In Car Entertainment

[Firefox116]

Apologies if this has already been done, however could not find anything on this forum. I am looking to replace the original radio cassette player in my Zed. Would appreciate some inspiration......possibly a retro look but in keeping with the cockpit.

 

[Jack Ratt]

I'm about to do the same thing. My Zed has a Pioneer in boot auto changer, not sure if it's standard fitment though, but I'm thinking of getting a Bluetooth headless unit to act as handsfree phone kit and to play my music from my phone. There are plenty out there and I'm in the process of looking at the moment.

 

[Firefox116]

The 6 CD changer in the boot is gubbed. That will need to be removed first.

 

[GazHyde]

There aren't many options for retro stereos as most modern ones all light up like Christmas trees. I went with so Sony Bluetooth unit so I can stream music straight off my phone.

I'm going to change it soon for a mechless Alpine unit (no CD player) as the sony does look a bit out of place when it's on as the display is too bright.

You csn see some pictures of it I place here. https://zroadster.org/articles/bmw-z3-radio-head-unit-removal-and-replacement.70/

 

[Jack Ratt]

I'm contemplating the Alpine unit too Gaz. They have good reviews and are available for around £70 from Halfords. They don't look too flash either

 

[peterandjenny]

We fitted a Becker Grand Prix looks retro but has Bluetooth and iPod dock they come up on eBay every now and then

 

[Firefox116]

That's the bad boy at the moment. Display starting to go.

 

[zedonist]

Becker is the solution for retro looks, but very expensive, other wise fit an Alpine Mechless like the x311R or x395s excellent units and you get an in line amp to give you 75watts RMS, it's what I have fitted:

 

[oldcarman]

And here's me going back to the cassette player for originality and so I can make use of one of the six shooters I've bought for the trunk/boot. I have the same or very similar system as Gaz but can't get it to pick up much and it's way to bright and gaudy. Also need to get a proper aerial, don't like the one that's stuck up in the top passenger windshield. Don't know for sure why the switch but will change it once the snow's gone. JIM

 

[DivideBYZero]

I used the Clarion FZ502:

https://zroadster.org/threads/clarion-fz502e-mechless-headunit-installed.4084/

The round control matches up nicely with the interior and you get BT Stereo Audio, USB audio, decent enough FM radio (Not that I use it) and BT calling with an integrated Mic.

 

[Mint]

I bought a Pioneer DEH-X3500UI head unit a couple of years ago from Halfrauds as it was on offer. It appealed to me as it has a front USB so bought a small USB stick and put my music on that. It also has the advantage that you can adjust the colour of the display to match the existing dash colours.

 

[t-tony]

I bought a Pioneer DEH-X3500UI head unit from Halfrauds as it was on offer. It appealed to me as it has a front USB so bought a small USB stick and put my music on that. It also has the advantage that you can adjust the colour of the display to match the existing dash colours.
View attachment 12739

Can you answer this one for me please Dave. I bought a similar looking one from Halfords too, only mine is a Sony model. I loaded a memory stick (2 GB) which I purchased from Walmarts a couple of years ago. It is very compact and when its in the port on the front of the head unit you can only see the plastic top. All well and good, BUT, only problem is when I play back with the head unit it kindly puts all the different artists grouped back together even though I shuffled the music onto the stick via windows media player, about 500 songs ish. In effect it un shuffles the tracks which is a pain to me. Is the likely to be a setting on the menu to make it play in the shuffled way it was loaded? Hope that makes sense? By the way if I plug it into the PC tower it plays the tracks shuffled the way it was loaded.

Tony.

 

[Firefox116]

Great replies so far. I've seen a German made stereo 'XOMAX' which has three round dials on the facia.

Looks good, however not sure about the actual quality of the stereo. Could be gash.

 

[Mint]

Can you answer this one for me please Dave. I bought a similar looking one from Halfords too, only mine is a Sony model. I loaded a memory stick (2 GB) which I purchased from Walmarts a couple of years ago. It is very compact and when its in the port on the front of the head unit you can only see the plastic top. All well and good, BUT, only problem is when I play back with the head unit it kindly puts all the different artists grouped back together even though I shuffled the music onto the stick via windows media player, about 500 songs ish. In effect it un shuffles the tracks which is a pain to me. Is the likely to be a setting on the menu to make it play in the shuffled way it was loaded? Hope that makes sense? By the way if I plug it into the PC tower it plays the tracks shuffled the way it was loaded.
Tony.

Well I've done it differently Tony. I loaded all my music straight from the PC in their folders (albums) all together. If I want to shuffle I just set the head unit to 'shuffle all folders' (or something like that). Result no two tracks from the same artist. So have a look through the menu options (if all else fails read the book) of the sony it should have a similar feature.
HTH
Dave

 

[DivideBYZero]

The Clarion was £120 and sounds amazing, so I wouldn't risk something unknown.

 

[Firefox116]

The Clarion was £120 and sounds amazing, so I wouldn't risk something unknown.

Yes I agree. Clarion is a reliable make.

 

[Firefox116]

What were the later Z4 s fitted with ? I have a BMW Business CD/radio in my 118 which is okay.

 

[Firefox116]

Worth checking out.....

http://www.casmfg.com/radios.htm

 

[Firefox116]

Very retro

 

[oldcarman]

Very retro

IMO as nice as it is it goes back further than I'd like in my Zed. My other 50-60's cars certainly! JIM