CD Head Unit

[tmp]

Hi peeps,

New to this board and have a couple questions about replacement ICE for a MY2002 Clio.

1. I have searched the board and found that most Sony stereo’s can be adapted to work with the steering wheel stalk, but can any others i.e. Kenwood etc?

2. As the stereo is for the Missus, which model is generally recommended for the Clio – sounds/looks good, easy to use (just want a CD head unit, maybe MP3)

Cheers,

Tim.

 

[ClioJohn]

1. Sony and i think kenwood head units can be used with the steering wheel controls. but i dont think other head units do.

2.I replaced my head unit with a pioneer 7400mp. nice looking and plays mp3s. Easy to fit.

But it depends on your needs to be honest, what sort of budget are you looking at? are you looking to upgrade the speakers, amp, sub etc?

 

[tmp]

The car is my girlfriend’s, and she is quite happy with the way the current tape head unit sounds. However she would like to be able to play CD’s, so it’s just the head unit which needs to be upgraded.

As for budget, I would like to pay around £200-£250 (including the steering stalk adapter).

So I guess we are limited to either a Sony or Kenwood if we still want the steering stalk to work (Has anybody any recommendations about which adapter to use?)?

Cheers.

Tim.

 

[ClioJohn]

have a look around www.caraudiodirect.com
perhaps post on their forum for advice. alot of guys who are very much in the know!

 

[SlagGat]

After a long wait and a lot of effort, I have finally received my new Kenwood H/U and steering remote interface & harness. It is being installed tomorrow, so Ill be able to tell you on Friday exactly how good/bad it works.

 

[tmp]

sl*gGat, What Kenwood HU / Adapter did you go for?

Cheers,

Tim.

 

[tmp]

ClioJohn

Thanks for the www.caraudiodirect.com link, btw the Pioneer P7400MP looks v.nice

Tim.

 

[SlagGat]

Tim, Im a bit disappointed today. With the Kenwood setup, you get a steering remote interface unit (CK-R70EU). No problems. Then theres a different wire harness for each vehicle that fits between the R70EU and the remote. Since I have a "Clio II without heads-up display 98-01 model", I got the CAW-70R harness. Just got my car back from the audio shop. I was informed that the connector from the steering remote is not the same as the connector on the harness I got. Problem!!! Neither the interface nor the harness is available in South Africa - I had to import it. So I cant just go back to the shop and exchange it. Will have to think of a new plan of action over the week-end.

 

[SlagGat]

The H/U is a MV6521. MP3/CD front loader. As I just got the car back, I havnt played with the MP3 side of things yet, but its got a variable color display and all I can say is that it looks FCKING nice.

It also has a lead coming out the back of it for a steering remote, but its also different from my remote.

The adpater I mentioned in my previous post, has an IR led on the other end, so it "connects" to the H/U just as a wireless remote would.

 

[tmp]

Sorry to hear about your problems sl*gGat, let us know how you get on!

Tim.

 

[SlagGat]

Inspite of the remote issue, Im very pleased with the H/U I got. I just cant stop about the display - Im very busy this week, but will have some pics next week.

I expected some problems on the MP3 side of things. But no hassles at all. Ive heard a lot of comments about 2second gaps and long "loading" periods, etc, etc.

To test with, I popped a CD in with about 130 MP3 files in about 3 folders (each one being 2 levels deep). It started playing after about 3 secs. And theres no problem navigating or advancing to the following files/folders. Im very happy with the sounds quality too.

Ill tackle the remote issue in a couple of weeks time, when things are less hectic.