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my vote is still on Pioneer Premier DEH-P770MP.. check first page if you want to know why

 
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Do you care if it's 2V or 4V? They do the same thing except for amplifier, which will likely picking up a little noise if you are using 2V, but it is only tiny amount. Pioneers have S/N of 94dB while Alpine has 105dB, it's more than 100 times more noise than Alpine(per 1V of signal). So even if Alpine has only 2V, it won't have much noise like Pioneer does when picking up by amplifier.

BTW, I wonder if you have read the manual carefully. I downloaded the manual for Pioneer, it says "Preout max output level: 2.2V/1kW" (W=ohm), and RMS output 22W from 50-15000Hz(it doesn't play up to 20,000Hz at least!?) with 5% THD...I do believe it is a very poor unit

 
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^^Well isn't that some ****. WTF. They put 4v on the spec page and 2.2 in the manual? And it only goes from 50-15k? It says that the CD response is 5-20k. Can it play cds at 20k if the channels only go to 15?

Son of a bitch! Now I'm right back to where I started. I only want to spend around $320 with components and shipping included. All the good decks are at least $300. I need to hear it.

If I were to go Alpine, it would probably be the 9853, but didn't you say that it doesn't have any kind of EQ? What about that Kenwood in the first post? I was just realy looking forward to getting some components too.

 
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Going from 50-15k means that you virtually get quality like FM radio, so it still has a lot of details, but it means you are losing SPACE(it's among definitions of sound stage) and sub bass. Eventually no cd player can exceed 5-20k range while amp can. Everything beyond 20 and 20k make you feel the presense of a stage. Actually you don't "hear" much above 16k, but you will feel it.

I do suggest you go another route instead of HU->speaker->amp(normal and usual route, but also has the danger of double spending on same unit) because of your budget limits. Stock woofers are paper cones so it does give you some very natural midrange and you can use it for a while. By then you can save enough money to upgrade other things. My suggestion is to add a subwoofer first, because stock speakers just have no low end. It will fall well into your $320 range with a 2 channel amp, output at around 250W, and IDQ sub. Believe or not you basically don't need rear speakers, so get an amp with speaker level input. MRV-T320(small amp, 250W) bridged can push a dual 2 ohm 10" IDQ pretty well. I see one now on ebay says $99+15 shipping.

It's always my suggestion to get low freq driver first if you have limited buget because it will complete your frequency domain first. Believe or not, later when you upgrade, you can use that sub amp to push the main speakers. Sound nice to me, but just wonder if you will try this route.

 
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Already have that covered with a 12" Kicker Comp in a sealed box and a Soundstream 600x4. I just need to replace this shitty JVC HU and possibly get some nice sounding components up front. I could live without the components for now, but I just don't see myself being able to save much in the future. Thats why I wanted to get everything now and forget about it for a while.

 
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OK, because you didn't say in this post(or I missed it?) Sorry about that. 600x4 you are pushing what? Two sub? You don't want two subs in a Civic...

 
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Well I had 2 in a bandpass and it sounded pretty good, but I decided to take one out and put it in a sealed box I made just for it. Now it sounds great.

I may not have posted that I had a sub.

 
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My 2 cents:

I love my Pioneer (7600MP). I had a 6400 that I gave to a friend after 2 years of trouble-free use. If I had to list a gripe, it would be that the EQ is a little complicated to set, but I haven't really taken the time to sit down with the instruction manual and dial it in properly. That could be my Saturday project, instead of mowing the lawn!

The (optional) steering wheel remote is nice, too...

 
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^^Thank you. I too had a Pioneer that I put in my first car 7 years ago, transplanted to my second car, and sold it to a friend a few years later. It still works, most of the time. It sounded pretty good to me, but I didn't know much about SQ back then. I want the Pioneer to be better, or the Alpine to be cheaper. Or to wake up and find out $100 bills fell out of my *** in my sleep.

 
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I hope Alpine would be cheaper too. The main difference between Pioneer and Alpine is that, Alpine is a pure auto company while Pioneer is a mixed company. It's like Sony that goes everywhere but all of their product is pretty averaged(mid ranged to low ranged, so they can be widely available). The idea comes from resource distribution, which is a pure business subject. Something like, you have a specific amount of funds available, how you distribute to each department will be how well you are doing in your products. Alpine and Motorola have the same root(Alps Electronics, which makes our car's remote) and if you trust Moto, you should trust Alpine too. BTW, it's just personal opinion on how well a specific product is. I like clear and bright and wide image with extensive low end(but not boomy and "punch my chest" ugly bass, all SQ stuffs), with open "space"(imaging term), so basically is pursuation of the most natural sounding. May be you like tons of bass or whatever?

 
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nevermind too expensive

 
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cd 400 or cd 700? cd 700 worths the cost but cd 400......nah...

 
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Nah, you can get the pioneers for 749.99 for the actual HU, and 549 for the processor. Woofersetc, for one has it. Awesome, awesome unit...

 
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Good points. Alpine is targeted at car audio and they do have a better product, but this is where price comes in. I can get the 9853 for 260 which leaves me with 60 measly bucks for components. Not gonna do a whole lot with $60. The 9855 is available for around $400. Way more than I want to spend.

I like a full, natural sounding system that covers the entire audible spectrum and makes the music feel real. I also want to get as much as I can with my money. I'm going to do some scouting tonight and try to see and hear the Alpines and Pioneer and Kenwood HUs. Thank you for your continued advice.

 
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I have a pair of used Alpine SPX-F17M (used to be Alpine's flag ship speaker). Tweeters were made by Scan Speak and woofers were from Vifa(So they are both Danish Sound Technology company, and have very good reputation too). It doesn't have any mechanical problem, but both tweeter's legs (on both positive and negative also) are broken. Need precise soldering to solder the 4 wires to the terminal. They just sit in here with the original crossover after I got my pair of Dyns System340. If you like it, I can sell it to you in good price. Keep in touch with me.

 
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^^Awesome! I'll PM you for the details. You'll also be happy to hear that I went to my local Tweeter tonight and they had both the 9853 and the P770MP. I'm getting the 9853. It really is a far superior unit to the Premier. The Rotary Commander felt cheap and weak. I'm not sure if it would last too long. It also felt like it took too much effort to command the roraty. Maybe it felt that way because it was a display model?

The Alpine was amazing. Sounded great with every speaker in that room. It has 6 position time correction and a 7 or 5 band EQ. I think it will definately be worth the little extra. I can't wait to get it.

Thanks to everyone who gave their 2 (or more) cents. I really appreciate it!

 
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The truth is that, time correction works best with active crossover rather than passive(or at least bi-wired on the crossover if supported). The reason is that, you delay one speaker, the whole set will be delayed if you are using passive, will doesn't work well this way. With active, ie. tweeter and woofer receives its own channel, even just using internal power of the head unit, you still will be able to adjust every driver to the exact value. Then they can be matched and blended seamlessly(that's what I am doing with the Dyns now).

 
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just wanted to chime in. I am basically in the same boat... i'm looking at either the DEH 770mp (because of AAC compatibility and price) or comparing the 9853 and the p8mp.

i know alpine has a huge following but i hear people arn't liking this glide touch thing. Does anyone have it? I prefer the rotary commander on the pioneers... i also want to hook the IPod up so i was wondering if anyone has tried the new pioneer interface.
thanks

 
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I'll wait for the DVA-9965, which is a swing face, glide touch, dead head, dvd player with optical digital output(this is what I look for). Available after summer, so I have plenty of time to save money. (Only IF the new unit is made in Japan, not China)

And, by the time I buy the new one, I will sell my older DVA-7996 for the price below $300, which has digital output also.

 
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BTW, anybody notice that Alpine dropped V-Drive internal amp?

 
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a lot of people already noticed


probably because those decks are so expensive that you can just buy a non v-drive and an external amp for just as much money

...or maybe alpine is planning something better...

maybe they're thinking of using one of those tripath ic's for even more power than the 26watt v-drive ones

 
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I hope Alpine will put out more dead heads..