New car stereo rather than new car :-)

mambo69

Hi All


So after many to and fro I think that my need to change my car is driven like most by a want rather than a need. However there is nothing wrong with my car so I am now thinking to change my car stereo instead :j


I have a grand vitara so its a double din stereo so does anyone have any good ones to look at? I dont need sat-nav but would like USB, probabaly a DVD player and of course bluetooth


budget inc fitting say up to £400, and so the more bells and whistles the better :-)


many thanks

AdrianC

It doesn't have to be double-din, of course - there are plenty of fascia adapters to allow a single-din unit to fit, opening the choice right up.

Fitting is usually very straightforward - you might need a harness adapter, but it's plug'n'play. Should take you about ten minutes.

interstellaflyer

AdrianC wrote: »

It doesn't have to be double-din, of course - there are plenty of fascia adapters to allow a single-din unit to fit, opening the choice right up.

Fitting is usually very straightforward - you might need a harness adapter, but it's plug'n'play. Should take you about ten minutes.

However, a double din unit will look better and there are loads to choose from with a £400 budget, fitting a singe din unit and a fascia adapter will make the dash look a bit bargain basement, single din units are the sort of thing fitted, generally, to poverty spec cars these days.

AdrianC

Or you could spend £300 below that, and not care too much about what other people think about the look of your stereo and the other slot being used for storage or cupholders or...

DUTR

£400 will get you a high spec DD unit with all the bells and whistles.

bigjl

AdrianC wrote: »

Or you could spend £300 below that, and not care too much about what other people think about the look of your stereo and the other slot being used for storage or cupholders or...

OP wants a DVD player. A double din would mean less to go wrong as the screen wouldn't have to be motorised

For £400 there will be choice of decent makes.

A bit of time on Google should find what you need.

interstellaflyer

AdrianC wrote: »

Or you could spend £300 below that, and not care too much about what other people think about the look of your stereo and the other slot being used for storage or cupholders or...

Except, the OP wants an upgrade on the unit already fitted, and is looking for as many toys as his budget will allow and it's not necessarily about what other people think of your car or stereo, it's about the car being a nice place for the owner to sit in, I personally don't give a toss about what other people think of my car, I do care however, how it looks to me as I have to spend quite a bit of time in it.

mambo69

I like the look of the clarion VX404 which is £180. it has USB DVD bluetooth plus HDMI mode and 2 zone mode, which would mean if i fitted rear car monitors on the headrest i could output DVD there and still have the stereo on.


Also has SD slot so i could bung music onto that

AdrianC

I will admit to mis-reading DVD, and not thinking about the screen implications.

There are legal implications of DVD video, though, when fitted where the driver can see the screen - these include some form of inhibitor for while the vehicle's in use - so a link to a speed or handbrake sensor, and will almost certainly make fitment more involved and expensive.

almillar

I've got something a few models older than this:
http://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/dab-car-stereos/pioneer-avh-x3700dab-6-2-car-stereo
Which will do everything you want, plus DAB (which you will need an aerial for). Fitting is easy. Try it yourself. You can probably beat Halfords' price but it looks like they've got 0% finance on which might help. The hard part will be taking out the current stereo without damage (google how to do it on your year of Vitara), you might need to buy a fascia adaptor to make the stereo fit (if you've currently got plain 2DIN you might be OK), an adaptor to make the steering wheel controls, and maybe a wee cheap adaptor for the FM aerial.
You plug the aerial(s) in, and then you should have ISO plugs - one for power and stuff, and one for the speakers, and that's about it!

bigjl

AdrianC wrote: »

I will admit to mis-reading DVD, and not thinking about the screen implications.

There are legal implications of DVD video, though, when fitted where the driver can see the screen - these include some form of inhibitor for while the vehicle's in use - so a link to a speed or handbrake sensor, and will almost certainly make fitment more involved and expensive.

Fitment is not much more difficult. Just some simple additional wiring.

And once you have used a double din head unit with a large screen you realise what you have been missing.

Adding a reversing camera is possible. And adding additional amplifiers and subwoofers is also easy with higher priced units.

If the OP wants a double din they want a double din.

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/head-units/double-din

This link is from a quick search for double din head units.

I personally prefer Alpine, Sony and Pioneer.

Been a while since I have fitted extra amplifiers to be fair, but back in the day my preferred brand was Rockford Fosgate.