MDM

has anybody upgraded the standerd fit or has everybody junked it? if so what size are the speaker enclosures and what have folk fitted that works?
mdm

chiark

Give us a hint on the year

MDM

muppet here its a 03 but me thinks that its identical to the st7? is it a double din fitting etc?

chiark

Yep, junk it - it's poo

Have a search for the thread on double din conversion and you'll see what you need, but in short there's a pocket available from subaru for 11.75, and an autoleads adaptor to just plug in any stereo for a tenner, then the world is the mollusc of your choice... Fit any head unit (with notable exceptions such as the Pioneer 7400, which doesn't fit)

The speakers are unbelievably poor too, particularly the fronts. They need attention. Fit something with is less than 50mm-odd in depth by using an MDF collar, otherwise you're looking at door build territory (see my door build thread)

Budget? Very good MP3 head unit - 300 quid. I've got the Kenwood KDC-PSW9524 which I can recommend, but at 370-odd quid it ain't cheap. Others have the Blaupunkt woodstock and like it, and it's great value as it has a DAB tuner built in too. Others have the pioneer 8400 which is a great unit too. Others still have an alpine - you really can't go wrong with any of those.

Good front speakers - 100 quid for a component set (woofers, tweeters and cross-over)

Fitting will take you around an hour for the head unit if you don't know what you're doing and is very straightforward - instructions are in the FAQ.

Speaker fitting will take about an hour and a half, including making of MDF mounts for the speakers.

Need any help, just shout

MrShades

chiark

What made you go for the KDC-PSW9524 in preference to the Z838W ???

Just wondering, as I can't see much in it functionaly - other than (what looks like) a rotary control and different screen.... and I'm really torn between the two.

Also, all the pictures of the PSW9524 show a very naff screen font - can you change this to something more normal?

Any info or help that you can give me in deciding between the Z and PSW would be very much appreciated - as I'm sure you made the same decision not too long ago.

Thanks

Shades

chiark

Simple really - preferred the look of the 9524. Theft deterrent removable panel is a lot slimmer. Rotary volume control is a better bet IMHO.

Also, the 9524 is new to the 2003 range, so is brand new and has the latest codecs etc for MP3 playback.

Silly as it sounds, the "PS" in the title means it's their "performance series", which is theoretically the top of the range.

The font is changable, yes. There's a standard font, and a silly MICR computer font style thing that's a bit naff.

Have a play, see what you prefer. Both strike me as good units, and I'm chuffed with the PSW9524.

Cheers,
Nick.

MDM

cheers for that info i shall rush of and order one 2moro.mdm

chiark

Have a read of the review first - there's other cracking head units around. However, saying that, I don't think you can go wrong with it

(for the review, search on kdc-psw9524 from March onwards )