new headunit

[adunis]

Hello all,I have a parrot and the standard blaupunkt but I think I would like this Clarion fb288rbt silver changable display color bluetoth tuner sd slot only NO CD MECHANISM looks sexy is cheap any thoughts ?

[shiny_car]

it's an unusual product, the FB series. its 'looks' are so unique that it will polarise people: you either love it or hate it, and it won't suit most cars (ie: won't blend in to the dash design).

(for those not familiar http://clarion.com/gb/en/products/20...387306165.html

i'm definitely NOT a fan of its cosmetics. but that's obviously subjective, and says nothing of its performance/sound quality.

if it suits your needs, there's no reason not to buy it and enjoy it. clarion is a top quality brand, so that's not an issue.

for an ICE nutter like myself, it's main limitation is the single set of RCA preouts (2 channels), for an external amp. this lacks 'control' should you wish to add more than a 2 channel amp. that is, if you went for a 4-channel amp and monobloc (ie: front/rears/sub), you would not have fading and sublevel control. if you never envisage adding amplifiers, it's not an issue.

[adunis]

Appreciate the input Shiny any other suggestions that tick the following boxes ? ,silver form,red illumination,bluetooth,usb,mp3/wma and cheap/cheapish

[shiny_car]

it's mostly black, but check out the Eclipse CD3200. it fulfills your other needs. eclipse is a top quality brand, though most people have never heard of them. higher quality than alpine IMO, in terms of value and sound quality, and of equal build quality.

alpine are also great, but BT requires a separate adaptor which is expensive (KCE-350BT (or superceded 300BT)). aside from this, the CDE-9882Ri is silver/red, with USB and at a good price.

pioneer are mostly black, but are also very good value and well-featured. some with inbuilt BT and USB.

another lower profile brand is jvc, but are top value. better value than most alpine and pioneer models, and overall quality remains very good. perhaps the KD-BT11 or BT22.

search the various websites for the details/specs.

http://www.alpine-electronics.co.uk/.../cd-headunits/
http://www.eclipse-web.com.au/Default.aspx (australian link; US/UK show different models and unsure if newer or older)
http://jvcmobile.co.uk/category.php?cat2=2
http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/products/2.../overview.html

[adunis]

Thanks guy !,Jvc looks accessible that siad Pioneer DEH-850bt ? looks good black but sleek and multicolour display

[Erewhon]

I've been thinking about this model too, and was put off not by the looks, which IMO are pretty cool, but by the poor support for digital music files. No .AAC or .WMA, let alone .WAV or .FLAC, and a maximum of 255 music files.

I have over 6000 tracks encoded in FLAC which I listen to on my domestic HiFi through a dedicated audio PC and a high quality USB DAC.

I would like to put all these files on a portable USB hard drive and do the same in my car, but I have been unable to find any off the shelf solution that would allow me to do it. Even the most imaginitive ICE designers don't seem to be able to see beyond the iPod.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Oh, and it has to look good in a 156 dash too!

[shiny_car]

Originally Posted by Erewhon

I have over 6000 tracks encoded in FLAC which I listen to on my domestic HiFi through a dedicated audio PC and a high quality USB DAC.

I would like to put all these files on a portable USB hard drive and do the same in my car

currently, pioneer offer the best USB connectivity if you have a huge file load. though i don't fully understand the different formats, so i'm unsure if it will be completely compatible with how you've done your recordings.

[ip75]

Originally Posted by shiny_car

currently, pioneer offer the best USB connectivity if you have a huge file load. though i don't fully understand the different formats, so i'm unsure if it will be completely compatible with how you've done your recordings.

Most of the current Pioneer units seem to support WAV, and some of the more expensive Kenwood ones too. None of them support any form of lossless compression, as far as I can find out, so FLAC and ALAC are out. However, even if you can get all your music on to a disk, head units seem to have a terrible time scanning it all on startup and making it easily navigable.

It's a shame, but if you really want anything like the quality and convenience you get from your home system, an iPod with Apple Lossless music and something like an Alpine iDA-X100 (which takes a digital feed from the iPod and uses its own DAC) is the best option. Additionally, as far as I'm aware this is the only way to get completely gapless playback (i.e. to have all the tracks on an album run together with no audible pause between them).

[Erewhon]

Thanks chaps, you've confirmed what I thought. The latest Pioneer stuff looks nice and does support uncompressed .WAV, but sad git that I am, I insist on it being silver with a red display. Black and blue just won't look right in a 156.

Domestic HiFi companies are gradually realising that there's an untapped market out there, so I'm sure the ICE guys will soon follow suit. In the meantime there are a few Alpine iDA-X001s appearing on ebay now, so I may try one of those as a stopgap until something more satisfactory comes along.

[shiny_car]

most of the pioneer models offer a selection for button colours (ie: in the setup menu you can change to RED).

unfortunately, many headunits are black. that includes alpine's iDA series.

but i'm with you, and put cosmetics/colour as a priority!

[adunis]

Ok !,I've decided !!!!! JVC KD-22BT ticks all the boxes mine for approx €200

Thanks for the input one and all

[shiny_car]

before committing, have you actually had a look at one? i suggest don't buy it online until you've at least seen it, to ensure it meets your expectations: build quality/'feel', colour, features, easy of use, etc.

i'm not suggesting it's bad in any way at all, but different brands differ slightly, so you want to be sure.