I know this is not gonna satisfy audiophiles like boominstereo, etal., but I just wanted to keep the Bose HU, get maybe a little better sound and carry my whole 6 gb 1,500 song collection, yanno?
After ripping out the whole stereo systems in my previous 4 cars and having them broken in countless times, I figure I'm too damn old to be messing w/ this stuff anymore. So it was sort of imperative for me to keep the headunit intact, not only because they're less likely to ripoff my OEM headunit but because I thought single-DIN HUs w/ the aftermarket bracket didn't look right in the dash, and all the double-DIN units available currently have these ugly multi-color whiz-bang crap on the face that would look even worse.
I had been waiting for the development of an aftermarket CD changer interface that can hook up the Kenwood/PhatNoise KHD-CX910 Music Keg unit to the Bose HU, but got impatient
So I got an FM modulated 10 disc CD/MP3 changer, Sony CDX-565MXRF. While I was at it, I got a 10" Kicker sub, a box for it and an Audiobahn amp to power it and stuffed it all in the trunk. Burned my entire mp3 collection into 10 CDRs and voila!
So far I feel pretty good about the mods considering I didn't shell out too much dough for it. Sounds pretty clean and I get a little more kick in the sound. I even get a little better separation after fiddling w/ the controls some. Best of all, I have all my songs at my disposal at the push of a button. I usually just leave it in Shuffle mode so I don't know which song comes up next. When a Linkin Park title followed a Sinatra it literally brought tears of joy to my face!
Sorry for the lengthy ramble. You're welcome to flame me now...
Honestly, true audiophiles would never put any effort in to car stereo since it's one of the most undesireable environment for music (inside a vehicle). Instead, they would put all that money to be spared to their home audio system.
Don't know exactly what you meant by that... If sarcastically you're saying wow that's alot of tracks, well thanks alot.
But if you're literally saying I got very little in there, let me clarify that the Sony changer reads and plays mp3 encoded CDRs, i.e. I burn mp3 files directly onto the CD so I cram 120~160 tracks of 160k mp3 files per disk or approximately 1,400 tracks in the enitire 10 CD changer. @ 3.5 minutes per track average, that's over 3 days of non-stop music without repeating the same track! Or about a coast to coast drive and maybe half way back? Is that enough music?
Hey lbcgolf. I'm thinking of doing the exact same setup as you. I have over 20 gigs of MP3's and I also want to add a little more oomph to my bose system. How much did all that equipment run you? Did you install it yourself? or did you have someone install it for you? And if so, how much did that cost? PM me if you'd rather not say publically.... thanks in advance!
I would like to do the same thing but connect my Archos MP3 hard drive. If I connect an FM Modulator to the Antenna input on the back of the factory unit, does that replace or disconnect the real FM antenna or is there somewhere that it can also plug into?
Hi ThaiBruin! I'm sorry... I'm afraid it's against my religion to help you out... wait just a sec... oh, it sez here my baseball team swept yours in a 3 game series to capture the "Lexus Gauntlet" for the year... I guess it's ok then just kidding...
The sub/box/amp (Kicker Comp 10" AudioBahn A2301Q) I snatched it up from a buddy last year after he didn't need it. I think it was something like $100 for the speaker, $250 or $300 for the amp and he just threw in the box. The changer was $250 and I did the install myself. I think the amp goes 210 w/RMS and the speaker handles 300w.
I'm guessing the budget for this "mild" upgrade ought to be about $500 to $700 depending on whether you're shelling out for installation and the quality you want in your amp/sub combo. I know that ain't chump change, but then again it's only 1/3 or 1/4 the cost of ripping out the whole system and installing a new HU, amps and speakers. For my modest purposes, it's more than enough. In retrospect, maybe I'd even opt for an 8" or 2 x 6 1/2" if I didn't have this stuff lying around. The 10" is ok in low volume but it's kinda boomy when you crank it up and w/ my music taste I would've preferred if the bass was a little tighter.
But definitely get the Sony instead of the Kenwood FM modulated 10 disc mp3 changer. The Kenwood doesn't show track/artist title on the display like the Sony can and it's $50+ more expensive! The playback is pretty good, though not as great as a directly connected CD changer. If a better solution for the mp3 afficionado like ourselves does come up, I figure I can replace it without taking too big a hit on the wallet. But currently, there is no better or cheaper solution. I know. I've researched it pretty extensively... Good luck!
Originally posted by jordans I would like to do the same thing but connect my Archos MP3 hard drive. If I connect an FM Modulator to the Antenna input on the back of the factory unit, does that replace or disconnect the real FM antenna or is there somewhere that it can also plug into?
I saw some FM Modulators on ebay for $35.
jordans...
Don't do it man! Prior to my current solution I tried my Nomad 4.3gb Jukebox hooked up to the Bose via a Clarion FM modulator (yeah $35 sounds about right).
To answer your question the modulator hooks up to your antenna and the headunit. A toggle switch controls whether you want to get the signal from the antenna to listen to the radio or from the modulator if you want to listen to your handheld.
The problem is that the interference noise coming out of the speakers when playing the Nomad was something fierce! I tried to resolve it by attaching a Radio Shack ground loop isolator AND a heavy-duty noise filter to no avail! My guess is that either the amplified signal coming from the handheld didn't jibe well with the stereo system, or the electronic emissions coming from an insufficiently shielded hard drive was causing the problem. Furthermore, the controls were a bitch to manipulate while driving, and the bootup on the Nomad was annoyingly long so it wasn't suitable for short drives to the store yanno?
If you got a little extra bread I definitely recommend the $250 Sony. It's a much better solution, provided of course that you have a burner on your home PC to transfer your mp3s to CDRs.
That would obviously work great, but what if I don't want to change the head unit? Is there a way to connect the RCA's to the Panasonic base-model stereo?
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just kidding...
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