I want to swap out my headunit but not touch anything else yet. I'm looking for one around $250 or so....any ideas?

Get any kinda Alpine HU. there nice and good:)

This one looks nice...

http://www.hookedontronics.com/show_product_details.jsp?cid=3815&c=0312PriceGrabber&b=Panasonic_MXE+CQ-HX1083U

It'll even match your console lights I believe, because I think someone from the "show off your E36 stereo" thread has one and it's running amber. The specs say it has 7 different colors, plus it plays mp3 and wma files!! :)

revenant: Looks good...how's the quality on Panasonic?

I do not know first hand, but I have read VERY good reviews about this family of head units. Reviews which basically said "Well, I was not sure about Panasonic for car stereos, but this one is amazing"... etc... I may be changing my choice from the MXE CQ-DFX983U (http://www.hookedontronics.com/show_product_details.jsp?cid=3854) to this one, because the features are about the same, but the color can match the console lights when switched to amber. Hmmm... But I do love the dot matirx display. I had a Pioneer with El Organic display and it's really really nice for displaying mp3 id3 tags and directory names. I'll make up my mind soon and post back when I do. :) Happy hunting!

hey i was looking at the hx 1083u it seems it would blend in a lil better than the silver face,. livin in ny ,. im tryin to go for the stealth look,..

also there crazy cheap on ebay of all places,. haha

tell me what u thinks
JOEoner

Has anyone heard of the Alpine CDM7874?
I can get it for really cheap, I was wondering how good it was?
Also, the Pioneer DEH-P3500, a little more expensive, but is it good?
How about the Kenwood KDC-MP522??

Thanks a bunch,

Alpine 9813 beats that HU in every respect

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3066726275&category=39750

Only problem is it's does't blend in with bmw's dash board (it does't have amber what they call it)

Originally posted by nifu
Has anyone heard of the Alpine CDM7874?
I can get it for really cheap, I was wondering how good it was?
Also, the Pioneer DEH-P3500, a little more expensive, but is it good?
How about the Kenwood KDC-MP522??

Thanks a bunch,

I had the Pioneer DEH8500P and it was fantastic! I had to let it go though, because it would have looked terrible in my M3. It's sliver, and has a fold down panel making a larger face than a normal 1U type of head unit. Looked bas-ass in my Stealth though. :) Great features, great sound, great eye candy. Good stuff! :)

This thread is very helpful...anyone have a list of HU's that are worth buying with amber displays on the cheap? (besides Nakamichi)

Originally posted by auto_pilot
This thread is very helpful...anyone have a list of HU's that are worth buying with amber displays on the cheap? (besides Nakamichi)

Well, you can start here -

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-aUrol4znCtP/ProdGroup.asp?c=3&s=0&g=300&cc=01&avf=N&search=

and check each one out, then consolidate the list as you find ones with good amber displays. It would be a start. :) I like browsing Crutchfield because they have a good inventory, plus have great high quality images of the head units, remotes, etc.. When I find one I like and it's time to throw down the green-backs, I toss the model number into www.pricegrabber.com and go for the best price I can find. :)

Be sure to get an MP3 HU. They make life a lot easier by having so much music on one CD-R.

Anyone know roughly how many MP3 songs will fit on a CD vs normal? What about sound quality in relation to the original CD?
Thanks!

Well, at CD quality (128kbps, 44khz), 1MB space = 1 minute of playing time, so for a 700MB CD, you get about 11.5 hours of music. Depending on the encoding quality of your mp3's, your mileage may vary. :)

what exactly qualifies an amber display? sorry if this is a stupid question, that's just how i am :(

oh and, does anyone know the difference between the Alpine CDM-7874 and the Alpine CDA-7892?

i bought the former for $150 canadian dollars but the latter is on sale by a discount for $200. is it worth it to get the 7892? thank you for any information you can give me :D

-nifu

what exactly qualifies an amber display? sorry if this is a stupid question, that's just how i am

Amber display is the orangish color that BMW's have in their displays...for example my odometer and radio displays an amber color. Some people like to have all of their displays matching.

i got the panasonic 783U or whatever and its pretty darn goooood. i payed about $300 for it.