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sandy | what is the best head unit out there? suggestions? anyone? |
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Alan | get an alpine. even the simplest. you'll be glad you did. |
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| There's no good answer to your question. What you want is the best receiver for your particular needs, wants, and budget. Otherwise, the "best" is the most expensive on the market. Here's an idea: call Crutchfield at 1-800-555-8151 and let them ask you some qualifying questions to figure out what would be the best head unit for YOU. |
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| alpine, not questions asked!!! |
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Anonymous | try to find a clarion DRX-9675Z. Cleanest CD player out there |
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Anonymous | Alpine!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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Anonymous | its like the porsche of car audio it sohuld be "alpine.. there is no substitute" and there really isnt so go alpine or go home! like Alan said the shittiest alpine is better than alot of stuff out there |
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| The Blaupunkt San Francisco CD72 is easily the best head unit on the market at the moment, look at what you get. Also, before I get slammed by people, the specs listed on the crutchfield website are incorrect the FM sens. is 3dbf and cd signal noise is WAY above 85 probably atleast 108. These figures are incorrect due to the different testing standards of different companies. |
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KFS | Eclipse |
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andrew wade | no head unit comes close to the nakamichi CD 400. If you would own one you would know. It blows away anything around it's price of $350 with it's sound quality. |
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| Alpine & Kenwood |
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zac davis | alpine sound very treblely,crisp,to harsh for me nakamichi sound good panasonic r too smooth, low treble sony just sound terrible,(except old mobile es) kenwood also sound good all in all i think pioneer sound the best (in the $350 range) however all these brands sound better as the price goes up. i'm an istaller and i think ease of use r very important, pioneer has features that r simple to use, also they use a "blue light" laser eye instead of red, the color blue can be focused more sharply than red, all pioneers have this and are capable of reading scratched cds better than others, even unfinallized cd-r/w's! combined w/ hp xovers and lp variable ouput, oganic hi-res display, ect., and low price, pioneer wins....if price isn't an issue look at deck's that have hard drives, no more cd's. |
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Anonymous | Personally when it comes to quality (sound and build) vs. features vs. price ratio Alpine HUs score highly, particularly the 9815. Ton of features, especially the 6 channel time corrections, active crossover (adjustable between 6,12,18 and 24 dB/octav) and 5 band parametric equalizer. With 3 sets of pre-outs (front+rear+sub or high+mid+low), all of them 4V, ability to play MP3, WMA and different types of CDs and many other features too long to list, what more can you say? If you want to go for the ultimate though, there are several: Alpine F#1 Status (7990R) including PXA-H900, Nakamichi CDA 700 II, Denon HU (forgot its model number). Anything that has 24 bit/96 kHz DAC, great chassis construction, no-compromise build quality, high S/N ratio, low THD, high output voltage, and excellent sound reproduction even by audiophile standards is usually the best HU out there. Each company has its flagship HU, just decide which brand you prefer and go from there. Assuming you have the cash to buy it... |
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Anonymous | Alpine's are overrated.. Nakamichi's sound much better... |
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RZA Unregistered guest | I'm looking for a head unit at the moment. I was going to get a Kenwood but i haven't seen any real comment on them. I'll spend around 500 eur give or take. I saw the Alpine 9815rb & Pioneer DEX-P77MP, both seem great. What else should I look at? Or which one of these should I buy? |
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New member Username: GlasswolfPost Number: 19 Registered: 12-2003 | I would avoid Kenwood myself. poor reliability, but nice features and looks. Look at Eclipse. Top of the line company. after that, Alpine, then Clarion or Pioneer Premiere series. |
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New member Username: Its_bacon12Post Number: 3 Registered: 12-2003 | how are panasonic head units? |
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New member Username: GlasswolfPost Number: 53 Registered: 12-2003 | Panasonic has a pretty poor failure rate as well in general, but they do look nice. |
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Unregistered guest | WTF is all this about weak pre outs on alpine 9815 Is this really really true? My heart would be broken, does this mean I shouldn't buy the deck? I really liked this one. What do you guys think? |
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New member Username: HydroPost Number: 33 Registered: 12-2003 | Thats bull RzA the preouts are 4v and I have this Cd Deck and It is absolutely wonderful. |
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New member Username: GlasswolfPost Number: 143 Registered: 12-2003 | where did you hear that the Alpine pre-outs were weak? I use a 9813 and it has 4V pre-outs, just like the 9815 does. They work fine. If you want to steer away from Alpine though, look at Eclipse. |
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Unregistered guest | Apparently there's a problem on the sub pre-out. Something about it not being 4v. I understand that u don't reach 4v before really high volume right? I'm new to all this tech shaait but read this "http://www.caraudioforum.com/showthread.php?s=d921b6919cdfb9501590ceb64d0395e1&t hreadid=163754&highlight=9815" and tell me what you think people. I searched this forum for "9815" and the issue of weak sub pre-out occurs more than often. If this aint such a big issue then I'll be off to get one. |
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New member Username: GlasswolfPost Number: 167 Registered: 12-2003 | Apparently the sub preout is weaker, but there are several fixes to this. firstly, just set the sub amplifier's gains to match teh preout voltage and you shouldn't see any difference at all. otherwise, use a line-driver from someone like audiocontrol, or just use the sub output level control of the head unit to boost the sub output up about +6dB and that should correct the problem as well. I did notice I had to re-adjust the sub amp gains for use with my 9813 as well, but after that it works just fine. If this does bother you, just buy a higher end Eclipse head unit. They offer 8/16V pre-outs. |
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Unregistered guest | What are Burr-Brown DACs? Will it do any good in a car audio system? |
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New member Username: GlasswolfPost Number: 241 Registered: 12-2003 | Burr-Brown are the makers of very high end digital-to-analog converters. They've been around for a long time, and used in home audio products like Yamaha's flagship AV receiver, the RX-V1, and car audio in items like Alpine's CDA-7905 AM/FM/CD player. good stuff, but not cheap. |
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Unregistered guest | What do you think of this for a cheaper alternative to the 9815? "http://www.pioneer.nl/nl/product_detail.jsp?product_id=3176&taxonomy_id=25-121" Don't be fooled by the colour, its actually a dark silver, not that ugly brown shyt. Saw it at a shop yesterday and it really looks yummy. Just look at the specs and tell me what ya think. |
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New member Username: GlasswolfPost Number: 267 Registered: 12-2003 | looks nice. I've got a Pioneer Premiere CD player as well, I just don't use it anymore. It's an older model, but still pretty darned good. Cost $900 when it was new. Their SuperTuner IV is sweet. |
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New member Username: GanmanPost Number: 1 Registered: 12-2003 | Ive got to say!!! If you would like a deck that is respectable and a good price, try the Blaupunkt MP3000 Player... Its a nice simple deck and runs for about $135.. Looks decent and can still put on a show. Blaupunkt has some underated decks and they will be a big role player a few years from now... But you dont have to take my word for it. |
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New member Username: GlasswolfPost Number: 382 Registered: 12-2003 | ehh blaupunkt has been around for years and years. I was never that impressed with them, and I'm still not, personally. I think they look like the suck, and are mediocre performers at best. They got their fame mainly by being the factory deck in Porsche and BMW for a while. Mostly during the Yuppie years (80s) |
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D. A. W. Unregistered guest | Kenwood, Pioneer, Sony, Blaupunkt, and a host of others are not made by their parent companys. They are all made by a Koren company named "TOK." I currently own a Nakamichi MB-100 and am not terribly pleased with it. It does outperform every other easily availible car stereo though. If you want the absolute BEST SOUND QUALITY (no brightnes, no harshnes, no audible distortion THD+N), The ONLY choice is a McIntosh MX406 AM/FM/CD Control Center! http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/ It sports Dual Burr-Brown Digital-to-analog converters (for high quality cd sound). Fiber optic digital input for cd changer (so that you still use the dual 20bits for conversion to analog). 112dB signal to noise ratio (1 watt @ 1khz produces 112 db) so it's REALLY LOUD (other car stereos dont come close to this). Total Harmonic Distortion of only 0.004 % (this is the unwanted noise that the electronics in the head unit add to your music (almost all other car stereos will have 0.05%)) it is the LOWEST in the car audio world. Maximum Voltage Output from the RCAs is 8 Vrms (Vrms means Volts Root Mean Square, this means constant voltage, not the imaginary voltage which the unit "could" reach if lightning strikes) This is extremely high voltage, the higher the voltage the lower you can turn the gains on your amplifier- the cleaner the sound. This unit is not loaded with features, just the best sound quality in the world. Finding a McIntosh dealer is very tough though, and the cost of the head unit alone is $3500, but worth every penny. It does not have internal amplifiers so you will need to buy one (or more if you'd like). I would suggest McIntosh again, Celestra, or Nakamichi (specificaly the Nakamichi PA-2004, not the nakamichi PA-1004 the 1004 is awful). http://www.celestra.it/eng/products.html http://www.Nakamichi.com Both the McIntosh and the Celestra are hand built and have large numbers of capacitors for extreme musical transiants (they have no problem with bass). The Nakamichi 2004 can handle 8 volt inputs as can the McIntosh. Bottom line: it all depends on the kind of music you listen to. There isn't "really" a "best car stereo." You need to listen to as many stereos as you can, and find the one that sounds best to you. Everyones ears are different, if they wern't we would all listen to the same music. I listen to jazz and blues for the most part (I also have eminem, tool, and non compos mentis cd's among other. Im only part geek!) |
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JPG Unregistered guest | I FOUND A BOSS 280 WATTS MAX WITH A 5 VOLT PREAMP OUTPUT FOR 120$. IS THIS A GOOD DEAL? i WOULD BE WILLING TO SPEND UP TO 400$. IS THERE SOMETHING BETTER OUT THERE? ALPINE? ALSO THE DECK WILL BE GOING TO FOCAL UTOPIAS IN THE FRONT, KAPPA'S IN THE REAR, AND 2 KICKER 10'S IN THE BACK. IS THERE A BETTER HU FITTED FOR THIS SYSTEM? I LISTEN TO TRANCE, RAP THE MOST, IS THERE A GOOD FIT FOR THIS TYPE OF MUSIC AS WELL? |