Stereo System Options

I know this option will piss off the traditionalists but that ship has sailed for my X. I love the functionality of a full blown modern head unit. Having carplay, android car, tuning software, gauges navigation, weather ..... on and on in something that can be customizable to look like the OEM dash is the way to go for me. This is a single din but the screen is slightly larger. Perfect would be a screen that fit single din perfectly.

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I've seen much worse! That's actually one of the best retrofits I've seen actually.
 
Had a moment to photograph my ICE solution.

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Not very retro I am afraid but I love the fold away screen. Great for navigation plus if the screen not needed can be retracted and still have music/navigation running. I managed to hide the GPS antenna under the dash behind the glove box. Out of site and seems to work fine.


I just wish the fake gauges could have real data fed to them.
 
In the past (I'm talking about many years ago), I did not have great luck with head units that had either a removable face or a motorized mechanical feature (like the retractable screen). Mainly issues with internal electrical contacts/connections going bad or failed mechanisms. Classic example was a Sony with a detachable face and a 12 CD stacker in the trunk. Both failed eventually. And there were others. But that was a long time ago and I'm sure by now they have evolved and are more reliable. :)
 
In the past (I'm talking about many years ago), I did not have great luck with head units that had either a removable face or a motorized mechanical feature (like the retractable screen). Mainly issues with internal electrical contacts/connections going bad or failed mechanisms. Classic example was a Sony with a detachable face and a 12 CD stacker in the trunk. Both failed eventually. And there were others. But that was a long time ago and I'm sure by now they have evolved and are more reliable. :)
Well my car has been parked up for about 9 years, just getting it back on the road again, but the ICE is now over 10 years old. As you can see it has a red line down the screen, but otherwise the screen is good. The mechanism seems to still be working well. 🤞
 
Well my car has been parked up for about 9 years, just getting it back on the road again, but the ICE is now over 10 years old. As you can see it has a red line down the screen, but otherwise the screen is good. The mechanism seems to still be working well. 🤞
Thanks Alex. For reference my experiences were more like 30 years ago! At that time those features were a new thing. So I'm sure they've improved since then.
 
I have been following this thread and have resisted posting...until now! With my nearly 65yo ears the subtleties of sound have largely been lost, especially in a car like an X. I do prefer stock, discrete looks...which most radios these days lack. About 18 months ago I fitted the dreaded Blaupunkt, as others have noted here it looks great, sound quality is lacking. Ergonomics are laughable.
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I fitted a I fitted a small Alpine amp in the spare tire compartment which helped to some degree. I do not like to listen to music loud and primarily listen to FM radio or my phone....the rear USB on the Blaupunkt is great, I ran a cable through the console.

As a side note I have read on this forum that there is not enough room to fit 5.25" speakers in the foot wells, I disagree. Admittedly I had to trim the speaker grill a bit to clear the wheel wheel but it is not noticeable.

What prompted this post is the Blaupunkt now has a considerable amount of distortion after 45 minutes or so of use....caveat emptor!
 
I have been following this thread and have resisted posting...until now! With my nearly 65yo ears the subtleties of sound have largely been lost, especially in a car like an X. I do prefer stock, discrete looks...which most radios these days lack. About 18 months ago I fitted the dreaded Blaupunkt, as others have noted here it looks great, sound quality is lacking. Ergonomics are laughable.View attachment 73001View attachment 73003View attachment 73002View attachment 73004I fitted a I fitted a small Alpine amp in the spare tire compartment which helped to some degree. I do not like to listen to music loud and primarily listen to FM radio or my phone....the rear USB on the Blaupunkt is great, I ran a cable through the console.

As a side note I have read on this forum that there is not enough room to fit 5.25" speakers in the foot wells, I disagree. Admittedly I had to trim the speaker grill a bit to clear the wheel wheel but it is not noticeable.

What prompted this post is the Blaupunkt now has a considerable amount of distortion after 45 minutes or so of use....caveat emptor!
Now that you’ve altered the spare wheel well, it’s the perfect place for a small subwoofer. Completely changes the quality of sound, and is invisble.
 
the Blaupunkt now has a considerable amount of distortion after 45 minutes or so of use....caveat emptor!
Thank you for the honest feedback. This is a excellent example of what many people have found with the 'new' Blaupunkt.

Also, I agree that the kick panels is great place to mount speakers. ;)
 
I have been following this thread and have resisted posting...until now! With my nearly 65yo ears the subtleties of sound have largely been lost, especially in a car like an X. I do prefer stock, discrete looks...which most radios these days lack. About 18 months ago I fitted the dreaded Blaupunkt, as others have noted here it looks great, sound quality is lacking. Ergonomics are laughable.I fitted a I fitted a small Alpine amp in the spare tire compartment which helped to some degree. I do not like to listen to music loud and primarily listen to FM radio or my phone....the rear USB on the Blaupunkt is great, I ran a cable through the console.

As a side note I have read on this forum that there is not enough room to fit 5.25" speakers in the foot wells, I disagree. Admittedly I had to trim the speaker grill a bit to clear the wheel wheel but it is not noticeable.

What prompted this post is the Blaupunkt now has a considerable amount of distortion after 45 minutes or so of use....caveat emptor!

I was able to fit 6.5" two way units in the kick panels without issue. I mounted the speakers on a 1" fiberboard baffle that was placed between the carpet and the sheet metal. This also allowed the cuts in the sheet metal to be only slightly larger than the magnets.
 
I have been following this thread and have resisted posting...until now! With my nearly 65yo ears the subtleties of sound have largely been lost, especially in a car like an X. I do prefer stock, discrete looks...which most radios these days lack. About 18 months ago I fitted the dreaded Blaupunkt, as others have noted here it looks great, sound quality is lacking. Ergonomics are laughable.View attachment 73001View attachment 73003View attachment 73002View attachment 73004I fitted a I fitted a small Alpine amp in the spare tire compartment which helped to some degree. I do not like to listen to music loud and primarily listen to FM radio or my phone....the rear USB on the Blaupunkt is great, I ran a cable through the console.

As a side note I have read on this forum that there is not enough room to fit 5.25" speakers in the foot wells, I disagree. Admittedly I had to trim the speaker grill a bit to clear the wheel wheel but it is not noticeable.

What prompted this post is the Blaupunkt now has a considerable amount of distortion after 45 minutes or so of use....caveat emptor!

Interesting. My friend who has the new Blaupunkt Bremen DAB in his 928 (I posted a pic of it earlier in the thread) still raves about it and took the 928 on a multihour roadtrip across Washington state this weekend. He loves it, and doesn't report any audio issues. (and he's kind of a stickler and has McIntosh audio equipment at home)

I wonder if yours has a specific issue or an installation problem?
 
Just drove our Z3 M Coupe today for the first time in 3 months after doing a performance software upgrade for the engine. It's the first time I've driven it since I installed the Bremen DAB as well, sounds good to me and the hands free calling works great!👍🏽
 
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I thought about that as well and to avoid any dashboard cut and modern elements decided to use Bluetooth portable Mashal stereo speaker. . I'm gonna to 3dprint special holder and mound in the middle of B pillars.
 
I saw that Marshal got lots of new bluetooth speakers. Do you plan to use the tiniest one on both B pillars in 'stack' mode? Do you know how easy it is to connect a phone to both?
 
I saw that Marshal got lots of new bluetooth speakers. Do you plan to use the tiniest one on both B pillars in 'stack' mode? Do you know how easy it is to connect a phone to both?
just one stereo speaker between B pillars right behing seats (no idea how to connect both and distribute sound for stereo effect). There are big choice small, bigger, mono or stereo. in my case sound is fine with nice bass portable and no changes in interior. this is important for me. In other case to use as stereo on both B pillars needs dissambling and use both speakers separately and makr many changes. I'm not sure this is good idea. just found JBL Control Xstream must be interesting
 
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Looking at the large screens of some examples remind me of the 'mirror displays' I saw in the last years. Some of them with integrated GPS.
This one is basically a Smartphone display with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto plus dashcam and rear cam. I'm not sure if they ship worldwide, the dealer is german. Just another way to update the interior. Price: 300€
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I know this option will piss off the traditionalists but that ship has sailed for my X. I love the functionality of a full blown modern head unit. Having carplay, android car, tuning software, gauges navigation, weather ..... on and on in something that can be customizable to look like the OEM dash is the way to go for me. This is a single din but the screen is slightly larger. Perfect would be a screen that fit single din perfectly.

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@Bobkat - can you please share the mfg and model of this unit? My son really wants something like this for his '86 X. Me, I'm a purist. This is how I roll:

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Me too.
Noise canceling in-ear headphones for longer interstate trips with the phone on a holder in front of me does navigation, Spotify or Audible and radar warner.

I installed good audio in my past X1/9 and found it to sound good in the driveway. But during driving, engine and wind noises are just way to loud.
The earbuds really help with that and make long drives much less stressful.
Try it!
 
Me too.
Noise canceling in-ear headphones for longer interstate trips with the phone on a holder in front of me does navigation, Spotify or Audible and radar warner.

I installed good audio in my past X1/9 and found it to sound good in the driveway. But during driving, engine and wind noises are just way to loud.
The earbuds really help with that and make long drives much less stressful.
Try it!
I find that engine and wind noise are part of the appeal of driving a classic. A joy for the senses!
 
I know this option will piss off the traditionalists but that ship has sailed for my X. I love the functionality of a full blown modern head unit. Having carplay, android car, tuning software, gauges navigation, weather ..... on and on in something that can be customizable to look like the OEM dash is the way to go for me. This is a single din but the screen is slightly larger. Perfect would be a screen that fit single din perfectly.

View attachment 71725

I installed the latest Joying CarPlay stereo into my son's '86 this weekend. He loves it. First thing he did was hack it and install video games on it. 🤦‍♂️

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