nrc
03-30-04, 11:32 PM
I meant to give Crutchfield a plug ages ago because I think great service deserves recognition. Now I'm finally getting around to it. Our Miata was badly in need of a new stereo and I had a free weekend coming up to do it. So I ordered a new Pioneer CD/MP3 player with one of the few sets of speakers that will fit the Miata without modification.
The Crutchfield website made the whole process of finding something that would fit the Miata a snap. It sucks not being able to hear the sound and twiddle the knobs, but a trip to the local stores narrowed down the brands even if they didn't have the exact same models.
So I ordered my goodies with two day air shipping to make sure I would have it before the weekend to do the install. Friday morning I check the shipping status and it has just left the warehouse that day. WTF?! Before I could call them, the phone rings. It's Crutchfield calling to tell me that UPS had failed to pick up the day before. They were going to contact UPS and try to have them switch the original shipment to Next Day service at no charge. But just to make sure, they would also ship out another package Next Day Air with Saturday delivery. I could just ship back whichever one didn't make it in time.
Saturday both packages arrive and I'm happily tearing out the center console to get everything installed. Crutchfield supplied very complete, very clear instructions and all the mounting and wiring hardware I needed. The Miata had an oddball OEM radio so that included a mounting panel to take the place of the old, oversized radio. My only complaint about the whole experience was that the mounting panel fills a little storage cubby and they could use a little trim around the radio since the piece that comes with the radio doesn't fit into the recess that the new mounting panel provides.
I love having a CD/MP3 player in the car. A few MP3 CDs provide dozens of hours worth of music and we don't have to worry about our originals getting scabbed up or stolen. The sound isn't quite as full as I'd like, but I'm not sure if that's the MP3 quality, or just the fact that you can only get so much range out of a 5.25 inch speaker. In any case, the sound is certainly good enough for the Miata since it provides it's own soundtrack much of the time anyway. :)
:thumbup: For Cruthfield
:thumbup: For MP3 CDs
(I was going to give them three thumbs up, but evidently that runs afoul of some kind of vBulletin thumbs up police feature. )
The Crutchfield website made the whole process of finding something that would fit the Miata a snap. It sucks not being able to hear the sound and twiddle the knobs, but a trip to the local stores narrowed down the brands even if they didn't have the exact same models.
So I ordered my goodies with two day air shipping to make sure I would have it before the weekend to do the install. Friday morning I check the shipping status and it has just left the warehouse that day. WTF?! Before I could call them, the phone rings. It's Crutchfield calling to tell me that UPS had failed to pick up the day before. They were going to contact UPS and try to have them switch the original shipment to Next Day service at no charge. But just to make sure, they would also ship out another package Next Day Air with Saturday delivery. I could just ship back whichever one didn't make it in time.
Saturday both packages arrive and I'm happily tearing out the center console to get everything installed. Crutchfield supplied very complete, very clear instructions and all the mounting and wiring hardware I needed. The Miata had an oddball OEM radio so that included a mounting panel to take the place of the old, oversized radio. My only complaint about the whole experience was that the mounting panel fills a little storage cubby and they could use a little trim around the radio since the piece that comes with the radio doesn't fit into the recess that the new mounting panel provides.
I love having a CD/MP3 player in the car. A few MP3 CDs provide dozens of hours worth of music and we don't have to worry about our originals getting scabbed up or stolen. The sound isn't quite as full as I'd like, but I'm not sure if that's the MP3 quality, or just the fact that you can only get so much range out of a 5.25 inch speaker. In any case, the sound is certainly good enough for the Miata since it provides it's own soundtrack much of the time anyway. :)
:thumbup: For Cruthfield
:thumbup: For MP3 CDs
(I was going to give them three thumbs up, but evidently that runs afoul of some kind of vBulletin thumbs up police feature. )