|
I immediately got the Alpine 183BT receiver when I got my '01 boxster this year because I hate the radio, never use CD's, and only listen to my iphone (usually internet radio, but iPod when I have something good on it). It's a very snug fit, but I assume most receivers are in the car. Fairly easy install with crutchfields help, but it was such a pain to take out the stock unit. It wouldn't budge, but i kept trying for hours and when I was finally sure the removal tools were locked in there, its just a slow firm pull out. The bright LED's are good for the unit, but don't match anything in the car. It came with a phone mic which was easy to route back under, and I put it to the right of where your right knee is in the drivers seat. You'll never notice it there and picks up light talking easily. At the same time I replaced the dash speakers and put in Alpine SPS -410's which fit perfectly with the common mod of cutting around the old rubber surrounds and using that harness. The sound quality difference is night and day; way clearer, less muddy, and LOUDER. Still not much difference in bass, but the receiver helped the door speakers a bit - i think. I chose this unit because it has the 4 volt pre-output which helps the signal, bluetooth which allows me to simply turn the car on and it starts playing music from my phone in my pocket in about 15 seconds and hands free calling just as easy, and HD radio which I am actually a little disappointed in. It has great reception and HD radio has pretty much zero static, but you kinda forget after a bit. It has a 1/4" AUX input in the front as well as a USB input which charges at the same time. Overall, I've always trusted Alpine's quality and am sure this will last forever, but a better screen would be nice for the $300 price and I'm sure there are head units out there that would match the interior of the Boxster better. 8.5/10
|