QuestionQUESTION: I put an aftermarket head unit into a 2000 BMW Z3 for a guy, but something must be wrong. It is a sony explod, not sure which model. The new head unit's radio works fine, sounds fantastic, but the CD player and aux input has no sound. The CD player is playing the CD, I can see the track playing, but no sound. I figured it was a faulty head unit, so I swapped in another sony explod head unit, but the same thing happened. Any ideas?
ANSWER: Tyson, I would guess that their is some sort of setting that isnt right on the head unit. Maybe, you should look into an Alpine unit, and have no problems. Hope this helps, Scott
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QUESTION: Why do you say that, do you just have a bias toward Alpine over Sony, or is there song factual merit to you saying an Alpine head unit will work and "have no problems"? I'm not going to tell the guy paying me to fix this to buy another head unit unless there is a reason to, I just dont understand how a different head unit would work any different than the Xplod, the wires all end up connected to the same wires in the car anyway.
AnswerNo, there is no factual information that makes an Alpine work better or easier than a Sony. Actually, Sony is a good brand. Although I have not had an instance where the radio works and the cd player does not, I have had problems with Sony Stereos. Most of the problems were caused by installation issues. If a customer wants Sony, I install Sony. I also make sure they hear the difference between the two in person, before they make a decision. Diehard Sony fans stick with the Sonys, and everyone else switches. By your description, I would say there is some sort of setting on the unit that is directing the sound output to either the speaker level outputs or the line level outputs. You should be able to find an option to switch the output between the two for each mode of operation. Good Luck, Scott
