Head Unit/Receiver Advice

[red325]

$150.00:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_11771_Clarion+DXZ785USB.html?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=froogle

Works great with iPods/iPhones as well as other MP3 players.

That would be green...

[Eric Giles]

That would be green...

The Clarion has 728 color variable illumination. They just happened to use a pic with the illumination set to green and made a mistake in the description.

[Mtriple]

I need to take some better pictures of the Alpine in my car since the ones I posted really don't do it justice. Also the 'shiny' part is due to the camera in the iPhone. Although it is a matter of opinion, after having both in my car, the Alpine definitely looks and integrates better with the E30 dash than the Clarion.

Now I have another 'old school' head unit here that I think will also look nice in an E30-its a Sony Mobile ES CDX-C910 from '96-98. This was when Sony still made top notch car audio gear, and the C910 (and its replacement the C90) is still considered one of the better sound quality head units ever offered. It's a bit bare bones compared to newer head units of today, but if simplicity, sound quality, and non-flashy looks are important it would be a good choice. One of it's drawbacks is that the display is not very bright and easily washes out in sunlight. I bought one brand new back in '97 and sold it a couple of years later when I sold the car it was in, but the first of this year I bought one on ebay and have refurbished it-I just may put it in one of the E30's to see how I like it these days.

Old school, I love it! I have a mint condition C900(cassette version of your C910) and changer with ESP on the shelf in the basement. Copper chassis, diversity antenna, sub control, etc.. pretty cool unit for the time. I would use it in my E30 in a heartbeat but the amber isnt quite the same, although with the thinner trim ring, it would look really good in the E30.

[red325]

The Clarion has 728 color variable illumination. They just happened to use a pic with the illumination set to green and made a mistake in the description.

OK thanks. Because in the description it described the display as green dot illumination or something along those lines

[lennon]

ive always had good experiences with alpine head units in my cars. just throwin it out there.

but i prefer stock or e36 radios. never investigated or tried an e46 radio but they look pretty nice also. the looks of any aftermarket head units will never come close to looking right compared with stock BMW stuff. they're all completely ugly, even if the colors of the display match.

[red325]

ive always had good experiences with alpine head units in my cars. just throwin it out there.

but i prefer stock or e36 radios. never investigated or tried an e46 radio but they look pretty nice also. the looks of any aftermarket head units will never come close to looking right compared with stock BMW stuff. they're all completely ugly, even if the colors of the display match.

Is the e36 radio a direct fit?

And although it may be that aftermarket head units will never look as good as OEM they are very necessary for audio improvements, so I will be getting one even if "they're all completely ugly" which I don't think they are.

[E30 Cabrio]

That would be green...

Green in the description, but it is adjustable as shown in the pic I posted above.

[Eric Giles]

ive always had good experiences with alpine head units in my cars. just throwin it out there.

but i prefer stock or e36 radios. never investigated or tried an e46 radio but they look pretty nice also. the looks of any aftermarket head units will never come close to looking right compared with stock BMW stuff. they're all completely ugly, even if the colors of the display match.

An E46 radio won't even come close to fitting in an E30 (or any regular DIN mount) dash. Completely different design.

[red325]

An E46 radio won't even come close to fitting in an E30 (or any regular DIN mount) dash. Completely different design.

Do you know if the e36 would? As of now my new head unit will be the Alpine CDA-9835 when/if I find one, but I'm just investigating all my options.

[StereoInstaller1]

Is the e36 radio a direct fit?

Search "Business Class CD43" for the answer to that question.

And although it may be that aftermarket head units will never look as good as OEM they are very necessary for audio improvements, so I will be getting one even if "they're all completely ugly" which I don't think they are.

Believe me, the CD43 needs show no shame in audio performance. I have done some fairly advanced installs around them; they sound great.

Luke

[red325]

Search "Business Class CD43" for the answer to that question.

Believe me, the CD43 needs show no shame in audio performance. I have done some fairly advanced installs around them; they sound great.

Luke

I'll check that...

[DSchultz325e]

meh i can't stand the way the new clarions look. my beloved clarion dxz745mp finally gave up the ghost, or at least the cd eject mechanism did. if you can find these refurb'd, i'd definitely recommend it. the thing is, it does stick out a bit, but otherwise it looks great. here are some pics of it in my e46:



even the dot matrix writing they use matches. and it has a KNOB. it is a bit cumbersome to control due to the small buttons, but i really liked it.

[Alpina740]

Alpine man, you can't beat them.

If you are looking for something used aim for a CDA-9885. The new line in stores of the same model is the CDA-9887.

If you plan on going with a top of the line system in the end aim for the 9887 and just build from there, the deck is the centerfold of any system.

[wannagetane30]

No Nakamichi fans here? I loved my CD-45z in my WRX. Nice simple deck with 20-bit DAC and 8x oversampling. SQ was the best.