Headunit

[Dink]

yeah it's more than enough for me but i haven't got a clio, so ze germans have probably used slightly higher spec OEM stuff.

 

[chaski]

Aye, my speakers will be uprated all round to a nominal/RMS power of 35w, so the 45w the amp pumps out should be substantial enough to make use of them fully without being over-worked and they should be better than the OE Renault ones I think!

 

[chaski]

Just an update to this for anyone reading it in the future.

Really happy with the setup now I've had time to sit in it and tweak everything and really listening to the music without concentrating on driving. Ended up with the treble bumped up a smidge, fader bias towards the front and then dropping the input volume from the iPod source. Loving the headunit, looks smart and is a great little box of tricks. Dash top display still displays the time. All the stalk controls still work and the built in parrot bluetooth is a really nice bonus. I've wired the mic through the dash and up the drivers side pillar. I snapped/bent/cut the plastic clip mount it came with into a suitable shape and stuck it to the inside so it looks smart. Actually sat in the car and listened for about half an hour after I'd finished setting things up as I was so pleased!

It probably wouldn't be good enough for a real audiophile or anyone wanting silly amounts of bass just to make people look at them, but it is a nice tidy/neat package if your car is a daily and you want a quality, relatively easy to install package. The only slightly taxing part was getting the power cable for the sub through the bonnet release rubber bung. Anyway, I haven't turned it up past 50% volume yet, I just don't need to!

I've stashed the 'Power Pack' behind the climate control unit. It was tight, but with some good wire organisation and a bit of fiddling around, I eventually got it all back in! The sub doesn't fit neatly into place, but it does fit at an odd angle/unsecured. It's pretty heavy though so can't see it shifting easily. Perhaps worth considering alternative under seat subs if you want boot space still, as you're need something just a little bit smaller all round.

Especially thanks to @Goodj for product recommendations as they were right on the money (literally and figuratively). Not the best photo quality wise but, here's the head unit in situ, with the finished dash LED colour conversion.

 

[Goodj]

Thanks fella
Really pleased it's working for you, which sub did you get in the end? The alpine one? I guess "underseat" could mean under an S-class seat'

I remember just getting my old Alpine in place in the 172 took some shoving and swearing, so to get a power pack in as well was a good effort

Happy booms!

 

[chaski]

It's the Alpine PWE-V80 yeah. It's just a bit too long/wide to fit under there nicely. At the moment it's sort of just sat there at an angle so that the seat still slides, you can't see it unless you look really except the cable, which I haven't run under carpets etc yet as I'm not 100% I'm leaving it there for now. I am considering mounting it to the back of the rear seats, as I don't mind having a sub in the boot, I just don't want it to take up much space as I use the boot. Do you think that would work?

Will get a pic.

 

[Gus]

I think you're right; I hope you're right! It's less weight, less money and I think, should sit at about the power I'm looking for! I'm going to go for exactly what you've listed here. I'd already decided on that sub and I already have the Pioneer components, but the power pack I have to admit I'm dubious about, though generally it's well reviewed. A good choice to replace the FLI's I think, probably better to have slightly more amp power than the speaker needs from what I've read and frankly, I'm sure the pioneers are simply better than the FLI ones in there anyway. On top of the kit though, I am going to make frugal use of some sound deadening/anti vibration stuff (along with blue tac!) to help de-rattle the car a bit/make the most of what's there.

I guess we'll see how it pans out when the time comes and it's all in and fitted!

Thanks for the advice/help in decision making!

Wow your setup looks fantastic, good job !! must be really satisfying having it all working a treat.

Im going to go for the same setup, just wanted to ask you a few quick questions.
How long did it take you in total do you think?

Were the front pioneer speakers good, have read mixed reviews and wanted your opinion. Im tempted to try the other Alpine sub - Alpine SWE-1200 as its a little less wide and may fit better (

• Subwoofer: 280 x 75 x 226 mm) as opposed 342 x 80 x 238 mm for the Alpine PWE V80. The 1200 however has some sort of amplifier box which will need hiding too.

Can you give me a link to the stalk and display adapter you bought.

Also how are you going to get the sub remote to the ashtray cubby hole, are you going to feed under the carpet.

Cheers !!

 

[chaski]

Cheers, it is great to have it all sounding a lot better. In total for installing just the audio, I think probably about 4 hours. It's the first time I've done it ever, let alone in a small car like the Clio. That includes running the sub power cable through the firewall which took me over an hour as I had to do a bit of research and then trial and error with methods of getting it through! It also includes taking the entire dash top off, as I wanted to run the supplied microphone to my drivers side pillar as mentioned. It was worth the effort and actually, it was useful to have access as there's a reasonable amount of space for wires, to the right of the passenger airbag. A bit of a gap between the centre console area and the passenger airbag unit. It's not huge but it's enough to house a good amount of wires that I had taped into neat bundles.

Regards the Pioneers in general - I would consider speakers for a similar price point, but I wouldn't rule the Pioneers out now they're being supplied power and better quality audio output in the first place. They are pretty good for my tastes in a car environment. I listen to a broad spectrum of music and haven't found them lacking with anything in particular but I'm no audiophile. I already had the front speaker set, so it was more cost effective to match up with a rear pair as Goodj suggested. They're above a factory standard level (when powered by the power pack at least) and have enough punch for me. They might benefit from a little more clarity up high if you sit around with the engine off a lot.

The stalk adapter is a Connects2 CTSRN003 and deals with the display part too. You will need the Connects2 CT27AA01 antenna converter. If you're getting the same headunit as me, at least.

I'm not going to do anything with the sub remote. The headunit has a lot of options, including polarity reversal and I don't think it will look good, even if mounted/secured into the dash/cup holders or wherever. I'm also not sure if it's really needed, if the sub remembers the settings without it being plugged in I will just unplug it and put it in the glovebox. It's not as if it needs tweaking between songs. Definitely not at a level that you can't do from within the head unit in my opinion!

I think the smaller subwoofer would be a better bet and I THINK with that length, you will get it into a much nicer position under the seat, but I couldn't tell you if it'll 100% fit. I ran the wires for the sub from the back of the head unit, down behind the climate control panel and behind the power pack (which I install behind the CC panel with wires going from the left to the right and the alpine logo facing you) and then I pulled out the centre bottom of the dash completely. I ran the cables down there and on the passenger side there's some air ducts I presume for the air con etc, I ran the wires on top/next to those and under the carpet. It was a tight squeeze as I don't have tiny hands but it worked with a lot of swearing and squeezing! The power cable runs the left hand side of the passenger seat and will eventually be stowed behind the plastic trim there.

Hope that's helpful bud!

 

[Dannyeff]

Been thinking of fitting this one

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...&productId=918329&categoryId=165655&langId=-1

No CD player but never use CD's anymore.

I use this in my ford puma. great cd player. i only use aux or usb so ideal