Car Stereo Recommendations

MisterB · 03-23-2009, 05:20 PM

Looking to update my car stereo head unit for my 993
Been looking on crutchfield .. whats decent out there for the $$$

TIA

Ed

ruf-porsche · ruf-porsche's Garage

Get an Ipod connector for the original radio. I don't think that changing the radio will be an upgrade to the car and when it time to sell or trade the car in it will definitely be a downgrade.

North Coast Cab · North Coast Cab's Garage

Stop over and I can show you mine. I just did the same thing last summer and it doesn't require an amp and it has an iPod adapter. Plus I want to see the new ride. Should have the 993 back at home next weekend.

J

Z-man · Z-man's Garage

http://www.midwestelectronics.com/

Last year's (& previous year's) Blaupunkts at very affordable prices.

-Z-man.

UconnTim97 · UconnTim97's Garage

I have the original Blaupunkt form my '83 944 if your interested. Was quite the tape deck stereo in it's day.....

Wickd89 · 03-24-2009, 08:22 PM

I went with the Alpine indash CD player with IPod attachment. Ipod is in the glove box and connected via a cable. Great stuff..

hook682 · 03-25-2009, 01:58 AM

Personally I would stay away from Blaupunkt. When I first got my SC I decided to install one to keep in the German theme. Everytime I hit even a little bump the unit skips, seems to be be very little or no buffer for hitting bumps. Next time I will get Pioneer or something else. My Pioneer in the F350 is smooth.

berettafan · 03-25-2009, 04:35 AM

Blaupunkt only ever had a premium name because of the cars they were OEM in. Nobody, at least back when i was into the crap, ever bought a Blaupunkt on purpose. Crutchfield would have you think otherwise but in my experience it wasn't the case.

Going back a ways (late '80s) but the fact was that MOST of what people were buying was crap. Alpine built a name on quality and, unfortunately, rappers (and as i recall they were factory in the high dollar italian cars). Alpines would actually put out what was put in whereas so many others would attempt to process the music into something that MIGHT sound a touch better on a ****ty set of kmart 6x9's. To my ear Clarion was the best at this. But when you put good equipment behind a better head unit (20yrs ago it was Alpine and Eclipse) you got an entirely different sound experience. Wasn't about wattage either. All about clean power.

Ah those were the days. Learned many an expensive lesson with crappy products that flooded the market.

berettafan · 03-25-2009, 04:49 AM

Continues to ramble lost in the past........

I recall a stereo competition i took my crappy little celica too. The judges (local yahoos, not a big time comp) were confused when the big assed yet tight as a drum sub i had didn't cause them nosebleeds and wasn't overpowered by a monster amp. Weren't impressed with my car either as it was a used car lot special with 100k miles on it. 'Just close your eyes and LISTEN!' i said. Johnny Redneck with his junk Kickers in thin-walled boxes has nothin' but MUD coming out of his truck! Bah! Effing 1" MDF for my sub box. You couldn't believe an 18" sub would be as tight as this thing was. FAR better sound than the oh so popular kicker junk and even was tighter than the hot premium setup of JL 10's.

You could crank up everything from Madonna (really nicely recorded stuff) to Metallica to Ez E to what at the time was the ultimate 'how low can you go' cd Techmaster PEB.

But no the dunces were only interested in max db and brand names. Had no idea what good sound was. My EQ was a set it and forget it trunk mount and it even let you know when you were clipping. Had it set righteous too. Was very much like setting mixture on carbs. Crank it till it pops then dial it back a touch.

onewhippedpuppy · 03-25-2009, 05:07 AM

Crutchfield is a great place to start, excellent company to deal with.

Take a very good look at all your options, and try to find something that blends well with your dash and dash lighting. Nothing bugs me more than a nice black interior with a silver and chrome aftermarket head-unit standing out like a sore thumb. Unless you're an audiophile, most of the mainstream stuff should be fine. Ipod jacks are nice, and some of them now offer Bluetooth and a mic for handsfree cell phone use. I believe you can also use Bluetooth to sync with the newer Ipods/Iphone. Some also have USB jacks for memory sticks. If you think you might want to add an amp and subwoofer at some point, buy one with 4V pre-outs.

If your 993 still has the factory speakers, you might consider replacing them as well. 14 years on speakers that weren't that great to begin with, you'll be amazed how much better a nice head-unit and new speakers make it sound. Even the basic brand name stuff will be much better than what you have, and cheap to buy.

MisterB · 03-25-2009, 05:12 AM

Does anyone have experirience with the "DUAL" brand? This unit is really priced cheap....

http://www.buy.com/prod/dual-xhd6420...206710449.html

jyl · jyl's Garage

What do you have in there now?

MisterB · 03-25-2009, 05:18 AM

An old eclipse unit 55344 I think.. the problem is the cd doesn't work because the face won't flip open, I hear the motor trying to start but I think it's fried.....

onewhippedpuppy · 03-25-2009, 05:38 AM

I think Dual is a generic POS. If you mailorder, go with Crutchfield. Getting one box with all the correct install stuff included is huge, as it can be damn near impossible to find locally. Typically their prices are pretty good as well.

Stick with the known brands. Sony, Alpine, Eclipse, Kenwood, Pioneer, etc.

jyl · jyl's Garage

Why not buy a Becker CDR210 AM/FM/CD as was originally in the 993? Will look "right", not flashy/blingy, and works fine unless you're an audiophile type. Look on eBay.

http://www.cartype.com/pics/4373/full/porsche_911-993_carrera_s_coupe_radio_97_sm.jpg