16 replies to this topic

[tipcat]

Just a question for the knowledgeable ICE experts... I want to get my new Mini (not BINI!!) sorted... but subtly! Can anyone give me an idea of where I can get, for a reasonable price: 1. either a minidisc HU, or an MP3 with a working AUX jack...; 2. a lo-profile amp, preferably 4-channel, to power 2 sets of speakers (no sub).
The only places I've found around here are Halfords... only one MD unit, around 5 amps, (3 are 2-channel, one is 3-channel...not much choice!) and Motor Trend... NO MD's, not much other selection!

I want to run a pair of 6 1/2" speakers on the rear shelf and possibly a pair of 4" in the dash... when I get a dash! The car is a 1000 auto, so sound level isn't a big issue, but I occasionally suffer from 'deaf old man' syndrome and have to turn the volume up a bit... well, maybe more than a bit!

Any help finding a source would be appreciated - Cheers!

[Madmax]

check out the online retailers like car audio direct, theyre cheap but they offer barely any after sales service and the units could be re-furbs. we (halfords) sell more than one MD unit! lol, we can get ANY unit from just about all of the audio manufacturers. just ask in store.

[philster]

if you're not getting a sub then why not go for some 6x9's or 7x10's or possibly 8 inch for the rear shelf that way you'll get some resonable bass and more volume.
Also you don't say how much you've got to spend, are you on a budget of say £500 or £2000? If you're gonna fit the stuff yourself them mail order will be the cheapest option.

[tom]

Yea, Halfords to tend to bumrape you on the prices.

(Sorry Max, I know it's not you that's doing the raping)

I got my headunit and speakers from www.mcs-direct.co.uk for a very reasonable price, and they were brand new boxed.

[malletts mallett]

check out the online retailers like car audio direct, theyre cheap but they offer barely any after sales service and the units could be re-furbs. we (halfords) sell more than one MD unit! lol, we can get ANY unit from just about all of the audio manufacturers. just ask in store.

I take it you speak from experience?

[Madmax]

i know from customers past experiences... and it happens more often then you think.

[malletts mallett]

I don't think you should be saying that they sell refurbs. Thats simply not true.
I sit on the forum and the customer service that is posted in nothing short of excellent. Where else would you get the manager/owner updating a customer about their order at 2 in the morning because he's shut shop for the night and is carrying out DB admin and happens across somoene who can't be bothered to wait until the morning to call to chase an order.

Besides....if you can call Halfords an ICE retailer at all. The amount of stories that have been posted about the appauling lack of ANY contructive knowledge of the average member of staff is nothing short of legendary.

"Yeah...what you want is a set of Vibe 6x9's mate. They'll sound ace at MacDonalds with your boot open"

"Genesis? Never heard of them mate.Must be rubbish because we don't stock them".


Riiiight....

[Madmax]

i said could be re-furbs, halfords is the UK's biggest ICE retailer, thats a fact.

if your calling me an idiot, bring it on mate, your attitude is not called for

[philster]

genesis rubbish

okay so you don't know what you're on about!

I've gotta admit i'm not a great fan of halfords myself, there good if you want to buy something but most of them (not all) have very little if no knowledge of cars, if there were more petrol heads worked there (and i'm not talking about the lad with every bolt-on known to man on his car) then they would make a lot more money.
Taking on ripspeed was probably one of the best moves they've made although the name ripspeed has strayed somewhat from what they used to sell.

[malletts mallett]

Put your toys back in your pram.

What I am saying is that Halfords staff,in the majority, are woefully inadequate at providing the customer with factually based correct information.The fact that it's the biggest high street retail outlet for ICE doesnt make them any good.
CAD don't sell refurbished items.

[tom]

Calm down, kids.

I think that we need to stop making generalisations. Yes, OK, most of the Halfords staff are barely able to string a sentence together, and any sensible person wouldn't let the anywhere near their car. However, this isn't always the case. Proof of this is MadMax. He is obviously not an imbecile, his posts are well written, correctly punctuated, and very informative. And from what I can tell, he knows a great deal about cars audio equipment.

If MadMax says that CAD have stitched a few customers up with refurb units, then I have no reason to not believe him. Bearing in mind that it is illegal to do this unless the unit is sold as a refurb, it may just have been a case of the customer not being all that bright and buying a refurb, but just not reading the description properly.

Personally, I use MCS Direct, they have good prices and try to be helpful on the phone.

As for Genesis, I heard that it was quite good reasonably-priced gear. However, I haven't had any practical experience with it.

[marksmini]

Put your toys back in your pram.

come on your a new member and it is only peoples views.
people send alot of time comeing on here reading posts etc and we dont want to read coments like this,

ok you have a point and its fine to put it across but please keep coments like that to your self. thank you

[malletts mallett]

Look.Fellas.

I'm not here to cause a ruckus.

I am however,unsurprised,that a newbie gets treated with contempt because they're at the bottom of the pecking order.

As with vbbs the world round,99% of them say post count=respect.Which is a bag of rubbish.

Unless it has escaped your notice,this is the internet.It has allowed billions of people to express their opinion publically.So my statement regarding the training of Halfords staff is not

I apologise directly to Madmax if he thought that I was "calling him an idiot".
A:I did'nt call him that.
B:I don't particularly want to "bring it on". I've got better things to do with my time than have a virtual spat.

Marks mini.I appreciate your comments but,again,because I'm a newbie,I should pipe down? Even when someone does a virtual..."You...outside now".

I was hoping to be able to bring some knowledge to this forum,outside high st retailers products, staging,phasing,installing problems but you have your resident expert in the form of Madmax.

As for Genesis.Yes.They make hand made amps.I have 3 and retail on them at roughly 1.5>2k

[a2lt16v]

i personally would get a cd headunit that is capable of mp3's

and yes halfords are rapists and ripspeed is GHEY

infinity 6 x 9's will be more than adequate in a mini.

along with a vibe digital amp theshiny black ones

[Jeff R]

Hey hey whats all this?

Im a new member to the forum so go easy on me! I sympathise with people's views on halfords but the truth is you pay penuts you get monkeys, and some stores are a hell of a lot worse than others!
Ive been working temporarily at halfords since finishing uni and am currently sufferring on minimum wage - how on earth is that gonna motivate staff!! You don't expect shelf stackers at tesco to know how to best cook a turkey, and they earn a good deal more. The problems are really at head office level, so its not necessarily the fault of staff. Most of the specialists ( like mad max i assume) are very clued up and its just a case of speaking to them rather than the average till monkey.
We hear a few horror stories about net reatilers, so basically we offer a little more piece of mind. Those of you who get a better deal, good luck to you! And i don't doubt there are some very good deals to be had. Best thing you can do with halfords is wait for the clearance stuff, then it goes mega cheap.
Ripspeed certainly isn't what it was tho, but then if folks keep coming in wanting blue anodised C**p for their chavved up orions then halfords will keep selling it. Stick to mini specialists for your (non ice) mini bits I reckon. Ta