bogus

Who still makes a great head unit?

I will be doing a stereo in the wifes 87 here this spring. I am going to select a head unit first. I suspect I will be using CDT separates for the front stage.

Amps, subs... they are easy anymore... I have a few thoughts that will be more than satisfactory.

However, I would like the head unit to be quality... in the good ole days, I would just get the best Alpine and be done with it... but with the latest word on the street, they ain't where they used to be. Before the buzz started to harm Alpine's rep, I was leaning towards the DVA-9861. I love the option of DVD Audio.

Reading Kale's latest post about the new Pioneer makes me think they haven't gotten their **** fully together, either. I had a Pioneer a few years ago that was not the least bit sonically pleasing. It was flat, or the bass was way overly boosted.

I want Sirius. I find the SQ to be more than ok... but not quite as good as FM. However, it varies from station to station, and at times, song to song. I still prefer CDs. I do like the station selection, tho.

I also want to get HD Radio. It sounds like the perfect solution to the signal issues associated with AM. However, it does have it's own issues with harming AM signals... whatta trade off!

I am leaning towards an Eclipse... have they resolved their QC and durability issues?

What about Clarion? I know they were popular a couple years ago, but has their line stayed good? The specs sure look great.

Nakamichi? I like the look, it fits well with an 80s C4 dash, however, I don't see sat or HD radio as an option.

That's where I am at... thoughts?

pentavolvo

Eclipse is where its at for me

Pioneer still has **** preouts

fej

Eclipse .. if you can find one 8053 or the newer 84xx series are both pretty well respected with good outs and solid dac's

Fej

0EG@EnglandGreen

Pioneer does have bad preouts. And their iPod interface is one of the worse I have ever seen (I speak as a Pioneer owner).

Clarion is horrible - they have a audible hiss that is and Alpine has gone to the dogs.

I agree with Fej & Penta - Eclipse is about the best out there in the consumer marketplace.

EG

Kale

Honestly? I'd give it all up for my old Clarion HX-D10 + dsp. Most beautiful sounding HU I've ever heard. When it was stolen, and I went to the 7998, there was a pretty big sound quality defeceit. But the HX D10 is old school. I dont recall if it even plays MP3s. It didn't hiss. Though hissing is usually a gain setting problem.

The SQ issues I'm having aren't from the pioneer head unit, they're due to the cabin and speaker placement, fwiw. My only real complaint with the Pioneer is the volume control - burred ****, and its 1-60. It's really annoying to have to crank and crank and crank and crank to significantly change the volume. I like the iPOD control, it's very similar to using the ipod itself, aside from being slower. I click list, rotate the **** to the selection, push the **** right to pick it. though I agree that many pioneers, especialy my old 1.5 unit, just had this thing they did to metal dome tweeters.... Almost like they "sharpened" them a bit, and not in a good way. Havent noticed that on the 7800.

Though I did manage to get my Alpine 9855 running again. If you'd like, I could hook my Alpine up in the rear of the car, and A/B it with the pioneer (flat eq curve) and let you know if anything sounds different between the two. Wouldnt be much trouble, I could just attach it to the + and - on my amp.


Too bad you aren't near here, I'd let you run RCAs from my pioneer into your car so you could play with it and see if you liked it.

DPG

im happy with my eclipse 5000, no durability issues. took me a while to learn all the features, but has worked without any incident. i have been hearing better things about the higher end clarions.

0Ron@RPM

There is an Eclipse 8053 on ebay with a 250.00 buy it now that would be a great purchase. If you get a chance go to www.elitecaraudio.com and see what might be for sale there. The majority of those guys are really audio nuts that have good info to share. Good Luck with the install.

Kale

eclipse is Sirius only, their tuner is about $100

the eclipse 5000 looks like a bitchin head unit, but i couldnt justify it for $200 over the pioneer, plus I wanted XM.

pentavolvo

what disapoints me is the only company that can make a damn ipod interface worthwhile is Alpine, and there SQ is absolute garbage. I have had good lucky putting some of the higher end kenwoods in cars. If my Alpine 9831 craps ill be getting it repaired otherwise i gotta get an eclipse

DPG

for some reason i thought it was compatible with both. hmmm. my bad. im not big into sat radio, so it never crossed my mind.

Kale

im not into it anymore, either, now that ive heard how bad it sounds.

DPG

is it really that bad. my gf's dad has xm, but he doesnt really listen to it loud and its on a stock system. on a acura mdx. it sounded ok from what i heard in his car.

Kale

Its slightly worse than FM radio.

bogus

I will admit, I used to have killer hearing, but an exhaust leak and drone in my 92 Vette killed some of the tonal acuity... pissed me off, too.

I find that Sirius sounds pretty ok, really. It is a touch flatter than FM, but I only notice it when I switch! The CD still creams them both.

When I was at the Eclipse site, they were still showing 2006 products, and they were claiming Sat Radio Ready... XM and Sirius.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I am going to do more research and come back with some more thoughts.