;)Hello all i was wondering what stereo's you have all put in and if you still have use of all 8 speakers and the cd changer in the boot? I want to get a stereo for the car but want it to have an ipod interface not just an audio input like some stereo's.

I dont want to spend more than 200 ether any sugestions? :confused:

I've got a kenwood headunit with the kenwood IP500 ipod interface attatched. It works well but doesn't allow for the cd changer to be attatched also which is a shame. Having said that, iPods are supposedly there to replace large CD collections anyway! It's certainly no problem for me since the headunit has a single CD slot in it for desperate times.

On top of this, the iPod HAS to be controlled via the headunit buttons. As when it is plugged in, a kenwood logo appears on the screen and the iPod buttons become functionless.

I've disconnected the rear speakers as they distort way before the fronts do ruining sound, and instead i'm running an amp connected to a couple of boxes sat on the boot floor to provide rear sound. All in all that cost me about a shade under 200. But the sound is very impressive.

Another thing to do on the mk1 Octavias is take the front speaker out and remove a section of the door skin behind it. This improves the front sound so much. I deemed it not nessasary to replace the front speakers at all!

I have just fitted an alpine CDE 103bt head unit and can thoroughly recommend it has the ipod dock which you can scroll through from the head unit ,has usb pen drive playback ,but for me the best part is the bluetooth parrot function that syncs with your phone and with the supplied external mike makes hands free mobile calls a breeze all for £160 .

The sound quality is a lot better even with standard speakers .

I have since replaced the front speakers with some infinity components which did take a bit of cutting and bending of the door metal work to fit properly and added a small sub in the boot to boost the bass. I took the advice from others here about running the power cable for the sub under the car as i didnt fancy stripping out the glove box and scuttle panel to run the wire

For future reference, there is a "buzz bar" underneath the dash, driver side. Behind the panel above the pedals, 2 torxs screws and it's undone, simple and easy location to route the cable under the door sill trim. This is where I ran my amp live from as the bar is only live with ignition on. This saves having to go to the engine bay at all, meaning you can run all 3 cabes, (audio, swicth and live feed) all from the dash area! Miles easier!

Might be worth considering PArrot RKI8400. Its abit more expensive but looks the part.

Has anyone got one?

Have just bought an Alpine iDA x301, its just an ipod headunit, has no cd slot at all, and you can't use your changer (dont need one with an ipod). It has a dedicated ipod and usb drive lead coming from the rear so will charge the ipod too. Have these both going into the glovebox. Basically you have a shuttle jog type dial in the middle that controls your ipod, its kinda like a click wheel, so you can scroll through playlists, albums etc. check out the link below, they charge an extra 10 for shipping and it didn't require any other wiring loom just an aeirial booster which was £10.

Alpine iDA X301 iPod USB Car Audio Receiver - Audio Images (UK) Ltd

The sound quality is excellent, i've still got the factory fronts, but replaced the rears with some £30 kenwoods and didn't connect the rear tweeters. Sounds good for the money i spent but i'm sure the speakers are now limiting the ability of the headunit.

On a huge plus side, the headunit lights up green, maybe a bit girlee but i had to keep the colour the same as the dash!!!

JCB, what do you mean by door skin? Do you mean trimming our metal, plastic or card?

Cheers,

iep

Sorry what I mean is the insulation membrane. The grey foamy "skin". Behind the speaker, you'll see a panel which is, for some odd reason, stuck on with glue. Like it was an afterthought (along the lines of skoda fitting the membrane and suddenly reaslising they left a hole behind where the speaker sits!)

I carefully peeled off this section and whallah, FAR better quality from the front pair! Most noticabaly is deeper bass.

Some people say this can cause a problem with moisture intrusion. Because of this I was very careful and kept checking after a rainy day or two in order to make sure nothing was leaking or damp, or the panel would have simply been glued back in.

However, i'm happy to say that to this day, i've not had any problems yet. Can't say it will be the same for everyone, so if you do decide to do this, keep an eye on things. Alternitvely, someone came up with an idea of using duct tape to create an arch in the gap, where by block water, but still allowing the speaker to breathe into the door cavity, which afterall, is the whole aim and method of why the speaker improves so vastly.

I'm going to do this tomorrow. You still not had any moisture intrusion Jcb?