It's time for a new deck

LittleCar_w/12s
LittleCar_w/12s Posts: 568
edited March 2005 in Car Audio & Electronics
Well, It's been a good deck, but the old RF9200 has finally bit the dust. The faceplate fell off and is zippied on, the Sum (sub) out is fried, and it recently stopped playing CDs altogether.

It's a sad day.

Anywho, this prompts me to find a new deck, but I am going to be very picky since I'll need time to save up for it.

I would like to know if you all have any reccomendations for me given the following specs:

Single DIN size
DRY deck (no power output)
R/L standard RCA output only OR 5.1 selectable
Audio Input for external device (not cd changer)
MP3 capability
Remote control
Needs a simple look, not something flashy. Black or silver/gray will do.
I won't buy anything with stupid slanty buttons.
I want a tactile digital volume knob.
No touch-screen crap, it's only a distraction while driving.
I dont give a FRA if it has screen savers!

Other considerations:
I want one that has a card-reader for memory-sticks of some kind
I have heard of some that have a hard-drive inside to -=store- the MP3's??
Possibly Satellite radio controller, though I am not sure which company yet.
Possibly one that is capable of DVD control, but not one with a built-in screen.

Looking to find one sometime soon, but may be around summertime before I buy.

Thanks,
Jerry
___________________________
Total cost of materials: Going up...
Time spent: Countless Hours...
Cranking the system, having it quiet outside the car, and sound that takes the rear-view off inside: PRICELESS

For some things in life, you pay others to do it... For a masterpeice, do it yourself.
Post edited by LittleCar_w/12s on
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Comments

  • AustinKP
    AustinKP Posts: 861
    edited March 2005
    Alpine 7995 comes to mind. It's last years model, but it has no built-in amp, AI-Net lets you connect other devices, has a clean but sharp look, plays MP3's, has Time Correction, single DIN, remote control. It doesn't take memory cards though. I can't remember all your other requirements...
    -Austin
    http://www.silverdragon.com/punkie/cybertusk/net.idiot.html - Read it, know it

    Alpine 9815
    Polk MM6's in custom fiberglass door pods
    Ascendant Audio Atlas 12
    HiFonics Zeus ZX6400 - 85x2 + 350x1
    2 Gallons SecondSkin Spectrum V.2
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  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited March 2005
    i think people are too lazy/busy to look for ALL those requirements (including me :))... start with alpine, eclipse, kenwood, and pioneer, and have at. for what you want, i'd say start at eclipse, then move to kenwood, pioneer, and alpine (in no particular order) if necessary.
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited March 2005
    you just described a Nakamichi head unit, but you might not get all the extra features you listed...
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • Systems
    Systems Posts: 14,873
    edited March 2005
    Wow, do they make a deck that does all of those things??? I have been very faithful to Alpine for the last 20 years. I have never had a problem though my last deck only lasted 7 years. Alpine 9861. For a change i decided to go with Kenwood. I am trying to support american products. Anyway, so far so good. Kenwood Decks come with a built in amplifier but for better sound quality it is possible to turn the internal amp off. I would check Crutchfield.com. There customer service is amazing!!! They allow you to TRY a deck for thirty days. If you don't like it, send it back and get something else. Free. They even pay for shipping. Also, Crutchfield.com Gives you full installation instruction and all mounting brackets and wiring harnesses for free.
    Testing
    Testing
    Testing
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  • PoweredByDodge
    PoweredByDodge Posts: 4,185
    edited March 2005
    kenwood isn't american
    The Artist formerly known as PoweredByDodge
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  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited March 2005
    alpine is
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited March 2005
    honestly, making it mandatory that you need a dry deck cuts 95% of your options off. there are tons of excellent sound quality decks out there that have small internal amplifiers. id consider making that a "nice to have, but not absolutely necessary" condition...
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited March 2005
    Plus, dont most higher end head units have an option to turn the internal amp off?

    My $270 Alpine does so Id assume other do as well.

    Im too lazy to look up all those features you wanted Jerry but Ill say this, stick with Pioneer and Alpine and you wont go wrong. Nothing against other brands, just these have proven to be my favorites over the years.
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited March 2005
    mine does. but anyway, i was in your same position when i was upgrading to my current hu. i really wanted a dry deck but i found a deck that was better than anything in its price range and had more features...
    plus, you never know if you might end up saleing this thing or not for whatever reason and dry decks have very little resale value
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • PoweredByDodge
    PoweredByDodge Posts: 4,185
    edited March 2005
    alpine isn't american either
    The Artist formerly known as PoweredByDodge
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  • MacLeod
    MacLeod Posts: 14,358
    edited March 2005
    Originally posted by PoweredByDodge
    alpine isn't american either

    Is anything?

    As far as I know, EVERYTHING is made in China.

    As long as its not french!
    polkaudio sound quality competitor since 2005
    MECA SQ Rookie of the Year 06 ~ MECA State Champ 06,07,08,11 ~ MECA World Finals 2nd place 06,07,08,09
    08 Car Audio Nationals 1st ~ 07 N Georgia Nationals 1st ~ 06 Carl Casper Nationals 1st ~ USACi 05 Southeast AutumnFest 1st

    polkaudio SR6500 --- polkaudio MM1040 x2 -- Pioneer P99 -- Rockford Fosgate P1000X5D
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  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited March 2005
    "Alpine Electronics of America, Inc."; "research and development facilities in Asia, Europe and the U.S."
    pulled from www.alpine-usa.com ... not as american as, say, liberty cabbage, but as american as consumer products get...
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
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  • LittleCar_w/12s
    LittleCar_w/12s Posts: 568
    edited March 2005
    Thanks for the suggestions. As you all know I'm HQ person and that is why I was aiming for the dry-deck. I wasn't aware that newer upper-class units had the option to turn the internal amp off.

    As for resale value, I use a deck till it burns up into little bits.

    Nakamichi ?!?! Where the F have you seen those Cody?

    Anywho, it looks like yall are aiming me in the way of Alpine, so I may rummage through there some.

    As far as "american" products go, you'll still find asian manufactured chips in them even if it was assembled in the US. Most of the US semiconductor companies simply do not make the digital processors for this industry. Many of them make supporting semiconductors as well as amplifier stages, but not the complicated super-engineered stuff.

    So the American only goes about as far as the marketing team's office.

    -Jerry-
    ___________________________
    Total cost of materials: Going up...
    Time spent: Countless Hours...
    Cranking the system, having it quiet outside the car, and sound that takes the rear-view off inside: PRICELESS

    For some things in life, you pay others to do it... For a masterpeice, do it yourself.
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited March 2005
    http://www.nakamichi.com/home.html
    im not sure if they have a dealer locator or not. theres a dealer here but i think they might have 1 or 2 actual units on display.
    Honestly, the only two brands of decks that I will ever own(well, at least the way things are right now) is Eclipse and Pioneer.
    http://www.electronicscity.com/index.php?osCsid=a957e5dcb552336b9a16cd8d3acd95f9&manufacturers_id=16&sort=4a&filter_id=105
    i dont know how much you have to spend, but as far as Im concerned, this IS the best sound quality deck on the market:
    http://www.speedsound.com/caraudio.asp?pg=products&specific=joirmnp4
    i was extremely close to getting that unit over my 940, but couldnt pass up the price that the 940 was going for.
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • LittleCar_w/12s
    LittleCar_w/12s Posts: 568
    edited March 2005
    Cody, you rat ****....
    Now you've got me started on Nakamichi brand and they fit exactly what I want (without the maybe things i listed) and they're beautifully plain looking.
    Problem is they're also expensive.

    I'll keep looking...
    ___________________________
    Total cost of materials: Going up...
    Time spent: Countless Hours...
    Cranking the system, having it quiet outside the car, and sound that takes the rear-view off inside: PRICELESS

    For some things in life, you pay others to do it... For a masterpeice, do it yourself.
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  • exalted512
    exalted512 Posts: 10,735
    edited March 2005
    http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductList.aspx?CategoryID=4&ManufacturerID=637
    try that...
    -Cody
    Music is like candy, you have to get rid of the rappers to enjoy it
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  • neomagus00
    neomagus00 Posts: 3,899
    edited March 2005
    as a note, make sure you can turn off the amp... i have a pioneer premier 800 level, and there is no such option (now, it may do it by itself when RCAs are connected, i'm not sure though).
    It's not good, very fundamentally simply not good. - geolemon

    "Its not good enough until we have real-time fearmongering. I want my fear mongered as it happens." - Shizelbs
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