OE looking head unit

[ivan1983]

Hi All,

I am looking for a stock looking headunit for my R129.

The current stock Blaukpunt unit doesn't have an aux in.

I have a couple of headunits that have aux in but they have too many flashing lights for my liking.

Im after something with an aux in port at the front, so i dont have to route a cable frome the back.

It should look OE when off and doesnt have a mulititude of lights when functioning.

I also want decent sound quality and the ability to go up to a reasonable volume without clipping although I suspect the stock speakers will be the limiting factor.

I dont need a pre outs etc and ipod control etc isnt necessary.

Using one of those tape adapters is a non starter as is using an rf transmitter due to the very poor sound quality of both of those options

Any recommendations?

Cheers

Ivan

 

[Doodle]

As you've found, most front input units are too brash. Combined with aux jacks falling out of favour and there's slim pickings on offer.

The only thing that springs to mind currently is the Pioneer DEH-80PRS

Does it explicitly have to be 3.5mm or would USB connectivity be ok?

 

[GP801]

A Becker unit would tick all your boxes apart from the front auxillary in. Sound quality is superb. Most have twin radio tuners so reception is excellent. You can connect an Ipod cable and presumably some form of auxillary to the CD changer pins on the rear. Only drawback is that it will have to be secondhand as they are no longer made. Look OEM and very few people know anything about them so not attractive to thieves.

 

[ivan1983]

Thanks for the replies.

It doesnt have to be 3.5mm, I will be using the 3.5mm to connect the external amp I connect my ipod to. So an ipod in would work fine as would a usb as i can stick my 120GB of music on to a usb stick / hdd but i have odd file formats. eg ogg, flac, alac

The becker option sounds great,(sorry for the pun) 2nd hand isn't a problem as it might be cheaper as well

What becker units should I be looking at, anything with a cd changer?

I was hoping to avoid routing cable out of the rear but the becker option does sound like its going to look the most OEM

Thanks

Ivan

 

[GP801]

Lots of Becker models but if you want Ipod control go for a later one. Grandprix will do the job and have bluetooth for the phone. Indianapolis adds navigation. On these watch out for the display colour as they are fixed. Cascade or cascade pro has the lot plus variable display colour. None will be cheap. They are sought after and prices are higher than you might imagine. If you want Ipod then you cant have the CD changer. They use the same connection on the back.

 

[npuk]

Blaupunkt units usually have aux in. You need the cable below and it connects to the pins above the ISO block.

blaupunkt aux | eBay

 

[kingdave]

RE the becker head units... On my Indianapolis pro at least, there are two ways of connecting an ipod, 'full speed' which requires a cable that I could never find to buy even when they did make the headunits and which supposedly cost £100 or so but allowed navigation of the ipod's contents via the HU screen.
Other method was via an aux cable, also hard to buy, but by examination of pinouts and reading around I discovered was the same as the blaupunkt aux-in cable. Doesn't quite fit your requirements as the cable is routed to the rear, but for my money that makes for a far better OEM look install once you've routed the cable to the glove-box or somewhere.

 

[GP801]

If you want the Ipod or USB kit or anything else for a Becker headunit try www.kolumbus24.com or their shop on german e-bay. They have Ipod interface kits for 99 euros. Also USB adapters and even some new head units at a price. I have used them in the past and found them to be excellent.

 

[GP801]

I have the Becker Ipod kit connected to a cascade head unit in the 124. It even manages to make the audio sound reasonable in a 124. They really are that good.

 

[ivan1983]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the options.

I think the cheapest is to see if the Blaukpunt will accept the dummy cd changer cable. The cable says it wont work with stock units but for £6 its probably worth a punt.

It seems that most options will involve taking a feed out of the back of the unit shame the R129 doesnt have a glove box.

I had a look at the last URL and didnt realise that Becker units were so pricey!

Im guessing there isnt a market for subtle head units as most high end cars come with decent stereos in the first place

 

[npuk]

Becker have stopped making aftermarket stereos so prices have risen due to limited supply.

 

[hotrodder]

My experience of shopping for a Becker is that (UK ebay aside) it's only the models with built in phone bluetooth that consistantly make top money. I picked up a mint 7920 (indianapolis with yellow display) off of German ebay for ~ £120 to my door. The later 'pro' with bluetooth would've been nice but at the time they were consistantly making £300 once currancy conversion/carriage were factored in and i got fed up waiting. If phone is important then personally i'd say a seperate phone kit unless you're willing to splash out on a Becker Cascade (loads more money) as while it's a bit more of a faff it's cheaper and the grand prix/indianapolis pro offer pretty basic phone function with no access to phone book or caller ID etc

The 792x will do full Ipod control with the adaptor mentioned, the only difference between the indianapolis and the indianapolis pro/795x is the bluetooth phone and the need to hook up the speedpulse for navigation- the pro will work with or without. My take is to buy a cheap Ipod (damaged screen etc) to permantly attach and bury it in the dash when fitting the headunit. I think you need to have V4 software/maps or later to get the full ipod control working. Maps are daft money considering the latest V7 is out of date by a few years and won't be updated ever. V7 can be 'found' but, naughtiness aside, they aren't the most straightforward things to burn 'back ups' of i.e. it'll play pretty much any burnt music or mp3 cd but is a lot fussier about map discs

 

[kingdave]

I love the Indianapolis pro in my SL, but I went for a much cheaper option in my W124 which also doesn't have a glove box. You might want to consider this if your blaupunkt aux-lead doesn't work.

In the W124 I have an MB audio10 single CD head unit which looks totally OEM. To get an ipod or similar to play through it I fitted an FM modulator which cost about a tenner. Unlike standard fm transmitters like the itrip which turn your ipod into a local pirate radio station, this is hard wired into the aerial socket of the headunit and sits inline between the car's aerial and the radio. When it detects the ipod is playing it severs the connection to the aerial and injects the fm modulated ipod signal directly into the radio so you get zero interference/drop out etc. You just need to devote an fm preset on the headunit to the frequency you choose the modulator to output.

Obviously there is a theoretical sound quality compromise here but in practice with road noise etc. you'd rarely detect it. With an open car like the 129 I reckon you've not a great deal to lose particularly if you can get hold of a modulator as cheap as I did - ebay it if you hate it. The upside is the totally stock look. The modulator is a little silver box about the size of a pack of fags you have to hide behind the dashboard somewhere and connect to switched live. I routed the cable to plug the ipod into under the bottom of the dash past the gear lever and into the storage bin between the front seats which is a pretty happy place for an ipod to live.

I think this howto shows the same JVC device.
w203 Audio 10 How to install an Aux in for iPod - Mercedes-Benz Owners' Forums

 

[gIzzE]

The only thing that springs to mind currently is the Pioneer DEH-80PRS

I would get the above and take 2 mins to route the cable, it is dead easy.

The ipod navigation is quick and easy, the bluetooth is fabulous, you can also stream your music from your phone, the display has proper RGB adjustments to match the dash perfectly, and it looks subtle.

Sound quality walks all over the Beckers, which themselves sound pretty good.

This is in a BMW, but gives you an idea...

 

[gIzzE]

Oh, I think it does have an aux on the front, but check the manual as that might be for for the time alignment mic.

 

[Doodle]

So it does...On the 88RS2 the time alignment port was hidden on the underside of the faceplate, and only for that purpose.

 

[jjrodger]

I have a Becker Indianapolis Pro 7950 in my w124 and a Becker Cascade 7946 in my 129, both with the Becker iPod Remote Kit. I bought them all on Ebay. They are excellent. They look right--nothing else comes close to the factory look--and they have brilliant functionality. Even the single DIN sat nav is brilliant.