Mercedes-Benz Becker radios

Specifically, the mid-to-late 80s Grand Prix ones: Are they any good? I've heard people say they're crap, but never go on to say why.

Is it bad reception, the fact they're cassette players, or lack of power, or do they break all the time?

I can live with the cassette thing, but not a poor or even average-sensitivity tuner (AM and FM).

I'm not going for any plaster-cracking or neighbor-bothering trophies, so power really doesn't matter too much to me either.

I'm mainly concerned with the radio working, and that it picks up stations well.

Thanks.

http://www.beckerautosound.com/

Don't know if it helps but these guys have some cool stuff.

Those guys are awesome to work with, too.

I'm sitting in front of exactly the radio you're describing. It sounds great, but the seek feature is broken and it doesn't get that great of reception. My antenna does only go up halfway, though....

Tom Suddard wrote: My antenna does only go up halfway, though....

I have one from a 1984 300d if you're interested.

The one in my 420 sel suxxx harder than the black hole at the center of this limitless universe. No words exist in any language to describe the suxx .

If any of you guys want to get rid of one on the cheap I'd be interested.

Perferably one from the mid to late 70s. Early 80s would work too.

Thanks

Tom Suddard wrote: it doesn't get that great of reception. My antenna does only go up halfway, though....

Antenna height does really affect signal strength (reception). The radio in the 300SE I'm getting doesn't work, though the speakers apparently do, and there's power to the radio. If that antenna's wonky, I may just go for the tallest manually-retractable one I can find.

I do like keeping things original; most modern HUs like like they're desperately going for the 12-year-old market, and I utterly despise trying to navigate the menus while driving.

TRoglodyte wrote: The one in my 420 sel suxxx harder than the black hole at the center of this limitless universe. No words exist in any language to describe the suxx .

Why? What is it you don't like?

Expensive ,Bad reception , wonky controls...ad nauseum. Bought a refurbished replacement for $400.00 to stay "original", lasted all of 1 week. Mechanic said it was tied to the oem alarm system.

I hear the grand prix is a piece of junk compared to the older Mexico and europas. I think there is issues with the circuit boards or something. I had to repair the antenna mast on my car.

Thanks Benzbaron and TRoglodyte. I guess the next question is if a Sony or something current from Crutchfield would work. If the alarm's involved with the radio, do aftermarket HUs allow everything on the car to work properly?

I'm also very tempted to find a decent (NOS?) late 80s or early 90s Blaupunkt or Pioneer "Supertuner," for a period look. I'm primarily a radio listener, and even like trying to pick up distant AM stations at night, so a sensitive tuner is paramount.

A Crutchfield guy I talked with once said audio companies just aren't putting much effort into radio tuners these days, what with Blueteeth and UBS ports and iPads, radio is pretty much an afterthought. I recall having an early-90s Blaupunkt CD radio in my '86 GTI. While the CD player skipped horribly (perhaps due to it being in a stiff little GTI), the radio was fantastic. At night in Minnesota, I could easily pull in and hold AM stations from Atlanta, Denver, Detroit and Nashville. The newer stuff isn't that good.

I know nothing of these radios, but the Grundig sitting on my E36 M3ter pulls in stations from around the world.

In reply to N Sperlo:

I have one of those, too--a Satellit 800, which is probably the one material possession I'd grab if the house were on fire.

In reply to Strathclyde:

I've owned several old Mercedes with that radio and the FM signal reception was consistently poor

If you are going to Crutchfield (thanks, I work there), get an Alpine. Better sound, and it tends to look less like it was designed for a 12 year old :). Alpine CDE-143BT would be my primary choice, unless you want satellite radio, then the CDE-124SXM2 (no bluetooth) or CDE-SXM145BT (similar, but with Bluetooth).