Thanks to another member here, I fitted a GROM BT3 adaptor to the Alpine head unit today.

Took it slowly and it went really well and I didn't manage to break anything.

The bonus is the sound quality .... I couldn't believe it would sound so good playing mp3 from my Android phone.

I have also downloaded Neuron music player fro Android which claims to access the dac in the phone directly and also do some other nice audio tricks.

Now to fit a tablet in the dash if I can sneak it past the War Department!

:) the stock head unit and either DSP or door amps does sound good when paired up with a good source doesn't it!

It was a shame mine was dead/dying when I got the car, or I'd still have it.

Colour me jealous! I had my eye on Sloth's Grom (ooer) but I'd already spent most of a fortune on other bits that month. One day! :)
Enjoy your music

Morat wrote:

Colour me jealous! I had my eye on Sloth's Grom (ooer) but I'd already spent most of a fortune on other bits that month. One day! :)
Enjoy your music

Hey Miles...

Did you get my email from the other week about the bits I had ready for you? I've also just finished replacing the capacitor in a spare driver pack that apparently fails, so I have one of those available aswell as a switchpack and door latch....

:)

Err, let me check. Sounds like good new though!

I have an Alpine head unit and an Alpine CD player/Harmon Kardon amp in the boot. After driving my wife's new Fiesta, I thought it about time to upgrade to DAB. It is so much better. However, I want to keep the CD player. I have invested a lot in their Alpine AiNet system. I also want to add blue tooth and hands free.
The best solution I have seen so far is: http://www.pure.com/car-audio/products/highway-600
Grom, as I understand it looses the CD player connection. It is either or.

Why does it lose the cd connection?
I use a Parrot ( non DAB) and can switch between all systems.
You can always rip your cds to your phone and play them via bluetooth.

Because the Grom plugs in in place of the CD multichanger. The Pure unit outputs either to a line in socket or uses it's own built in FM transmitter so you just tune your existing FM radio into it. I've got a Kenwood KCD-BT73DAB fitted in my car as there is no way I could keep it original (original was a hole in the dash and base level speakers). I've uprated to the mid line speaker setup but still a sub short of a full set. The Kenwood gives me DAB, FM, CD (MP3 compatible), USB in (x2, one on the front panel and another on a flying lead from the rear), line in, Bluetooth with external mic and full control of the phone from the radio as well as playing music over Bluetooth.

My company van had the worlds crappiest radio, it was so deaf that AM didn't exist and FM only if you can actually see the transmitter, so I bought one of these to use in it http://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/dab-car-stereos/sonichi-s100-digital-radio-adaptor. No Bluetooth but it gives me DAB and a line in socket should I need it. If you do go for DAB, don't bother trying to use a stick on the windscreen aerial. They never work that well at the best of times but are even worse with the heated screen elements. When I first fitted mine in the P38, I tried one on the nearside rear window and it wasn't bad but still left me with big holes in the coverage so I fitted one of these http://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/dab-car-stereos/sonichi-magnetic-roof-mount-dab-antenna at the back of the roof and ran the cable above the headlining. Works perfectly so got the same for the works van. Going to have to buy another though. As I'm off work for a few weeks I took it out of the van and bunged it in the other half's car and I suspect I'm not going to get it back......

The DAB receiver looks interesting Gilbertd. One thing I can't see from the spec is whether it is line-out or an FM rebroadcaster? I've got a bit of an aversion to rebroadcasters as on long trips they always seem to run into a frequency clash. <br>
How long is the mag mount aerial? I've got a feeling that It'd have to be dismounted going into car parks etc as every car park around here has a height restriction bar to keep campervans etc out!

It's got both, line out and FM rebroadcast. The FM rebroadcast automatically changes channel if it detects another signal on the same frequency but it defaults to 87.6 which is clear most of the time. The aerial is only about a foot long and very whippy so no problem with car park barriers either. I did a click and collect when I got mine and got £8 discount too. Not sure if that was a limited offer or not.

Tempting...

The Kenwood does look a nice job Gilbertd. It is £142 on Amazon, so a bit cheaper than the Pure DAB add-on receiver:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kenwood-Receiver-Bluetooth-Variable-Illumination/dp/B00BG6YRFG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8#Ask

I am also looking at this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pure-Headunit-Stereo-Control-Bluetooth/dp/B00PDCNR6Y/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1471612264&sr=1-2&keywords=car+stereo+dab

What is DAB+ ? Is it all going to change soon?

DAB+ gives extra features like scrolling information and additional frequency coverage which the Kenwood can do anyway. I originally bought a Pioneer as I wanted something with green illumination to match the HEVAC and everything else and it had programmable colours but it was very bright and bloody annoying out the corner of your eye at night. The DAB reception wasn't brilliant and it looked a bit too flashy in the dash. When the Kenwood came out, it seemed a lot better, not too out of place and again has programmable display colours. I think the Pure, which is going to be very good, only has white illumination. I suppose it all depends on how original you want it to look.

This is mine with a couple of blanks either side of it to fill in the gaps

Only disadvantage of the Pure unit which Dave mentions above is that it has no facility to be controlled by the steering wheel buttons (not a problem if you don't already have the interface kit anyway) and its quite low 20w RMS power output (again not a problem if you're running into attenuators).

The Kenwood can be controlled by steering wheel buttons but it wasn't something of real importance to me as my steering wheel doesn't have any buttons on it. I'd consider changing it for one that did have buttons as long as it only had buttons for the stereo and not for the cruise control as well as I don't have cruise control.......

I changed my steering wheel for one with stereo buttons thinking it would work out the box but I was told on other forums that there is no way to get them to work, surely there must be an interface or something to do with the steering cassette?

You can fit a PAC SWI-RC, which is a programmable interface, allowing your steering wheel buttons to talk to the remote input on your aftermarket head. <br>
I think Marty has one fitted. I might have, as I have a Sony head and my buttons work. Won't know until I pop the Sony out to fit the attenuators I've just knocked up.

I dont have an aftermarket head though.

I have a PAC SWI-RC too - very good, if not sadly expensive, bit of kit!

I use it with a Pioneer MVH-X560BT. Inexpensive head unit (the SWI-RC can cost more!), but with bluetooth, rear USB and line in, no CD deck, and the colour can be set to whatever you like. Not too bling looking which I like.

Oh. Between early and later P38s the steering wheel controls did change - the resistor values are different for wheels that came in Clarion and Alpine equipped vehicles. Whether the wiring is already there on a car that came without steering wheel controls, I don't know.