Ok ok, i'm shopping around for an in-dash dvd/cd combo here. Obviously Pioneer and Kenwood are the favorites, but who else is worth considering?

1. Pioneer
2. Kenwood
3. ???
4. ??
5. ?

 

1. Eclipse
2. Alpine
3. Pioneer

 

ALPINE

need anything more be said?... LOL

 

Alpine
Kenwood
Eclipse
Pioneer

Eclipse HU's aren't as good as they used to be. I was extremely pleased once I changed my Eclipse out.

 

Clarion
Alpine
Kenwood
Polk Audio

 

I would say, with years of car audio experience under my belt, that the opposite is true. If anything, they have gotten better. Can you provide any details or evidence to help support your claim?

Tony

 

Alpine
Eclipse
Pioneer
Kenwood

 

id get either a pioneer, eclipse, or alpine. although panasonic has a nice unit...

 

kenwood=

 

Eclipse then Pioneer then Alpine or Clarion. Kenwood big nono in my opinion. They break WAY too often.

--Don

 

Was talking to the rep at Circuit city and he was telling me that
last year in the middle of the year that panisonic suspended it's car audio department untill begining of 04 because the performance was that bad.
the guy was also telling me that the new stuff is just as bad as the 03 models. their R&D sucks in his words...........but it does look pretty nice.

As for HU's i am looking for the same ideas and i have pretty much made up my mind i am going either with pioneer or alpine.......FYI for those of ou who dont like or know how to install HU's and dont like circuit city or smal audio shop's Best Buy will be carrying Alpine in FEB.

 

HEY i thought alpine was the best? well at least better than pioneer.

 

Well what do u guys recommend to go along w/ a 7" microvision, try not too exceed $350 please.

 

Alpine is the least bang for the buck. They are very overpriced, basing this on their name. Not a bad product, just not worth the money. Pioneer has been a strong leader in mobile video for quite some time now....

--Don

 

Eclipse!!!

 

I vote for Pioneer from my experience. But I'm sure there are better manuf.

 

i like my rockford but i really like the Alpines but if you have the money get the double din eclipse headunit its crazy

 

I'd say Eclipse.

 

I totally agree. I have used an 8053 for a long time now and have ZERO regrets. Best HU I've had by far.

Although, I also wouldn't mind having that new (actually it's a blast from the past) Clarion mack daddy HU, the DRZ9255, although I have most of the things the DRZ has in my 8053. I wouldn't mind upgrading to the 8454 either. I like the memory stick option. I've forgotten to write down my settings before disconnecting the battery before . After a few hours of RTA tuning, it's a PITA to loose your settings. The memory stick is a cool idea IMO. Plus, you can get "upgrades" later via the web. Eclipse is pimp.

I'm into fidelity and not so much pretty pics or too many gadgets when it comes to HU.

 

Still a hard choice between the 8053 and the 8454 to some..The memory stick option is great, but unfrotunately the 8053 is the only one available to have the 16Vbalanced lines. Aside from the older 8061....Tough call, but still the best decks out there IMO.

--Don

 

I love my 8053 and Im just using unbalanced preouts.

On that note, Don, would you be able to get me a balanced line adapter for my 8053?
Do you know a price off the top of your head, or if not the best place I could get one?

Thanks
Kevin

 

You're right. I have the 16v balanced outs on mine. I've been told by a lot of people that my sound is the cleanest they've heard. These guys are audiophile guys that are into mega buck home systems, so I take it as a compliment.

I'm torn on the memory stick though. I like the idea of not having to worry about writing down all my settings and being able to get "upgrades" thru the web. One less thing I'd have to worry about.

You are right though, 16V's is sweet to have.

That Clarion unit also looks promising. Don't know that the features warrant that kind of price tag, but I've heard the predecessor and it was pimp back in the day. This unit would have to be the same or better I'd suppose.

 

WAAAAHHHH Best Buy will carry Alpine? Will they carry all of the models or just the lower end?

 

hey, whatever happened to "DUAL"??

 

Panasonic....

 

I really like my Clarion 735vd i just put in last nite. Albiet there is no navigation it has a very clean picture and looks really cool

 

 

I love my Pioneer. When I got it, it was the superior Navi on the market. Now I'd love an Eclipse AVN

So I'd rate:
1) Eclipse
2) Pioneer
3) Everything else.

 

The best brand is what fits your needs best: features, quality, and price. Some people think that a $700 dollar headunit is better quality than $500 headunit, but prices depend on the kind of features one brand/model has and then comes the actual brand itself. If you want all the bells and whistles from a major brand, expect to pay thru the nose. But one's decision to spend that kind of money on a headunit doesn't necessarily label him to have the best stuff, perhaps foolish or he just has more money than he knows what to do with.

I've had a Blaupunkt, Kenwood, Sony, Alpine, Pioneer, and JVC headunits. The best all around one for me is Pioneer based on features and quality I wanted for the money. Simplicity was a major plus for me too. Maybe for others, their take on best bang for the buck is more higher than some. I'll probably keep owning a Pioneer for as long as I opt for aftermarket headunits.

 

Then you should get one. I personally know a dealer who has a special on them....

 

I can't Don. I have a perfectly fine working Navi now. Plus the AVN doesn't look very good with that stock auto shifter.

 

Alpine > all

 

ALPINE ALPINE ALPINE ALPINE!!!! all i have ever had no problems no failure at all I swear by them...quality products..

 

Eclipse
Nakamici
Premier/Clarion
Alpine

Alpine has lost my interest- too generic, you pay more for bells and whistles between models that are not supported by strong hardware -hmmmm do I want a 1bit Alpine DAC or a competitors 24bitDAC? easy decision IMO......Would you pay for a Celeron in a pretty box if you could get a much superior Pentium 4 for the same price?

 

1. Pioneer
2. Alpine
3. Clarion
4. Panasonic

I don't know much about Eclipse , but stay away from Kenwood. They sound great, but break often.

 

That's the sales tactics companies use to sell computers under $500, stick a Celeron processor in there but give it a board that will take a P4 and give them the option to bump up into a P4 for a nominal increase in price.

Even my Pioneer does 16-bit DAC.

 

1) Eclipse
2) Clarion
3) Alpine
4) Nakamichi

Not a huge fan of Blaupunkt (Too much distortion), Pioneer, Kenwood (Except their Excelon Series), Sony (Especially their Xplod line).

 

My ears are my evidence that support my claim. Pearl96Max installed my Eclipse CD5442 and it sounded like crap no matter how I tuned it. (no offense Don) I wanted Alpine as I've found them to have the best sound and quality over the years, but at the time they didn't have any Sirius satrad support. I turned to the Kenwood X879. It absolutely sounds wonderful to my ears. You can argue about reliability because there are facts to provide the basis, but you can't argue as to what sounds better to my particular ears. Same goes with Video. I also have almost $10,000 in Home Audio/Video equiptment. I prefer the sound of Mirage Speakers. Lots of others don't.

 

ALPINE ALPINE ALPINE lol the only reason i say this is because i dumped alot of money into there products so gooooooo ALPINE. [im just mad i didnt read this thread before i bought all alpine ****t}

 

Interesting. I used to have a 5442 as well. I did not like the SQ at ALL either. I'm not sure why it sounded the way it did...I always assumed it had something to do with having a built-in amp, since most of the HUs I've owned didn't. But my 8454 has one, so obviously amps can't be the problem (at least the main problem). All I can say is that the 8454 far exceeds every expectation I had for it before getting one. And I've owned my fair share of "high-end" units.

Tony