In-trunk 6-CD changer: Are they worth it?
Kevin Morgan
I just bought a 2003 Passat wagon, the dealer is offering a 'special'
for the 6 CD changer. $350 installed. Is this worth it? Does anyone
have one that can comment on it?
Thanks in advance,
Kevin
Peter Cressman
when they are driving, or can you find a radio station and use that.
Personally, if I didn't have my 10-disc changer in my Jetta, I would lose
it. They are great on long trips, but if you don't think that you do enough
driving to justify the cost, than I wouldn't bother. That's not a bad price
for one installed. Considering that the Canadian list price for the changer
is about $520, $350 sounds pretty good.
- Peter
"Kevin Morgan" <kmor...@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:3E772488...@optonline.net...
Terry Thorne
for that? Or plus installation? Anyway, it would be a pretty good option
if you are going to be satisfied with the stock sound system. In other
words, if you're not overly concerned about a high quality system but just
want something you can listen to, then that's a good choice. But if you
want a quality system, you'd be best off saving the money and upgrading
everything with aftermarket equipment. Frankly, factory systems are not
that great. But, if you're the type of guy that listens to CD's at home on
a $500 stereo, it should be fine for you.
Just remember: A "decent" after market system will run you around $1000 at
least with a changer and sub.
charles holder
system in mine with all the speakers everywhere i was wondering if VW hid a
factory amp somewhere to run all of those speakers?
"Kevin Morgan" <kmor...@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:3E772488...@optonline.net...
Mike
home and thats your primary source for music, may I susgest you buyt an
aftermarket mp3 player for about the same price. I have one, and on the 5 to
6 hours trips it nice to never hear the same song twice on a CD (you can fit
up to 300 songs per cd
Baudolino
"Terry Thorne" <dont...@iamanidiot.com> wrote in message
news:b579on$3ak$1...@nntp-stjh-01-01.rogers.nf.net...
> Like Peter said, that's a really good price. Are you sure it's installed
> for that? Or plus installation? Anyway, it would be a pretty good option
> if you are going to be satisfied with the stock sound system. In other
> words, if you're not overly concerned about a high quality system but just
> want something you can listen to, then that's a good choice. But if you
> want a quality system, you'd be best off saving the money and upgrading
> everything with aftermarket equipment. Frankly, factory systems are not
> that great. But, if you're the type of guy that listens to CD's at home
on
> a $500 stereo, it should be fine for you.
>
upgrade from my last one, and I got the CD changer at a dealer for $200 (2nd
hand). Didn't include installation and warranty, but if you know on which
side to hold a screwdriver you'll be fine (as long as your car is
pre-wired).
For pop, rock etc. the factory system is ok, if you want to play your
classical music load, you might hear some noises you would not prefer to
hear. But again, I thought $100 for my home stereo was a big investment.
Matt Barber
> home and thats your primary source for music, may I susgest you buyt an
> aftermarket mp3 player for about the same price. I have one, and on the 5 to
> 6 hours trips it nice to never hear the same song twice on a CD (you can fit
> up to 300 songs per cd
Yea MP3 player is definetly the best bang for your buck, but wouldn't that
possibily be a problem with the warranty. I know alot of dealerships that would
probaly point to that as a completly unrelated exscuse for some other problem.
Also if your not confident about putting in a changer, a new head unit would be
alot more harder work. And if you use a stand-alone player and hook it up
through a cassette adapter it doesn't sound good.
My buddy that has the changer and Monsoon system is very happy with it.
Although you might be able to save some money and get either a larger cd
changer, or a similar one and install it yourself. Then maybe take it out if
you bring it to the dealer to get something fixed just in case.
>this is actually a question to kevin's question, i have that bose sound
>system in mine with all the speakers everywhere i was wondering if VW hid a
>factory amp somewhere to run all of those speakers?
Bose sound sytem? I don't recall that bein in any VW's, Audi's I know have
that. ANYways, I'm almost certain they have an amp. Like other stock systems
I've seen. Usually if you track the wires out from the stereo there should be
an amp they go to, where it is in the car I'm not sure though. Some other
systems I've seen have the amps loose i.e. you could pull on the stereo wires
and the amp would come out from the dash, but they're not all like that.
Peter Cressman
(Early)
- Peter
"Matt Barber" <mattb...@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:3E77CD7D...@optonline.net...
Terry Thorne
them horribly inadequate. I'm sure that if you listened to a really nice
system you'd quickly spot the differences. You might not care too much
about them, but some people do. So it's best to know what you're getting
before you invest too much into it.
Baudolino
VW stock systems sucks or anything.
Baudolino
at
> > home and thats your primary source for music, may I susgest you buyt an
> > aftermarket mp3 player for about the same price. I have one, and on the
5 to
> > 6 hours trips it nice to never hear the same song twice on a CD (you can
fit
> > up to 300 songs per cd
>
> Yea MP3 player is definetly the best bang for your buck, but wouldn't that
> possibily be a problem with the warranty. I know alot of dealerships that
would
> probaly point to that as a completly unrelated exscuse for some other
problem.
> Also if your not confident about putting in a changer, a new head unit
would be
> alot more harder work. And if you use a stand-alone player and hook it up
> through a cassette adapter it doesn't sound good.
> My buddy that has the changer and Monsoon system is very happy with it.
> Although you might be able to save some money and get either a larger cd
> changer, or a similar one and install it yourself. Then maybe take it out
if
> you bring it to the dealer to get something fixed just in case.
>
satellite radio and a CD-changer. It wouldn't surprise me if there are
systems available to hook up your MP3 player the same way. If not, I'm sure
a little bit of work will get you your own adapter.
I managed to hook my Sony changer up to my Kenwood radio. 12V, a multimeter,
soldering kit, and some pins is all you need (well, and a lot of patience).
Oh, to make it look nice and reduce the amount of swearing while doing it,
you might considering getting the plugs and work on them instead of the MP3
player directly.
Kevin Morgan
Thanks for all the input. Got pointed to Crutchfield by some people on
the VW forum and found some compatible OEM systems from Panasonic from
$229 to $279. Installation is supposed to be plug and go, so this is
the route I'm taking.
Thanks again to all who replied.
Kevin
tf
"Kevin Morgan" <kmor...@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:3E78C888...@optonline.net...
Anton382
Also look at the Blaupunkt in dash units. I have gone both routes in
a New Beetle (wife and daughter both have one) , C-D Changer in trunk and
Blaupunkt Head Unit.
In my opinion the Blaupunkt is far supperior to the VW System and you don't
have to stop and get into the trunk to change C-D's. With the changer in the
trunk, which is only about a 10 minute job to install, you still have the VW
underpowered sound system. With the Blaupunkt in dash unit the power almost
doubles depending on the model, and you have a lot more features than the stock
unit. You will also have the capability to upgrade later ie: wireless remote on
steering wheel, satelite radio or add an amp, plus it looks great too with the
red and blue lights on most models which match the dash perfectly. And
installation in a New Beetle is honestly about 5 minutes and no adapter is
required. The factory plug plugs right into the back of the Blaupunkt unit.
I have only done this in the beetle but I would imagine that all models are
pretty much the same. There is one problem that is fixable, when you turn off
the ignition you have to turn the radio off manually. I called Blaupunkt and
they told me which wire on the radio side of the plug needs to be cut to solve
this problem, I honestly havn't had time but will do it soon now that the
weather is getting better. Good Luck.
Butch
Mike Smith
> That's not really a question we can answer. Are you a person who needs music
> when they are driving, or can you find a radio station and use that.
> Personally, if I didn't have my 10-disc changer in my Jetta, I would lose
> it. They are great on long trips, but if you don't think that you do enough
> driving to justify the cost, than I wouldn't bother. That's not a bad price
> for one installed. Considering that the Canadian list price for the changer
> is about $520, $350 sounds pretty good.
The original poster is on Long Island, so that's $350 US, not
Canuckistanian. Still sounds like a halfway decent deal though, if only
to avoid the hassle of installation.
--
Mike Smith
Mike Smith
I find the CD sources to be adequate (maybe a little bass-shy), but the
FM radio output is definitely subpar.
--
Mike Smith
E Tirschler
in dash CD unit skips regularly.
> And installation in a New Beetle is honestly about 5 minutes
> and no adapter is required. The factory plug plugs right into the back
> of the Blaupunkt unit.
Very true. That was a big plus, except...
> There is one problem that is fixable, when you turn off
> the ignition you have to turn the radio off manually.
I had to interchange the "Always on 12V" and the "Ignition 12V" wires in
the connector. Before doing so, I would loose the time, memories, and
settings each time I took the key out of the ignition.
Maybe I can install the suspension from a Crown Victoria into my Golf.
This may prevent the CD from skipping :)
Whatever you buy, don't assume any kind of shock resistance built into
the unit.
Erik
William Maslin
E Tirschler <ve2...@MISTAKEyahoo.com> wrote:
...snip...
>
> > There is one problem that is fixable, when you turn off
> > the ignition you have to turn the radio off manually.
> I had to interchange the "Always on 12V" and the "Ignition 12V" wires in
> the connector. Before doing so, I would loose the time, memories, and
> settings each time I took the key out of the ignition.
>
> Maybe I can install the suspension from a Crown Victoria into my Golf.
> This may prevent the CD from skipping :)
> Whatever you buy, don't assume any kind of shock resistance built into
> the unit.
Hey Erik,
How did you switch those two wires? Did you cut and splice or were you
able to get the two pins out of the connector and swap them around?
Thanks,
Ed Schlunder
You could put together a system using my VWCDPIC device to hook your stand-alone
MP3 player to the CD changer input cable. I've been driving around with
12GB of MP3's in my trunk for a couple years now and enjoying every minute
of it.
Ed Schlunder <zi...@k9spud.com>
http://www.k9spud.com/
On Wed, 19 Mar 2003 01:52:28 +0000, Matt Barber wrote:
> Also if your not confident about putting in a changer, a new head unit would be
> alot more harder work. And if you use a stand-alone player and hook it up
> through a cassette adapter it doesn't sound good.
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