2007's dream head unit is...

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crxvtec

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Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.

iPod/Media Ready Receiver
Design by: Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.
www.alpine-usa.com

Alpine's iDA-X001 was designed and developed with input from Apple. The iPod connects via the USB input. The iDA-X001 displays artist, album, CD art and track information from the iPod.
 
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crxvtec

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Quick update for you all - this baby has 24-bit Burr-Brown DACs on board so expect it to sound incredible - for those that don't know, Burr-Brown make the best DACs around - the DACs are what convert the ones and zeros of the MP3 file to a sound signal (which in turn gets amplified) so in short this unit will sound as good as any high end CD player when playing your MP3 files. I think that justifies part of the expense.

It's also going to have bluetooth compatibility (bolt on AiNET unit) and support for a DAB tuner (bolt on AiNET unit) so it's high on my list of WOOTs.
 
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drivebymonkey

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my girlfriend is going to america in april and im ordering one to her hotel!!

head units really annoy me because i can never find one i like... now i have and nothing else will do!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: xlistenmusic
 
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crxvtec

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Nice one! I was in Watford on Fri night...

Just a point to note - US models will have a different spec tuner - AM frequency stepping is different as is FM frequency stepping and there's no RDS. If you're happy to have a crippled radio that can only get a few stations on odd steppings, e.g. 88.9, 89.1, 89.3 all the way to 107.9 then go right ahead but if you get a UK unit you'll be able to get all the radio stations AND you'll have RDS as well as AM (for the football!)

But the choice is yours :)
 
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drivebymonkey

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Hmmm... something to think about, would a radio band expander help with this little spanner in the works?? i found a couple of american ones, doesnt say anything about helping with RDS tho? :? id be lying if i said i knew what i was talking about when it came to this stuff!!

The only reason i was gona get my girlfriend to get one was because it would be cheaper!! :D

Watford on a friday night?? unlucky!! where did you go?? :lol: :lol: :wink:
 
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crxvtec

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Band expander will do nothing as the band doesn't need expanding, it just needs better stepping. There's no device that can do this. It will be cheaper but you will also lose functionality which in my mind doesn't justify getting it from the US, but that's just my advice - feel free to ignore me!
 
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drivebymonkey

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i did find a band stepper but on closer inspection its fro american to new zealand.

I think i might wait and see... first of all i hav to justify 300 quid on a headunit... :|
 
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crxvtec

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And the fitting charge, and the cost of a 5G iPod if you don't have one already (to get the best out of it - lesser iPods 3G and up will work but will work at the FullSpeed rate, without taking advantage of the onboard BB DAC; the best sound will be achieved by using a 5G iPod or a 2G iPod nano as these have an enhanced USB interface that the IDA-X001 takes advantage of).

There's also the add-on bluetooth adapter if you want phone connectivity (which is quite slick) and a CD changer if you want to play shiny discs too.

It's getting expensive but I think it'll be a lovely bit of kit. I'm going to have one of those once I can get my paws on one!
 
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drivebymonkey

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bluetooth adapter i like the sound of... cd changer i dont think i will bother with.

seems to me a could put what few cds (maybe 2) i actually listen to on my ipod with the rest of my music. i dont have a cd player in my car at the moment and it doesnt really bother me so its not something i will lose!!
 
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drivebymonkey

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nice one!! im sure i was on this website the other day and it wasnt up for pre-order!!

by the looks of this thread its just me and you mate!! :lol:
 
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p3eps

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Almost pre-ordered one there until I realised it doesnt have a CD drive.

I currently have an Alpine 9855R with iPod connector - but the controls for trying to change playlist are near impossible to use while moving! This looks much better - but no CD drive puts me right off.

Maybe I'll hang on for another 6 months and they'll make a better one!
 
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crxvtec

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I have a lot of CDs too. I'll be buying a CHA-634S as well, to sit in my glovebox. It's a shame the unit doesn't have a CD mechanism but for those with 30Gb or larger iPods, they ought to get off their butts and move all their CD content to MP3 or AAC!
 
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p3eps

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To be honest I rarely use a CD in my current stereo as I have 2 iPods and one lives in my car. It occasionally gets into my house for an update, but then is straight back outside!!

I've noticed the stereo also takes USB sticks which is a bonus too. I wonder if you can use them AND the iPod at the same time... or if the iPod is connected via USB?

I suppose I was scared of swapping my tape player for a CD player many years ago - this is essentially the same thing... but I think it would be handy to still have a CD player!

I've been looking for a price for the bluetooth module, but I assume its a 'coming soon' device too as no where seems to list it.

The idea is growing on me... so I think I might pre-order one. I'd also like the bluetooth module as my Parrot CK3300 GPS handsfree kit is currently for sale on ebay! I'll just have to use a headset when I get my DC5 on Friday until this Alpine badboy is out!!
 
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