I have been reading reviews of the stereo system in the xfire and searching the forum. It seams like people hate the stock stereo system and say it sucks. Just wondering why they say its so bad its way better then in my older car a 2004 bmw 330i. The xfire system is way better and people dont complain about the bmw's. Why do people hate it?

 

A couple of things I didn't like about the base stereo: No plug for mp3 player, and a curious lag when you hit the channel buttons. I replaced my old stereo with a Blaupunkt MP48 London unit. It's got the front auxiliary input, and no lag. No need to cut wires, the unit plugs right into the stock wiring harness. If you're happy with the stock unit, enjoy!

 

I agree with Winston, even if he IS a Gopher fan. The OEM unit sounds tinny mainly because of a design ommision. Many of us have added a capacitor in series with the door speakers to act as a crossover. This allows the subwoofers to be driven much harder. Read this:

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...-buck-mod.html

It helps, but when I replaced mine with a mid-level Pioneer unit, the improvement was very gratifying!

Mine will play music from a thumb drive just like an iPod. $16 for an 8MB stick that holds all of my music.

 

I bought the Alpine iDA-X100 (Black face) and a wire harness adaptor. I then followed the instructions as laid out in the "Sticky" thread in the audio section, and my stock speakers sound a 100% better. And I can now carry my whole CD colection (that I want to have in the car) of over 950 minutes in my glove compartment. And I still have room for more on the I-pod.

 

The only problem I had was that it did not have a input for Ipods and such.

 

Has anybody tried the sony cdx m60ui...mine comes today Matches the interior and has ipod hookup...will post pics

 

Just to play devil's advocate, I'm satisfied with the OEM radio. It's not as nice sounding as the Bose in my Audi, but the acoustics are not so great with the top down anyway, which is the way I usually drive. As an old fart, I don't have an iPod or MP3 player, and am perfectly happy with a good FM station or a CD. Also, I'm more interested in keeping the car original because they are more valuable that way in the long run.

That being said, there's a reason they make after-market radios. Different strokes for different folks and not everyone likes the OEM radio regardless of car brand.

 

Nothing wrong with retaining the stock stereo either ... if you get the Blaupunkt or one of the other plug in options you can quickly switch back when you look to sell.

But there is a third option.

The Becker Monza 7889 is very similar to the stock non-nav head unit ... except it has better AUX input options, the player plays MP3 CDs and can handle a changer (for those of you not into iPods). Although the face plate is black, user CyberGreg installed a Monza and with some modifications, used the OEM faceplate. EDIT: here is the install thread

 

That is why I got the Blaupunkt MP48. Plug and play! I have my OEM radio sitting in a box where it will never break down. One day I will plug it back in (a 5 minute deal) and it will be working when other radios are broken because they were used for 30 years!

I got it for the front aux jack. I have 30+ gigs of music on my ipod. But my favorite feature now are MP3 discs. I made a few MP3 cd's and loaded them up with music. No ipod, no wires and I can control them on the front plate! Never thought I would love the MP3 disc feature but it made the whole 100 dollar purchase worth it.

 

 

Do you use an ipod with this? If so, do you use the rear or front aux? Just wondering....

 

usb runs from the rear and up through the armrest(not visible) iPod controlled through radio

 

This is one of the things I never understood by people in this forum. I think the stereo in the stock car is quite good. It's much better than the stereos in many other stereos. I think the sound is very clear, with a perfect enough of bass. I have some music where the whole car shakes. I wouldn't change out the stereo at all. Plus I think most aftermarket stereos look goofy in the crossfire. It's hard to find an oem-looking aftermarket solution. I am intrigued by the capacitor mod though. I may have to look into it.

Though I also find the stock cupholder to be fantastic. I could practically have the car up on 2 wheels and my drink stays where it should be.

 

[quote=AllEuro]This is one of the things I never understood by people in this forum. I think the stereo in the stock car is quite good. It's much better than the stereos in many other stereos. I think the sound is very clear, with a perfect enough of bass. I have some music where the whole car shakes. I wouldn't change out the stereo at all. Plus I think most aftermarket stereos look goofy in the crossfire. It's hard to find an oem-looking aftermarket solution. I am intrigued by the capacitor mod though. I may have to look into it.

Though I also find the stock cupholder to be fantastic. I could practically have the car up on 2 wheels and my drink stays where it should be.[/quote

 

I have had my 2005 Roadster and put 11,000 miles on it in 5 months and can't understand why people bad mouth the cup holder and the stock Radio. I had the CD motor replaced and the guy who repaired it said the radio was of excellent quality and the 240 watts looks to be more than most after market units put out stock. As for the cupholder, after using it daily for 5 months I have gotten to fully appreciate it..It captures the cup or bottle properly and holds it securely

 

I'm certainly not bad mouthing the base stereo - really the only reason I swapped it out is because there is no way to hook up an mp3 player to listen to audio books that I download from my library's web site. When my wife and I are on a road trip, it's really nice to have an audio book to listen to. So, I took out the base stereo and slid in that Blaupunkt unit. No cutting of wires needed, just unhook the two things and plug in the new unit. As for the cupholder - I have a base Crossfire, so I have no cupholder at all - just a little storage place that's perfect to put my aforementioned mp3 player in. I have saved the original stereo, so I will have a fresh and brand new unit to slide in when and if I ever sell my little black beauty. By the way, this forum is so helpful, when I did swap out the radios, I printed out the pictures from someone else's post - It made it so easy!

 

Ok i have done some research, i bought my car used and they didnt say it was a limited but I think it is because it has the Infinity system. What is the difference if the base system and the infinity system? Any difference in the sound quality or anything?

 

I don't think there is a difference in radios. Both are infinity and should be the same. The only difference may be the speakers. I think the limited has extra speakers and an amp under the seat. All I know is I had the infinity radio in my base for 4 years. I was very impressed with it at the time and it served me well. I would say it is a very high quality car stereo. I would never have taken it out if I could plug an ipod into it. I replaced it with a Blaupunkt MP48... same silver color and matches the interior well. It was a plug and play. If I ever want to put the old radio back in it would be a 5 minute job. For now it is sitting in a box.

 

The 240 watt amplifier under the passenger floorboard and 2 subwoofers behind the seats in the bulkhead.

 

What after market head unit is a simply plug and play that does not need the oem power amp?
I would like to get better features, sound etc. and eliminate a stock infinity faulty power amp