Ok guys,

I've finally picked out everything that I want for my stereo...

For the headunit, I picked the Kenwood KDC-9017. My friend has it in her car and it looks so nice and I like it. I always liked the motorized face ones.

For my speakers, I've decided to go with 6.5" Eclipse 8963 Point Source Series Speakers all around pushed by a JL Audio 300/4 Amp.

In the trunk, I'm gonna have 2 10" JL Audio W3 Subwoofers in a Sealed Enclosure pushed by a JL Audio 500/1 Amplifier.

What do you guys think? So far, I already purchased the subs and box. I don't have anything else yet.

I can't wait to get my stereo in...I think it's gonna sound pretty nice. I want to make my friends jealous!

Later,
-Nick

 

Kenwood makes ok headunits. Id look into the Premier 930 by Pioneer. This headunit made me look and listen to car audio in a totally different manner. Blows away my old Eclipse HU and Kenwood flip face.

Good choice for highs though, Eclipse point sources are very reliable and give very crisp clean sound. Bass wise you should have a very hard hitting yet clean sound from them, especially pushed by that enourmous JL 500/1. As for highs the 300x4 will be probably overpowering for those Eclipse's, but if you watch the settings youll be ok!

Anthony

 

Thanks for your input Ant. I know you are very realiable in car audio.

Anyone else have an opinion or suggestions?

-Nick

 

glad i can help!

 

Panasonic 801U has the best specs out of any deck. it looks good at night but i don't like silver. check it out if u want a serious system.

 

id love to know where you get your info from. mom and pop shops???

 

 

ANYONE I have ever talked to says Pioneer is the worst you can possibly buy, they are made SOLELY for looks...and nothing else. TWO of my friends fell apart after a few months-1 year. One of them upgraded from pioneer to a tight alpine unit with motorized face and the system sounds MUCH better...and looks tighter also. Alpine is my favorite units.

PJ

 

i guess my knowledge about car stero brands means nothing after seeing and hearing all in the past 5yrs ive been installing... oh well

here is what i think:
1)Nakamichi
2)Pioneer Premier only
3)Alpine
4)Kenwood
5)Clarion
6)JVC

lata,
Anthony

 

Pick the head unit you want based on features, looks, and ergonomics. Choose a reputable brand and you should be okay.

If you are intersted in Kenwood I would highly doubt you will hear the difference between Eclipse and Alpine, for example. Kenwood is a fine manufacturer but in the arena of SQ they should not be paired with the other mentions.

I have never liked Pioneer for SQ. But, I won't knock them because they make really good products and I don't believe they have any major reliability issues...at least not more than any other brand.

It's important to note that each manufacturer makes different levels of head units (or speakers, amps, etc).

Sony makes some decent head units but they won't win any SQ awards. However, Sony's CDX-C90 is a major contender in the SQ world.

Nakamichi also makes some "okay" head units. But its CD-700 is arguably the best sounding HU out there.

Alpine is the same way with their mid-level HUs but then they have the 7909 & 7990.

When I'm comparing HUs, I try not to generalize with brand names and concentrate on the specific model number.

If the Kenwood has the feautres and qualities that are important to you I would not hesitate to get it. However, I don't think you could go wrong with the Pioneer, either.

Tony