Wouldn't it be nice to have a detachable front? like, it's pretty nice to be able to remove the whole player from the car, but sometimes it's not possible to walk around with it (like, when going to clubs or whatever), and i REALLY don't want people (like envious or thiefs.. =]) to see i've got a 1000$ dollars worth sound system on my car.. =]

Btw, i think that's the only thing REALLY missing on empeg.. =]

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[email protected]

I'm going to give my standard reply to this one (it keeps coming up):

I had my detachable-face CD player stolen. Detachable faces do not stop thieves. The theives know that they can just order another face from the company's parts department.

So, if you want to keep your stereo, you have to take it out of the car.

It's too bad that the big car-stereo manufacturers don't make pullout units any more. I'm so glad that the Empeg is a full pullout. If it wasn't, I wouldn't own it, because I'd be in constant fear that it'd be stolen.

Tony Fabris
Empeg #144

> It's too bad that the big car-stereo manufacturers don't make pullout units any more. I'm so glad that the Empeg is a full pullout. If it wasn't, I wouldn't own it, because I'd be in constant fear that it'd be stolen.

But sometimes you just can't walk around with your unit, and you have to leave the car somewhere non-secure.. wouldn't you feel safer removing the unit's face? I mean, thiefs would still know there was a sound system there, but would be harder to notice...



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[email protected]

That's not true at all. All you need to do is follow the Kenwood method. When you buy the unit, you receive a "Kenwood Passport" which they advise you to store safely away. Without that passport, you CANNOT buy a faceplate by itself.

If more people did that, then those units wouldn't get stolen.

But sometimes you just can't walk around with your unit, and you have to leave the car somewhere non-secure.. wouldn't you feel safer removing the unit's face?

Not since my removable-face unit was stolen. I've had my car ripped off twice now. I no longer feel safe leaving anything in the car. My new car has a factory alarm system, but that still doesn't make me feel any safer.

You're right - I can't always walk around with the unit. If I can anticipate I'm going to be in that situation, I just won't bring the unit with me on that trip. But for the most part, if it's just a question of convenience, I make sure to go to the extra trouble to carry the unit in its carrying case. It's no different than my wife carrying around her purse- and I never hear her complaining about there being times she "can't just walk around with it".

Tony Fabris
Empeg #144

Thieves smashed out my passenger window approx 1 month after I installed the Empeg in my car. My wife's car (which has a removable faceplate that she takes with her) was broken into by them, as well.

I have a Sony in-dash CD-player with removable faceplate for a head unit, in addition to my Empeg. I have a camera bag (pelican case coming soon) for both the Empeg and the faceplate and I am religious about removing them from the car.

The night it happend I heard the glass break, called the cops, provided their vehicle's license plate number, and three weeks later the morons were nailed. I watched them fish around in my car. They searched the glove compartment for anything of value (presumably a radar detector or a removable faceplate) and found nothing; they had started to tinker with the dash when they noticed me watching them and bolted. Had I not been there watching them I'd have lost the Sony. I know this because my wife was not so lucky. She's got a faceplate with no stereo for it. Like Tony, they took hers -- sans faceplate.

I'm glad the unit comes out of the car. The cops were amazed -- they said that most people who have pull-out units or removable faceplates don't bother to remove them from the vehicle -- and the stereo gets stolen. Dumb move if you live in the city... And a solid confirmation (it came from a law enforcement officer) of what Tony is saying...

-- Bleys

"If you would judge, understand." -- Seneca

Without that passport, you CANNOT buy a faceplate by itself.

Dredd, that's a common misconception. Let me paint you a picture:

The very thief who steals your Kenwood might have taken it because he knew the value of it. He might very well work in a car audio shop and do "cheap installs on the side" for his friends or himself using a combination of stolen components and things ordered from the shop. He's got access to faceplates because the shop has a display model and he just provides the "kenwood passport" of the display model in order to order a new faceplate. And if ever asked why he's ordered one that way he can say that a customer asked to buy a faceplate, said he'd lost his kenwood passport, and asked if there was any way he could get one; trying to make the customer happy (the customer comes first and is always right, you know?) the "employee" ordered it the only way he could think of -- and the shop has another happy customer. Backtracing the invoice reveals that the "employee" didn't take the time to note the "customer's" contact info. The "employee" says it was busy that day or he was in a rush or whatever -- and must've missed it. There's no lead to follow, the employee didn't do anything wrong in the eyes of his employer or peers, and life continues unmolested.

That kind of plausible excuse is only usable periodically, but I'm sure that kind of thing is more common than we suspect...

Maybe I'm just cynical -- however I feel it's prudent not to underestimate the criminally-minded. Just because the crime seems "small" doesn't mean that the mind behind it is equally so...

-- Bleys


"If you would judge, understand." -- Seneca

most people who have pull-out units or removable faceplates don't bother to remove them from the vehicle -- and the stereo gets stolen.

I keep Emma in the trunk during parking and rely on my vehicle's lock protection: if a key was used to lock it, it can only be unlocked by key. Thus if they smash the windows, they still can't open the doors, or the trunk. I figure Emma should be safe in the trunk. Is she??

Henno
# 00120 (6GB+18)

> I figure Emma should be safe in the trunk. Is she??

If you don't have a remote trunk release, or they don't pull out the back seat to get to the trunk, or take a pry-bar to the trunk lid, or steal the whole car...

It is safer than leaving it in your dash.

I figure Emma should be safe in the trunk. Is she?

There is an old saying: "Locks only keep honest people out."

My first car theft was through the trunk (well, the rear hatch- it was my GTI hatchback). They pried it open with a crowbar. This allowed them to steal my rear deck speakers (and the whole rear deck while they were at it). It ended up costing a lot of money in the long run, a lot more than a smashed front window would have cost.

Some thieves will "case" a parking lot, watching people park their cars and seeing where they go and estimating how long it will take them to return. If they see you putting Emma in the trunk, you're in trouble.

I make sure that when I carry the unit out of the car and bring it with me, it's in full view. Just in case any thieves are watching.


Tony Fabris
Empeg #144

It seems as if everyone has forgotten one key point!
The unit needs to remain removable,simply to feed it new tunes,therefore the idea of a removable face is implausible.................Think about it.

If you are planning to go clubbing then just leave the unit at home.

Term

Yeah, nothing quite as fun as owning a car stereo you can't take anywhere in the car for fear of it being stolen...

Good point. In that case, dont buy it at all. Don't buy a cd player either, it could be stolen. What about the whole car? That could be stolen too. Maybe you should just keep the car at home too and catch a ride with someone else.

Term

Good point. In that case, dont buy it at all. Don't buy a cd player either, it could be stolen. What about the whole car? That could be stolen too. Maybe you should just keep the car at home too and catch a ride with someone else.

That's what insurance is for ... to give you the peace of mind to take your expensive things out there into the world even though they might be ripped off.

As for expensive... The thieves did a bit more than US$1200.00 to my passenger side, Tony. When they levered and smashed the window they damaged the body that surrounds the frameless window on my MR2, tore the window outward which bent the passenger door such that the new window wouldn't seat properly, and placed a 6" diameter by 1/2" depth dent in the door panel, itself (probably someone's knee in the door).

The body shop had my car for 16 days to fix all of this. Thank god for insurance (which provided a rental car, too).

I strongly urge people not to keep things in the trunk. When my wife's car was hit (same night mine and others were), the threesome did enter trunks. (In fact, some of the best finger prints taken were taken off my wife's trunk lid; she doesn't wash her car, much.) The best guess the cops could offer was that the theives were looking for amps and cd-changers -- which are typically mounted in the trunk.

-- Bleys


"If you would judge, understand." -- Seneca

Hey, you're the one who says you should leave the stereo at home when you go out in your car, so as to avoid it being stolen.

That's what I think is stupid.

That was sarcasm.

Seriously though, why is leaving it at home if you are going to a bad part of town stupid?

It's not stupid, but there are better solutions. If you're so worried, buy a carrycase and bring it with you.