Hello all, I found this forum from a google search. I'm thinking about replacing the Clarion CD/radio in my Copen, and possibly upgrading the speakers too. Has anyone else done this already? Can you recommend a good radio or do you know what speakers will fit? Is it an easy job? Sorry for all the questions! Thanks, Dave.
Hello Dave, Replacing the CD is easy. I did it within a few days of owning the car. HOW? There are six lugs that secure the front panel over the stereo and heater controls. Open the glove compartments and reach in with your hand to find the upper left corner of the cover panel. You should be able to feel one of the six lugs here. Press around this area and the panel should start to move if you are in the correct place. One you are sure you are in the correct area, press a little harder and the top left side of the cover panel should pop out. Now from the outside, using your fingers, gently work your way along the top to the right hand side and the second lug should pop out. Then place your fingers in-between the panel and the stereo so as to push the panel forward and gently work your way down both sides. Now you should have 4 lugs out. The final two are at the bottom of course. Again, it’s a case of putting your fingers between the panel and now the heater controls. Try not to pull the panel down just out towards you. Once the panel is off you can see the four screws that hold the stereo (and in my case clock). The good news is you can mount a double DIN stereo with a built in sat nav or DVD player if you wish, but I’ve still got to save up for one of these (Cheapest I’ve found is a Kenwood DNX-5240 - £400). Can’t help you with speakers as yet.
Thanks for the info Rex, it sounds reasonably straightforward. I'm also looking to replace the CD player, but haven't decided which one to go for yet. What model have you fitted? I've got "photo tutorials" on my wishlist for the features page. When I do get around to changing mine, I'll take some photos of the process and post them on the site.
Thanks for the reply Rex. I'm going to get a new unit for Christmas and I'm looking forward to fitting it. A photo tutorial would be appreciated Rushmere.
Hi I just got round to changing my faulty Sony CDX-S2000 CD/Radio and thought I would share my experience. Of course I used the information in the ‘how to’ section of this forum for guidance but I am never confident in my technical ability. Firstly, the clips around the facia panel came away perfectly and I used the end of the spoon technique all around the edges. It is a shame the last person who tried this had not read this helpful hint as you can see all the marks and dents where someone had tried this with something much sharper before. I then removed the two retaining screws, unclipped the clock connector and everything came straight out. I was worried about the rear connections being different so beforehand I researched replacement Sony units to make sure the one I was fitting had the same connectors. I chose a Sony DSX-A30 MP3/Radio which was only about £55.00 on eBay and although this unit was considerably smaller and lighter it slotted straight in without any modification at all. I screwed everything back together and that was that. Induction kit to sort next….. KS
i replaced my clarion with the nice dvd player with dvd screen ... clarion is now just a spare and also i found the clarion to sound abit rubbish once i changed to my better looking dvd player i also have nicer sound
Hi Guys I put a touch screen DVD radio and ipod/usb double din player in mine. Sony. I upgraded the speaker with halfords - a pair of "Vibe Slick" 240 watts. Plus installed a sub woofer (150 watts) between the seats over the net. The make is Kenwood. It all sounds amazing! And with the roof down it is all still very clear. Sony unit was £250 fitted. Sub woofer £149 +£50 fitting. Speakers £32 + £29.99 fitting. I could not be happier with it all.
The double din looks great, nice one. How will you manage without the clock and storage compartment you've lost though? Is there much difference in sound from different radios/ CD players? I always thought it was speakers that mattered in a setup.
Were the Vibe speakers used to replace the door speakers? If so did you need to make any modifications for them to fit?
The door speakers needed no modifications and were easy to fit! The guy at Halfords did them in 30 minutes!
I changed the unit first and there was better clarity of sound. Then when I changed the door speakers the sound and volume was awesome!
Did they do the sub for you too? Looks a bit tricky for an amateur such as me. Guess I could search out a pro company but with pro prices
i shall have to investigate local companies then. for the moment i shall settle for an fm transmitter attached to my iphone.
If anyone is bored, you can see my video on how to replace the car stereo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snJgUXsFKV8
Thank Wullufdude and his how-to guide. I'll be changing the stereo again in a week or two, so hopefully I can get a mount for the camera in the mean time and do it properly!
Just in case the pioneer AVIC-F700BT is the one that was shipped with the Copen Pioneer edition. Lots of issues upon its release back then as you may read on reviews but updates seems to have cut through most of the bugs/annoyances. Had some time to play with it a bit... the all-in-one-GPS/MP3/DivX(?)/CD/rear-view-camera combo seemed to work quite well should you find a good deal on ebay. 50w only +1 subwoofer output. There are more recent AVIC models but Santa may frown a bit reading their price tags. Rgrds.
