Lidl Car Stereo - 6th Nov - €89.99

chavezychavez · 03-11-2008 12:55PM #1

Hey Guys,

I know there's been a few threads about this going on previously, but I'm in the market to buy a car stereo. Just wondering for all boardsies that bought a previous iteration of Lidl car radios, whether they are still in working order, or if ye have had problems with them.

http://www.lidl.ie/ie/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20081106.p.SilvercrestBluetoothCarRadio

MunsterCycling · 03-11-2008 12:59PM

Avoid like the plague, have one and it is forever losing the signal, the RDS doesn't work properly and the card slot in mine doesn't work as described. Save yourself and buy a decent brand name from Argos or such for a little bit more cash. The standard stereo in the car has no such problems so it is the unit that is at fault.

MC

cornbb · 03-11-2008 01:01PM

chavezychavez wrote: »

Hey Guys,

I know there's been a few threads about this going on previously, but I'm in the market to buy a car stereo. Just wondering for all boardsies that bought a previous iteration of Lidl car radios, whether they are still in working order, or if ye have had problems with them.

http://www.lidl.ie/ie/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20081106.p.SilvercrestBluetoothCarRadio

I have a Silvercrest bluetooth stereo I got from Lidl. Looks different to the one pictured but seems to have all the same features. I'm extremely happy with it - it was simple enough to install, it has lots of cool features, the bluetooth handsfree works perfectly and it hasn't given a hint of trouble. The buttons are a bit too small for my liking and the display is a bit too orangey, but those are tiny complaints.

Dave! · 03-11-2008 02:16PM

Got one before without the bluetooth and had no problems to speak of. Was dead handy to be able to just fire the USB key in and hey presto music

The card slot works grand too, though I didn't use it really.

Foolishly I left it in the car one night with the USB key and a David Bowie CD still in and some c*nt robbed it :mad: Thankfully no damage though...

Ye think the bluetooth would work with the iPhone? It (the iPhone) supports bluetooth headsets AFAIK, but that's all it supports for bluetooth.

MayoForSam · 03-11-2008 03:24PM

+1 here too - I have had a Lidl stereo in my car for the past 18 months, works very well, especially for playing music from a USB key. Volume control can be a bit dodgy and the mic for the bluetooth isn't great but overall pretty good for the price.

ednwireland · 03-11-2008 03:28PM

i got the previous version last christmas had no problems but did need an iso convertor as well for my car. i also replced my roof aerial which sorted a lot of signal issues (rubber had disintegrated) i have a 2gb sd card (thats as big as the last one would take) with loads of music on and very happy. bluetooth was fine with nokia 6680 and se k800i, mic fine in my car no prob with it, the onlky prob wwith the old one it doesnt have an album search

shaner · 03-11-2008 04:14PM

have a similar one of these since last year that i never bothered fitting to the motor (ended up getting a sony one fit from halfords). you can have it if ya want.

00sully · 03-11-2008 05:42PM

I got a cheap one with bluetooth, usb, sd slot etc... from lidl or aldi before - terrible unit. Anyone who is even half concerned about audio quality should avoid like the plague. Noticeable hissing sound at low volumes - the SNR was garbage on it. just a heads up! Think you get what you pay for with audio gear

macroman · 03-11-2008 06:05PM

Got one a few months ago...and bluetooth stopped connecting with my phone

Dades · 03-11-2008 06:23PM

Dave! wrote: »

Ye think the bluetooth would work with the iPhone? It (the iPhone) supports bluetooth headsets AFAIK, but that's all it supports for bluetooth.

Should be fine with the iPhone if it supports other handsets.

iPhone bluetooth, although only mono, does work with all handsfree voice devices (I use an iPhone with a bluetooth stereo). The only thing you can't use it for is transferring files or playing music... uh... bluetoothedly.

The only thing I can't see on that Lidl stereo is a minijack input - which if you've already got all your sounds on an MP3 device is a disappointment.

absolutegroove · 03-11-2008 06:23PM

alrite shaner,

i happen to be looking for a cheap stereo. I'll take it of your hands and throw a few quid to charity if thats cool with you.

regards.

revileandy · 03-11-2008 08:34PM

anyone know whats the max size usb stick / memory card this can take?

I always end up scratching the **** out of my cd's in the car - this sounds perfect.

Oracle · 03-11-2008 09:11PM

I notice both this and the lower priced €69.99 (non-Bluetooth) car stereos both play the ogg format: http://www.lidl.ie/ie/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20081106.p.SilvercrestCarCDRadio It's great that these 2 products support this free, unrestricted and non-DRM codec: http://www.fsf.org/resources/formats/playogg

Dr.TV · 06-11-2008 01:17PM

I just bought this radio, and before I install it, id love to head from people that have installed it and can tell me what’s it like. It appears to be a good stereo. I also can’t install it until I get the 2 pronged remover keys to take out my old stereo. I did read before on an old stereo someone bought from Lidl that its easy to install and sounds great, but they never but holes in the side of the stereo to take it out if you want to upgrade to a different model in the future so the advise he gave was to drill small holes in the side to make sure that you can take it out again. I don’t know if this is still case, but I wanted to make people aware of this issue that happened before.

paulksnn · 06-11-2008 03:04PM

Hi DrTV,
If the 2-pronged remover key is for a focus, you can use 2 bits of coat hanger. Push them in and then bend both hangers towards the outside of the car. Works a treat.

Dr.TV · 06-11-2008 03:24PM

Thats not a bad idea paulksnn, thanks for that, I'll must gove that a go, cheers

revileandy · 06-11-2008 03:45PM

I ordered the removal key from ebay for my old Blaupunkt stereo - then a guy in work told me about the coat hanger trick this morning.

Instead I got four skinny alan keys and stuck them in - the blaupunkt popped out no problem.

So the Lidl stereo is installed, simple job, takes less than five minutes, sounds great, looks great. You also get two removal keys with the lidl stereo so a future upgrade shouldn't be a problem.

Also, my 4gb SD memory card turned up today so I can't wait to to throw my mp3's on that and test the stereo.

Finally - According to the stereo manual the max size card it can take is 4GB.

mondeo · 07-11-2008 03:55PM

Ok here is my review of the 69.99 one. I bought this stereo on the 6th November the day it came out. I went into the shop first thing 9am because I was thinking these would be sold out very fast with the high spec. There was still a big stack of them there so took one off the pile and ran home with it.

It was very easy to install, plugged straight in with the iso connection, It was installed in under 10 mins. When you first switch it on it has a lovely blue interface and a welcome screen appears. I was thinking this looks really cool...So anyways I fiddled about with the bass/trebble/loudness settings to achieve the best sound to my ear. I noticed that the sound quality had alot more bass in it compared to my previous Goodmans cd/mp3 unit I had just removed. Although somehow this Silvercrest sounded very mono compared to my other unit. It did not sound very "surroundy". Once I cranked up the volume it was fine I had no complaints.

The main reason I bought this was for the usb port. When I plugged in my 1gb usb key the unit took about 10 seconds to read it before playing all
my tracks. Navigating through the key to find my songs was very fiddly, I'm use to it now but my first impression was jesus this is annoying. You can search through the usb/sd using one of three methods, 1: via song number, 2: via track name(very fiddly) 3: via album/folder name(easiest).
You can also burn a cd direct from this unit onto your usb key or sd card. Thats really cool!
Also you can record from the radio.

You also get a remote control with this system, It is very thin and light working of a small watch style battery. The remote itself in uncomfortable to
use as it has no rubber buttons but rather a cheap plasticy look to it.
I could live without the remote to be honest as I would probably loose it anyways. The face of this unit drops down to reveal the cd which works
ok with no skipping as yet... There is also an anti theft flashing red led when the face is removed which is nice I suppose. You also get a storage box for
the face of the unit.

Looking at this system it does not look cheap and tacky, it feels good enough
quality for 69.99 except for the remote control. Honestly anyone who buys this will be happy with it. For what your getting is alot for the price.
If you bought a more well known brand with USB/SD/MMC slots, 4x40w output, AUX etc you would pay more than twice the price.

....With a decent set of speakers I think this would sound great.
....Has a 3 year guarantee
....Plays mp3 with ID3, OGG,WMA,CD,CD-R,CD-RW
....RDS functions: PS,PTY,TP/TA,PI

Purposeful unit, give one a go you can always return it within 28 days if
you dont like it.

Cheers

TarfHead · 07-11-2008 04:11PM

paulksnn wrote: »

Hi DrTV,
If the 2-pronged remover key is for a focus, you can use 2 bits of coat hanger. Push them in and then bend both hangers towards the outside of the car. Works a treat.

Would this, or any off-the-shelf car radio, work in a Focus ?

The fascia of the radio/cassette in my FOCUS (01 reg) is, approx. twice the 'height' of the unit in LIDL (going by the photo). I'd like to replace the radio but thought anything else would look wrong in the same space

cormie · 07-11-2008 05:49PM

Dades wrote: »

The only thing I can't see on that Lidl stereo is a minijack input - which if you've already got all your sounds on an MP3 device is a disappointment.

Has it

No need for crappy tape adaptors or FM transmitters so. Aux in all the way

HungryJoey · 07-11-2008 06:21PM

Does anybody know if there is any of these left in any store??

Also does it have atleast 1 x Pre-out to hook up an amplifer. I'd need atleast 1 Pre-out / Sub out.

Dades · 07-11-2008 06:22PM

cormie wrote: »

No need for crappy tape adaptors or FM transmitters so. Aux in all the way

Glad to hear it.

I've seen a Ferrari advertised on Carzone with one of the selling points being an "MP3 player input". For such a useful and obvious feature on headunits, it's taken long enough to appear as standard.

dowtchaboy · 09-11-2008 10:07AM

Dades wrote: »

..... with one of the selling points being an "MP3 player input". For such a useful and obvious feature on headunits, it's taken long enough to appear as standard.

AFAIK there is almost always the capability of "line in" on these units even if there is not an "aux" socket on the front - you have to go mess with one of the (normally 3) connectors on the back and make up your own connector. I have a Blaupunkt with aux input on the front and the connector went intermittent very early on. Found a similar problem with USB connectors - as the USB key is usually sticking straight out hence gets knocked or just hops off when you hit a pothole. SD card is really the best way to go though navigation can be a pain.

kippy · 09-11-2008 10:14AM

Just want to echo the question of one of the earlier posters in wondering whether this will work in a focus or do you need some form of "filler" to fill the slot that will be left after replacing the old radio?
Kippy

cormie · 09-11-2008 11:49AM

It'll work, but there will be a gap.

I've been using my aux in for a looong time and it's stil going strong, have the wires tucked away so I never knock off them even though I'm always climbing around the cab

Kenny_D · 09-11-2008 12:04PM

You need one of these for the focus:

http://cgi.ebay.ie/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140274437687

I've just ordered one for this radio which komplett had on special last week for €99 (€189 on pixmania):

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/630426/art/jvc/kd-dv5301-dvd-divx-mp3-ca.html?srcid=391&mctag=uk_16067&gclid=CLyl39_555YCFQeO1QodvV5VPg

HungryJoey · 09-11-2008 12:14PM

Does anybody know if there are any of these left?

kippy · 09-11-2008 12:17PM

I'll be popping by the store in Doughiska in Galway round lunchtime today and will report back if there are any left.
Cheers for the posts answering my query,
Regards,
Kippy

CrowdedHouse · 09-11-2008 12:19PM

There was a good few of the non bluetooth ones in Doughiska yesterday evening

nurseglennon · 09-11-2008 03:47PM

cornbb wrote: »

I have a Silvercrest bluetooth stereo I got from Lidl. Looks different to the one pictured but seems to have all the same features. I'm extremely happy with it - it was simple enough to install, it has lots of cool features, the bluetooth handsfree works perfectly and it hasn't given a hint of trouble. The buttons are a bit too small for my liking and the display is a bit too orangey, but those are tiny complaints.

hey quick question have the radio installed had to buy an aerial adapter for the volkswagon care but sound is bril and bluetotth is even better although i have to connect the phone each time just wondering did anyone else have issues with the radio. when the fae is put in it lights up but i have to remove it each time otherwise the lights will stay on and everytime i take out the face i lose all my stored radio stations, im thinkin maybe the iso connector is the problem but not sure, hope someone can help. otherwise very pleased with it

Kristok · 09-11-2008 05:56PM

anyone know if theres any of these left in dublin ?

Lidl Car Stereo - 6th Nov - €89.99

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