I want to get an aftermarket headunit, preferably with 3 4Vpreouts and sub controls for around $400. I am stuck between the Alpine CDA-7864 or the Sony ES M-750. What do you guys think?

 

Try and get about $250 more and head over to The Good Guys and talk to them about getting the Sony CDX-C90. It's "THE" top of the line CD player. It was originally $1200. At least that's the price they have it marked at, at the store by my work. They have the floor model for $450. Just an idea. In my opinion I don't like the new face on the Sony decks. I don't like the red as it doesn't match anything. Also that black face thing seems more gimmicky to me than anything. So if I were you then I would go for the Alpine. Shop around though, you might just be able to find yourself an excellent deal on an even better head unit.

 

sorry sony is a POS...if anything i would stay away from it...my CDX is about 2 years old and the display is completely shot and the volume controls and seek buttons no longer work...

look at the kenwood KDC-X815...awesome head unit...im getting it in 2 weeks ....3 4.5V gold preouts...great unit for the price... http://www.kenwoodusa.com for specs...

 

Good point on the Kenwood. My friend has that one also. I like it alot. Did you have the CDX-C90? THat's crazy that all that stuff happened to it. I guess that's what extended warranty's are for. Although my friend has the Kenwood and he's had some problems with the face. I guess with modern electronics ya just never know. I've personally been very happy with Sony products in the past. To each his own.

 

Don't get Sony. Anything from Sony sucks. I have a pile of broken Sony stuff that I keep just to always remind myself how much I hate Sony.

 

you too?

im gonna add my current HU to it...currently in th pile i have an old "pull out unit" (before removeable faces)...a sony 10 disc changer that likes to eat cd's and some other odds and ends...

 

I have a Sony CDX that has serverd me real well for 3 plus years. I am not a big Alpine fan (just a personal feeling), but I still would go with the Alpine.

I love my Nakamechi Z45. I'm looking for a head for my Pathfinder and it looks like either Kenwood or Clarion.

 

<img src="http://www.geocities.com/ryanhayslip/maxhead3.jpg">

 

I have had a Sony CDX-4180, and after about a year it started eatin gmy CD's (they wont come back out, one was still stuck in there when i smashed it out of frustration), i had a kenwood with a motorized faceplate, that wore out after another year. now i have a Pioneer DEH-P7200 head unit. 2 pre-outs and 1 sub-out wiht on/off controls and wicked nice display. as for the wattage on the preamp outs, 2volt is fine, no need for anythign better unless you are running a competition stereo, most amps, even the Soundstream Tarantula (1000x1 @8ohms monoblock, $4000) only requires 2 volt, anything more make the amp work harder and overheat faster. JL, infinity, RF, etc.. all only need 2volt out. dont be fooled, look into it, i am serious.
-Nick

 

I guess I'm lucky or something as I've had excellent products from Sony. I've had a XRC-210, XRC-550, XRC-900. The one was part of the Mobile ES line. The tape player was excellent. I swear that if you were to have put in a new tape you wouldn't have thought that it was a tape. I'm now awaiting to get my Sony Mobile ES CDX-C90. Which I will hook up to my Mobile ES CDX-805 Changer. My friend has this deck and it's incredible. The Kenwood Excelon 815 CD player seems to be a good sounding deck. I also like the way it looks. I'm not a very big fan of Pioneer's stuff. I guess everyone has to have the gimmicks. There's my $.02! Oh another thing...Clarion is pretty much low end in my book.

 

imo sony still has a whole lot of room for improvement. for that price i'de stick with either pioneer, alpine, kenwood, clarion, or eclipse. i've had the eclipse 7301 head unit and it works real nice it's still my favorite deck. eclipse decks are real good for sq. but just too bad they aren't compatible with alpine's navi unit right out of the box.

 

my 2 cents.....ive had nothing but trouble with sony. my first cd player from them refused to eject cds until you took something and jammed it down the cd slot (which i gladly did :-) and the new one (which i shouldnt have bought, but got a good deal on) is junk too. i like kenwood and pioneer. consider these or i guees the alpine, but i hope you dont get the sony, and if you do i hope its not as bad as mine were. good luck!!!!

 

That's not quite correct. Higher input voltages do not make the amp work harder and overheat. A higher signal voltage will provide a stronger, cleaner signal for the amp to amplify, so, if anything, the amp will work less to get the same loud, clear output. All amps come with a range of acceptable signal voltages, but there's a good reason why better HUs and signal processors have high-voltage outputs.

 

you are correct my friend...less stress and a much much cleaner sound...

 

4 Volt or better pre-outs. I wouldn't even concider any thing less.

 

Hmmmm..... I guess I'll put my $0.02 worth in here.(picture me standing on a soapbox)

IMHO everyone has their "that one's the bomb" head unit, and their "that one sucks @$$" head unit. Although I will agree that Sony hasn't reached their full potential, I wouldn't entirely rule them out, either. I've been pretty satisfied personally with Clarion, and probably won't look at anything else, except maybe Eclipse. And although I don't particularly like their looks, you can't knock Alpine for durability. Now Kenwood(fallen off the wagon, of late) and Pioneer (pretty boy trying to run with the 'big dawgs') aren't even in the class of the others, so I'll leave those two alone, for now.
But bottom line is that your two decisive factors will be what you will be willing to spend, and what are your long-term goals for your system. I've been doing autosound and security for over 10 years now, and that's what I used to ask all my customers when they walked in the door. At least you are doing the research and asking instead of just picking the first pretty, shiny thing out there.
Now, that being said... if I had to really, REALLY choose between the Alpine CDA-7864 and the Sony ES M-750, I'd choose the Alpine. Less headaches in the long-term, and greater flexability when it comes to upgrading your system.

 

When I bought my Maxima, the radio's display never worked. I got prices from a few places and the dealer ($235 to repair and >$700 to replace) I decided to go aftermarket.
I looked at the Alpine and the Sony and did not really care for the appearance. I looked at the Kenwood Excelon and thought of it as a good unit, but I wanted something that was going to be a good foundation for my Sound System.
Therefore, I decided to go with Eclipse because of their reputation.
Once I get my unit installed, I will give you a synopsis of how it sounds.

 

I like Alpine, for performance, but more imporantly, for Mechanical Reliability reasons. No guarantees, of course, but Alpine does have very good reliability ratings, according to most people.