hi gareth i bought the ida x200 a couple of weeks ago and i am really pleased with it, i have the wire which is very long) goin into the center console shelf / cubby hole thing through he existing hole in the top so didnt have to do any drilling. at the moment ive been using an ipod just because it can store more music but im thinking of using a usb stick just so i can leave it in the car all of the time instead of having to carry it with me. the really good thing about the ida x200 is the search, its really easy to find the song you want using he buttons, either searching for albams or artists, with an i pod you can search playlists genres as well as shuffle all etc. the search is superior to othe headunits ive tried, bt i havent treid to many lol altho i did sed to work at halfords. not missed the cd yet as long as you have a few songs on a usb sick you can just leave it in the car so no need to mess around with cds. the oher useful thing about the xda is it does have an ipod port and a usb port so you can pplug both in. it also has the option to add a blutooth phone modual (about 100) to stream audio from a phone and make calls etc my advice is to go to halfords, they have the ida x100 in there which is exactly the same in funcion as the ida x200 but with a lovely colour display much better than the display with the 200 but the 200 is still fine. take a usb key with you and plug it in and see what you think of the load time and audio qualiy, the ipod is almost instant on, however usb keys with all units are slower as the unint has to index all the files. at least then you can have a play and see if you like it. the x200 unfortunately is only blue in colour, but to be honest i have it in a mk3 and dont really notice
This model has different colours http://images.kenwood.eu/files/image/900/8/original/KDC-W6541U_E-emerald.jpg
ive got the alpine ida x100 its best head unit ive had sometimes use the ipod but have been using the usb sticks as i can leave them in the car got a 4gb card in it u can fit loads on it and the head unit makes it so easy to control even the other half can use it!ive a mk3 aswell and it fit well with the dash even if it lights up blue
Excellent review Rupe. Any experience with the Kenwood USB Players? In particular this one: http://www.twenga.co.uk/prices-KDC-W4537UA-KENWOOD-Car-radio-151059-0 Can get it for 50 4x50W and MOSFET, worth a punt?
At 50 you can't really go wrong!! I must say that I find my USB port absolutely invaluable and would not be without one now. You can just bung whichever music you fancy onto it and take it out to the car without having to burn discs or anything like that. I also get given USB sticks by some of my suppliers, so I just use them in the car. I have a Pioneer DEH-50UB and although I like it, I wouldn't recommend it because you can't alter the bass or treble. It's just got lot of different pre-sets, which is really REALLY frustrating.
weve got the non usb version of that kenwood , while its pretty good for the one annoying feature is that when you grab for the rotary knob to alter the volume ,its very easy to get into the bass/treble sound effects menu which can be frustrating
My kenwood can be similar, but apart from that my 110 on my Kenwood is the best headunit i've ever had and the USB port saves me so much time burning CD's
Went to order the said headunit from Halfords but is not available in my local stores!!! nearest store with it in stock is 79miles away!! Any other suggestions? 50-60 say? I've decided as long as it has USB and 4x50W and from a reputable brand it will do the trick!
hold on.. last time I went in halfords to look at headunits they were about 50% dearer than online... has that changed?
hi gareth www.caraudiodirect.com is far cheaper than halfords check the bargins section heres a kenwood from them http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/kenwood-kdcw5541u-p-6382.html?cadid=mjs0mq2ob1t8jm62r6kd55n8u3 ive spent far too much on their site TBH i would say my first ever mp3 capable headunit was a kenwood it played mp3's from a cd back in 2002 before anyone had heard of ipods, it was agreat unit for its time so i doubt you will go wrong with one
I bought another USB HU from caraudiodirect before christmas for the girlfriend now ex that is now surplus to requirements lol I wonder if they will take it back? probably too late now FTL
About this time last year i bought a ripspeed from halfrauds for 79.99. Usb, Memory card and mini phono input on the front. Works fine but a bit garish being silver in my mk1. Currently using a 16gb memory stick with about 9gb of music on it and reads it fine.
