The head unit in my old car was a Sony CDX-MP30.
Decent sound / build quality for the price (about ?140 before they discontinued them). But the colours (red buttons, deep blue screen) not to my taste really. Indexing between tracks was very poor and ID3 tags / file names took ages to come up.
New unit is the Alpine CDA-9813R. Apart from the 4 x 60W V-Drive amp, the other plus points are:
Silly and minor, but a nice touch - the different button colours (some models have blue/red/green/amber), the 9813 has switchable green/amber with a pale blue screen.
Main plus point in usability is how you browse through the files and folders using the F-Search function... you can scroll around the entire CD while still listening to one song. Flicking through albums by folder number or name and through tracks by track number, ID3 tag or filename before selecting the track to be played by pressing in the scroll dial.
The green buttons on my model match the Mk3 interior lighting very nicely and the screen auto-dims when the lights are on, plus there's a BlackOut option that blanks the screen 2secs after you've touched the last dial/button for night time driving - just leaving the pale green buttons.
Only minuses I can really think of: although you get a hand remote with it, Alpine only do steering/stalk remote INTERFACES so you have to have a factory fitted remote already if you want that option.... and also the eject is slow (motorised face has to tilt and move out the way). The latter doesn't really bother me - it's a nice gimic (subtle "bling") and I only change CD's every week or two (with 200 WMA's / 180 MP3's it's better than having a 12 loader shuttle in your dash!).
Above all: it's an Alpine and sufficiently high up their range that there are a host of X-over / pre-amp outs / sub tweaking / etc that leave me loads of room for future upgrades!!
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Mark another thumbs up for the Alpine, although I think they've replaced my unit with a newer model this year (it's also cheaper this year too), definitely worth looking into, it looks gorgeous.. not too flashy, fits perfect, plays well, and has plenty of sound shaping options.
Only downside, which I actually like is that you need to use a thicker ground and hot lead than is equipped in the harness.
Oh, BTW buy an adapter to plug in the harness if your going to say with the factory wiring. It'll not only save a bit of time, but if youever want to work on it again (or replace the factory head unit) you wont be scratching your head with a bunch of spaghetti.
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can't remember what colour illumination a Mk3 has
green
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ive got the pioneer 5530, it seems a good unit, there's plenty of different options to get dif sound from bass to mhz, high pass filters the lot, however it doesn't scroll the titles, it can display the track, disc, quality ie download quality 128kps etc,
and anything else, but if you have more than 8/9 characters it wont scroll which i found quite annoying.
To be honest i did prefer an was more impressed wiv my kenwood mask, i like the idea of just spinning it round when not in such a dodgy place. an to be honest again, the extra sound options are good, but if you like a variety of music, then one song will sound great the next will sound pants, cant quite find a middle ground! But the lights look great in the mark 4 perfect match. 8) ;)
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Just installed my new PIONEER DEH-P3630MP unit last weekend. Got a decent deal on the price (?146) and have to say that for the money I am well impressed. Navigation between folders etc is rapid and the sound can be tailored to suit the relevant cars' set-up. Also have the scope to add further multi-media to it in the future ;D. As mentioned above though the only (minor) gripe concerns the scrolling (or not as the case is) of ID tags. Can't have everything though I guess :P.
Colour scheme also goes rather well with my GTi.......red buttons with white on black screen illumination......a must for all Black mkII Gti's 8) 8)
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/images/b_dehp3630mp.jpg
David
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I've had my KDC-M7024 for about 4 months now, and it's been terrific. The sound quality is absolutely top notch (as you'd expect from Kenwood), and the range you can tweak the sound through is mind boggling. It's the first stereo I've ever encountered with 4 separate bass controls and 3 each for the midrange and treble. You could literally spend all day tailoring the sound to your taste. The rotating front panel never gets dull and the silver finish goes nicely with my golf ball gear knob. The mp3 side is excellent, track searching is both fast and easy, and it even manages to make mp3's sound good. All round an excellent unit, with no major gripes, except it resulting in the police coming to my room at 6 in the morning. Coulda done without it doing that.
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I also had the alpine CDA-9813R and would heartily recommend it. Initially had it installed just running a set of components in my shelf and the 60W built in amp is unbelievable. Once I completed my install and hooked up my amps and 15" sub the sound clarity and really tight bass was mind blowing. With really great sub control and built in crossover you can crank up the bass and still keep your crappy little dash speakers sounding crystal clear. The MP3 section of the unit is excellent with full scrolling track title, artist, album names etc etc. The only downside I found was that the folder search could be a little confusing unless you had everything well organised when you burnt the disc.
Unfortunately I only had the pleasure of my alpine for 6weeks before some thieving b@#tard screwdrivered my lock and cleared the lot out.
When I finally get myself set up with a new motor another CDA-9813R will be right up there on the shopping list just behind a set of armour plates and a decent alarm.
Toby
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The Kenwood unit I have (can't remember the model, but its a D-mask one from 2002 I think) 4090 or something....anyway, it'll only scroll the correct MP3 tag if you make them ID3v1 tags. Trouble is, most of the MP3 rippers I've used on my PC are insistant on using ID3v2, which doesn't work on mine! I've downloaded a converter so I'll try burning another CD to see if it makes any difference.