Hey need a new HU? aka radio that fits

I found the the $40 and $50 units that another member had recomm. on another thread. They are sold at Wal Mart but don't appear to be avail online.
As I stated on the other thread, I know the $50 unit (has CD and aux port + USB charger on front) puts out very good sound. Both HU's are rated for 60
watts and I believe thats for both channels combined (most cheap audio Co's do this now). So really 30watts/channel. The $40 HU is much smaller at only 4 1/8" deep comparred to the CD version at 6 1/8" but is not CD. I'll be testing both units tomorrow and decide which is best for the Midge. The $40 unit does have aux jack plus usb reader port on frt face plate which is a bonus for me since I store much of my music on thumb drives. I'll update this thread when I have a better idea which is best suited for the MG. If anyone wants one and can't find them at their local Wally World just PM me.

I bought the one that plays cds (left side in above picture). It does not fit properly. It is about an inch too deep, at least on a '79 Midget. I'll need one of those dash kits or whatever they're called to make it look nice. I like the unit, though.

im lookin to install a new radio/cdplayer in my 79 midget. i hope to hear how this turns out for you. I have never one any stereo/radio work i have been searching for a while since my current radio is awful!

Even better, it has an SD card slot. I might have to consider that. Thanks for the info.

Here's more data to consider on these two HU's.

XR4110 am/fm/mp3/wma/ Receiver w/ Aux input. USB reader/SD Card input. (The large sz SD Card.. not micro)
60 watts for 4 channels = 15 watts/chnl DOES have pre-outs for one Aux AMP. :) $40 Wally World

XD1222 am/fm/CD/CD-RW/ Aux Input (MP3 player) / USB Charger port
60 watts for 4 channels = 15 watts/chnl DOES have pre-outs for one Aux AMP. :) $50 Wally World

Im installing the xr4110 in the mg since it's only 4 1/8 inch deep and should fit easily according to other members past install
trials. I have it mounted in my test box right now to hear sound and test the card reader i/o ports. The USB islow to read all files
if you have a lot of storage (which I do) of all types of files. Probably would be best to have a USB TD for sole purpose of this with
only music files.
The SD card reader works really well and responds quickly. Although my SD card only contains music and may be easier for the HU to read.
I haven't tried the Aux port yet. I just found my charging cable that was lost months ago. I will test this in a few hours and update.
Here is a pic of my test box. I have a second speaker loose in the box so 2 channels are driven. Sounds really good and Im sure with some
6-1/2 speakers mounted on rear panel, will sound great compared to single up frt. A small amp could be added later in the trunk with no problems
if you wanted to drive to 6x9's of good quality.

FYI.. Speaker watts is mostly a joke and very misleading to the average consumer. Signal sensitivity in db is much more important. Go with at least a 89db set of speakers so you HU doesn't have to over work to drive the speakers for good volume. Consider this, a speaker rated at 87db will almost require double the power from the HU than a speaker at 89db. This is an approxamation of course, but you can research this on the web if you so desire. The higher the db sensitivity, the less power needed to drive the speaker. i.e. 88db is better response than 87db. You can easily find speakers up to 91 db. Usually you'll pay more for higher rated sets. DON'T buy anything under 88db nor any set that doesn't disclose there rating in there spec sheet. That means there crappy IMO.


:beer:
slowride

Dual (the maker of this head unit) calls it a "Digital Audio Receiver" (has no CD player). I think that term is a good way to search for more head units made this way (ie: small!).

Cool find. I don't like the look of this one's face plate, but let's see what else is introduced by other ICE makers that are like this, they may get better looking.

And you really can't go wrong for $50!


Norm

This is how I did mine. It was a adapter I found just looking at the bunch. The adapter acts like a spacer and allows the cd player to fit. I do have to have it in 2nd or 4th to install cd but at least I can. Maurice
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w224/mgman75/100_5165.jpg

i love the idea of the head unit with all those inputs and no cd to hassle with, but when do you find the time to listen to music when driving a spridget?

Maurice, that is one shinny damn speaker grill! Wish mine was. Your adapter plate worked out well and who installs CD's while riding in 2 or 3rd anyway aye?
Im really liking this non CD unit. I have installed a set of component speakers and they sound really good considering the low pwr/chnl. I have an old Fosgate 45 somewhere from the teenage years, if I find it I may just put it in the trunk to drive the 6 1/2's in rear panel. I'll shoot a pic later. Im wrestling with the seat belt control mod right now. I would like to bypass it for the starter wire to solenoid and remove the home run I ran from the Ign swch. It's a good time to do it with the console out.

I change cd's when sitting still. Rural Ky. I have a choice of 2 rock stations. A couple of country. So a cd is nice. Was install before satalite radio or i-pods. I didn't realize until I posted it how fuzzie that picture is. Unsure how to bypass the seat belt control. Interesting your seat belt safety still hooked up. Mine is bypassed. But I didn't do it. So can't give advice. Maurice
Here is you a wiring diagram for the 74
http://www.spridget-tech.com/wiring_diagrams/Diagram_14.pdf

www.spridget-tech.com - Great site! Thanks for the tip, Maurice.

Thanks for the link Al . Great site!

Bypassing the seat belt control was simple. Just pull these two terminals out of the connector and jump them. Wht/Red (from Ign Swch) and the yel/pink (to the Starter Relay). For purposes of starting engine, job complete.

The $40 digital receiver is mounted and is playing quite well. After all this, apparently my poor reception issue is a bad antenna. I have a good working cond. original am/fm MG radio and speaker. Nice to have I quess- not worth much though.


slowride

I got have a CD player in mine and never use it. I'd be all over that non cd one if I wasn't already set to go. I run an iPod through mine all time (front input), once in a while I'll do a radio station but rarely. I remember trying to one in my '75's console (cassette days).

Excellent post! I'm going to try the non-CD unit in "Milly"

I appreciate all the effort and the great information!!

You deserve a beer or three...
M-

This might be reviving a dead horse but I found another possible radio for our cars. It seems to match the physical dimensions of the original radio from my '74 Midget.

http://www.pyleaudio.com/itemdetail.asp?brand=&cat1=Car%20Audio&cat2=Radios&model=PL91MU

This is also the same dimensions but has analog instead of digital tuning.

http://www.pyleaudio.com/itemdetail.asp?brand=&cat1=Car%20Audio&cat2=Radios&model=PLR21MPF

I learned from searching that the term for a HU without a CD unit is "Mechless"