So the trusty Nakamichi Amp has finally bitten the dust after many years of service. After a few hours hanging around the coffee shops of the A6, the Mantis now has a new head unit & CerwinVega B52 Class D Amp, courtesy of Manchester Car Audio. The HU is a top-of-the-range Alpine unit with DAB+ but… I prefer my old 2008 Alpine unit which has a better (higher resolution) display. I probably need to get used to the new unit, that’s all. Sound quality is first class & the Bluetooth phone functions are impressive; making/receiving phone calls was remarkably good using the Alpine supplied mike which was installed between the dash panels. On the downside, the DAB isn’t working which is a bit frustrating – it looks like the heated front screen is killing the signal off. Heigh ho! Phil at MCA is looking into alternatives, possibly mounted the DAB aerial on the rollbar. In the meantime since… October last year?… I have some music to listen to in the car, with the added bonus that about 40% of the passenger footwell has been reclaimed when the Nakamichi amp went. Marvellous!
Monthly Archives: March 2016
Day off day out
A day off from work today & I finally pulled my finger out… at least in terms of getting the stereo working again! I always rated the ads component speaker install SQPlus did on the Mantis a few years ago, but knew the company had disappeared – another victim of the recession perhaps? (Their installs must have averaged about £2k 😮). By the miracle of the Internet, it turns out that the owner, Phil Leach, is now working with Manchester Car Audio, so I popped over there this morning. After a brief discussion around my dead Nakimichi amp, I was soon putting a deposit down for a new Amp & Alpine head unit. I’ll be back next Wednesday to get it all fitted. So that’s the tunes sorted… never mind the leaking engine, badly fitting hood or shocking shocks! 😂
As it was a gorgeous spring day with some warmth in the sun, I decided to go the long way home from MCA and headed out to Macclesfield, home of JP Exhausts. I was soon chatting to a mega helpful chap called Will who instantly confirmed a small hole near the weld in the exhaust downpipe.
He very kindly gummed it up for me & we agreed a return visit was in order to get two new downpipes made up. I also tentatively asked about a system that would allow me to lower the exhaust noise levels – the answer was remarkably straightforward: a solenoid driven diverter valve which sends the exhaust flow via a bigger silencer. Simples! There is enough room under the Mantis but it’s a lot of work so £500 plus the exhaust flow controllers. Maybe next year?…