Now, I'm thinking about replacing the stock Hyundai radio in my Sonata. The car's a 2000; the radio is a high-end (for Hyundai) #H935. I believe that the size is known as a "double DIN" -- in other words, I think, a DIN-sized radio but twice as tall.
I'm interested in acceptable radio performance and good cassette tape playback. CD players in cars turn me off because those that I've seen are all designed to damage the CDs. This Hyundai radio is no different. It also has a CD changer. I've had a similar changer mechanism apart (from a high-end home stereo brand), and I feel that it's certain to self-destruct. One is much better off with a single-disk setup.
The Hyundai radio also doesn't have Dolby for the tapes. There are very few any car stereos that have been made with Dolby (for which the maker must pay a paltry sum for a licensed Dolby chip). (Ironically, my cheapskate Ford's OE radio had it.) "Dolbyized" tapes (in othe words, all commercially-made music tapes) sound screwy when played back without Dolby circuitry.
I've got a regular DIN stereo sitting in my garage that I used in a different car. It's got Dolby, a 5-band equalizer, and an honest output of about 7.5 watts per channel -- plenty for a car. It sounds good. I'd bought it on a dare from JC Whitney and lucked out (I don't recommend buying a car stereo this way). It's a decent radio; ironically, it bears a trademark that violates the ownership of that trademark -- it's a fake of the brand that's on it. And yet a decent car stereo -- go figure. I'm interested in putting this one in my Hyundai.
I'd like some tips about what to do to humanize the installation if I want to replace the present Hyundai stereo with one that's half the size.
Thanks.
Richard