I would go by build quality alone (which is a given in any head unit with excellent sound quality), but some features I must have like aux input and mp3 playback (my Pioneer DEX-P1R lacks the latter, one of the main reasons I'm not using it right now).
Having all the features I'd ever want. I've had limited HUs in the past, decent decks but always limited in features. At some point, you always want more. It's those little things that let you enjoy the HU for many years versus only a 3 months or a year. I find you want to get a deck feature rich enough where you will never long for that little bit more. A HU like this will provide many, many years of happy service, reguardless what what setup you run or what car the HU gets thrown in.
visual effects....good display..good GUI (Graphical User Interface)..secuirty...mp3 playback...sum other stuff just has to look cool...an as long as it gives a good signal thats all that matter...i would run a amp anyway
i say good build quality, features,great display which means variable colors and other stuff ,and offcourse not the least sound q... thanks to the burr brown of clarion,carrozzeria,panasonic
I can appreciate Matt Walters response, but I am the complete opposite.
I would preffer excellent sound reproduction, but without all the extra garbage features. I hate paying 60-70% more for a stereo just because it has multi-color illumination, clock, bass controlls, fancy smancy pre-set EQ configurations, crossover controlls, motorized flip-down face, loudness,screen savers, text, random, etc...
I just want sound. CLEAN sound. Thats it !!!!!!!!!!
ok if you just want sound and dont care with any of the features, then you don't need a head unit, you just need to go to a disco or any night clubs and just listen to the dj playing music lol.... for reals dawgg
just get a HU that has it all like when i chose my premier 860 , performance wise it has everything only fault i wish display was a bit brighter in bright daylight & maybe the functions could have been faster 2 access but these r really minors flaws ....
I can appreciate music, and sound, but I dislike scrolling through a bunch of buttons to get good sound.
Clean sound is usually found in simple systems. The ideal speaker system is a full range driver that is capable of reproducing the entire spectrum that our human ears can pick up. Unfortunately that isnt the case, but it would be "ideal".
When you start to add more links to the chain, it becomes flimsy and out of controll.
Take a huge corporation Vs a small independent contractor as an example.
When you deal with the main source, you will get better response. If you have to go through all the links/ranks, you will end up with something less than satisfactory.
I guess what I am trying to say is that when you make a copy of a copy and then another copy of the preceding copy and so forth, by the time you get the last copy at the end of the chain, you get something less than satisfactory.
I guess I am just relating to the high end stuff that doesnt have all the extra features. Its kinda-like a Rolls Royce. It doesnt have a roof rack, tow hitch, or a ghetto subwoofer box in the trunk. It comes with excellence throughout without all the extra unnecessary garbage.
By the way, I bet Rolls Royce has a state of the art sound system in it. It may not have zappco amps, JL subs, Diamond Audio components, and/or an Ipod, but it has a nice clean sound.