which do you all prefer and why?

 

Never owned an Alpine. Just not a big fan of the look of it is all. I can't say it's not a quality unit.

 

Used to have an Alpine when I got a CD changer in my other Camaro. It sounded really good even with the OEM speakers. They're both good head units, but you can find out which one you really like by listening to it at Best Buy or Circuit City.

 

I've been using Kenwood and Alpine since the 70's. Both gets high marks from me.

 

Id use alpine, or panasonic.

 

I've narrowed it down to these, which one would you guys recommend?
Kenwood KDC-MP5028
Kenwood KDC-MP4028
Alpine CDA-9851
Alpine CDA-9847

 

right now I'm favoring the Kenwood KDC-MP4028 because of the free speakers. Would these be a good upgrade over the factory bose.

 

I've got an Alpine. No complaints here.

 

I actually just got the Alpine 9851 for my truck. Its a nice deck and I've gotten a few compliments for it. The blue will probalky blend in nicely with a camaro. It also sounds really nice. In fact, it's already overpowering the stock speakers (no big feat, but still) so I'm upgrading to Apline 6.5s soon.

It loadds mp3 files very quickly, much faster then my Pioneer mp8500 (which I paid almost $500 a few years ago) and isn't too complicated at all, which I had heard was a problem with Alpines.

My only complaint is that the pre-set buttons are a tad small and tight together, so you have to look at the deck to get the right station. Then again I've only had it since Friday so it just may take some getting used to.

 

Kenwood decks all use dual differential DAC's and have a much better pre-out voltage before clipping than Alpine decks right across the board.

I've seen lots of Alpine decks come back with warranty issues, rarely any Kenwood decks.

The only downside to a Kenwood is the somewhat difficult interface, but you'll learn it within a day and it's like butter.

 

I've put Alpine head units in 3 cars that I've owned.


Obviously I like Alpine. I recommend them.

 

I really, really like my Kenwood.

But you really can't go wrong either way. Do Alpines have a pause button? Alot of freakin' head units don't have pause buttons, which to me is lame.

 

Yeah they do. I had a JVC with no pause button, and it was the most asinine thing I had ever seen (well, on a head unit).

 

Ended up getting this, KDC-MP4028 and a set of 3way Kenwood 6 3/4" speakers. Sounds great, the new HU even makes my 10" kicker sound better.

 

pioneer here never had alpine head unit had there amps though and blew them up v-12 models never had any problems with my pioneer amps