Recommendations for Stereo Unit

[Lucy]

The stereo unit in our Discovery 2 SE has died. Want to replace it, don't want to pay big dollars. What have you/would you replace it with - brands/specs? I also note that it occupies more space in the dash than normal sized units; how do you get around this? TIA

[Tombie]

It doesnt occupy any more space than a 1 din unit, its just a bit of "trim" on the factory radio.. You dont need to do anything to fit an aftermarket.

As for which one you get.. What do you want?

MP3, DVD, etc...

Get one which has the features you want. And get an AEROPRO adapter to suit the unit you buy to ISO ends, then its a 10 minute job.

[simonr23]

as tombie2 has said. for good value for money, kenwood, sony, pioneer are all good quality. pioneer do seem to have the stronger tuners in them though. less prone to interference and can pick up a weaker signal. anti-skip technology seems excellent in all 3. i know that alpine is also a very good brand, but i have no actaul experience with it myself.

in the 3 i mentioned, you can get mp3 playback via burnt cd's/ plugging in your own mp3 player, for around $150. they usually charge around the 90 mark to install. but if you get an iso plug to match the brand of stereo, you can do it yourself very fast and easily. the plugs cost around $20. autobarn seem to always have these in stock. strathfield, supercheap and autopro might have them too.

if you cant get an iso plug, actually re-wiring is very simple too. just get a AA battery and 2 short lengths of wire. solder/tape one wire to each end of the battery and use this on the cars wiring to work out which wires go to each speaker. there's probably going to be 11 or 12 wires on the existing plug. 8 of these go to the 4 speakers, the other 3 are for power/earth. get a cheapie test light ($3 from supercheap) to test for switched power, constant power and earth. the wiring for the new stereo has a diagram to tell you which wires go where. then just plug in the aerial and away you go. :)



oh the new stereo will come with a little "surround" to help blend the new stereo into the dash. this just clips on at the end.

[Psimpson7]

Does it have any stereo remote controls on the steering wheel or dash? If so would that make it harder? (at least to get them working again?)

Cheers
Pete

[nzoliver]

:)
Hi, there are a couple of mobs in the US I beleive that do steering wheel remote converters for aftermarket radios.

On the subject, I use a Sony Minidisc in my truck. As a format it is definately the best. Why it never got 'accepted' down under i'll never understand. LOADs better sound than MP3!! :cool: Half of the cars that come in used from Japan have them in too including all the VW product as it was deal done with SOny in Japan! No shortage of used ones!!:D