Best bang for the buck head unit

thumpin07

I need to know what the best bang for the buck head unit is? Im thinking bout going with alpine. I would love to have dvd ability and nav ability but i know that would run my price way over budget. i would like bluetooth capabilty so i could use my phone safer.

Kinetic

for me the alpine 9887, but since you want dvd and nav i think the the pioneer avic suits you perfectly

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/Navigation/In-Dash

eloplayspolo

alpine would not be the way to go as far as bang for buck.... prob pioneer jvc or panasonic

MacLeod

Panasonic makes some good units too. Theyre nothing spectacular but they do have a lot of tuning features that are usually way ahead of their price point. Worth a look.

thumpin07

i had looked into the alpine 9886 and like that head unit. the panasonics imo are to flashy although some of them do look real nice. But i know mac trusts alpine so ill probably go with alpine, since they have the added feature i want like blutooth sync and digital radio sync.

exalted512

What is your budget?
-Cody

Kinetic

dude, if you are looking at the 9886, spend a bit more and buy the 9887, look a the specs, its a truly amazing HU.

and you can rent the Imprint module, to tune your audio, using a automatica 512 band.

not as good as the PXA-H701, but it would be easier and cheaper, and you will get an amazing sound, so close to a competition grade...

thumpin07

well ill look into the 9887, however mac told me that the 9886 would be better than the 9887 unless i heard him wrong, but illl defiantyl look into it.

Bruizer

I have the 9886 and like it, but from my understanding - 9887 > 9886.

eloplayspolo

the 9886 is def newer.

Kinetic

th 9886 is newer, thats a fact, but not better.

the 9887 is the best CD player of the alpine lineup so far

POLKOROLLA

it's not alpine, but the JVC Arsenal KD-AHD39
is a nice unit, with HD Radio built in for 170
& the Bluetooth adapter is only 130

thumpin07

Ok another question What do you guys think about jbl's car audio speakers are they any good.

eloplayspolo

for the same price u can get polk stuff which is better.

thumpin07

yeah but the polk i would buy the SR series is way more expensive than the Jbl's that fit my car so I know polk Is great, I have polk speakers in my house. But i also know that Jbl studio monitor speakers are awesome so im wondering if their car audio is good as well. Most music studios i know of use Jbl's for montitors, And sound reienforcement, that must be a reason for this.

MacLeod

The best thing you can do is to go out and listen to as many speakers as you can. Nobody can tell you what speakers sound best to you. Get a list together of speakers you want to listen to, go find a dealer and give em a test run. Look at the brands that are doing well in competition as that is the ultimate test of a speakers performance.

DLS, JL Audio, MB Quart, Scanspeak (home audio) Dynaudio are all doing very well in the lanes and I think Ive proven Polk Audio is worthy to be in that class as well. Your speakers are the most important part of your system so you want to chose your speakers with as much care as is possible.

As for head units, I dont recall vouching for either Alpine although my memory is pretty crappy. That being said, Im not really up on all the brands out there and their different models. All I can say is to figure out your budget then look to the major names like Alpine, Pioneer, Clarion and Kenwood. Compare the units, their features and prices and pick the one you like. All the main brands will be comparable in quality.

thumpin07

i guess ill just have to go give speaks a listen too and everything thanks

thumpin07

is there anything to something i heard, i hear Kenwood head units were junk, they had a problem with the preouts going out on them or something. And mac u didnt mention eclipse are they not good.

thumpin07

i was thinking for the amp just going with the polk 5 channel to run the speakers and bridging it to a pa 600.1 amp for the sub woofer hows that sound

bkeller3

thumpin07 wrote: »

is there anything to something i heard, i hear Kenwood head units were junk, they had a problem with the preouts going out on them or something. And mac u didnt mention eclipse are they not good.

For what its worth I've had my Kenwood Excelon 492 head unit for about a year now and I'm happy so far. No dvd or nav though so I don't how thier units are for that but my pre-outs are working fine.

thumpin07

well thats good to know

thumpin07

how do you guys feel about eclipse head units, adn what do you think bout the polk 5 channel amp

HiPerf360

I have had a kenwood execelon 815? in a few trucks, it is is still working great. i have had to repair / replace the ribbon for the display a few times in eight or nine years but that is not bad for a daily driver for a contractor and diesel trucks on top of that.

thumpin07

ooh ok then i guess it isnt true what i heard then.

headknocker

thumpin07 wrote: »

is there anything to something i heard, i hear Kenwood head units were junk, they had a problem with the preouts going out on them or something. And mac u didnt mention eclipse are they not good.

I have two four year old Kenwood Excelon KDC-X589 HU's in my rides and I haven't had a single problem with either one of them. The only problem that I remember with the Kenwood Excelon line was the aforementioned ribbon cable breaking on the older models. I had that problem with the X717 but that's no longer a problem since Kenwood ditched the ribbon cable setup awhile ago.

IMO, the newer Excelon's are some of the biggest bang for your buck HU's out there.

dalylaleahthor

If you're looking for dvd capability then this is what i'll go with

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882103349

Best bang for the buck

thumpin07

dalylaleahthor wrote: »

If you're looking for dvd capability then this is what i'll go with

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882103349

Best bang for the buck

thats not a bad price there just dont know how good the unit is

thumpin07

headknocker wrote: »

I have two four year old Kenwood Excelon KDC-X589 HU's in my rides and I haven't had a single problem with either one of them. The only problem that I remember with the Kenwood Excelon line was the aforementioned ribbon cable breaking on the older models. I had that problem with the X717 but that's no longer a problem since Kenwood ditched the ribbon cable setup awhile ago.

IMO, the newer Excelon's are some of the biggest bang for your buck HU's out there.

yeah kenwood has a nice unit too that i liked it is just so hard to choose what i want it makes my head hurt

Slash621

thumpin07 wrote: »

thats not a bad price there just dont know how good the unit is

Seems good. I've played with one at Brandsmart for a while.

dirthog

thumpin07 wrote: »

is there anything to something i heard, i hear Kenwood head units were junk, they had a problem with the preouts going out on them or something. And mac u didnt mention eclipse are they not good.

I know the Pioneer Hu's have that problem. A lot of the 800 or 880 owners have dealt with it. The problem occurs when the RCA's are hot swapped.

I ran an eclipse for a couple of years and liked it. My cousin is still rocking it 4 yrs later.

plukeyduke

alpine there are no other options pioneer are ok but i dont know what all the hype is alpine 9886 with imprint like suround sound in the car when it comes to decks i might have panasonic second but alpine has never done me wrong 4 volt allday head unit is key to your mobile master piece dont forget your amp subs speakers all come out the deck just shop around it will come to you a. l . p . i . n . e .