Car audio question

Ok, I have an aftermarket radio installed in my car and I hate it. This is the 3rd aftermarket radio (all installed my the P.O.) and I don't like any of them. The biggest gripe is the display. I don't need dancing dolphins or wacky graphic equalizer pictures and find them annoying. They also tend to have a display that is back lit and doesn't dim when the headlights are on. This makes a 1"X5" bright blue light that is very distracting at night. Does anyone know of a decent aftermarket radio that doesn't look like it's from the Fast and Furious?

I have a newer Alpine in my WRX (the CDA-9884) that is pretty basic, but has full Ipod control and sounds fantastic. It lights up red like my gauges and switchgear, and the display is white and orange, like my clock. No dolphins, dancing speakers, etc. The blue buttons change to red if you want.

Edit:

This is the newest version, the CDA-105:

The new one does Itunes tagging and has USB support. Most of the Alpine stuff is pretty basic looking.

+1 for Alpine. I've got an old (ca. 1999) in-dash Alpine CD changer in my Miata that was in my '95 T-Bird before that. It doesn't do iPod integration, but it's got a straightforward interface (read: easy to operate and doesn't look stupid) and outstanding sound quality.

Alpine for the win. I've done Alpine, Kenwood, and Sony--Alpine is far and away the winner.

Alpine is good, but is rather on the expensive side. I've used pioneer units before and they've dimmed whenever they were supposed to.

What brand and model of radio do you have? Did you install it yourself or have someplace do it?

Andrew

I've got Alpine stuff in the E30, and love it. Buy it used (from someone you know, not a criminal) to save money. If you wire it right, it will even dim incrementally with the dash light rheostat.

Boosty, Call up Joel and take a look at the Kenwood he uses. I had the same one. Pretty decent piece for $100.00

Thanks guys, I do like me some Alpine but I might have to bug Joel like you said John.
And to answer the question, the radio in question right now is a JVC, the one in the Forester is a Pioneer and the one in the miata was a Lanzar. None of them dim with the lights and the Miata was the only one I installed myself.

They should all have a dim option somewhere that will allow you to dim the display all the time. It's usually not an issue during the day for me. Most headunits have a wire that hooks to the dash illumination. When it sees voltage it dims the display.

One of my cars has a cheap JVC ipod/mp3 unit and I hate it. The buttons are super small and it's completely counter-intuitive to operate.

Mine has a dim wire on the harness, but I never hooked it up. The display is never too bright at night. And they do make cheaper Alpines now, they start at around $100. If you can still find my model, maybe on Ebay or something, then I say get it. I paid around $160 new for mine from Crutchfield, and it came with the wiring harness and dash adapter for free.

JVC Chameleon. when not in use,m its a blank panel. You can also flip the key pad up when in use to make it disappear. I like em!

^^^

I remember those! The problem is that a car audio thief would know what the Chameleon would look like. What car has a glossy black panel in the middle of the dash?

skruffy wrote: They should all have a dim option somewhere that will allow you to dim the display all the time. It's usually not an issue during the day for me. Most headunits have a wire that hooks to the dash illumination. When it sees voltage it dims the display.

Not all units have this. None of the units I've installed do... granted, I haven't forked out any sizeable funds towards a new stereo in a long time (never, actually...). The unit I installed in my truck was given to me by a friend cleaning out his garage. I added the cheapest speakers I could get from Pep Boys... I have maybe $80 into the whole thing and it's worlds better than the non-functioning Infinity system that came with the truck. The really sad part is the radio has better reception than the Monsoon system in my '03 VW.

None of the units I've installed had a dim wire either. I'm thinking about a Nakamichi since you can pick up a low end one for about $200 or so. From what I have read the sound quality is great and they are very durable. Heck, the CD 700 has a billet aluminum face plate......but it's $1400

In reply to DrBoost:

I had that same damn Pioneer with the dancing dolphins in my Miata. And I never figured out how to get the display to calm down or dim. You're right, it's infuriating.

I personally like the newer low-end pioneer I got to replace it. It's got a very simple display, 3 4v preouts, an Aux-In jack, and decent sound quality. It was like $120 new from Best Buy, but that's been a couple of years.

Whats with you guys and the dancing dolphins in miata's, its like your trying to make the car even gayer then it already is....

Nakamichi is better then the Alpine's for sound quality, but you'll get better support with the Alpine's, I say stick with them. And stay away from the dancing dolphins.

Andrew

digdug18 wrote: Nakamichi is better then the Alpine's for sound quality, but you'll get better support with the Alpine's, I say stick with them. And stay away from the dancing dolphins.

Quoted for truth. Nakamichi's do have great sound, and also tend to have very pleasant, simple interfaces (read: distinct lack of dancing dolphins or other oddities).

I'd still stick with Alpine, just because it's a bit more mass-market.

I'm an Alpine fan as well, I have an older CD head unit/12 disc changer/V12 amp in the Trooper. They used to be outrageous but have now gotten much more affordable with no discernible change in quality. For instance, that CDA105 is $199.99 at Best Buy. I have a Kenwood in the Jensen, not a bad piece but I still like the Alpine better.