I've been looking into getting an MD changer along with a compatible indash CD player. Yes, I know that there are plenty of options, sony, etc..
But, does anything have red illumination so that it won't look like crap on my a4?..
thanks for any help.

The background lighting on the display is blue, but the buttons are all red (actually they have dual illumination so you can switch from red to green)

Other choices...

Nakamichi- (orange, not red... not a real great match... also their reliability is suspect)

Sony- (orange, also reliability with Sony is ALWAYS an issue)

Blaupunkt Nevada (pretty close red match, but you could probably do better in sound quality)

Rockford (they make a red one too, but I don't know how good they are.. years ago they were a great company, I really couldn't say how they are today other than a lot of installers I talk to say to steer away from Rockford because they've gone el-cheap-o)

Alpine (I saw a newer model with orange lighting. They make quality products that sound great, but their ergonomics designers are on crack! Who the hell designs their face plates? Um, like.......BARF!)

Something else you should consider..... are you doing a whole system with amps and subs? If so, you really want to try to look for something with 4-volt pre-out... also, three sets of RCA outs is always nice so you can run a separate amp for your subs and not have to "Y" off the rear channel... thus losing the ability to tune your subs independently of the rear channel. This isn't a show stopper, just something to consider.

don't get me wrong... I LOVE Sony products.. I too have owned many Sony home a/v products, including a dvd, several vcr's and a tv. Speaking from experience, out of the box their designs, functionality, and performance are great.. but I've had so many things break in the first year.. especially vcr's. Through other audio and video forums I have heard similar sentiment from others people as well. Maybe their mobil audio stuff is more reliable. I dunno... but I just caution you to check out the warranty b4 you buy. Especially on head units. Since they are subject to the vibrations, temperature differentials, and constant use in a car.. they take a lot of abuse.

As far as their mobil ES stuff... they perform great, but I would do my homework on their warranty and it might not hurt to kick in an extra 50 bucks to extend the warranty for an extra year if the installer you use offers it.

Get a Kenwood eXcelon deck that has the dot-matrix display. They make both MD and CD headunits, and MD and CD changers. Under the menu setting for the headunits you can turn all of the secondary infomation off. This will leave just the main line of the display on. This information is illuminated in white. The buttons can be set to red. It will look good in any Audi dash, and especially the 00 and up with the white characters on the guages. E-mail me is you want to see a pic of the headunit in this setup.
Jason

No joke! I went through no less than 5 SONY head units in my last car. Will never buy another car or home audio product from SONY. They are definately not high-end. The only thing that I would buy is one of their TV's , VCR's, or DVD player. Those are their specialties, the rest are just product line fillers. I have a DENON home reciever, its awesome. My SONY is in the garage...whats that tell you? You might want to check out ECLIPSE head units for your car. Probably wont match your illumination but what an awesome product. Some 1999 models got a hold of a faulty electronic device from one of their suppliers that caused skipping problems , but that has all been ironed out. Great sound, ergonomics, and also available with 5 or 8 volt preouts. BAD10

the new 815 or the 915. Awesome units!

I got Paradigm speakers as well.

great minds think alike!

I love this head unit. MD is so convienent for the road. The Kenwoods look and sound good and have the features also. Enjoy your new reciever.
Jason

I successfully altered my Alpine 7930 head unit & Alpine Digital Phase processor LEDS to a red this is a perfect match to Audi's red. You are able to take apart the faceplates and remove the green rubbers on the LEDs. Then, paint the LED's with Testor's model paint. There is a specific color I used, unfortunately, I don't remember the exact red. It is in the archieves however

Paradigm...
Mini Monitors up front
CC350 center channel
Atoms for surround
M&K sub
Audioquest speaker cable and Monster interconnects.

I love the 3300. Check out audioreview.com. go to the product review section and you will see a million reviews on it.... mostly raving, but some guys panned it for the wrong reasons. I got mine for $800 bucks shipped from Yawa Audio in California. They are an authorized Denon dealer.

Prior to moving to Seattle, I lived on the beach in Orange County (So. CA). I owned a convertible 5.0 Mustang for 6 years. When I first got the car, I put in a sony single-CD head unit. The top on my car was down far more that it was up. In the summer, the top would be down for months. The head unit was exposed to salt-air and direct sun for 6 years and I never had a problem with it.

Just one data point,
Gary

p.s. - for my home system, I bought a Sony TV and VCR, but didn't like anything else from them.

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along with B&W matrix speakers

Matrix 803's in front, HTM center, SCM-8's in rear

I have one of the original Sony portable CD players and it works great, well-over 10 yrs old. I have a 10 pack auto cd player and amp head unit that have outlasted 2 cars and are now on a 4x4.

Some Sony is obviously junk, but their main line works superbly. I use Adcom for my home stuff.

Becker make red and blue head units. I am about to put a Becker Mexico Pro Mini-Disc in my S4.

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