14 replies to this topic

[MarkC123]

Hi guys,

I’m thinking of buying a new radio and was looking for something I can plug my iPhone into.

Any recommendations ? Was probably going to go for something in halfords but open to suggestions.

My current radio is wired up to two pioneer speakers but it’s a bit of a nightmare to work!

Thanks in advance

[Mini Manannán]

You need to decide want you want, do you want SD card? DAB? Mechless?  Retro styling?  I got my Pioneer DAB from Halfords, they have a decent choice.

[riktanius]

Anyone use a hidden radio? Maybe a stealth type that connects to your phone using Bluetooth?

[Ethel]

Nope, but you could do that with a Pioneer that supports their Smart Sync app.

 

I'm sure Sony etc do similar, 

[paulrockliffe]

I've looked a couple of times at amps that have bluetooth built in, but not in detail.  I have the wiring ready, but I need to fit a different fuel tank and a parcel shelf before I need to make a choice.

 

There are plenty out there, though they tend to be either cheap chinese rubbish or expensive, couldn't find a £50-80 option.  That's the way I would go though and if you want DAB there are options out there that run DAB off a little box with a remote control so you can hide that too. 

 

The other thing I was looking for was a bluetooth remote control that you can fit to your steering column.  Hadn't found an option for that, but from memory some of the more expensive amps had remote controls too.  I think most new phones will have Bluetooth whatever that lets you connect several devices, so you can easily have any remote control controlling the phone and any amplifier receiving the sound, they don't need to be able to talk to each other etc. 

 

For me it's not necessarily about hiding everything, though I think headunits always look odd in Minis, but just that I'll always end up playing from my phone anyway, so might as well do a hidden install.  

[Bobbins]

Anyone use a hidden radio? Maybe a stealth type that connects to your phone using Bluetooth?

 

Not a cheap solution, but the Alpine PWD-X5 might do the job, just a small wired remote and will stream music etc from a phone. It'll also add an under-seat sub-woofer to a 4 speaker install. 

[Bobbins]

Anyone use a hidden radio? Maybe a stealth type that connects to your phone using Bluetooth?

 

 

This though looks very tempting and more the cost level I'd be looking at, and designed specifically for the job!

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[paulrockliffe]

I would be reasonably confident that that box is something you can buy for £50 on eBay that's been repackaged.  For a bluetooth hidden option I would try a Lepai somethinng or other - search eBay- first because you can pay £30-50 for something that's probably good enough given where it's going.  If it's not, I'd rather spend big money on something branded than risk cheap chinese rubbish in a nice box.

 

They do a really nice DAB headunit for classic Cars though.

[riktanius]

I would be reasonably confident that that box is something you can buy for £50 on eBay that's been repackaged.  For a bluetooth hidden option I would try a Lepai somethinng or other - search eBay- first because you can pay £30-50 for something that's probably good enough given where it's going.  If it's not, I'd rather spend big money on something branded than risk cheap chinese rubbish in a nice box.

 

They do a really nice DAB headunit for classic Cars though.

 

If you could find an ebay listing that has the same stats and doesnt look shady, Ill bite the bullet

 

I was actually look at the products found here: http://www.outofsightaudio.com/

Edited by riktanius, 09 April 2019 - 09:39 AM.

[Ethel]

They do seem to charge a premium for a niche product. I'd be inclined to stick with the main steam and have a stand alone unit with a radio - if you're going to hide it does it matter what it looks like. You can get one with some sort of remote and live without the display

[roblightbody]

I've got a fairly simple Bluetooth Sony head unit that is mechless - the advantage being that it's less deep, so there's more room behind it for wiring! The reason I chose Sony is that I also have the proper steering wheel control - for originality I have the unit in its original crazy position in front of the driver.

[paulrockliffe]

 

I would be reasonably confident that that box is something you can buy for £50 on eBay that's been repackaged.  For a bluetooth hidden option I would try a Lepai somethinng or other - search eBay- first because you can pay £30-50 for something that's probably good enough given where it's going.  If it's not, I'd rather spend big money on something branded than risk cheap chinese rubbish in a nice box.

 

They do a really nice DAB headunit for classic Cars though.

 

If you could find an ebay listing that has the same stats and doesnt look shady, Ill bite the bullet

 

I was actually look at the products found here: http://www.outofsightaudio.com/

 

 

That's the tricky bit, there's nothing out of the ordinary in those specs, so finding stuff that appears to match is easy enough.  You could pay £11 posted from China if you wanted.  The problem is it's hard to know whether you should pay £11, or £150 or somewhere in between.  And there's no way to really tell what's inside the more expensive options to know whether it's just a different box.

 

I used 6 Lepai (non-bluetooth) amplifiers in my house, all 12 volt car stuff, to run a cheap ceiling speaker setup.  They were about £15 each and generally worked great, they had issues picking up interference from the speaker wires when they were turned on and nothing was playing, but the sound quality was good enough.  I've started swapping them for proper Cambridge Audio amps, which don't pick up interference and have better sound quality.  But there's an argument that there's not going to be much difference if you run two speakers in the parcel shelf of an old Mini whether you use a cheap amp or an expensive one. 

 

You won't have interference issues with the cheap ones as you won't be running 10s of metres of cable to the speakers, you can turn it off if you're not listening to anything and you wouldn't hear it anyway over the sound of your engine.

 

If you don't know what to do, I'd be inclined to try something super cheap.  Personally I'd probably gamble on something like this:

 

https://www.ebay.co....gAAAOSwstxVS4ur

 

That said, I'd quite like to be able to add a volume control somewhere, rather than having to use the volume control on my phone.  And I would usually have my phone plugged in to charge and do satnav, so perhaps the best solution is a wired option and a remote volume control on the amp.  Not sure how the wiring for that works without doing some more research though.

[paulrockliffe]

I had a look on eBay and came across stuff like this:

 

https://www.ebay.co....vYAAOSwkjtbGfTY

 

Could be useful.  That would be independent of whatever amplifier you use, it controls your phone.

[Bobbins]

To be honest my problem with much of the cheap stuff on eBay is that my expectations are usually much higher than the products can achieve. I'm old enough now (and thankfully have enough income) to be able to seek out a solution that will meet my expectations, it's not about cost but rather not knowing what is available to do the job.

 

My ideal would be to leave the o/e Rover radio cassette head unit in place and route it through hidden equipment that can also link to my phone, enabling Spotify etc without the need to use a modern head unit. I'm prepared to upgrade speakers but the rear shelf speakers must still be contained within the o/e Rover grills, any additional speakers need to be discrete/hidden. I do actually quite like the Alpine PWD-X5 subwoofer solution although at upwards of £400 it would be somewhat pushing the boat out!

[riktanius]

 

Anyone use a hidden radio? Maybe a stealth type that connects to your phone using Bluetooth?

 

Not a cheap solution, but the Alpine PWD-X5 might do the job, just a small wired remote and will stream music etc from a phone. It'll also add an under-seat sub-woofer to a 4 speaker install. 

 

This thing seems pretty awesome, but that price? No thank you.