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I like the rotary volume **** and the higher RMS wattage of the Panasonic, however the Sony has a much higher CD signal-to-noise ratio. Which is more important, signal-to-noise ratio or RMS wattage? Which is the better head unit?

 

ehh neither, go with an eclipse if you can afford, or a pioneer or alpine

wattage pretty much isn't what they say it is anyways. as long as its 45x4 or 50x4 or 52x4 you should be fine..

if i HAD to choose between your 2, id probably go with sony, but it is ugly

 

Ive had a lot more Sony units come back with problems than I have Panasonic. That being said, theres my choice, but as long as you are shopping at CC, stop by and ask the car audio manager if he will give you any deals on 05 product. Or theres probably some 'open box' head units, because I know at my store we are trying to get rid of all the 05 product to get all the 06 up on display, and so youd probably get a couple bucks knocked off of an older model and get a better unit, from Pioneer hopefully.

 

I know money is an important factor, but if you are spending $100 on an HU, I would see if you can scrap up another $60 or so and get an eclipse. From everything I've heard the eclipse are great HU. My brother has had one in his max for like 6 years and it still works great.

Sonys and Panas just don't seem to hold up as well, and I would hate to see you spend another $100 on a super cheap HU just a few months down the road when you could have just spent $160-200 up front and saved the hassle. (My cousin's Panasonic screen crapped out like 8 months after he bought it, and then a month later it wouldn't play cds)

 

yeah but eclipses play mp3s and I don't wanna pay for extra for somethign I'm not gonna use. Also, I won't be using an external amp so I don't want to be paying extra for a unit with 2 or 3 pre-amp outputs when I'm not even gonna be using any of them. Besides, aren't what counts the specs of the amp, not the name? If the specs are just as good for what i'll be using the H/U, why pay more for a Pioneer/eclipse/alpine name? Would you say Sony and Panasonic crap out prematurely because they don't make products exclusively for car audio, like pioneer/alpine/eclipse do?

 

Pioneer makes a better HU than sony/panasonic, for the same price:


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1134702498021

ask anyone on this forum with a pioneer and they will tell you how long their pioneer has lasted.

for a little more money, you can get a better model, this is their cheapest one i believe.

 

yeah, i actually have that very unit right now. I just wanted to get a unit that puts out a higher s/n ratio. And the sony has a whopping 120 db, compared to only 94 db of the pioneer. Also, is 22 watts RMS the highest output of a head unit? I don't wanna have an external amp.

 

Signal to noise ratio by a landslide. Figure what good is the 14 actual watts if the signal is dirty from above 8 watts?

Id say hold out for a better headunit, worst case get the eclipse 1000

 

then i'm getting the sony H/U for its 120 db s/n ratio. thanks dude

 

ask me how long my 840 lasted....

 

how long did your 840 last?

 

I'm still using a Pioneer DEH-P605 that I bought in '94. It still works just like the day I bought it.

-Robert

 

I would get an external amp rather than another crappy h/u...

 

I recommended the Eclipse for their durability, but you have a valid point in not wanting to pay for extra features.

Considering your situation I would probably be getting a pioneer-they are built well and will accomplish your goal nicely.


Also, most of the headunits will list about the same amount of power from the internal amp. But, a Pioneer will sound much better and louder than a Sony with comparable specs. Quality and cleanliness of power makes a much bigger difference than 3 watts rms.

 

Extra features from Eclipse isnt where they stop...durability and a 3 year warranty with theft coverage owns the other options hands down.

 

no problem, just recognize that many of these companies go into this with no regulation as to what numbers they print. Youd get a much higher quality deck in the eclipse 1000 and its NEGLIGIBLE price difference for what don told me he has it listed for right then. pretty sure the price still stands.

 

i was just thinking, would I really notice a difference going from a headunit with a CD s/n ratio of 94 db to one with 120 db if my speakers only have a sensitivity of 91 db?

 

sensitivity of the speakers is just how well the driver uses the power it's being given. speaker A with a sensitivity of 91 dB will play louder when given the same power as speaker B with a sensitivity of 85 dB.

 

no. get an amp if you want better sound.

 

EXACTLY !!!

No HU is going to perform well with comps. Most manufacturers will even tell you Do Not Run These from a HU.

 

thanks for backing me up. it is the 2nd time I recommended an amp in this thread.

 

Some people are hard learners...

 

i guess he really doesn't want to spend the money for an external amp..

btw Don...heard some Vanadiums today...

 

but you're getting AA components kid...

 

haha i know, it just a general statement on my part.

 

don't expect miracles and deaden those doors.

 

Yea, and you like?

 

i hope they're good...we'll see...we'll see....

 

yeah, pretty damn clean. blended in pretty nicely with the ava 15 after some tuning. solid midbass and smooth highs.

 

And those are the metal domes...

 

I'm not using components, i'm using diamond audio coaxials.

 

they still will sound better amped trust me. It took me awhile before I got an amp for my coaxials and components and I will never look back. basic amps are so cheap now too...

 

yeah i know, but i don't wanna be listening to the music loud, nor do I want to go through all that trouble of running all those wires everywhere, taking out the rear seats, etc.

 

anybody know that if after a certain point, signal-to-noise ratio is meaningless, like THD less than 0.1% is inaudible and frequencies outside the human range of 20-20,000 Hz are inaudible?

 

yes...but are you familiar with the term 'cummulative error'? How every connection, every inch of wire across the mine field of noise called the car- down to terminal leads on the speaker themselves changes your starting value.

So to me that is reason enough to strive for the healthier numbers to end up above par when its all said and done.

Funny you say that and it was you spec shopping/racing in this thread...hehe