- Location
- NJ, U.S.A.
Well, over the weekend I tried to turn on the radio in the Jeep and found that it wasn't lighting up. Found/replaced the blown fuse (think I did that Voltmeter-probing the cig. lighter). Now it works, but the display doesn't.
This is an old Kenwood KRC-308s (AM/FM/Cass with a CD changer port in back I've never used) that I bought back in 2001 when the factory tape deck started auto-ejecting tapes when I hit bumps on the road. Since everything but the display works, I concluded that the radio itself appears OK and the failure is just in the faceplate. Kenwood actually has a replacement module available for $40 (too much given the age), but I scored a used "tested good" one on eBay for $8 shipped (after a $5 eBay coupon popped up on my screen) - too good a deal to pass up.
I'll have that in a couple days and hopefully will solve the immediate problem (if not, I'm only out $8), but have started looking for something more recent to replace it with.
Seeing a couple of lower-cost brands I don't recognize in the single-DIN market these days - Boss, Axxera, Dual. Reviews seem mixed, anyone here ever tried one of these? Kind of leaning more in the direction of the more familiar names - JVC, Kenwood, Sony, Alpine (though some of those are a fair bit of money just for the unit - not counting the installation/wiring necessities).
Any particular models stand out here? Not looking for audiophile-level here, just something that sounds decent, isn't discoball-obnoxious, is reasonably easy to manipulate blindly while driving. Want AM/FM, CD, USB, Aux.
Thoughts?
This is an old Kenwood KRC-308s (AM/FM/Cass with a CD changer port in back I've never used) that I bought back in 2001 when the factory tape deck started auto-ejecting tapes when I hit bumps on the road. Since everything but the display works, I concluded that the radio itself appears OK and the failure is just in the faceplate. Kenwood actually has a replacement module available for $40 (too much given the age), but I scored a used "tested good" one on eBay for $8 shipped (after a $5 eBay coupon popped up on my screen) - too good a deal to pass up.
I'll have that in a couple days and hopefully will solve the immediate problem (if not, I'm only out $8), but have started looking for something more recent to replace it with.
Seeing a couple of lower-cost brands I don't recognize in the single-DIN market these days - Boss, Axxera, Dual. Reviews seem mixed, anyone here ever tried one of these? Kind of leaning more in the direction of the more familiar names - JVC, Kenwood, Sony, Alpine (though some of those are a fair bit of money just for the unit - not counting the installation/wiring necessities).
Any particular models stand out here? Not looking for audiophile-level here, just something that sounds decent, isn't discoball-obnoxious, is reasonably easy to manipulate blindly while driving. Want AM/FM, CD, USB, Aux.
Thoughts?