Car stereo advice. Looking for a decent Headunit.

[amd4me]

Hello all.
I am looking for a new car stereo.
cd player, 4 speakers an amp and a sub.
I think first off I need a good radio/cd player.(250 max).
A friend of mine told me that a Pioneer would suit my needs great.

my overall budget is 1000$
Any help or reccomendations would be great.

Thanks

[eshbach]

If you're going to have an amplifier, why do you want a head unit?

You will get better sound if you get a cd-player with a high quality preamplifer and DAC that does not have a built in amplifier.

The McIntosh MX406 comes to mind if that $1000 budget was for your head unit. You can get the 406 for around $900 i think. If you only want to spend $1000 on the whole system, I don't know exactly what to suggest, but get something with a decent DAC.

Don't let someone sell you a "high-end" unit with a 1-bit DAC. They will try. For reference, the McIntosh has dual 20 bit DAC's.

[[XC] leviathan18]

Pioneer p8mp eclipse or alpine

also if you want an amp try JL, KICKER, Rockford

sub, JL

speakers, Polk, Kenwood, pioneer, kicker, rockford

[bullet2urbrain]

that system would be over 1000 dollars,

i would check out Eclipse for H.U or might as well go flip out screen, doesnt seem like your going to be doing SQ Comps

also the Alpine 9855 is a year old but still one of the best HU's out

[Celeron Gamer]

It's probably best not to go deck on a decent budget. I suggest alpine amps

[urbanfox]

Sorry to intrude, but are those HD radios anything special?

[Carlz0r]

For $215 you can get a Clarion DXZ655MP. They're decent head units. For $1000, don't expect to get the most amazing sound or volume levels though. I'd try and save up a little bit more, personally. Then again, I just spent $800 on subs, will be spending $400 on a headunit, $700 on amps, around $1200 on speakers, $600 on wires and capacitor, $300 on battery, and around $400 on materials to build sub enclosure + amp rack. Oh yes, and I don't even have my car yet :p:

[eshbach]

For $215 you can get a Clarion DXZ655MP. They're decent head units.

For about another $100 I think you can get the DRX9255EX, which is considerably better. That would probably be worth it.

[Carlz0r]

For about another $100 I think you can get the DRX9255EX, which is considerably better. That would probably be worth it.
Hmm. Does that one support MP3 cds? I'm getting a DXZ865MP for $400 brand new on eBay.

[eshbach]

Hmm. Does that one support MP3 cds? I'm getting a DXZ865MP for $400 brand new on eBay.

I don't think it does, it's based on a design from 1996. It does have dual 20-bit DAC's and 4v line :)

then again if you want to play mp3's you're probably not looking for either of those qualities.

[STEvil]

given the average car, the difference between a 1-bit dac and a 20-bit dac wont matter.

Kenwood EZ500 is not bad (if you can find it cheap enough) but takes a while to set up and only has 2v pre-outs. The internal amp is slightly weak so pairing it with an external amp for the speakers is probably a good idea (most 40x4 or better amps would do fine and can be found quite cheaply at pawn shops usually).

Depending on your car a single 12 (of decent make) in a sealed box would probaby be good enough.

so, cutting to general suggestions of equipment to look at (be a very discreet buyer) for a general car and a general $1000 setup.

HU's - Alpine, Clarion, Panasonic, Eclipse

Speakers: Kicker, Clarion. some other good stuff but be carefull.

4ch amps (speakers) - JBL (GTQ series are good finds), Clarion, Kenwood, Yamaha (hard to find), JL, Nakamichi (or however it is spelled)

Sub(s): Alpine, JL, Rockford Fosgate (HE/HE2 only), Eclipse, Kicker (comp only), XXX, Adire Audio, Elemental Designs.

sub amps - JBL, Clarion (old models only), Yamaha (hard to find), Rockford Fosgate (OLD stuff only), Kicker.

Of course there are a million other brands out there also, but before you buy stick it all in google and poke around a bit.

My current setup is nothing special, but maybe a guide to help.

HU: Kenwood EZ500 ($170cdn on sale after tax)
front speakers: ?? 5 1/4's (came with car)
rear speakers: pioneer 6x9's ? (came with car)
sub amp: Clarion DPX1000.1 ($170cdn at pawn shop)
sub: 12" Rockford Fosgate Punch HE in sealed box ($100 at pawn shop)

A decent 4 channel amp (25w+ RMS per channel at 4 ohms) on the speakers can go a long ways.

[Carlz0r]

If you want good amps at a decent budget, check out Power Acoustik. I was amazed at how loud they can go without distorting, and they meet the RMS wattage they claim to put out.

[amd4me]

The total budget for my systems has risen to 1200$
Could someone list the best part for my budget in each section such as.
Cause that would be awesome and extremely helpful.
Cd player:____
AMP:____
Sub:___
Speakers:___

[[XC] leviathan18]

what are you lookin for exactly that helps a lot...

H.U take a look of them :

-Eclipse CD3000 MP3 Player 249
-Pioneer DEH-P6800MP 219
-Pioneer DEH-P80MP 309
-Kenwood Ez500 249
-Clarion DXZ655MP 214

4ch amp:
-Kicker ZX200.4 199
-Rockford Fosgate Punch P450.4 299

Component Speakers:
-Kicker KS Series KS6.2 size 6 1/2 199
-Rockford Fosgate Punch P162S size 61/2 199
-Kenwood KFC-P707 size 7" 179

Sub:
-Rockford Fosgate Power Stage 1 T112D4 size 12" DVC 600rms 399
-Kicker CompVR CVR124 size 12" DVC 400rms 149
-Kicker CompVX CVX124 size 12" DVC 750rms 349

mono amp:
-Kicker SX650.1 649
-Kicker ZX750.1 499
-Rockford Fosgate Punch P6001bd 399 old model
-Rockford Fosgate Punch P600.1bd 499 new model

all prices and models are from cardomain.... so you can check all specs there, match what suits best for you and enjoy

[Extera]

I don't know how price's are in the USA, but why are you suggesting a kicker Comp serie's? I have a S12L5, and the L5/L7 series is much better, my 12"L5 was 200 euro. 600 watt rms. I feed it with 720 watt rms whitout any problem.

IMO kicker is about the best brand you can get. The woofers are like indestrucable.

For the HU, I suggest a alpine, I have good experiance with them.

Please tell us what you are looking for. Sound quality, or Db's.
For sound quality I won't recommend the kicker L serie's :)

For some decent sound a 5 channel amp should be enough, for some more Db's I suggest a 4 channel amp + monoblock.

hope I made myself a bit understandable

[STEvil]

I don't know how price's are in the USA, but why are you suggesting a kicker Comp serie's? I have a S12L5, and the L5/L7 series is much better, my 12"L5 was 200 euro. 600 watt rms. I feed it with 720 watt rms whitout any problem.

IMO kicker is about the best brand you can get. The woofers are like indestrucable.

For the HU, I suggest a alpine, I have good experiance with them.

Please tell us what you are looking for. Sound quality, or Db's.
For sound quality I won't recommend the kicker L serie's :)

For some decent sound a 5 channel amp should be enough, for some more Db's I suggest a 4 channel amp + monoblock.

hope I made myself a bit understandable


Because the comp series are far more "indestructable" and have better SQ while maintaining decent SPL when wanted.