Greetings all,
I'm preparing my Z3 for a long road trip in September. One of the things I want to do is to replace the factory stereo. However, all of the aftermarket stereos that I have seen have rounded edges and bevels whereas the factory stereo fits flush with the surface of the dash. I don't like the look of the installs I've seen on other Z3s. Does anyone have any recommendations?
Thanks!
Add a GROM to the factory radio and enjoy bluetooth streaming--what else do you want out of a head unit?
I look forward to seeing responses! I've been searching for the same. I found this option...not quite square edges, but more square than most and mostly red light with a retro look:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BLAUPUNKT-Li...-/262875736790
I have yet to pull the trigger as I'm not 100% convinced.
I think the older blaupunkt models have sharper corners but the stock units are either pioneer or alpine units I believe. Have you looked at they're current offerings. It really depends on what your after here. If it's just a aux/Bluetooth input then follow mr bingley's advise. If it's better,more powerful sound you're after you have a long way to go. The car is prewired for a cd changer in the rear/trunk. Of course you could buy my changer too
Another vote for Grom here. Retains factory fit and finish and adds
BT streaming. Gromaudio.com
+1 on grom. Put one in my wife's e46 and we loved it.
13 Grand Cherokee Limited V8 - Daily Driver - Wife
97 Z3 2.8 Roadster
95 325i Sedan - Project #ebayE36
90 BMW 535i/5 - i should probably work on this again...
Sorry for the Thread Jack, but what model GROM?
01 M S54 Estoril Coupe (Fun)16 Mini Clubman S(Daily)03 325i (Wifes Car)Your never further away from oblivion than a distracted soccer mom in a SUV.
I have a Blaupunkt Detroit 100BT Receiver that has the wire harness ready to plug in. It plugs in flush.
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...ight=Blaupunkt
I can only wish you luck. I'm in the same boat. My car came with the most goshawfully ugly JVC unit. Sound was great but looked terrible. I settled (and I do mean "settled") for this Continental-branded unit. IMO, it looks better than most aftermarket gear, and does the job, but just barely. The lighting is a weak yellow orange, not the deeper red-orange of BMW lighting. No ID3 display when streaming from the phone, no line-outs, only speaker-level. It does have built-in bluetooth microphone on the front panel that seems to actually work. I've had useful conversations with people while driving at 25-35 with the top down. It still has a bezel.
IMG_20170716_165659826.jpg
In my son's Z3, we installed a Kienzle MCR 1116, a much better unit on all accounts; the version with CD is MCR 1225. Good appearance with no snap-in bezel. IMO, it looks and works much better than the Continental. This car is an early production (1996/02) 1.9 with only front speakers, no amp. The Kienzle was a HUGE improvement over the factory unit it replaced. Better bass, much better detail and "air". I would have bought it again but it was out of stock, even ordering from Germany, when I bought the one for my current car.
IMG_20160306_152558.jpg
There's another thread on the topic, here: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...adio-Which-one
Maybe the moderators should create a sticky for the topic of replacement radios. If you use the search function, you'll find the subject crops up every few months.
Update:
Kienzle now installed. There's a very small gap around the wood trim in my '99, for which I blame BMW - they rounded the edges on all openings but the radio. I definitely prefer its appearance. I had forgotten, the Kienzle has a three-band parametric EQ function (bass/mid/treble) with selectable crossover frequency and Q. Helped with fine-tuning the response.
IMG_20171216_154441747.jpg
Last edited by tigerdog2000; 12-28-2017 at 02:24 PM. Reason: add photo
@deni2s, Nice!! What model pioneer is this? Is the display readable in bright light? Does it dim when dash lights are on/dimmed?
Be prepared. It's not cheap and requires either multiple amps or a multichannel amp and rca cables between but yes.a very nice head unit. It's the dex-p99rs
I love the simple look of the stock head unit, but I got tired of volume knob issues so decided to go with the Alpine UTE-62BT. All I really care about is bluetooth streaming, and the back-lighting is adjustable in many colors. The amber is very close to the rest of the lights, so it makes me happy. Also, the volume knob works every time.
96 320i Touring
98 Z3 2.8 Roadster
01 PY M Coupe
96 Z3 1.9 - DASC
95 318ti Clubsport
94 Miata M-Edition
13 smart fortwo
that alpine is likely what i'll end up with. My Z has an older alpine media only unit in it currently but it lacks High pass filtering. That one feature is really the only thing i require on my head units besides bluetooth. I was going to get a pioneer like i have in my durango, but If i stick to alpine i won't have to rewire.
13 Grand Cherokee Limited V8 - Daily Driver - Wife
97 Z3 2.8 Roadster
95 325i Sedan - Project #ebayE36
90 BMW 535i/5 - i should probably work on this again...
Unfortunately, you lose the 6-CD changer when you go with the Kienzle. If you'll really miss CD, the Kienzle MCR1223BT is identical in style and function to the 1116, but with a CD player built in. There's a silver lining: both Kienzles have front and rear USB connections. I put a USB extension cable on the rear USB input and ran the cable to an accessible point in the cabin. I then put about 60 CDs worth of music on a $10 USB stick and haven't missed the CD changer in the least, and I don't clutter my dash with a USB sticking out of the front of the unit.
Last edited by tigerdog2000; 07-23-2017 at 11:33 AM.
I bought a low profile 32GB USB stick. So it barely sticks out. It's ~$12.
https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruze...ding=UTF8&s=pc
Paul
Bookmarks