New Head Unit

[Owned]

okay, poke circuit city!

crutchfield gives me free wire harnesses and trim kit as well as free shipping for my head unit!

You'll believe anything, won't you?

[USMC850T]

Go back to Circuit City and tell them to call 1-700-333-3743 and ask for Anthony in the roadshop. It pisses me off when Circuit City's pull that shit and don't know what they're doing. (I manage the local Circuit City car audio shop in Maple Grove here)

I work in the entertainment dept in victor NY and just today picked up the pioneer 5800mp deck. All i needed was a harness adapter and a trim kit, 158 for the head, 9 bucks and 7 buck for the other stuff. Only took me a half hour to get everything soldered up and working. I like it so far.

[paulr]

In the world of knewbness, there's Circuit Shitty -> crutchfield -> B-rate "pro shops".

Basically everything posted above is right, about how your car doesn't have an amp, etc. Cheapest way is to find an installer who will give you good deals on stuff / look around for online places / go to Ebay, and find a deck yourself. Crutchfield has good services, but they tend to charge a lot, but they won't leave you hanging. I've had two friends install @ big shops (one Circuit Shitty / one Bbuy) and how little they knew completely amazed me. One of them (bbuy guy), who had just changed out the HU in his car, could not tell me where his speakers were located when I asked him. YEAH. I recently put an amp in a friend's car (Evan, I can't remember his username), and the wiring job Circuit Shitty did made me cringe (basically twisted wires and electrical tape). I've done things that ghetto in my own car when in a pinch, but to get an install like that from a retail establishment?

Basically the only ways to have it done right are to do it yourself or go to a custom shop. One requires skill, the other money. But I guess that's like everything in life.

[b3atboxjr]

all i know is that MY Roadshop wouldn't have charged that much, even if we did have to do an amp bypass. non-uniformity due to greed is the problem here. some people are just evil.

[B00STWAG1N]

so is this claim of an amp just a bunch of BS to steal my money?

yea it only costs 70buck to rewire

i work at circuit city

ill sell you a wireing harness. or just dont bother getting a deck at all.

[USMC850T]

Ccity solders and electrical tapes, no heatshrink which is a shame. It looks much more professional that way.

[paulr]

It's only minorly complicated dealing with the amp if you want to USE the amp. The connectors coming form the amp are EXACTLY the same as the ones going into the back of the HU, so from that standpoint there is no difference whatsoever (assuming they use a harness - if they splice in, it matters even less still). $70 my jerk.

Wiring harnesses make things a little easier but are by no means necessary. Even if you don't have a pinout, it's not the end of the world. Installing a HU in my jag with no pinout took me maybe 45 minutes using the new HU and a DMM.

Not getting a new HU is a stupid idea (ESPECIALLY if yours lacks CD), the volvo ones are pretty crappy if you're going to use it to power your components. If you're using an external amp, the stock HU is ok for a while (this is what I'm doing now), but it's still worthwile to upgrade to something with more featuers / SQ / looks / etc.

The only "big company" installs I've seen done are pretty crappy - most end up having problems (Typically having to do with loose connections) after a few months to a year. While some of the guys who work there may know their stuff, most of them are part-timers who know just enough about car audio versus a brick wall to get the job. Chances are they'll be the ones doing the free / cheap install of your HU in your 10 year old volvo. While these installers may do less dammage than the kn00b who bought the stuff in the first place, I wouldn't call it "professional".

Installing this stuff yourself is not that hard, but you need to take the time to understand what you're doing and what's going on, and set aside enough time to do the job patiently without getting frustrated, and just work through it. Installing your first HU in a running car in a parking lot in the pouring down rain is not how I'd suggest you do your first audio work.

[96Turbo]

I'll let you know what your main problem is....your shopping at Circuit City. Come on over to Best Buy, we know what we're doing.

[the underlørd]

I'll let you know what your main problem is....your shopping at Circuit City. Come on over to Best Buy, we know what we're doing.

ROFL. ya, it's like watching midget porn, sure it's entertaining, but you never get quite what you're looking for.

[Volv0wn3d]

well i received my head unit from crutchfield and installed it as well as the radio tuner myself. there were literally no problems during the installation! B)

[the underlørd]

well i received my head unit from crutchfield and installed it as well as the radio tuner myself. there were literally no problems during the installation!

that's cause it's as easy as splicing wires together. :tup:

[The Big Tuna]

I'll let you know what your main problem is....your shopping at Circuit City. Come on over to Best Buy, we know what we're doing.

oh my god! :lol: you have got to be kidding, do i have some stories about them if anybody wants to know, i would rather have napa install stuff rather than them

good job on deck install, i love vs, ask questions then save $400

[paulr]

ROFL. ya, it's like watching midget porn, sure it's entertaining, but you never get quite what you're looking for.

So true, that's an awesome quote.

well i received my head unit from crutchfield and installed it as well as the radio tuner myself. there were literally no problems during the installation!

Congrats! glad it works!

i love vs, ask questions then save $400

That's how we play, savin' peeps money.

[AnthonyR]

Yeah, I think the key thing to take away from this convo is that if you really want things done right, do it yourself or find someone you can trust to do it for you.

As far as the whole Circuit City vs independant shops. It's really hit or miss. I work for a Circuit City roadshop and we have very little come back and I stress to the rest of my installers (I'm the shop manager) that cleanliness and a quality install even if it takes a bit longer, my goal is not to have anything come back. Now with that said I have seen many other ultra shitty installs from other Circuit city's in the area. And that kind of hit or miss consistency is what sucks. And it's also something you will find thrughout any major retailer (CC I think has around 1500 installers nation wide). Also I have seen the work at some local costum shops that is pretty horrible too, however on the same token I have seen some amazing installs even from the same indie shop.

[BeachRat]

you made the mistake of going to circuit city in the first place

It's hit or miss with places like that. As our friend has learned, it's far more worth investing your time, rather than your money, in these things. He's learned HOW to do it, and now knows when he's about to get ripped off on some BS "rewire." Thank God he at least came here first before just saying "Oh, okay."