ICE Advice please

[mister.c.]

Morning / Afternoon / Evening all. My other half has a MK1 Leon Cupra (was mine and missing it!) and appears happy with my suggestion to upgrade her head-unit (and perhaps speakers) as an Xmas gift. I'm lacking in knowledge on ICE and would welcome any advice / comments, as i hope some of you guys have been running this kind of kit for a while. I've done a fair whack of homework by looking through previous posts, and got some knowledge / ideas but hope by posting some of my specifics here, then I'll grasp some more!! Ipod / external MP3 interfacing to the unit is not an option and there is no need for any mobile phone hands free capability.

Ideally I'm not looking to spend more than £250 for the head unit. Spec should include a USB or Memory Card interface, which sticks into the unit (rather than with some USBs that attach via a cable linked to the unit). One requirement would be for it to blend into the Leon, ie not look aftermarket, much like the becker ones can do.
http://www.shop.edirectory.co.uk/ca...HQ_+becker+grand+prix+7990+cd+players&cid=918
Oh, and I guess it is stating the bleedin obvious but great sound / kit as well! I'm not that up to speed who are the best makes / units, though I can make a bit of a guess.

Was initially taken by the Kenwood referred to in this earlier post
http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=104583
However, the USB appears to attach via a lead to the unit which is a no no!
I've seen some JVC ones, such as http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/jvc-kdsh1000-p-4841.html but not sure how good these / JVC are.

The best course of action is to go and see some of these things in action, and these guys are relatively local to me http://www.sourcecars.com/ but I will not be able to see them for a couple of weeks; in advance of that I'd like to draw on all the available knowledge from you guys!

Oh, and finally, what are peoples opinions on the speakers in the (Mk1) Leon. They don't seem too bad to me but if I upgrade the unit, would it be daft not to release the full potential of the new unit by keeping them in. I wouldn't want to spend a massive amount (say £50- £100)

Many thanks in advance.

 

[satilaboy]

a lot of people on here say JVC are decent but i have my doubts. alpine are decent HU's but don't really meet your criteria in terms of looks and usb/card reader.

any car audio shop i attended told me a new HU without new front speakers is pointless, but i'm just going to the HU first and see what it's like then do the front speakers after that if need be.

in terms of the ipod and usb players, the sound quality reflects the quality of your mp3's and the few usb ones i've seen in action had poor or at best satisfactory search features in relation to scanning through and choosing artists/tracks etc.

the alpine 9850ri on the other hand had a decent search setup and sounded good to me but i've heard (but not witnessed) that it starts to labour at around volume level 20 without uprated speakers. then again it was the chap from the car audio shop who told me that and i'm suspicous that he was just trying to make a bigger sale.

 

[mister.c.]

Cheers mate. I'm in the process of trying to convince the good lady that a USB unit may not be the best way forward - the only ones I've seen are JVC and Kenwood and I doubt she'll be convinced by the 'look' of them in the Leon, though its very helpful what you say with the search facility and I'll check that out. If it was me, I really like the Becker.

Like you, I'd be a tad wary of the car audio shop saying upgrade them, but thats really down to the fact I'm not entirely sure they'd be appreciated (compared to all the hassle of getting them fitted) and it may be better just adding the funds to the unit.

 

[UncleFester]

If it's just going to be played at 'listening' volume the stock speakers are fine - i have the JVC unit and it does stick out of the dash a bit, the becker is lovely ..... but you do pay a high price for it.

The weak spot in the Leon is definitely the headunit .... if you don't want USB, there's always a dvd based unit which can read a 4.7GB dvd - fill that with mp3 files and you've got more music capacity than a USB mp3 player / stick can provide.

Just to add another choice in there. Wanting USB facility does restrict choice a bit.

 

[Icecavern]

any car audio shop i attended told me a new HU without new front speakers is pointless, but i'm just going to the HU first and see what it's like then do the front speakers after that if need be.

Well quite frankly thats The Leon speakers will sound 100% better with a HU with more power. Most people are generally happy with the sound once that's done.

 

[satilaboy]

as i suspected.

 

[mister.c.]

Well quite frankly thats The Leon speakers will sound 100% better with a HU with more power. Most people are generally happy with the sound once that's done.

Thanks Pete - i think at least two of us will be grateful for your advice!

 

[Icecavern]

Personally if you want something that looks like it should be there from the factory, and sounds great. Then the Becker is definately the way to go. Problem is it wont take the USB etc.

Both JVC and Kenwood make decent units. But neither will really look factory. Depends how much of a problem thta is for you.

Oh and tell source Pete @ ICECavern sent ya

 

[mister.c.]

Personally if you want something that looks like it should be there from the factory, and sounds great. Then the Becker is definately the way to go. Problem is it wont take the USB etc.

Both JVC and Kenwood make decent units. But neither will really look factory. Depends how much of a problem thta is for you.

Oh and tell source Pete @ ICECavern sent ya

Will do Pete - have managed to convince the good lady that the Becker is the way to go - slightly foolish in that I'm paying for it! All I've heard about the Becker is that it is top quality.

 

[satilaboy]

am i right in saying that the becker will work with the factory fitted 6 CD changer

 

[mister.c.]

I'm not sure but I am working on the premise that it doesn't. The recommended ICE peeps don't have one in stock and also I am trying to get my head around whether the Nokia N70 will be compatible for the bluetooth. I'm going to call around a few more places at the weekend to see if i can actually go and see one in the flesh, and will see what they say about the Autochanger.

 

[mister.c.]

am i right in saying that the becker will work with the factory fitted 6 CD changer

I've been told it will not work.

I was also told on the second day of the new year that if I ordered it will take 5 working days. Darn it, I'm still waiting! Aah the best things come to he who waits...

 

[mister.c.]

Becker 7992 Fitted today. Nothing but praise for the unit. As many have said before, does not look like aftermarket at all - fits snug as a bug and compliments the dash colours.
Bluetooth works well and the mrs has the mic on the A frame. no sight of wires. Well fitted (touch wood) by SourceSounds of Chapletown, Sheffield. Becker Radio tuning function excellent as is bluetooth usage from head unit.
And the sound is significantly better and goes much louder. I would say the unit takes it somewhat towards the limit of what the leon speakers can give you in terms of sound (by that i mean i can imagine a better unit not making very much sound difference at all).

I could imagine if you are a real stereo sound fanatic, you may feel the need to add something in the boot as the leon speaker set up ends with the rear speakers in the rear doors / door handles. But for what I set out to get, both the Mrs and I are very happy with the look, the features, the easy to operate nature of the Becker.

No point posting a pic as it looks exactly the same as post 7 in the following thread
http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=75052&highlight=becker

 

[msousa11]

Becker Gard Prix

Allo,
I will buy mine in the next few days. I will buy the blue one and chage the LEDs to amber.

3 questions:
1) Your becker has the light dimming working along with the general dashboard dimming?

2) spedd dependent volume works (I believe it might be connected to the instrument cluster)?

3) In terms of stereo speration you can clearly ear the sound going from left to right and vice versa igf the music has it?

I will aslo buy the iPod remote Kit.

Thank you for the update and thanks in advance for your reply.

 

[Icecavern]

Allo,
I will buy mine in the next few days. I will buy the blue one and chage the LEDs to amber.

Why? You can get it in Red which matches your dash and means you dont screw up your warrenty.

mister.c if source fitted it then it's done right, top lads they are.

 

[msousa11]

Becker Grand Prix

I will buy the blue because it's the only available in pixmania cheapest website for Portugal (around 380 euros and normal price is 500euros). with 500 I buy the radio+ remote Ipod + dinner out twice .
I have a BMW 525d which has amber illumination (between yellow 7990 and red 7992).
The issue is that blue or white needs more current then other LED colours.
Currently my car has an OEM becker bigger then 2 Din (cassette radio)

 

[philameena]

I got one of these at the weekend.

The dimming function works great. Totally sync-ed with the dashboard dimmer. Even better than the Aura was to be honest (the aura always seemed to be a bit lighter or darker than the climate control screen. The Becker seems spot on)

The Speed Dependent Volume works. Apparently.
I didn't notice that the wire required for this is missing from the Autoleads harness so mine doesn't work at the moment, but if I can get the bloody thing out of the dashboard again (see my other post) I'll get it sorted.

 

[msousa11]

Becker Grand Prix

I have my becker Grand Prix + Ipod remote Kit

The sound is great and the electronic design is very good.
The stereo separation is quite good the Bass is vibrant and the treble is well balanced.
Also the BT for the phone works great.
Ipod remote is fantastic as you may see the information on the radio display.

I have changed the illumination to match my dashboard, though it needs a tweak.
Diming works perfectly.
SDV I also have to connect it, still need to find out the pinout.

 

[msousa11]

http://www.kodakgallery.eu.com/Phot...rder=&albumsperpage=&navfolderid=2007

 

[philameena]

still need to find out the pinout

It's pin 1.
I just need to find a wire and a way to get the wire into the wiring harness.

Agreed about the iPod and Telephone features. Superb.