997 stereo upgrade dilemma!

[Snicks]

So, I have just upgraded to a 997 from a 996. In the 996 I had a Pioneer aftermarket unit fitted and it was great.

In the 997 I have the PCM unit and an iPlug system which seems v poor!

I can't decide whether to opt for a Dension Gateway 500 and sticking with the PCM unit (then I can keep the nav display on the dials - I know it a minor thing, but I quite like it!) or to buy a conversion kit and put the Pioneer unit back in.

Cost wise, the dension looks to be ~£450 fitted (£150 fitting - I hear there are software issues which make self installation difficult) or ~£470 for the conversion kit (link below) ALSO, I could sell the pioneer unit and the iPlug unit which would fund the gateway...

So, I was hoping to get some thought from anyone that has done either, or both!

Thanks!


http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&...

[kingston12]

Snicks said:

Cost wise, the dension looks to be ~£450 fitted (£150 fitting - I hear there are software issues which make self installation difficult)

Did the car come with a CD changer? If so, there should be no issues at all. If not, it might be a bit more difficult.

I installed a Dension 500 in my 987 (with changer). It was simple, and this is coming from someone who is useless at that type of thing!

The only thing that was a bit of hassle was threading the phone mic through into the cabin, everything else was totally straightforward.

I was 100% set on retaining the PCM and the Dension is a brilliant way to do that. Both iPod and phone connectivity is great. Useability is obviously governed by the PCM, but it works well within those confines.

I have Bose in my car and the sound is quite good. I am sure an aftermarket unit, amps and speakers would blow it out of the water but that is a lot of cash and could ruin the look of the car if not done properly.

If you are going to go the whole hog it would be worth going with the Pioneer, otherwise I'd stick with the Dension.

[Snicks]

Yep it has a changer... So your's just picked up the gateway and just started working?

Maybe the installer is just trying to justify the cost! I suppose in the whole grand scheme of things, I could try the gateway and if I hate it, sell it and go down the other route, possibly loose £100, but that better than wasting the money on the installation kit and not being able to sell the pioneer...

Do you find the unit easy enough to navigate around etc?

thanks for your response.

[kingston12]

Yes, it just worked with no changes necessary.

The Dension is supplied with one of the orange 'MOST' fibre-optic cables. This plugs between the Dension and the CD changer. The original orange cable from the CD changer plugs into the Dension, so that both the Dension and the CD changer are in the 'loop'.

Navigation is fine, but that is within the confines of the PCM unit itself. I have got 10,000+ tracks on my iPod, and I could get directly to any of them reasonably quickly, but it is not as slick as the Alpine unit I had fitted to my old car 5 years ago, so would be way behind more modern aftermarket units. Certainly no voice control here!

You should not lose too much if you decide to sell, but be aware that a new model has just come out (500S), which is the same as the 500 but with built in bluetooth. This may mean you can pick up a bargain on the 500!