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If you are looking to spend around $500-700 for a HU what brand should you be looking at?
Lets talk about non-dvd HU and DVD Hu separate
Alpine i know makes good HU all aorund, and so does Nakamichi..
what about the Kenwoods and Pioneers? I know Sony, JVC and pana arent all that great
__________________ KL0 P11 Sport
VE, JWT Pop Charger, Carbing: Tri-FSTB RSTB LCA Bar, SS Autochrome Header, Greddy Evo, Rear sway bar
------------ Surround Sound My VE thread
I've seen some nice Kenwoods but never owned one. My first radio was a Pioneer with a "supertuner" and to date I haven't had a radio with a better tuner (i.e. that could pick up stations from far away and no signal problems.)
Just to add, Nakamichi makes excellent HU's but they now have a few lower end ones that are less than $300 and have built in amps, no liek the other more expensive stuff that the HU is usual yonly a pre-amp.. has anyone tried these and are they any better than the other brands?
Eclipse is good I'll add that to my list of researching
I agree with fast, eclipse is a good brand,but I personally like alpine, i have owned 3 hu by them and never had any problems.
Yes, I failed to mention that....after my first radio (Pioneer) I've only been satisfied with Alpine for my taste. Usually stuck with their amps too unless I got a good deal on a Phoenix Gold or PPI....but that's off topic.
Well we get to sell whatever we want. We don't sell garbage. The sound from the eclipse hu's and mids and highs for that matter is AMAZING for the price.
Best overall is too subjective. Do you want best sounding? best looking? easiest to use? best build quality? best value?
It also depends on what you will be using it for and what other gear you'll be using with it. For example, if you have $99 best buy special speakers all around and no amp(s) there really is no point in spending the big bucks on a deck with all the fancy features. If you're running a $1000 amp to your front components and have a powerful amp on your sub with a spec made custom box, you really don't want to cheap out on the deck!
I've used a lot of decks in my day and I've found results that not many people will agree with.
Alpine is junk...They used to make good decks back in the day before the 98xx series started, but these days they're relying on their huge name to sell over priced crap. Their 'time delay' feature doesn't work right, their X-overs add noise to the system (artifacts that shouldn't be there) and the EQ is almost useless at 5(?) bands. Add those to a low voltage pre-out and a 1bit DA and you get JVC sound at a much higher price point. They're not bad for the average consumer, but there are much better choices out there for the $$$.
I'm currently running a Pioneer 880prs and it is the best sounding deck I've ever used. Looks good, sounds great and everything is adjustable down to the dual 16 band L/R EQ, Auto EQ feature and Auto Time alignment. X-overs actually work and the price is amazing for what features it comes with.
In conclusion, you should look for a lot more than just a brand name when buying a deck. Spend time with the dealer and pick the deck that will work best for your existing system and future plans!
I somewhat agree with 1990TSI; look for must-have features first before deciding on brand. Then find units that you find decent reviews for with those features (I'd recommend Eclipse, Alpine, Nakamichi and Pioneer).
I've had sh*tty luck with Kenwood, Sony, and pretty much anything BB carried when I worked as an installer there. I found out there that if you amplify crap, you will get loud crap, so choosing a deck with high volt preouts and a low thd are priorities for me.
i looked at that deck and it looks nice... are you running stock speakers with it?
Taken from the other thread, slightly edited
Head unit - Pioneer 880prs
Fronts - Focal 165V2
Rears - no
Front amp - Audison LRx 4.300
Sub - Kicker L7 12
Sub amp - Fosgate 800.2
EQ - Audiocontrol EQX
Wiring - 2/0 power, Connection RCAs, speaker wire, distribution etc.
Sound deadening - Cascade sprayed inner door and matted outer door
I prefer Kenwood decks. I'm a fanboi, I know. I personally just like them, because I'm used to the design and controls; the HU only having a preamp, still pushes my mids and highs nicely, without an amplifier. That and they're reasonably priced.
If I were to decide to buy another headunit, I'd likely go with a Pioneer, or a Polk Audio. I also like Eclipse, but I'd rather stick with what I'm used to (Kenwood).
That's why alot of people choose to stick with Pioneer. It's just what they're used too and they already know how to use it for the most part.
That's a fact. I made the switch from Sony to Kenwood many years ago, and never looked back. I'm still looking ahead, though. I may end up going with something like Eclipse, or getting a Polk. Haven't decided what to do yet.
