Who makes the best head unit, top of the line stuff match up?


Kenwood, Pioneer, Rockford Fosgate, JVC, Sony, Panasonic, Clarion, Jensen, Infinity, Aiwa

 

I had to add Nakamichi, they've got the best internal componentry of all of them. Other excellent ones: Pioneer ODR, Sony XES.

Sam

 

What about Alpine F1 Status??? wanna pay $3500 for the best head unit? :crazy:

 

No, I used the stock HU for my setup. Love to demo it to any forum member.

If I had to buy, 1.5din Pioneer's are nice. ~$300

George

 

I have always had good luck with Clarions. I have several friends which all own a total of 6 Stereo shops. Clarion has always been one of their top products.
Check my pics out of the Clarion VRX6671z TV Head Unit w/ VCR & CDchanger. I Love It!

 

Have been using Pioneer for the past 6 years never had a problem with any of them. Currently have the 7000CD in my car. (7" Monitor)

 

It depends on what you want.
Clearest CD or Tape Section = Nakamichi TD 700 or CD 700
Clearest FM = Pioneer
Best Combo = Alpine
Best Aestetics = Personal Choice

Weaknesses on above units=
Features, ESP and FM = Nakamichi
CD Dynamic Range = Pioneer
Not doing anything the best = Alpine

I have a Nakamichi as I wanted the cleanest CD section possible and didn't care about anything else including price, skipping, FM, or Aestetics. I would not recommend this unit or brand to anyone who is concerned about these other important properties of a head unit.

As for the rest of the brands you mention, none of the rest are worth a damn. Kenwood, Eclypse, Aiwa, Clarion, and Jensen use JVC and other brand's mid level electronics in their units. Ever notice how their disc changers can use the same plugs and cartridges? THis is because it takes big bucks to develop competitive tech and most of these companies can't afford R&D. Sony has always had poor dynamic range loosing alot of lows and highs and having poor imaging. Infinity doesn"t make decks that I am aware of. They make great home and good car speakers. If they do have head units it would probably be another repackaged JVC. Fosgate is about a 6 on a scale of 1-10 for subs and amps. Their other products are below average. Denon is OK but they still rely heavily on other people's tech though they do in top end units use their own stuff. I think they decided to get out of the head unit business because of this and stick to good home stuff.

I vote for Nak. as excellent to me means the best sound.

92TripleBlack

 

Have you looked into the new Alpine line?

The new line is supposed to blow the competition away, not saying that Nak. isn't great, but Alpine might be the new best. Though for $3000 it should be the best...it looks like it is the new King.

 

If it doesn't play MP3 CD's, it's not worth my time.

 

jcarlson Nice system. I really like the diamond audio. I also have the Z828 deck and like it for the most part. What do you think of it?

 

I have a complete Clarion system in my 97 and it is excellent!
Hince the web address:

clarioncorvette.com

 

I have a Clarion head unit in my 88 and it it the best unit I have had to date. ( and I've been through quite a few)

 

I would have to give my vote for best head units as follows:

1. Eclipse
2. Nakamichi
3. Alpine

The new reference line from Alpine looks very good. I haven't had a chance to hear it in person yet, but my dealer will be getting them soon. What I find most amazing is the junk units people will put in their car, and a high-end sports car at that. A lot of people just listen to the sales hype of some salesman or read magazines and base everything on that. To find the best brands you must listen in person to it and with your music choice. I've been exposed to most models out there given my work background, so I have had lots of demos. Out of everything I've heard, I would have to vote the above to hold true at this time for audiophile quality. I think Alpine may have some nice units in the works that could raise them to number one spot.

P.S. Don't think I'm saying others are junk, but it is based on my own detailed listening and personal expierence.

Happy listening,



Jeff

 

What is the BEST mp3 playing headunit available?

I have the original aiwa player in my ricer, its nothing special but it was the only mp3 player out when I bought it. I hear that kenwood one is really nice (and only $300).

 

I like Pioneer's Premier line of head units....nice looking stuff. :seeya

 

I've been through Sony and Alpine before without any problems (tuner reception, cd playback, etc), but the difference in the Nakamichi is quite an upgrade in the cd playback area. Granted, the Nak's Fm/Am tuner is not the best (put a booster on it), maybe because mine's in my 98 coupe with the wierd windshield antenna, but the cd selection ranks much higher than the others I have used because of it's attention to reproducing the music as it was recorded. It will take some "breaking in" to adjust to the Nak's audiophile style, which doesn't over compensate the highs and lows, but you will begin to hear more attention to the detail in each and every recording. My 2 cents. I would recommend the Nak becuase of it's cd playback!

 

I'm a big, big fan of Pioneer. Their tuners seem to be just a touch better than anything else I've used.

 

You cant be serious. Eclipse has the best internals they just dont do anything fancy. As to all the others they have all the bells and whistles but dont sound as good in comparisons. The pre-out voltage makes a huge difference.

 

wow, just realized how old this post was

 

yeh I second that....its funny to look at how long Alpine was at top as I have always been a huge Alpine fan and even had the nickname for quite a while back in the late 80's and 90's...over the past decade however Alpine has dropped off the map. Their nav units suck and Pioneer and Kenwood have definitely put Alpine into the lower stack with JVC, Jenson, and even Clarion Pro. OH that is just my opinion by the way. lol