Mp3 Player For Ford Galaxy 2001

[omar]

I want to replace my stereo with one that plays MP3
Are there any recommendations for this?
Can I just buy any universal car stereo and fit?
Should I try to get one that is the same size as the one I have fitted currently?

Thanks


Omar

[Mirez]

Hi Omar and welcome to the forum

As long as you don't have the steering wheel remote controls (or as long as you don't use them!) then yes you can get virtually any head unit you like. If you do you'll need to get a control module to convert the remote to your new manufactures setup.  You'll also need a wiring adaptor to convert Ford wiring to ISO connectors (ISO is the standard for after-market head units) and a half (0.5) DIN face plate to blank off the gap that'll be left.

On that, the factory radio is a 1.5 DIN size, generally after-market units are all 1.0 DIN hence the need for the 0.5 blank. You'll struggle to get an after market radio that's 1.5 DIN but you could opt for an even larger 2.0 DIN unit as there are few manufacturers that make these. The factory fit sat-nav is a 2.0 DIN so you can buy that surround from Ford (around Ã,£40) which will prep the dash for fitment if you choose this route.

Finally try and get close to the "power" rating with the new unit. Most ford radios are 4x 20W (RMS) so the speakers will be rated around that. There is little point in getting a more powerful head unit unless you plan to upgrade the speakers at the same time.

[omar]

mirez, great answer
over and beyond my budget i think

i wanted to listen to mp3 audio books
so, sound quality was't really important
i found my solution: a portable speaker that can be charged by mini usb - lasts 8 hours
this gives quite a loud sound - good enough to listen to
the sound quality is pretty good as well

aside: i've always wondered if it's possible to tap into the speaker wiring and just add a t junction and have a headsocket input??

else, there are units for other cars that plug into the back of radio units - like the aux point - u can then play audio files from mp3 player or phone + also play from memory or sd cards
is there nothing available like this for the ford galaxy? i searched ebay and didn't find anything

[gregers]

welcome to the forum omar,

im sure there are things that can do what your looking for,either take a search on ebay or visit your local car hi fi shop or maplins ?

i remember having a cassette tape fitment when i 1st bought a portable cd player,inserted it and it played through the cars stereo.
there are also devices that use a spare frequency on the radio to play through,dam cant remember what there called now.

[Mirez]

Ahhh well in that case the easiest way is to just buy an FM transmitter - this will plug into the headphone socket of your source and will create a pseudo radio station that you can then tune the car radio to.

The factory HU's don't have any aux in capability hence nothing available

[omar]

fm transmitters i've tried about 3 or 4
all super amazingly poor
i thought i was missing something
i don't understand why they are still sold and bought by many?

[Mirez]

I've had two and they were both perfect, you do need a decent quality one though as the cheaper ones don't hold their frequency very well. I also noticed that in central city areas there is a lot of interference so maybe its the area you live that's just got a lot of radio traffic?

If your device has a line-out level then you could use the stereo's phone input to playback? It won't handle headphone level input though.