Stereo upgrade

Well I'm not looking for something major with bass that will knock my doors off like most kids these days I just want a radio with more features than a generic CD player. Mostly what I'm after is MP3 and XM. It'd be awesome if there was some kinda radio out there with an 80 gig hard drive to store songs on, and encodes songs off CDs when you put em in and all... like a car stereo with iTunes built in

I thought about just getting an iPod and plugging it into the aux jack, but I don't want something sepperate, ya know?

[quote:da057289e4=" "]Well I'm not looking for something major with bass that will knock my doors off like most kids these days I just want a radio with more features than a generic CD player. Mostly what I'm after is MP3 and XM. It'd be awesome if there was some kinda radio out there with an 80 gig hard drive to store songs on, and encodes songs off CDs when you put em in and all... like a car stereo with iTunes built in

I thought about just getting an iPod and plugging it into the aux jack, but I don't want something sepperate, ya know?[/quote:da057289e4]
Eclipse has a new headunit with a 20GB hard drive that writes your CD's to the HD, you can also record off the air. Kinda cool.

Would you happen to know the model number of this Eclipse unit?

That's a little too much I don't need a tv to watch while I'm driving, just something a regular mp3/xm radio with a hard drive. 20 gigs is too small also, I need something more like 40 I'll have to keep my eye out

It's not like there are that many choices out there - the Eclipse unit is REVOLUTIONARY and unique in the sense that it rips your CD's to it's internal HD on the fly as you play them.

Also, theres a major trend to decouple the satellite tuner controls and interfaces from Head units - I guess manufacturers don't like playing the guessing game about which will be more popular XM or Sirius and also dont want to alienate anybody.

My point is, you can't have it all in one unit these days - if MP3 is important to you get something like the Eclipse unit or an Alpine that has iPod controls built in. If sat rad is important to you, then find yourself an older unit with the integrated tuner and controls and Mp3 cd capabilities instead and just burn discs.

Here's a news article about Alpine head units being able to control iPods directly from the head unit with a single cable...

http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publish/industry_news/article_650.shtml

and here's the Alpine press release:

http://www.alpine-usa.com/company_info/press_release/010804_ipad.html

The Alpine one seems more like what I'm after. But then, to connect it I have to have that little silver box sitting on my dashboard or something? It'd be better if it could connect right to my head unit somehow or rig it up to go through the aux port. XM and MP3 CDs are really all I need, but it would just be that much cooler to have a built in hard drive, etc. Actually that Eclipse one is pretty cool, but I just don't want a TV screen cuz I know I'll be watching that instead of the road

The silver box gets hidden and the iPod itself can be hidden in a glovebox or center console all the wiring can be hidden as well.

The idea would be, get in the car connect the iPod to a wire in your glovebox for example - close the glovebox.

Then you can control the iPod directly from the Alpine head unit without ever having to deal with the iPod.

As for the Eclipse unit - you could always turn the screen off! Basic functions such as volume and track switching are still available on the sides of the unit as physical buttons.

The silver box gets hidden and the iPod itself can be hidden in a glovebox or center console all the wiring can be hidden as well.

The idea would be, get in the car connect the iPod to a wire in your glovebox for example - close the glovebox.

Then you can control the iPod directly from the Alpine head unit without ever having to deal with the iPod.

As for the Eclipse unit - you could always turn the screen off! Basic functions such as volume and track switching are still available on the sides of the unit as physical buttons.

yeah I could turn off the screen but I'm sure it'd be so cool that I wouldn't want to I think I like the Alpine unit the best. I don't have an iPod yet but I'm planning to get one. If it could at least play MP3 CDs at first, that would be a good enough start for me.. and maybe I could get the iPod attachements put in later when I get it.

I don't really know all that much about car audio. Am I better off buying it and getting it installed in a place like Best Buy or Tweeter, or should I go with one of those shops that specialize in it? I live in the Philadelphia area and there's plenty of car audio shops, but I just don't know how reputable they are and I kinda like the idea of the extended warranties that the big stores offer, so if anything goes wrong I can get em to fix it.

[quote:68bb8109f0=" "]yeah I could turn off the screen but I'm sure it'd be so cool that I wouldn't want to I think I like the Alpine unit the best. I don't have an iPod yet but I'm planning to get one. If it could at least play MP3 CDs at first, that would be a good enough start for me.. and maybe I could get the iPod attachements put in later when I get it.

I don't really know all that much about car audio. Am I better off buying it and getting it installed in a place like Best Buy or Tweeter, or should I go with one of those shops that specialize in it? I live in the Philadelphia area and there's plenty of car audio shops, but I just don't know how reputable they are and I kinda like the idea of the extended warranties that the big stores offer, so if anything goes wrong I can get em to fix it.[/quote:68bb8109f0]

YES you should get everything professionally installed but STAY AWAY from Best Buy, Tweeter, Circuit City, etc. those folks are brainless HACKS! Find a real installer by using the link I provided towards the top of this post, ask how long they've been in business, look at sample work they've done, tour the install area, talk to customers, ask for certifications, etc. These types of car audio specialty shops should treat you right and do the best work since thier rent doesn't get paid if they are not good at car audio.

And remember, that Alpine unit doesn't drop until this summer!

Good luck!