head unit recommendations

Well, my AIWA CDC-MP32 crapped out on me.. first the display screen went out (just the screen, button lights etc still worked) then the face had trouble opening.. then the buttons stopped working all together.. so i was stuck listening to the same radio station, unable to turn the radio off, or volume down or anything.. the clock also froze at 9:24am.. (you could still see the clock when the backlight of the display went out if the light hit it right, it still worked)..

ok, this head unit has been in 2 cars before this, it's probably at least 3 years old.. i'm not upset

i am upset that my dad thew away the stock head unit when he moved out of our old house.. he didn't even ask me.. :mad:

anyway.. i was wondering what you guys would recommend for a new head unit.. i don't want to spend more than 200 bucks..

also one thing i got sick of with the old unit, was that it was all buttons, small ones at that..

i was thinkin that i'd rather have knobs to turn, to change the volume and for tuning.. rather than pushing tiny buttons like on that aiwa model..

the rest of my system is still the stock Monsoon setup.. that won't be changing in the forseeable future

thanks for the advice

I've been involved with car stereo for over 30 years now and in that time Alpine and Kenwood have had THE best quality of any brand I've personally dealt with. Since an HU has so many moving parts I would recommend buying from an authorized dealer so that you have a manufacturer's warranty to fall back on if you ever have a problem.

what is a good online retailer to get one from.. i've used crutchfield.com and they seem great.. give you free car specific adapters etc.. any other good ones out there, better price?

i'd rather shop online cause i'm a lazy bum.. and it's easier to find what your looking for.. the downside is you don't get to touch and feel the head unit before hand

Crutchfield and Sound Domain are the only ones that I know of that are authorized to sell the brand names that they carry. Crutchfield is hard to beat though because of all th extras they provide. And in my experience their customer support has been top notch.

let me just say 1 thing.. 200 is just a ballpark price, i'm willing to go over, maybe even to 300+.. if it's worth it

Check out some of the pioneers they are pretty nice as well

I hate to ruffle any feathers here but in my 30 years experience, Pioneer has had THE worst quality of any brand I've dealt with. Their Premier line might be OK but Pioneer's regular line of products have been very poor.

This is not to meant to start a flame war. It's just been my personal experience with the brand.

I hate to ruffle any feathers here but in my 30 years experience, Pioneer has had THE worst quality of any brand I've dealt with. Their Premier line might be OK but Pioneer's regular line of products have been very poor.

This is not to meant to start a flame war. It's just been my personal experience with the brand.

good to hear your opinion.. you havent posted any recommendations yourself...

and all i've heard are brand recommendations.. not necessarily every product made by a certain brand is great, as LS1 RULZ pointed out

if you could, i'd like you guys to post specific models that you'd recommend.. as i'd said, i'd like to spend 200 or so.. but i'll set an absolute maximum.. $350 is the absolute most i want to spend

browsing crutchfield.. i came up with these ...

Alpine CDA-9847 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-IoNQpM4nsbh/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=300&I=500CDA9847)
Pioneer DEH-P6700MP (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-IoNQpM4nsbh/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=300&I=130DEHP670)
Alpine CDE-9843 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-IoNQpM4nsbh/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=300&I=500CDE9843)
Kenwood EZ-500 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-IoNQpM4nsbh/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=300&I=113EZ500)
Kenwood Excelon KDC-X689 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-IoNQpM4nsbh/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=300&I=113KDCX689)

I've had problems with Alpine and the regular Pioneer. Never had a problem with the Pioneer Premier units. I've been thinking about an Eclipse, but since I have a Pioneer 12 disc changer, I'd have to buy an Eclipse changer as well. Mucho bucks.

Crutchfield support is amazing, well worth the extra few bucks it may cost to purchase from them. I order all of my car audio from them, and have never had any issues whatsoever, and it only takes 1 day to get things I order, without paying more for any "special" shipping

I prefer to recommend brands for their dependability rather than specific models. What's on the market changes too fast to try to recommend a particular model. The model is really up to the buyer. It has to meet your budget as well as your needs from the unit. Features like onboard crossover, changer controls, MP3 compatibility, an iPod dock, etc. are things that only the buyer can say whether they are necessary or not.

Just my 2 cents on the subject on hand. LS1RULZ is right about alpine and the kenwood excelron HU's beig the best sounding. They also allow you alot of control of your music. That being said they are not the most user friendly. Alpine is something you know or dont. They have piss poor manuals and can be confusing the a noob (LOL). Alpine dosent have the greastest looking screens either. Even with the tilt then can be hard to read in some conditions. Now if you go with a higher end pioneer like the Pioneer DEH-P80MP or the one that is one step down i think most people will be happy. They offer easy to use features and in depth manuals. Great screen that you can change via their software. Not the best overall soud quailty but good enough for most people. They allow you to purchase either sat radio providers and run a driect link to the HU. They last long and travel well in between cars if you end up selling or getting it totaled. I opted out of the alpines and got my pioneer and it still allows me enough control over my music. My suggestion to you is pioneer or kenwood. As long as you go with a middle to higher end model you will be happy. Unless you plan to upgrade speakers anytime soon the gain in sound quailty wont even show. Even then its all about your speakers and seeting everything up right.

my jvc has everything i could want in a head unit...sub controls for size and quantity of subs as well as volume, presets, equalizer, fade tools, power distribution, mp3 cd-rw compatible, and inputs for something like an ipod

thanks everyone for your input.. i really appreciate it..

i really don't want a complicated face, not that i am an idiot and i get confused by complicated radios.. i just dont want complciated while i'm driving, i'd rather just have a couple knobs to turn for volume and tuning, and then preset buttons.. that said..

i'm currently leaning toward the Kenwood EZ-500 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-IoNQpM4nsbh/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=300&I=113EZ500) .. it has what i'm looking for as far as simplicity.. it's a brand that almost everyone here has recommended.. and it falls within my preferred price range..

does anyone see anything wrong with that model? any reason i may regret it.. spending $230 is a big thing for a poor guy like me (i own a v6 as my only car, give a guy a break ;) ) and i don't want to shell out that cash if it's not gonna be good

If you go kenwood go with the excelon series. Much better overall. Like this one. http://www.crutchfield.com/S-T9ksxoRjuOW/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=300&I=113KDCX589

If you go kenwood go with the excelon series. Much better overall. Like this one. http://www.crutchfield.com/S-T9ksxoRjuOW/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=300&I=113KDCX589

what makes the Excelon series better than the EZ-500 i posted?

i read the reviews of the one you linked and a few said that they found the features were very complicated to use...

i really don't need lots of extra features.. i just want a good sounding, dependable radio, that's simple to use...

The excelon series is of a much better build quailty. The last longer and are overall worth the extra money. Its hrad to go off of other peoples reviews. I say find a local stereo place and go look for yourself.

FWIW In all my other cars Ive owned Ive always used upper line Pioneer decks. Never had any problems with any of them and theyve always out-performed my expectations. The only reason I didnt get another one is because I was looking for a deal and couldnt catch a used Pioneer for a bargain. I'm no expert by any means at all but I know what I like.

well i just noticed the EZ-500 isnt even in stock and is no longer available.. so i guess that rules that one out.. i may go with the KDC-X589..

Alpine CDA-9847 is a very nice head unit for the price. Just stay away from the glide touch Alpine's. They break more than most.

already ordered it, i got the Kenwood Excelon KDC-X689 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-mbRtTrRMjnY/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=300&I=113KDCX689).. i hope i'm happy with it, spent enough ;)

Good call