Recommend alternative to CDR-24 with USB/iPod and phone

[seapod]

Grinnders,

Did you find something that worked? I have Bose + CDR 24 and need bluetooth/phone + i-pod connectivity. V.keen to avoid the halfords/max power look, want something more subtle.

Can you provide pics if you changed head?

Cheers SP

[SonnyM]

This is currently a nightmare for me:

I have the full BOSE with PCM Navigation AND Sport Chrono... And the BOSE sounds <add expletives here>, even after stuffing a 100% Lambswool jumper in the subwoofer (as suggested on other forums)!

I went to AutoAudio in Park Royal to discuss the options back in the summer and this is what they came out with:

1. The BOSE operates on different OHMs to other brands, and this combined with MOST fibre optic system, means you can't just replace part of the system, and expect to gain improvement proportional to what you are spending.

2. They recommending ripping the whole system out and installing:

- Kenwood double din touch screen unit (£1700 odd but said the nav was pants so I need a TomTom)
- Genesis Extreme amps (one for speakers and one for sub)
- Morel Elate 3 way Ltd Edition carbon speakers (circa £1750)
- Morel 10" sub (located in passenger foot well)

... Total cost = £7500.

NOW, why did I hesitate? Because apart from the sales pitch (I'm not stupid, stupid), my brother spent £150 on an Alpine head unit in his Civic and it sounds MUCH better than my BOSE.

AutoAudio demo'd a £10k setup in a mini with the above kit, and guess what - it didn't sound £7350 better than my brother's Civic...

So this is where I am at now:

1. Rip out the whole system and replace with decent components, but not at £7.5k. I will move the PCM unit into the boot so that Sport Chrono settings are kept and can still be accessed.

2. Keep the PCM unit where it is and run it through central speaker, replace everything else and locate a single DIN unit elsewhere which I can control by remote. But there really is nowhere else convenient to locate the unit!

3. Live with it as it is.

[mankey]

SonnyM said:

This is currently a nightmare for me:

I have the full BOSE with PCM Navigation

You'll be aware by now that the Bose is the problem in terms of doing something else.

A couple of years ago I replaced the CDR24 in my 987 Boxster with Pioneer unit with SatNav and Bluetooth that totally transformed the experience and also gave me so much more. It wasn't hugely expensive, but only because it wasn't a Bose car; it was a piece of cake without it.

[seapod]

Well, there's one good reason to avoid PCM, it seems to add another layer of complexity to the issue.

Did anyone look at Parrott eg MKi9200 http://www.parrot.com/uk/products/hands-free-car-k... as an alternative 'interface' between phone/i-pod and CDR24. And if so, is Bose still a problem?

I'm not a huge audiophile but stereo/speakers/i-pod/phone surely shouldn't be beyond the wit of man to resolve....?

[dino_jr]

Massive bump. Sorry. Trying to make sense of some of this thread...

So, for a 987 without Bose, replacing the standard CDR24 unit is easier correct?
But does a non-Bose car have the spaces to add more speakers as Bose cars have anyway?

Standard radio is just 2 speakers yes? So a new head unit would only run 2 speakers and no more?

[Redlake27]

Sorry for the thread revival, but I thought it was better than starting a new one.

Has anyone found a reasonably cost effective solution to the CDR24 Bose set up? I'd like Sat Nav and DAB, and an MP3 connection. But when I look at these threads, it looks more complex than I imagined.

I just wondered if a couple of years on there are any better solutions? Otherwise, I'll keep my map and box of CDs.....

[cejsmith]

I have the same question, what is the best solution , i have cdr24 with sound plus?

[paralla]

£7500!

This must be the only thread ever that makes the current Burmester option seem like good value. A snip at £2600 for the sports cars and it's the dogs bks.

[mankey]

cejsmith said:

I have the same question, what is the best solution , i have cdr24 with sound plus?

It really depends on how much money you want to put into it, especially to avoid making the thing looking really naff. A few months ago I replaced the PCM in my 997 (with Bose) with a Kenwood head unit. There was a certain amount of head scratching to work out what I needed but it's all possible. It didn't even take me all that long to fit.