I’m going to upgrade the sound system for my ’04 coupe. I’m confused about a couple of probably really simple issues, so for you pros reading this, please bear with me. And I’ve spent a lot of time reading searching this forum and reading old threads…I think I”m more confused than when I started.

My requirements are pretty simple: I want a head unit with USB input for iPod touch / iPhone 3GS, and I want to manage the bass output to the door speakers and the behind-the-seat speakers. I’m old; I don’t want my bass output to shake the cars next to me -- I just want accurate, high-fidelity sound across the Hz.

I’ve picked the new(ish) Sony MEX3700U, with front iPod input, front AUX input, and Bluetooth A2DP. With that many options, If I can’t get music out of my iPhone and into the car, then I have a personal problem.

I’ll order from Crutchfield. So here’s where I start to get confused:

Q1. Does Crutchfield understand the Crossfire -- will they send me the right wiring harness and instructions? I thought I read on this forum that the Crutchfield experts had the wrong diagrams when it came to the Crossfire….

If it looks easy I may give try the installation myself. I’ve read that some HUs can be swapped with the factory unit wire-for-wire, plug ’n play. I doubt that this is true with the Sony unit. If so I’ll take it to a local installer. So that’s the second question:

Q2. Are there any special instructions to give to the local installer? Any gotchas about the way the Crossfire is wired up that would surprise an installer? Should he by-pass the factory amp and wire the speakers to the Sony’s amplified connection (17 watts RMS x 4 channels)? Or should he wire the factory amp to the Sony’s 3-pair pre-amp outs? (front, rear, and subwoofer (non-fading)) Or other?

Finally, I’ve wanted to kill the mid-bass madness in the door speakers since I bought the car. Since I’ve never mastered the Pelked1 capacitor mod…

Q3. Should I ask the local installer to do it for me, or is there a better way (e.g. use the pre-amp outs as mentioned above)?

I really appreciate any answers, opinions or experiences…

 

I ordered from Crutchfield. From what everyone says, they had the wrong diagram but everything else is correct. I remember when I ordered it online it felt like Crutschield did not understand the crossfire but everything was correct in the package. They sent me the right radio keys,radio antenae adaptor and it looks like they sent me the right harness. I never used the harness because I bought a Blaupunkt London MP48 and it was a plug and play. No cutting wires! I have a base coupe.

I think the newer Blaupunkt models with the phone feature require a couple wire adjustments but my model did not need it. I just slide out the stock radio and put the metal sleeve in. Then I plugged the factory harness into the new radio and slid the radio in. It was that easy. I am not good at wiring radios and didn't want to have some kid at a stereo place take my car apart so I never switched the radio. I did some reading on this site and found out about the Blaupunkt stereos so I had to do it. Crutchfield was the best way to go because they threw everything in for free. I think I paid 140 for the whole thing... the best 140 I ever spent.

 

Thanks for the response ! I'll look into the Blaupunkt H/U's, especially if the Sony doesn't work out for some reason.

Somewhere in the thousands of posts in this forum I came across a wiring diagram for the stereo system, which seems to show that the stock amp has four channels, though several XF models (all 2004 coupes and 2005+ non-Base models) have 6 speakers... The door and rear speakers seem to be wired off the same amp channel. More to learn....

 

Have you considered this Alpine? Alpine iDA-X305 Digital media receiver at Crutchfield Signature It is designed specifically for the Ipod.