e harmon

None of my comments were intended to "jump" on anyone. I would like to think of this as good discussion.

I too am trying to be helpful, as I think we'll agree there are many mistakes that can be made when shopping for sound equipment. There is a very large middle ground between FM modulated sound and uncompressed CD audio, and in that middle ground there are pleasant solutions at good price/performance.

It does not necessarily have to be seen as "hassle" to experiment with an HU. Compared to doing so in say, a W220, it is very simple and reversible, as long as the installation is not unnecessarily invasive--such as replacing or cutting stock wiring. Two adaptor harnesses, both available at Best Buy or Circuit City for about $10-$15 each (or free from Crutchfield if you buy the HU from them), enable you to install an aftermarket HU, without having to cut any stock wiring.

Vardar, if you're still reading, if you shop at Circuit City for your new radio and are considering purchasing installation, I would suggest asking if they intend on cutting any factory wiring, and weighing that into your decision. No need to take my word for it; search the forums here and at club202.com. Good luck.

Regards,

e harmon

VAamg

eharmony, I don't mind a good discussion either. I apprecaite the comebacks.

AS for Darth VARDAR, a word of warning, while the advantage of Circuit City of Best Buy is they will resintall the factory system should you change your mind (or wish to sell the car neither of them in my area would install a head unit and use the Bose Amps, they just create a lot of problems and are hesitant to fool with it. However, if you purchase a unit and decide to do it yoruself or with Staples help or something, I would reccomend Crutchfield. I used to work with them at their headquarters in Charlottesville when I was with Sony and found everything about the company to be top notch.

My xm radio is messing up on me, so it looks like I have some work to do myself.

e harmon

Based on the known limitations of Bose amps and speakers, they are only likely to cause headaches if the proprietary components of the equation are meddled with, such as powering non-Bose speakers with Bose amps or powering Bose speakers with non-Bose amps (including HU power). For many manufacturers, the "standard" and the "Bose" systems use identical head units, from which we can infer that the head unit is likely interchangable in many Bose configurations, such as ours.

I researched this thorougly before changing my head unit. For those who changed the head unit using the VW adaptor and the procedure described by psnji on club202.com, I found no reports of amplifer or speaker problems as a result of the change. Fourteen months and counting for me, with no problems. If one can muddle through matching the wire for "right rear +" and "constant power" on the new HU's harness to the same wire on the VW harness, I do not see a downside.

The Circuit City and Best Buy stores you mentioned are either (a) playing it safe, (b) approaching the prospect from a narrow perspective, or (c) they know something that defies the months of discussion on club202.com, and the aggregate years of experience of the posters. My vote is somewhere between (a) and (b).

And FYI, I am in no way affiliated with the match making web site.

Regards,

e harmon

VAamg

[
The Circuit City and Best Buy stores you mentioned are either (a) playing it safe, (b) approaching the prospect from a narrow perspective, or (c) they know something that defies the months of discussion on club202.com, and the aggregate years of experience of the posters. My vote is somewhere between (a) and (b).

or D, want to sell you more stuff, i vote a and d

And FYI, I am in no way affiliated with the match making web site.

of course not, that would be amgmatch.com right?

Regards,

e harmon[/QUOTE]

You got any photos of how your head unit looks in your car?

e harmon

Sure:





Regards,

e harmon

Vardar

Thank you for lot of good info. Here is a NEW problem. My cd cartridge will not come out!!!! And, message says "No Cd Changer"Ouch! I hate it!

It happened before, I took the cartridge out, and problem solved, but now the cartridge will not shoot out.

e harmon

That sounds like a tricky one. Hopefully someone has a direct solution for this, but if nothing else surfaces, here is an idea.

The changer might be in some kind of fault mode, and like other electronic devices, a "reboot" might clear (or help it escape) the fault mode. Rebooting in this case could be accomplished by temporarily removing power from the changer.

This could be accomplished by either pulling the head unit out and detaching and re-attaching the changer cable (as this is where the changer appears to get its power supply), or removing the negative battery cable for a few moments before re-attaching it.

Hopefully you get better advice than this, but here it is anyhow. Good luck with it.

Regards,

e harmon

VAamg

Eharmony, very nice install, very clean. Nice head unit too, JVC's higher end stuff is nice.

Where did you get that shifter? I need a new shifter in a bad way, would like to do one in carbon to match my wheel, but I am hesitant because of cost and having carbon so close to the wood grain.

e harmon

Thanks VAamg-y.

The shifter is from an eBay seller that Vardar discovered, per this thread: https://mbworld.org/forums/c36-amg-c43-amg-w202/140998-quick-thread-amg-gear-knob-installation.html
(Thanks to Vardar for the find.)

Regards,

e harmon

Vardar

My pleasure sir!

I will try to reset the cd player today. Hopefully it will work, it seems like there is no solid connection between the head and CD Changer. On the other hand, cartridge not coming out might be a different problem. I wonder If I should make a new thread to get more attention for my problem

Other advices and comments about this problem is MORE than welcomed.

Thank you