Civiccc2K1

So I just got my 01 civic lx last night, and i went to walmart to see the decks they have to offer, one of these really caught my eye with the features so I bought it out of impulse. It was this one. I was real excited, so this morning I woke up to install my new radio. Installation was a B%$!&, let me tell you. Thank the lord for youtube. So after about an hour of cautious prying and unscrewing, I realize that I would need to purchase a bracket and a wiring harness for my new radio. I hopped on crutchfield and I found out it would be $35 + S&H. This is too much, agreed? I then saw that crutchfield includes both of those installation parts for free with some of the decks so I decided to browse. Should I go back to walmart to sell my Sony XPLOD and purchase a deck from Crutchfield with the installation parts? I had my eye especially on this pioneer one. Are there any better ones around that price range on crutchfield?

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Carnoobie is the best on this subject, I'd definitely wait for his response.

Civiccc2K1

Yeah it was what I was hoping for. lol. What would you do though?

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Id buy a cheap alpine deck. The sound quality far exceeds pioneer and Sony. That being said, get it from crutchfield with the harness and dash kit so you have everything there. If you get it from walmart you will still need the harness and dash kit. DO NOT install the deck without the harness.

Civiccc2K1

Thank you. I've heard a lot of good things about alpine but some people argue that Pioneer is the best option.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Oh yes 35 is steep unless your getting both the dash kit and the harness... you could always ebay it

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Alpine>>>>>>>Sony

Like he said, you're gonna need a dash kit and harness regardless. As for installation, there are so many DIY guides on here that'll help you disassemble your center console. I can have my radio out in prolly 10 minutes now, thanks largely to this site.

and wow Tom, just.. wow..

I'll give it to pioneer, they got pretty decks... but quality wise, i'd go with alpine. Then again, my system is all alpine except for my subwoofer and rear speakers..

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

The sound quality of cheap alpines suprasses the sound quality of most other brands good quality decks. The thing you will be giving up is features. It's up to you what you want out of your deck

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

I know Josh. I couldn't help myself

Civiccc2K1

@RiceBoy - I have no problems getting the center console out, its fairly simple if you follow a video.

@tbohar - I'm liking the idea of great sound quality, but I also like the idea of iPod controls too. Hmmmm. I dont really want to spend more than 150.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

alpine has a deck that supports ipod.. their cheapest retails at $110....

Civiccc2K1

Yeah I did see that, but don't you have to purchase another cable for around 30? I think I might just go with it and not worry about the iPod Controls. Just use the AUX. And another question,
will walmart let me return an opened car stereo? haha.

Civiccc2K1

and the only other thing, is, how do I do the wire connecting? I've never worked with audio wires so I dont know the colors and what goes where, and we dont have a sauntering kit. /:

7genmarathon

iTrader: (1)

The harness will/should have a color code that tells you what each wire is. For our vehicles I think all the colors match making it very easy, but always use the manuals advice not just mine. I have a spare harness that has the color codes for my 2001 civic if you cant find them.

What you can do just to get it in your car already is crimp the wires together by using those twist crimpers. They look like the lids that go onto toothpaste.

The best connection by far is by soldering. A perfect soldering gun for this type can run you 10-20 bucks. In order to connect the wires you use solder, which is like liquid metal that when cooled fuses two wires together. That costs about 5-10 bucks. After that you wrap some electrical tape or heat shrink which is cheap too.

I use 60/40 rosin core solder. It is the best type for electronic applications if you intend to solder in the future.

TiggerDX

iTrader: (1)

If you order from Crutchfield, they give you a guide specifically for your car. The instructions are very clear on wiring. Just match up the colors. If you are not going to solder the connections, get a good crimper and some butt connectors. (they are not included) You can twist the wires together and tape them but the tape will eventually come apart and you could short the system.
Alpine has very good stuff. My decks have always been Alpine. I picked up a JVC Arsenal deck for $169 with HD. (stay away from the non Arsenal line) First non Alpine in 15 years. It's actually a pretty nice deck with good sound controls. Has a 7 band EQ, and I can completely customize the face color with over 7 million color combinations.
Ipod control is through a standard USB cable.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

An 110 dollar alpine deck with no features at all will sound better than yours... Sorry, they are top notch for sound quality. With my Alpine I dont have to customize anything it sounds fantastic right out of the box. Again, it's ultimately up to the person who is buying the deck. If you want to be driving around playing with your tuning settings trying to get it sound decent, something is wrong, and it's dangerous.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Here is a harness that I built for an S-10. This is what you want it to look like. Wrapped in electrical tape afterwards though. Soldering is best, but I chose to go with crimp connect. I've never had any problems with it.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

50W maximum per channel (which is what companies advertise) can very quickly turn into 14watts RMS per channel. Which is a MUCH more accurate figure of what the deck is actually capable of.

DarkSouljur

Yea, i did a lot of research of decks in the past. Sony is decent, pioneer is good, but for sound quality, alpine is best. The only thing is that alpine is usually more expensive. BUT you pay for not only better sound quality, but also much better build quality.

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

I have been a Pioneer fan for years...Never had one fail. Reading about the Alpines almost has me convinced to switch over though. My next unit is going to be a USB capable unit for certain. And DAMN I want my remote control back, I miss that.

amamdani15

i actually just installed this deck in my civic last week. (got it from frys for $70 with extra speakers, sold those and it cost me $40). i say it is a very nice deck...sound quality is good and if your not changing out the speakers you wont notice much of a difference between companies. you should get new speaker tho...they are worth it. this is 17w rms and cant go up past half way without distorting the sound. if i were you i would order a deck and speakers off crutchfield since it would come with all the mounting hardware and stuff and your sound would be 1000x better than stock

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Don't get me wrong. Pioneer is okay... there is a difference between pioneer and alpine though. Pioneer sells their decks by being flashy and cool looking. Alpine sells their decks by having great sound quality. It's up to you what you want. I wish gearbox would chime in here, he has had a bunch of different decks and can compare well. Ive gone through a Sony, Kenwood, a couple Pioneers, and an Alpine in my time. The Alpine is the best, without a doubt. The Alpine is a top model though. I think I compare JVC in line with Pioneer though, for sound quality anyway. My cousin had a JVC and it sounded nice.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Alpine still has a lot of tuning options. The thing you lose (or have to pay more to get) is the functionality options like USB, ipod connect etc. In other words they are just more expensive.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Like I mentioned earlier, sure Pioneer decks are pretty, but quality-wise Alpine is better.. you know, the whole "don't judge a book by its cover" deal...?
The quality of the deck is not dependent on how simple or complex it is....

Civiccc2K1

I hope youre right with the JVC Arsenal choice, thats what I purchased. I like the reviews it got and im loving the options it has, plus the built in HD radio sealed the deal. Keep in mind im not going to be using my car for any more than 15 minutes at a time so it's not too important to dish out money for the best sound system. but thanks for everyone for your imputs! it really helped guys!

TiggerDX

iTrader: (1)

I have to laugh at some of the comments as Alpine probably has some of the worst sound tuning elements of any high end deck. Bass and treble adjustments and the bass forward controls. You can control which sound field area you want your bass enhanced. Other than that, there is the MX which is just a Alpine version of a loudness button.
To get any real control over the sound tailoring of an Alpine deck you have to buy the EQ or the Imprint audio processor.
Don't get me wrong, they are great decks and I really liked the decks I had. I will always be an Alpine fan and love my Alpine PDX amps. It just kills me they don't even offer a mid-range adjustment.

Muirsy

i have an alpine deck... bought it for 150cdn all ipod controls. no cd just ipod and radio. love the sound quality have had no problems with it after 2 years

lollygagger

my 60$ refurbed Sony works just fine, CD, Auxiliary, HD and all

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Even my double din Alpine is lacking some of the sound tuning functions that a lot of decks have. But again, I don't feel you should be driving and playing with your settings. That's why Alpine does it.

billing10

I got pioneer double din touch screen navi and blue tooth with ipod control ($1000) it must beat ur 120 or 200 dollar deck right . lol
It also has lots of tuning options as well as presets that sound great out of the box