Headunitless Stereo System?

[Click]

So I have no room for a head unit.



All I ever listen to is my iphone so I was thinking of throwing a system together and just having an ipod input run to the amp and a remote bass control knob mounted next to the defrost switch and controlling the volume with my iphone. Can this work or is a head unit a "must"?

[StereoInstaller1]

Yes. Have done so several times. My preferred answer is the JL Audio CL-RLC.

http://compare.ebay.com/like/140891973831?_lwgsi=y&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

Single knob, so no balance/fader or tone controls. I say a 5 channel amp, a single 10 or a single 12 (whoda thunk!) and either nice condition PS speakers or whatever front components and rear co-ax you come up with with a little tuning makes one damn fine sounding car.

You can also use 2 of them "cascaded" to make your sub level control match your volume, or use the level control that came with the amp.

GL and HTH,
Luke

[kmarei]

Why not put those gauges in the ashtray pod for sale on eBay
And reclaim your head unit slot?

[yahh]

Why not put those gauges in the ashtray pod for sale on eBay
And reclaim your head unit slot?

IMO, gauges are worthless when they're down there. The whole point of them is to be able to see them at any time.

[Click]

Yeah the ashtray location is far too low. Vent location would be ideal but I don't want to lose my vents and the wiring would have have been a bit trickier. Head unit location is decent. Plus I had that single din gauge adapter sitting around doing nothing.

That JL-Audio device looks pretty nice. I'll put together a little list of components (and the lukebox will be on there) Luke and ask for your opinion. Do the factory tweeter pods work well with aftermarket tweeters any?

[325ix]

I have a set of mb quart tweeters in the front pods. The P.O. put them in but, it doesn't look like it took too much work.

[kmarei]

IMO, gauges are worthless when they're down there. The whole point of them is to be able to see them at any time.

I have the one above the ashtray
But it's not like you spend all day drive with your eyes on the gauges
I look at them a few times for every drive to make sure everything is ok
And when the oil temp is high enough that I can push the engine
Once the oil temp is high enough, I give them a few glances
But certainly not enough to lose the headunit

[nando]

IMO, gauges are worthless when they're down there. The whole point of them is to be able to see them at any time.

agreed, I have the ash tray gauges now. they're pointless.

[bubbajan21]

I'm looking at doing a system without a head unit. I'm planning on using a Peripheral ipod to RCA cable (with 12V for charging) into an Audiocontrol LC8i into a 5 channel amp and then some nice components and a lukebox.

[ClayW]

In my 1600, I have an amp that is fed by a headphone-jack-to-RCA cord. I wired a simple switch to power the amp. Done.

This also works as a hands-free device for my phone.

[Nick_S]

This thread interests me. Been thinking of doing this in my E30 lately.

[ngampleh]

Luke...
With JL Audio CL-RLC, how to install it?
Any pic explanation or DIY

[Jay@ExtremeAutos]

Yes. Have done so several times. My preferred answer is the JL Audio CL-RLC.

http://compare.ebay.com/like/140891973831?_lwgsi=y&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

Single knob, so no balance/fader or tone controls. I say a 5 channel amp, a single 10 or a single 12 (whoda thunk!) and either nice condition PS speakers or whatever front components and rear co-ax you come up with with a little tuning makes one damn fine sounding car.

You can also use 2 of them "cascaded" to make your sub level control match your volume, or use the level control that came with the amp.

GL and HTH,
Luke

I would have recommended the same! ::thumbs up::

Jay

[Jean]

All you really need is a switch to turn the amp on/off and a stereo audio pot in line with your source (mp3 player/phone etc) .... We are talking $10 worth of parts :) More if you want to add fader, etc.... pretty easy stuff.

[SkiFree]

Luke...
With JL Audio CL-RLC, how to install it?
Any pic explanation or DIY

Its really straight forward. This is a cropped image of the diagram for my car.

The CL-RLC is the "signal amplifier". Many thanks to the guys on the message board here for turning me onto them in the first place.