Good Audio

Hey everyone

Does anyone know of a great audio store/installer in the greater mnpls st paul area where I can get a good head unit installed in my 03 WRX? And have a radar detector harness installed?

Any suggestions for a great head unit to replace the OEM one?

I know theres tons of info regarding head units but theres so much to wade through Im having a difficult time making a descision.

Im looking for a great unit that I can leave in the car a few years, look like it came stock, should probably be double DIN, play MP3 or play with aux cable (zune), and have some other cool features that I havent thought of yet.

Thanks for any suggestions-

 

do u have a price range for the deck?? I would suggest alpine or pioneer. Also what did you mean by radar harness?? Just the power cord for it??

 

I tend to like Pioneer mostly becuase it gets good reviews but also because of familiarity. IVe seen them go up to 1000.00 dollars but that is mucho out of my price range. IF you guys suggest something like that then I will need to save for it and deal with what I got now, perhaps just change speakers as the ones Ihave now are thrashed:biggrin:.

The harness for the radar detector is for power. There is one made that runs up the A-pillar over to just above the rearview mirror and has the plug so I could remove the detector. I just dont want to install it myself or have BestBuy do it.

Most importantly Im looking for a really good audio shop that can help me with my choice then do the install-

Thanks

 

Single DIN unit + oem pocket is the better route unless you are specifically stepping to a DVD/NAV type of setup that needs a screen.

Most mid to high end HUs will have aux-in.

I will suggest you purchase from Ebay for cost savings. I would also suggest you install yourself or yourself + friend(s) also for cost savings as well as a learning experience.

One obvious choice is Pioneer's P880PRS or the current year P800PRS. It has more features then you can shake a stick at, and will do everything you'll ever want it to do and then some.

The radar detector shouldn't be all that hard either if it's simply running a power wire and mounting it somewhere. Alarm systems are the only things that require a little more professional work to set up right.

 

I prefer the double din unitis a) for looks but b) Id like to have nav, and maybe flash storage capability.

Im not too concerned about the cd player as Id like to not use them in the future. But there is always the possiblity of playing other people's discs so that might be a nice feature to keep.

Im dont use sattilite radio and I dont think movies are something Id watch. Not like people in the back seat could see it that well (or couyld they).

I think I could install the stero as far as wiring etc. The part that scares me is taking apart a rattle free interior when Ive never ever done it before and damaging it. One thing I hate is a car with a damaged interior-

 

goto circuit city they do a good job its usualy cheap to

 

Well, unless you specifically want to spend the extra for a NAV system, stick to single DIN and toss in a pocket. There's zero point wasting money on old, overpriced hardware to simply have double DIN.

Flash media is doable, but you won't be looking at Pioneer. They haven't really yet incorporated flash drives into their HUs. I don't know why. Depending on what media types you have, you will be looking at certain brands. Many brands have USB connections, either on the front face or through an auxilary cable in the rear. Sony has their propriatary flash cards on their HUs. JVC uses SD readers in some of their units, as well as USB. Something like the JVC KD-SH1000 is nice, comprehensive unit that has SD, USB, and a 3.5mm jack all right in the front plus a secondary RCA based aux in the rear. It has a 9-band graphic/3-band parametric EQ (user selectable), 3-way crossover network built in, DSP, compression correction, lots of nice features.

Another one you might look at if you don't need SD is Clarion's DXZ785USB, again tons of features plus independent left and right EQing.

 

I know you said 1000 was out of your price range however i think this might be what you are looking for and it seems to be priced well, again if you need help installing let me know.(car audio used to be my job) But check out this unit might be what ya need.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/Navigation/In-Dash/AVIC-F700BT

 

I really like my Alpine audio ... no I LOVE my Alpine audio!

 

^^ Nice find sir! However I personally hate buying things online, I like supporting local business, wouldnt buy car audio from online shop, but that is a really good find at $600.

 

That IS a nice find.

Thanks-

 

Blasphemy!

 

WOW! I'll have to keep my eyes on that site! $500 is half price. They were taking a loss on that at $500.