Mk2 Audio Upgrade

[patja]

A few things on the wishlist for the audio in my mk2:

1. bluetooth - to play songs from my phone (not too worried about bluetooth calls)

2. Keep existing headunit - I really dislike removing the original headunit. It looks and fits well.

3. Better sound quality - I find the stock sound quality poor

4. Keep steering wheel audio controls functioning

I realise that there may not be a solution to incorporate all the above.

Thoughts:

1.

bluetooth probably requires a new headunit. There is also the Ford music box which could possibly work with a bluetooth dongle (possibly?).

2.

I don't really like the look of aftermarket headunits in the dash. Perhaps there is one out there that looks good in the mk2?

3.

From what I've experienced and read a new headunit will provide me with sufficiently better audio quality. I'm not looking for amazing quality, just better than stock, which I'd consider poor. I'd prefer not to be going down the route of upgrading current Speakers.

4.

I find the steering wheel controls very useful and don't want to lose them.

So what to do?

I suppose I could live with the Ford music Box as a substitute to Bluetooth. This substitutes 1 and works for 2 and 4. Doesn't help with audio quality. Would prefer Bluetooth though.

Aftermarket headunit. Would it work with the steering controls? If so it would solve 1, 3 and 4. Wouldn't help with 2 though, unless it looked well (like it belonged).

music Box and upgrade Speakers? Substitutes 1, works for 2, 3 and 4. I'm not sure how much better sound quality would be obtained with the original headunit though. And I'd really, really prefer not to be changing Speakers (I've heard it's a pain on these).

Any other options? Anything I'm missing?

Any help much appreciated.

[JW1982]

The Ford USB music Box does not work in combination with a bluetooth dongle. A bluetooth dongle needs to be controlled by hardware/software which supports it. The USB music Box is not capable to do this. The USB music Box is only capable to read from a connected USB drive.

In my opinion the functionality of the USB music box is very limited . The USB Music Box can only be controlled by the steering wheel remote control and (except from the volume buttons) not by the buttons on the radio. Only Ford radio's with an AUX input are suitable for the USB Music Box. Radio's with the CDDJ button (CD changer support) are not suitable. During USB playback the radio display will only display "AUX". The USB Music Box does not display any MP3 info on the radio screen. Another problem of the USB Music Box does not stop playing if the radio is switched to Radio or CD. The USB Music Box will still play in the background.

The bad audio quality of the Focus MK2/MK2.5 is mainly caused by the radio itself. The Speakers are not top quality but are not that bad either. Certainly changing the Speakers will improve the sound quality a bit but in my opinion changing the radio will improve it a lot more.

A few years ago I had kind of the same dilemma. Because I am kind of an OEM freak I did not want to install an aftermarket radio. In the end I decided to install an original Focus MK2.5 Sony 6-CD DAB radio in combination with the MK2.5 Sound & Connect system (Bluetooth/Voicecontrol with USB, Ipod and bluetooth Audio support). I also installed the original rear tweeters into the back doors. This system has a very good sound quality and functionality.

The complete retrofit of this system costed me about €175,-.

[Jeremyc]

For the bluetooth you could look at what I did. Check my threads I did it and I love it works perfect as I didn't need bluetooth calling it plays music in great quality.

[patja]

Thanks guys, much appreciated.

Must admit I'm getting more open to changing the stereo - if I can find one that doesn't look too out of place. It would solve the rest of the problems.

[Stoney871]

The music box does stop playback when the source is changed and pauses when mute or phone buttons are pressed.

[troy45]

Check the various threads on aftermarket DVD Sat nav headunits for the Focus - there's a fair range of Chinese manufactured units which offer lots of functionality and are bespoke fitment which matches the style/fitment of the original unit so you don't need DIN adaptors etc.

Lots of different sellers but there's a few on here that owners have good experience of and would recommend.

They usually look ok, and provide bluetooth features, work off steering wheel controls and do lot more too.

[patja]

Check the various threads on aftermarket DVD Sat nav headunits for the Focus - there's a fair range of Chinese manufactured units which offer lots of functionality and are bespoke fitment which matches the style/fitment of the original unit so you don't need DIN adaptors etc.

Lots of different sellers but there's a few on here that owners have good experience of and would recommend.

They usually look ok, and provide bluetooth features, work off steering wheel controls and do lot more too.

Cheers Troy. Something like that sounds promising. I'd be hesitant of Chinese (non branded) units but if I could find a couple of good reviews it would be an option.

If anyone has any examples or could show me where to find them I'd love to see them.

[Micro]

My FH-X700BT cost me £120ish, with the fascia plate and steering wheel control adapters adding around £25.

Installed in under a couple hours, everything being plug and play - plays from everything you can think of, will allow you to take calls (though unfortunately you need to press a button on the radio to do this, rather than your steering wheel controls), etc. Does fancy flashy colours which I've turned to stay on a solid red/orange colour to match the Focus interior computer/dash.

I wanted to keep it stock but unfortunately function over form for me! (Car PC project is coming soon though ;-) )

Mine is the mk2.5 though