I was planning on buying an Alpine 7893 but the guy at Circuit City says that it,along with most aftermark head units,wont control the factory CD changer. It does have cd changer controls built into it but the guy said that it will only control an Alpine changer.

What are my option here? What have you guys done about this problem?

Thanks
Andy G

 

Got a mp3 player instead to make room for the sub enclosure in back

 

Ditto, took it out and made room for twin audiobahn 12" subs and a 2300W single channel audiobahn amp. I also put a 250amp Ohio Generators alternator.

 

There are no aftermarket radios that will work with factory cd changers that i know of,,, an option if you wish use use the factory head unit would be to buy a good amp/speakers,,5x7's all the way around fit easily, or some other sizes will fit with modifications to the speaker holes. I would reccomend any ppi amp,, the new alpine type r speakers, boston acoustics, or polk audio speaker setups. A sub will do you a ton of good as well, there are many cheaper setups that are available that will fit in an L if you do a search for it. I've found that the sound to noise ratio of car mp3 players doesn't get along so well with my ears and i like to listen to all sorts of music and love to turn it up when i get the chance. If you upgrade the head unit,, alpine i've found is one of the best possible,, their new bass engine series with the v-drive puts out 108 decibal sound to noise ratio, 60x4 watts power (27x4 watts rms) The best for the money with these options i found was the alpine 7873 ( an exact copy of the 7875, only with grean buttons and no silver in it,,, but $100 cheaper,,,, actual apline rep quoted this for me when i asked him what the dif was between the two).

~Toast

 

Crazyone's the Audiophile here !!! He does this
stuff all the time .....

Think he's in Taladaga today though ...

 

the factory cd-changer can't be controlled by an aftermarket HU. For the life of me I can't remember who makes the cd-changer right now. I will post it when it comes to me. Back in the day you could hook up after market HU with factory cd-changers, some cars you still can. I haven't seen anyone with much luck with these units

 

Clarion makes the factory changer, but the protocols they use for the OEM stuff is entirly differant from an aftermarket. So no you cannot use your factory changer.

My suggestion is to put the alpine 6 disc in its place.

I have the 7893 and LOVE it, and waiting on the 6 disc mp3/dvd changer to arrive. I also have the XM radio with it, and would say i will probably never use the changer.

Brandon

PS thanks for talkin me up there cliff -=)

 

Well hell this sucks!!!!!!!!

I was seriuosly looking forward to getting an Alpine but I dont want to give up my changer either.

Im not sure what I'll do now. Might just amp my POS factory stereo.

I appreciate the help guys.
Andy G

 

If you want to install an aftermarket 6 disc changer, most will fit in the space under the front of the center seat. That's where a lot of people with Alpine CHA-S6x4's have theirs. It's really easy to use in this location, and leaves space behind the seats for subs/amps.

 

Yep, fits 'snug' there, just gotta watch the seat release bar(assuming you would ever move your pass seat forward)

Adding the alpine opens many doors for you to toy with, digital sat radio, multiple changers, navigation, mp3 ect ect. Add in the extra power (which makes the factory speakers sound WAY better) and the ability to cleanly add a sub or amp. the 7893 has built in x overs, sub control and time alignment.

Sooo i'd bite the bullet and upgrade!

B

 

I went thru the same problem. Right now, my stock changer is just collecting dust back there. When Pioneer comes out with an MP3 changer, I will replace it with one.
a 10 disc changer, each disc holds over 150+ songs, that is 1500 songs, no need to touch it!!!!

 

qball,

only a rare few will do that, jags use a m bus alpine, and I have hooked changers up direct without adaptors soo assuming you had the aftermarket cable(one that will plug into new deck and old changer usually would have to make one as the factory changers typically use diffeant conector types) you could do it. Most of the mercedes and bmw's use alpine changers(some bmw's use clarion) and can be made work by repinning the cable. (OEM units use differant pinout on control cables)

B

 

Crazy-

Yup, i didn't go that deep in my post. I used to do this **** for a living I am just about to redo my L. I have a kenwood mp3 player indash now(for sale) hehe Think I am gonna do some pretty cool stuff in the L now

Take care man!

Qball

 

Call me crazy but one day I was listenning to a CD in my L and I had it turned up and my friend hit the #5 button which says "comp" on it. I noticed the sound got a lot cleaner and louder. Has anybody else done this. When you press it a "c" shows up next to the track number. I am dumb for not knowing this b4 or cool for finding it out>??? LoL. -Mat-

 

Comp = compression. It compresses the dynamic range, so quiet passages are louder and loud passages are quieter. In theory it reduces the 'fidelity', but in practice it is very useful in a noisy environment. When I had the stock headunit (and no Dynamat Extreme) in my L I used COMP frequently.