patNS

Cheap Head Unit

Hi everyone,
I am a former car audio enthusiast who has been out of the game for more than 10 years. I am so out of the loop that I do not know what is good and what is not anymore. I had Eclipse, Boston Acoustics, and Precision Power amps in the past. I shamefully now have a stock cassette/CD player in my explorer ( I know!!!).
I am looking for advice on a head unit for my wife's 2004 Camry. She has the stock CD/cassette now. The reason we want to replace it is that it hums loudly when going near power wires etc., like interference. This occurs with tape, CD, and radio. The head unit and the back glass have been replaced already with no improvement. The dealer says it is just something with that head unit and cannot be remedied. Her and I cannot stand the way it sounds and want it to stop.
So, we are looking for a cheap head unit to power the factory speakers. The only requirement is that it does not sound worse than the OEM one, it plays CD's, and it preferably plays MP3's. Any suggestions in the $100 range?
Thanks,
Pat

Dean_S

I've been out of the car audio business for many years but I know all of my BMWs for the past 14 years have seperate amps. Does the camry have an amp or is it all integrated into the head unit. The reason I ask is that the humming you are experiencing us common on aftermarket systems that run amplifiers with Mosfet chips. Many Mosfet amps (Rockford Fosgate is particularly bad) have RFI noise. My last two systems did this on AM only and it was unbearable with the Fosgates. I switched to Phoenix Gold (still Mosfet) and it's alot better now, at least I can listen to AM without getting a headache. The reason I ask if the car has an external amp is that if you get a new HU you will need to get rid of the amp if you want to solve the problem...this might require some extra wiring or knowledge of the ins and out on the amp so you can wire it out of the system. It will also help to know if the amp has crossovers built in (again, BMWs are like this)...so if you get rid of the amp in BMW and stick with the OEM speakers then you also need crossovers.

JeremySt

Ive got a Clarion DXZ545MP that I used for 3 months in my VW. Normally $250... Id sell it for $100.

Mark gas

Kenwood is always good on a low budget.
here are 2
http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/2043
http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/2556

patNS

I found out that there is a separate amp. The dealer didn't even know until recently. They are going to replace that and we'll see what happens. Thanks for all the help.

Pat