I have an '01 XE, and I'd like to replace the head unit. Being a double DIN stereo in there now, I need something to fill both slots. Blaupunkt has the Tokyo receiver and a 5 disk in dash player for 400 bucks for the pair. I've heard some less than glowing reviews of Blau on this board, so I was wondering if anyone had some other ideas. I really like the in dash CD player, but I haven't seen any others like it. At least not in Crutchfield.

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Eric Konarske
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4

There are plenty of in dash options out there. Do you want tape and cd? Or just CD? Any single din(normal size) cd player can be installed in the X, a pocket will be put underneath it to take up the extra spot. If you absolutely have to fill up the entire opening, qite a few manufacturers make double din units in CD only and cd/tape units. Lets see, JVC, pioneer, alpine, kenwood(I think). I have had no direct experience with blaupunkt...Im not a big fan of them but I only have heard this through friends bad experiences. I used to sell them and hey were decent qualiy units that alot of people went to b/c they dont have such a "flashy" display. Most of them are pretty straight forward unit. Heck, Im fairly certain porsche still uses Blaupunkt so they cant be that bad! So, there are ALOT of options out there just depending on what your looking for. This in dash changer would be convienient. There are a handful of those out on the market. Hope this gives you some more info on the situation.
John

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I don't care about the tape, but I really want the in-dash changer. With the Blaupunkt one slot is filled with the receiver and the other slot is filled with the 5 disc changer. I really like that Idea. I could just get a regular changer and put the storage pocket in the other slot, but I really got tired of digging for the CD changer under the seat on my last car. I didn't see any other manufacturers who make an in-dash. And yes, the display on the Blaupunkts much less flashy than many of the other ones I saw. I want good music--not a light show.

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Eric Konarske
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4

[This message has been edited by ILUVMYX (edited February 01, 2001).]

I don't have any direct experience with Blaupunkt either, but I would never get one based on what I've heard about them.

If one brand of any consumer product is significantly cheaper than the rest of the field, there's probably a reason. Granted, that's not ALWAYS true, but it's like they say....you get what you pay for!

I have had a Blau. Munchen in my X for a year now with no problems. Sounds great, I'm very happy with it. They do tend to run larger face plates than the Japanese Din radios. I had to trim about an 1/8" from both sides of the moulding to get it to fit flush in the dash.

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Chris Coyle
'00 Black SE 5spd 4x4
Tri-Cities, WA

I agree, but I don't know if that is really cheap. It's $400 for the reciever and changer, but they're $650 individually. Crutchfield gives a package rate. Plus I don't really have anything else to compare it to since I haven't found any other in-dash changers.

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Eric Konarske
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4

Ther are much better places to shop than Crutchfield, well I should say much less expensive. This is where I bought my Kenwood 9015 CD player...delivered in 2 days. http://www.sbhcorp.com/strken.htm#double

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I absolutely love my Blaupunkt Denver, of which I have had for 4 years now. It has an excellent tuner, and crisp, clear CD audio.

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:wq!
wqbang@southeastxterraclub.org

Nakamichi, alpine, pioneer, eclipse, all make in dash units. Granted they are a little harder to find. I looked at the Tokyo for 250, and the indash changer for 220...so 400 isnt a bad deal. The alpine unit is an indash 3 disc. I think all the rest are seperate units that you have to buy a master unit/ slave unit, similar to the blaupunkt. Not a bad deal for the price point. Just keep in mind there are other models out there to choose from. Dont always limit yourself to Crutchfield or retail stores. Look around, you may be suprised at the deals ou find. When I sold car audio the markup was around 70-100%, so you may be able to find a variety of prices. Ive seen some insane deals on ebay, you may want to check there. Hope this adds to the confusion!
John

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Blaupunkt alternatives?

Heh. ANYTHING!

I've had no luck with 'em and so far my experience is that they're CRAP. I've had to replace a volume/on-off knob on a receiver, which is now useless because the "security feature" locked the damned thing. Gotta go back to the factory. Then, I had a powered amp/EQ that just blew. Cheaper to buy a new one than to fix it!

Bah. No more Blaupunkt for me.

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2001 Solar Yellow SE 4x4 V6 5spd

In the car stereo industry most people refer to Blaubunkt as Blaujunk. Porsche does not use Blaupunkt anymore, most of the units are made by Alpine and Sony.

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Gary T.
2001 Silver Ice
4x4 SE Auto

ILUVMYX,

I just finished installing the exact system you are inquiring about. The factory speakers sound better now but still need to be replaced.
Basic functions are easy enough while driving but for any other adjustments you may as well pull over as it will require you to sort through countless menu items.
The A09 changer works reasonably well. It's a bit slow when changing from one disc to the next but it makes up for this by being noisy :~) (Much better than the old Alpine three disc changers though!)
Two real complaints I have with the changer are:
1.) The fact that it will try to play a CD and at the same time attempt to verify all other CD locations at the same time. ( think SS-TT-UU-TT-TT-EE-RR)
2.)When you are playing a CD from the changer and replace one of the other dics in the changer it will pause the one that is playing when the other is ejected and again when a new one is inserted.

I found the install to be fairly simple but you will need to remove some material from the factory panel and possibly part of the trim ring on the changer. This will depend on how much material you remove from the factory panel.

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Whoa a second! You got a Tokyo and the changer both in the dash? I ordered that stuff and ended up sending it back because I saw no way to mount both. They sent me a mounting kit, but it only held the receiver. I called Crutchfield's technical support and before I even told the guy the problem, he said it wouldn't work (he just looked at my order and said it wouldn't work). I know there's room, but with the mounting stuff they supplied there was no way. How did you get yours mounted. Again, I went with that one because it was the only thing I could really find that had a five disc changer that mounted in the dash. I was sad to send it back.

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Eric Konarske
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4

I didn't use a mounting kit. ;~)

I used both of the supplied mounting cages, one right below the other. That's why I mentioned having to remove part of the trim ring on the A09 unit.
I have a small pic of it installed but didn't take any of the process.
It's not online but I will e-mail it to you if you like.

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Yes, please do. ekonarske@yahoo.com Thanks!

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Eric Konarske
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4

Eric,

Check your e-mail...

Feel free to post the pics if you like.

Regards

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Eric,

One other thing to keep in mind is that Blaupunkt also makes a cable so you can mount the changer in remote locations. If you didn't want to do a lot of work on the dash it could be mounted in the console with one of their short extention kits.

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Thanks! I got it. I thought about mounting it somewhere else but that's really a waste of money. The 10 disc changer (twice as many CDs) is 40 bucks less than the five. So if I was going to mount it somewhere else I would get that one anyway.

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Eric Konarske
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4

You should be able to use the factory radio brackets on those units... Should bolt right on the changer and the cd player... I dont know why they would send an install kit for that since is a double DIN and you are put 2 DIN units in there... We have installed quite a few radios in Xterras in my shop as well as my own and there shuld not be a problem...

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2001 Aztec Red XE V-6

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The reason is the Blaupunkt receiver and changer don't have any screw holes at all. Only a very very thin flimsy piece of metal with a bunch of tabs meant to be bent to hold the deck in place. Even if it wasn't too thin for screws, it fits too tight around the deck to put screws in. That cheesy way of mounting they came up with is fine if you have a single din hole you're puting it in. That's why they sent the mounting adapter. I think they did it because it makes removal very easy--they give you a tool that you stick through some holes and the deck comes out without taking the dash apart. Personally I'd prefer to take the dash apart.

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Eric Konarske
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4