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Thread: Do single din stereos look "cheap"?

  1. #11
    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fc321 View Post
    Yes CobraJet it does.

    I had my eye on this Planet Audio one for $51 shipped and includes the free wiring harness and trim dash kit (A 17$ value) Its 60w x 4 so I should be fine without an amplifier

    https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item...-PB455RGB.html

    Attachment 12156
    What advantages does this deck offer over the factory radio in the Mirage?



  2. #12
    Senior Member fc321's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cobrajet View Post
    What advantages does this deck offer over the factory radio in the Mirage?
    * 60w x 4 output (17 RMS) - (much higher than factory)
    * Bluetooth phone calls (my car did not come with bluetooth at all)
    * SD car slot
    * Consistent folder hierarchy system (So that chapters in my audiobook will play in the proper sequence)
    * Better equalizer and better sound quality
    * Remote control so kids in the backseat can change the station and annoy Daddy
    * Looks cooler

    These benefits to me are worth the 51 dollars. Also it has rca outputs in case I decide to add an amplifier in the future

    I wonder if I should just add the amplifier since I have an old one from my old car so all I would need to buy is $13 for an amp wiring kit. The amp I have is a smaller amp with not so many watts:

    Alpine MRP-F250

    4-channel car amplifier
    40 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms (50 watts RMS x 4 at 2 ohms)
    100 watts RMS x 2 bridged output at 4 ohms (4-ohm stable in bridged mode)
    2-, 3-, or 4-channel output
    Variable high-pass/low-pass filters (50-400 Hz, 12 dB/octave)
    Tuned Bass EQ (12 dB bass boost at 50 Hz for channels 3 & 4)
    Subsonic filter (15 Hz, 24 dB/octave for channels 3 & 4)
    Tri-way capable (Tri-Way Crossover required)
    MOSFET power supply
    CEA-2006 compliant
    STAR Topology (minimizes internal noise and prevents ground interference)
    Speaker- and preamp-level inputs
    Preamp outputs
    Gold-plated screw terminals
    Fuse rating: 15A x 2
    10-gauge power and ground leads recommended — wiring and hardware not included with amplifier
    11-1/4"W x 2-3/8"H x 9-9/16"D

    EDIT: Disregard that....... I am def not going to install an amplifier. This is getting too complicated and I dont want to reduce my gas mileage

    EDIT2: Actually I am going to install my old amplifier afterall. The ambivalence is tremendous
    Last edited by fc321; 07-16-2018 at 05:23 PM.
    2015 Mirage DE 5 speed Manual - 30k miles

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 44.9 mpg (US) ... 19.1 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 53.9 mpg (Imp)


  3. #13
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    Nice perks for not much money!

    Quote Originally Posted by fc321 View Post
    * 60w x 4 output (17 RMS) - (much higher than factory)
    * Bluetooth phone calls (my car did not come with bluetooth at all)
    * SD car slot
    * Consistent folder hierarchy system (So that chapters in my audiobook will play in the proper sequence)
    * Better equalizer and better sound quality
    * Remote control so kids in the backseat can change the station and annoy Daddy
    * Looks cooler

    These benefits to me are worth the 51 dollars. Also it has rca outputs in case I decide to add an amplifier in the future

    [/B]
    For $51, you are getting some nice features! I have a 2017 Mirage ES (manual). The center armrest & bluetooth were added to my car prior to purchase. I must admit that I like the bluetooth more than I thought I would. Talking to someone hands free is especially nice when driving a manual. I also like the bluetooth linking up with google maps. I usually know where I am going, but google maps has taken me around some major traffic accidents/jams. It has saved me a chunk of time on a number of trips already. It's not like my phone couldn't do this on its own, but it is nicer with the bluetooth feature.

    Since you like audiobooks, you'll appreciate having a system that handles those better! If you can get all those benefits for $51, I feel it is a no brainer. I am sometime leery of low price electronics, but I would be more upset if I spent a lot of money & still wasn't satisfied. If you should decide to go this route, I hope you share how much you like it afterwards. Good luck!

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  5. #14
    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    I am going to assume that you no longer play CDs, as that deck does not have a CD player.

    Personally, if it were my car, I'd spend a little bit more money to get a name brand deck that was a little nicer instead of getting the absolute cheapest thing I could find. The Pioneer MVH-S400BT is around $85 on Ebay...



    I find it strange that you are worried about a stereo looking 'cheap'...then opt for the kind of $50, bottom-rung, no-name deck one might find at a flea market.
    Last edited by Cobrajet; 07-16-2018 at 01:48 PM.

  6. #15
    Senior Member fc321's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cobrajet View Post
    I am going to assume that you no longer play CDs, as that deck does not have a CD player.

    Personally, if it were my car, I'd spend a little bit more money to get a name brand deck that was a little nicer instead of getting the absolute cheapest thing I could find. The Pioneer MVH-S400BT is around $85 on Ebay...



    I find it strange that you are worried about a stereo looking 'cheap'...then opt for the kind of $50, bottom-rung, no-name deck one might find at a flea market.
    Hmmm, you make a good point. I guess I just assumed that the headunits at the entry level price point where all pretty much equal. Also this brand Planet Audio is offering a 3 year warranty which was better than the 1 year given by most others. In this case it is too late to change my mind since the package is already in transit. But yeah, if I had read your message earlier I would have actually gone with that Pioneer that you linked, it looks really nice and for thirty extra bucks I agree with you.

    In the end I actually DID decide to use my old amplifier (since I already own it and I cant really sell it for a good price since nobody wants a 10 year old model). So I will be making a very detailed post and planning to make a YouTube tutorial and I hope this will be helpful to your members

    EDIT: Yes I chose no CD on purpose. I dont use CDs and I find its just a component that will waste electricity and is prone to potential failure because of moving parts.

    I am going to be loading my audiobooks and music onto an SD card (Dont want an ugly USB stick on the front poking out)

    I also scheduled the air bag recall to take care of it tomorrow before I start farting around with an aftermarket stereo. I have a deep distrust of car dealerships and the loopholes they use to deny warranty coverage. I had a terrible experience with Ford dealership on my previous car.

    Update: Im already starting to regret buying the Planet Audio radio. Just found out that while a song is playing that it wont show the clock, only the filename and the track progress timer. Tech support told me that there is no way to change this and that I have to press the "clk" button to display the clock.

    ARRGGGGG!!!!! This kind of thing is going to drive me crazy.
    Last edited by fc321; 07-16-2018 at 08:02 PM.
    2015 Mirage DE 5 speed Manual - 30k miles

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 44.9 mpg (US) ... 19.1 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 53.9 mpg (Imp)


  7. #16
    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fc321 View Post
    Hmmm, you make a good point. Update: Im already starting to regret buying the Planet Audio radio. Just found out that while a song is playing that it wont show the clock, only the filename and the track progress timer. Tech support told me that there is no way to change this and that I have to press the "clk" button to display the clock.

    ARRGGGGG!!!!! This kind of thing is going to drive me crazy.
    Did you buy it from Sonic Electronix? I have dealt with them in the past, but never done a return. What kind of return policy do they have?

  8. #17
    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    The MVH-600BS is $99, and has a feature I love. You can change the color of the button back-lighting to anything you want. I would hate having orange back-lighting in the rest of the car and bright blue back-lighting for the radio (unless I was a Broncos fan or something).

    https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item...VH-S600BS.html

    PS: They have 60 day "hassle-free" returns, soooo...

  9. #18
    Senior Member fc321's Avatar
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    Actually the company Sonic Electronix is horrible to deal with (ref: customer service) they have a really bad reputation for not answering the phone or responding to emails. I dont mean they take a long time, I mean they DONT respond to your emails AT ALL.

    https://www.yelp.com/biz/sonic-electronix-sylmar-2

    I contacted them on Monday asking to add some crimp caps to my order and they never replied, just shipped out the original order. So if anyone is going to deal with them make sure you know EXACTLY what you want to order and add all items to cart before making payment. In general I stay away from companies with a bad reputation but in this case I was just looking for the lowest price and since I needed the trim dash kit that costs $17 and above that is why I decided to go with this company (since they include that for free + free wiring harness).

    Also decided to buy the cheap Planet Audio radio (for sake of being a cheapskate) because it has a 3 year warranty. But the fine print is that the company Planet Audio will ask you to ship them the defective radio (Which will cost alot to ship, maybe thirty bucks) and if we are talking about a $51 radio well.....You can see the problem here.

    Maybe I should have just bought a "hot" stereo from the Pawn Shop. I am kidding, I dont like to support meth-heads and thieves by purchasing stolen merchandise
    2015 Mirage DE 5 speed Manual - 30k miles

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 44.9 mpg (US) ... 19.1 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 53.9 mpg (Imp)


  10. #19
    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fc321 View Post
    Actually the company Sonic Electronix is horrible to deal with (ref: customer service) they have a really bad reputation for not answering the phone or responding to emails. I dont mean they take a long time, I mean they DONT respond to your emails AT ALL.

    https://www.yelp.com/biz/sonic-electronix-sylmar-2

    I contacted them on Monday asking to add some crimp caps to my order and they never replied, just shipped out the original order. So if anyone is going to deal with them make sure you know EXACTLY what you want to order and add all items to cart before making payment. In general I stay away from companies with a bad reputation but in this case I was just looking for the lowest price and since I needed the trim dash kit that costs $17 and above that is why I decided to go with this company (since they include that for free + free wiring harness).

    Also decided to buy the cheap Planet Audio radio (for sake of being a cheapskate) because it has a 3 year warranty. But the fine print is that the company Planet Audio will ask you to ship them the defective radio (Which will cost alot to ship, maybe thirty bucks) and if we are talking about a $51 radio well.....You can see the problem here.

    Maybe I should have just bought a "hot" stereo from the Pawn Shop. I am kidding, I dont like to support meth-heads and thieves by purchasing stolen merchandise
    I bought from them on Ebay. As a matter of fact, I think I DID have to do a return with them. But I had Ebay and Paypal backing me up. Of course, this was probably at least 8-10 years ago!

  11. #20
    Senior Member stevedmc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by fc321 View Post
    Do you feel that single din aftermarket stereos look "cheap" and "tacky"? What will girls on a date think about a single din stereo?
    The real question is, do Mitsubishi Mirages look cheap? Depending on a girls background, she might make fun of the car or it could be an upgrade for her.

    I try to go for the ones that don't own a car or house. It doesn't take much to impress them.



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