New Car Radio...oh dear...

[Taylor]

Hey Folks,

I was in halfords, and as I have a crap car, chose a relatively cheap
car-radio.

I went for a goodmans GCE-7207i - as it has a direct ipod input which
charges the ipod. The equivelant kenwood was £199, but this model was £99 in
halfords with free fitting.

It did say in the shop 4x40w, but I have since discovered from the manual
it's actually 4x20w - so halfords had a misleading sign up.

As I have factory-fitted car speakers, and presuming I get a new car etc in
the future, is 4x20w okay for someone who just listens to music and mp3 cds,
etc? I woint be fitting a subwoofer etc I don't think, but from what i
could surmise from google-groups, 4x20w is on-par with factory-fitted
radios.

So in otherwords, is this goodmans product a heap of mince?

Any thoughts appreciated ;-)

[NeedforSwede2]

Post by Taylor
So in otherwords, is this goodmans product a heap of mince?

It'll make music and cover the engine noise, just don't expect it to
fool you into thinking you really are in the last night of the proms.

Cheap headunits are fine in car 90% time. It is the last 10% (volume,
quality or clarity) that makes the more expensive ones worth while when
you want it. If it is similar to a factory system, and you still have
factory speakers, it may still sound better for certain things, but you
won't need to replace the speakers straight away to use it.

[Avanti]

Post by NeedforSwede2

Post by Taylor
So in otherwords, is this goodmans product a heap of mince?

It'll make music and cover the engine noise, just don't expect it to
fool you into thinking you really are in the last night of the proms.
Cheap headunits are fine in car 90% time. It is the last 10% (volume,
quality or clarity) that makes the more expensive ones worth while when
you want it. If it is similar to a factory system, and you still have
factory speakers, it may still sound better for certain things, but you
won't need to replace the speakers straight away to use it.

I agree with the summary of the Goodmans HU, however some manufacturers are
considering ICE as it is readily available as an option, previous to my MK4
Golf I had to upgrade all speakers add a sub and multi-amp set up, the MK4
Golf didn't need touching, I just changed the HU from cassette to MD, the MK
Golf is alo fine, so my amps etc are just sitting in the loft.....