Hello I am a new Bentley owner I purchased a 2005 continental gt and am absolutely blow away by the craftsmanship its been a dream I've had since childhood. The only thing I don't like is the radio and honestly it a bit of a shock because the sound quality is terrible so my question is if anyone has advice on a replacement please feel free to comment and I am somewhat of a tight *** price wise but will not compromise quality if there is such a thing... Thanks in advance

 

Yeah, agree. The whole system is a nightmare. I am not sure you talking sound wise or electronic wise. Sound wise, you need to talk to a custom shop. I am half deaf anyways done too many raves. Electronically wise, you have choices to enhance the connectivity to your car. Need to find out more and what fits?

~ZaOs~

 

Honestly I am only concerned with the sound quality. I have always installed my own equipment but never on a Bentley though it's still same concept id rather not destroy something that's pricey. I did see a few devices that would possibly connect to the plugs going into the cd changer giving me a decent sound and Bluetooth. Is this something that anyone else has experience in?

 

I don't remember the brand I purchased, but it is terrible. There are several bluetooth injection devices to the stock CD player plugs you can use. easy to install, but some are better than others.

Then of course there are MMI kits out there too, but with greater cost.

 

Awesome I appreciate the advice. I am old school so finding this site or whatever it's called is the coolest thing since sliced bread that being said I am now trying to get with the time as far as technology and such

 

Welcome to the forum, you'll find answers for almost anything Bentley related here.

Now being new and apparently unfamiliar with the search function at the top-right of this grid ("Search this Forum"), you wouldn't realize this question is akin to walking into McDonalds and asking 'Does anyone know where I can get a cheap hamburger?!' There are dozens of threads on this topic...after reading a few you'll be fully enlightened.

I'd search for 'BenHUR' (Bentley Head Unit Replacement) and 'tesla' to find comprehensive info on this topic, including installation, sources, pricing, and others experience-priceless info.

Then when you decide what to do add your own experiences here so we can all learn.

A small unsolicited bit of advice: if you're just new to owning a 2005 CGT, you may find there's other pressing issues-or not!

Again, welcome & good luck!

 

I sure will and thanks.

 

My 2006 came with the Ben Hur system, its functional and helps add Bluetooth and car play but looks cheap. I would look into the Tesla-style models, which fits the image of the car better IMO.

 

Fully agree. The actual head in mine is OK but it's far from ideal

C

 

Yes, search on this, I have a couple threads on my Ben Hur conversion. I went with Focal speakers all-around, a big subwoofer cabinet in the trunk facing through the ski pass-through. I put a top-end Alpine radio in, but it failed after about six months (bad connection inside, then constantly re-booted), I bought the best Kenwood I could to replace it with.

I've put probably $9k into the stereo, it's pretty good, but only about 15% better than the one that came in my wife's new Cadillac. Most of it has to do with the speaker placement, if your ears were on your thighs, it would sound better.

My big sub is fun, but it buzzes the trunk lid and some of the interior parts when I crank it, which limits the upper level.

I think the Ben Hur looks fine, but others don't. I think the Tesla-style one is ok, but only for certain interiors, it would look awful with my blond wood.

I've found that the factory speakers are not particularly good, that the factory amp is just fine, the factory infotainment is absolute junk and that you really need a subwoofer.

Plan on $5k or so, $2,500 for the Ben Hur, $1,000 for the radio, then install, add in good speakers if you want them. I bought Focals from the U.K. with no VAT, about half the price here in the U.S.

One problem you're going to have is that there simply aren't Kenwood or Alpine radios even for sale, my high-end audio shop has $200k in back-orders with Kenwood alone, I had to buy an overpriced one on Ebay or wait.

In terms of just hooking up a bluetooth adapter, blah. The radio is junk, it will just sound bad.