Aura to Alpine?

[Sean Bagel]

Hi all,

On the back of my Aura code experience I want to get a new head unit - I was think of a DAb one but I don't listen to that much DAB so have decided on an MP3 unit with a single cd.

I like the idea of an Alpine - can anyone vouch for them?

Halfords seem to have some good stereos from peanuts up to a lot - I'm looking to spend < £200.

Any recommendations?

Thanks!

 

[8bit]

Yep, I have the Alpine IDA-X305. Was about £250ish though but it's a great headunit. No CD player though, radio and iPod only, although it will work with an Alpine CD changer if you need that.

Just re-read your post and realised that doesn't really fit what you're looking for but Alpine headunits are generally very good. The mrs. MX-5 has a double-din one which has iPod/USB and a single CD player and sounds great, double-din is a bit more of a faff to fit in a Leon though. You should be able to get a good Alpine unit that fits your budget.

EDIT - don't just buy from Halfrauds though, shop around online.

 

[Sean Bagel]

Thanks 8 bit, an old school friend used to have Alpine head units in his cars back in the day and they always seem very good - he even had a graphic equalizer as a separate unit!

i did see last night and am currrently looking at the CDE120-RR which was the best in 2011 according to their website, plus it's red illumination too.

I'm after something I can plug a memory stick into so I can play MP3's and maybe ultimately an MP3 player plus a single CD drive which the 120 has.

I put a bunch of CD's in my Aura's head unit today and it keeps saying error from time to time.

Showing my age now too but I'm keen to get good MW reception for R5 live - currently it just crackles, but I don't know whether a different head unit would make any difference to that?

Sean

 

[8bit]

To be honest the radio reception on mine was probably slightly worse than the Aura. Mk 1 Leons apparently have a signal amplifier built in to the aerial base, could be that yours isn't working.

You can get inline aerial amplifiers for a few quid from eBay though, you plug the aerial connector into it, the other end attaches to the back of the head unit and there's a single power cable that you'll be able to connect to the wiring in the car, that should help a bit. I never use MW tho (in fact I never listen to the radio at all) so I can't say what that's like.

 

[mty12345]

These are the types of adaptor you need to supply power to the aerial with an aftermarket head unit NOTE that the first is ISO to ISO and that the second one is ISO to DIN it depends which connector is on the back of your headunit. In either case just connect the blue wire to a switched positive. ISO to ISO http://www.passionauto.co.uk/products/autoleads-pc5-52-iso-iso-amplified-car-aerial-adaptor.html ISO to DIN http://www.passionauto.co.uk/products/autoleads-pc5-90-iso-din-amplified-car-aerial-adaptor.html

 

[daz1972]

I have just replaced my Aura head unit with a Sony one, needed bluetooth and usb also can be set to one of 35,000 colours!! Model is Sony MEX-BT4000U excellent and only paid £99 was on offer at Halfords.

 

[mk1cupradave]

any ideas if there is a lead so that the cd changer still works????

 

[Sean Bagel]

I have just replaced my Aura head unit with a Sony one, needed bluetooth and usb also can be set to one of 35,000 colours!! Model is Sony MEX-BT4000U excellent and only paid £99 was on offer at Halfords.

35,000 colours - no way!

 

[mty12345]

no, as far as i'm aware no-one has ever managed to get the cd changer to work with an aftermarket headunit. Best thing you can do is sell if you can find someone who needs a replacement and then swap the half size glovebox out for a bigger one from seat dealers

 

[Sean Bagel]

I also have a Kenwood unit over in my parent's loft - it's a KDC5090R I think. I dunno if that would be any good - there was definitely no USB port on it though you could get a cable I think. It's at least 10 years old......

 

[mty12345]

i bought this one (bottom of the page) ( KD-R53) because the illumination matches the red backlighting of the rest of the car almost perfectly and you can dim or brighten the backlight to get perfect balance. You can get it for about £80 now! http://www.jvccaraudioonline.co.uk/products/20/176/jvc-_kd-r53/ ( P.S The cheaper model at top of the page doesn't have the same adjustabillity of the red backlighting)

 

[Sean Bagel]

I'm now thinking of an ALpine CDE-130RR (was looking at a CDE-120RR but for another £5 I could get the 130RR).

Does anyone know how eay/hard it is to remove the Aura and CD and put an Alpine in?

 

[8bit]

Fairly easy tbh. Search in mk1 Leon section for "remove aura", should get a few posts back. Once the stereo is out it should be straightforward enough to see what goes in where. When I got my ida-x305 I got the correct wiring adaptor with it. Only other thing I had to get was that powered aerial thing posted above.

 

[mty12345]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SEAT-AURA...2?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item43a8cdb5a6 Thats the removal keys to get the old stereo out buddy

 

[Sean Bagel]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SEAT-AURA...2?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item43a8cdb5a6 Thats the removal keys to get the old stereo out buddy

Thanks - am watching those already!

 

[jaybeee]

I changed my Aura HU for a Kenwood about 2yrs ago now. I got the fella in the shop to do it (quicker that way lol).

At the time I didn't get the ISO adaptor (PC5-52) installed as I didn't think I'd need MW & AM. But I do want Radio 5 Live now (must be the age thing ha).

Anyway, the Kenwood HU that I have came with removal keys. But they don't seem to work... well, they're not the same as the ones in the ebay link above that is needed to remove the Aura HU.

My question is this: does the cage the HU fits into determine the removal keys needed or is it determined by the HU?

If it's the cage then I'll need to buy the removal keys linked to above as the ones with the Kenwood HU are not the same.
Also, do the removal keys slot at the sides (vertically) or the top/bottom (horizontally)?

tia

 

[MooRzy]

Alpine IDA x100

Red illumination, iPod interface, go for less than £100. really nice headunit

AS for reception, replace your aerial base, mine was £12 from seat, good as new

 

[gdjohny]

i have the same Alpine HU for about 5 years now

 

[adamjb]

I have Alpine IDA X200 and it is pretty good