fav head unit?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,394
Likes: 0
From: Bay Area CA
Price range?
I had always been a Pioneer (early days) or Alpine (more recent) guy myself. I went with a very SQ oriented set up with my vette install and picked up an older Eclipse 8053 with a 24bit dual Burr Brown DAC. Definitely makes a difference IMO. I have heard things from CD's I have listened to 100x that were previously unheard. Slides on guitar strings ... small double taps on a bass ... things I have had to rewind the track on to hear again as its new
Anyways ... probably the super high end Clarion SQ deck .. the Nakamichi like $3k deck or the discontinued Denon deck that most of the SQ pros run. The Alpine f1 stuff is really pimp as well. Its all relative to what you are comfortable spending I guess ..
Fej
I had always been a Pioneer (early days) or Alpine (more recent) guy myself. I went with a very SQ oriented set up with my vette install and picked up an older Eclipse 8053 with a 24bit dual Burr Brown DAC. Definitely makes a difference IMO. I have heard things from CD's I have listened to 100x that were previously unheard. Slides on guitar strings ... small double taps on a bass ... things I have had to rewind the track on to hear again as its new
Anyways ... probably the super high end Clarion SQ deck .. the Nakamichi like $3k deck or the discontinued Denon deck that most of the SQ pros run. The Alpine f1 stuff is really pimp as well. Its all relative to what you are comfortable spending I guess ..
Fej
Le Mans Master
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 6,059
Likes: 2
From: Texas
if Alpine kept the design of the 7998 but improved it with current technology, it would be in my car. Instead I am using a Clarion Proaudio DXZ955MC. and it works pretty well for my needs.
Last edited by OrthoAggie; Oct 26, 2006 at 02:04 AM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 5,572
Likes: 4
From: Los Angeles Ca
simpleman was using that kick a$$ clarion DRZ9255 head unit. it has dual 24/192 dacs *(burr-brown) has 4 way active x-over built in 2 aux inputs and digital outputs. plus it is ultra sleek looking
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 26,196
Likes: 0
From: Orlando FL
St. Jude Donor '08-'09
I've always been a Kenwood man.
I am on my 4th hu right now. the 3rd one got migrated to the Vette, the new one went into the Honduh.
My latest purchase a few months ago is the:
Kenwood MP732
excellent sound quality, far better than my previous units. This one has 2 preouts and a 3rd sub preout. It also has Aux Inputs too (perfect for when I integrate my CarPC back in)
The display is cool because there are 3 lines of text showing me all the info I need for my Sirius Satellite. Also has extra info for displaying Mp3 tags, etc. it is one of those new 64color OLED displays. This model doesn't have the extra option to do so, but you can import your own photos or animations on the next model up.
The ONLY thing I don't like about it is when there is direct bright light one it, you can't see the display very well.'
I also like the new volume control Kenwood is using now. They still have the string tuner style feel, but have added a rubber band around the **** to make it very easy to mess with the volume.
The unit looks very classy and lacks the gawdiness that other brands and models seem to have.
I love this unit.
I am on my 4th hu right now. the 3rd one got migrated to the Vette, the new one went into the Honduh.
My latest purchase a few months ago is the:
Kenwood MP732
excellent sound quality, far better than my previous units. This one has 2 preouts and a 3rd sub preout. It also has Aux Inputs too (perfect for when I integrate my CarPC back in)
The display is cool because there are 3 lines of text showing me all the info I need for my Sirius Satellite. Also has extra info for displaying Mp3 tags, etc. it is one of those new 64color OLED displays. This model doesn't have the extra option to do so, but you can import your own photos or animations on the next model up.
The ONLY thing I don't like about it is when there is direct bright light one it, you can't see the display very well.'
I also like the new volume control Kenwood is using now. They still have the string tuner style feel, but have added a rubber band around the **** to make it very easy to mess with the volume.
The unit looks very classy and lacks the gawdiness that other brands and models seem to have.
I love this unit.
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 51,504
Likes: 6
From: Sacramento CA
Clarion HX-d10, followed closely by Alpine 7998
modern units? None. Only JVC has stepped up to the plate to modernize for HD radio. Except there is an alpine that is 7-8x the cost.
Any $200+ car stereo should be capable of playing music DVDs, TWO YEARS AGO. But where are they?
What's with the displays? Only a few are even halfway decent. $150+ should get you a TFT screen.
Why are head units so stuck in the late 90s for technology?
And in some cases getting worse? (Alpine.)
That's my rant for today, and my biggest obstacle in setting up the Vette.
modern units? None. Only JVC has stepped up to the plate to modernize for HD radio. Except there is an alpine that is 7-8x the cost.
Any $200+ car stereo should be capable of playing music DVDs, TWO YEARS AGO. But where are they?
What's with the displays? Only a few are even halfway decent. $150+ should get you a TFT screen.
Why are head units so stuck in the late 90s for technology?
And in some cases getting worse? (Alpine.)
That's my rant for today, and my biggest obstacle in setting up the Vette.
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