[Bill-E-BoB]

Just ordered a new CD player from Crutchfield for my truck...I wanted an ipod adapter for my stock head unit...but found this for tons less money. Panasonic CQ-C7203U with the ipod adapter for free. From the reviews I've seen, aftermarket head units with ipod controls are more reliable than the USA-Spec type adapter that plugs into your factory CD Changer controls...Anybody have one? How are they? I've never used a panasonic head unit before so I'm a little apprehensive, I really like Pioneer & Alpine...but couldn't resist this price. I spent $162 & they gave me the following free stuff with it:

-$65 install kit for '06 Taco
-$40 wiring harness for '06 Taco
-"$5" master sheet installation instructions (yeah okay, call it 5 bucks, whatever)
- $25 Itunes gift card
- $40 rebate on polk audio speakers
- $50 Panasonic Ipod Adapter
Total: $225

So basically, I bought all that crap and then they gave me $63 bucks to take the CD player off their hands for 'em...or $23 if I don't end up buying any polk speakers. Either way, friggin' sweet deal! :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:


The deck is pretty sweet, nothing insane...but its got the ipod controls I want, 50 watt peak power, 3 pair of 5 volt preamp outs including a sub channel, day/night display, motorized face with 4 different display angles, animated screensaver type crap, a remote, decent EQ, MP3/WMA playback, everything I'll ever need it to do & then some...at least until I cave in & decide I have to have an indash monitor. According to UPS I should be receiving it tomorrow, so I'll install it over the weekend...I'm psyched! :clapping:

Oh, and in case it wasn't already a good enough deal...they gave me a referral code for friends, if you enter code# pzkh1-3sgs5-zacys they'll give you $20 bucks off any order over 200 bucks. The guy said I can let as many friends use it as they want...so if you need to buy some gear, help yourself.

That code again ladies and gentlemen, pzkh1-3sgs5-zacys, 20 bucks off, help yourself!!

 

[RexRunner]

nice deal, which installation kit do you get, the black one or the one that matches the interior. silver or w/e you want to call it.

 

[Bill-E-BoB]

Didn't think about that...they never asked. Hopefully silver, I'll find out tomorrow when the package arrives...

Actually, now that I think about it...black might look kinda good, the rest of the dash is black & the vents are silver, so it might look good with just silver vents & everything else in black...

 

[foofighter]

it's so funny that the headunit is such a steal but when you start adding thing like sirius module, bluetooth module it ends up costing more than the HU itself.

 

[Bill-E-BoB]

Yeah, lets see...ipod adapter, 50. sirius tuner, 100. bluetooth kit, 200. Changer, 179. Changer adapter, 20. Expansion module, 130. $679 for all that crap, :looney: Kind of nuts if u ask me, if you've got AM/FM CD and an Ipod, you can hear everything you'll ever need to hear in your truck, IMHO. $160 vs $840...hmm, tough call.

 

[05x-runner]

nope you will get the black one
they dont give you the one like tacotunes has. its just a plain black cheap flemsy plastic one

 

[ed_w3rd]

nope you will get the black one
they dont give you the one like tacotunes has. its just a plain black cheap flemsy plastic one

Well at least he got the plain black cheap flimsy one for $160, not $840. sweet deal man.. keep us updated on how you like it.

 

[05x-runner]

im talking about the install kit not the radio

 

[Bill-E-BoB]

If the kit is too flimsy I'll go to a local stereo shop & pick up a higher quality one...what do they run, like 50 or 60 bucks? Still not a terrible deal. Maybe I can even craigslist the black one for 20 or 30 bucks & cut into my overhead a bit.

Besides, I've still gotta blow some cash on new boxes for my subs...you seen that thread on the boxes built into the access doors? :drool: No cheap way out once those are made available...I'll almost be spendin' more for those dang boxes than the rest of my system combined...but it'll be worth it.

Just checked UPS's tracking #...they delivered at 2 today & my neighbor signed for it...so as long as I get home before he goes to sleep so I can pick it up from his place, I've got me a project to start up tonight! :headbang:

 

[Rodja]

This is what I bought, going to install a pioneer navigation setup soon and going to make a totorial about it I think.... Bought it from this guy

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=013&item=230032944035&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1

 

[Bill-E-BoB]

Well, I installed the new deck this weekend. Its the black plastic, but to be honest I really dig the looks of it. With the silver around the vents & climate controls set off by a black center piece it almost looks like I did it on purpose. :waytogo: I put the ipod adapter in the glovebox so I didn't have to put any holes anywhere & could keep the ipod out of sight, the kit is sturdy & a perfect fit, went in like a breeze (except for making room for the ipod adapters box, the harness, and the 4 sets of RCA plugs hanging out the back of the head unit), and looks very clean. I didn't expect to like the look of it in the truck, but its an easy enough install (reuse the 4 factory screws & 1 extra screw in a pre-existing hole up top) That I figured I'd throw it in there & see how tacky it was...then much to my surprise it looks great, I think I actually like it better than the factory silver.

As far as the unit itself goes, its awsome. Its controls are very different than any other stereo I've used, kind of annoying but after a whopping 30 minutes of instruction-time, I know how to work the thing now & actually like a lot of its features more than the "standard" way of doing things. For example, instead of 6 preset buttons along the bottom, you click up/down to scroll through your presets. Setting 'em was a bit of a pain, but not rocket science. Also, there's a button in the corner called "DM" that lets you flip instantly to one station you choose no matter what mode you're in (CD, Ipod, AUX, whatever) so if you've got like a bluetooth FM modulator or somethin, you just hit the 1 button to get to your phone call, then hit it again to go back to where you were. The ipod controls are great, I wish it had a click wheel like the ipod does so I could scroll through artist names faster, but its easy to sort by playlist or just leave it on shuffle which is what I usually do anyway. The display looks cool, the sound is great (I've still got stock speakers, but the added eq flexibility let me really brighten things up) There's an extra aux-in plug on the back that I figured I'd run a 1/8" jack to & leave coiled in the glovebox so that any time I want to hook up a portable dvd player or my laptop or whatever, I'll have it handy. Its got the quintessential cheesy graphics that every CD player since the year 2000 apparently has to have, including the race car, the surfer guy, and the weird sine waves, but nothing gratuitous that makes me think I'm spending an extra 200 bucks on some cheap parlor trick instead of quality features.

One word of warning though, the effin' thing tried to bite me! The way the open/close button is placed, the motorized face grabbed my finger while closing & tried to rip it off...I'm tellin ya, that thing is vicious, he got a taste for blood & wants more! :evil:

 

[jw112]

pics?

 

[Bill-E-BoB]

pics?

My camera needs batteries...pics to come as soon as I get off my lazy @ss & hit the drug store...