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Old 08-18-2005
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Question Head units for a newbie

OK, if you had 200 dollars to spend on a head unit... who would you do with, in terms of best quality of unit and sound and why? LIke do you know a site where they have reviews on them and say who's the best also . JVC, Alpine, Sony, Pioneer, Jensen, Kenwood, Dual, Insignia, or Audiobahn???
Old 08-18-2005
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www.sounddomain.com has reviews but i do know many of those reviews there are biased imo.

i personally favor pioneer because its affordable, quality at price, offers enough features, and looks great on the dash. comes with warranty as well, but im sure all decks do.

check out
www.onlinecarstereo.com
www.hookedontronics.com
www.woofersetc.com
www.ikesound.com

they usually have good prices.


first, i would think about what are you looking for from a deck? EQ adjustability? sub pre outputs? ipod ready? mp3? features? etc.
Old 08-18-2005
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oh ok, thanx man those sites helped me out.
Old 08-18-2005
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Go with the Pioneer DEH-6700MP. Great deck for someone starting out and looking for great sound. Has an easy to use EQ with some advanced features also. It's Priced way under $200 also. Good Luck.

Oh and I have the DEH-7700MP Deck, it's fawking hot!

Last edited by WildRice; 08-19-2005 at 12:25 AM.
Old 08-18-2005
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Alpine cda-9847 I just picked this up for $200 at best buy and is is AWESOME. Sounds WAY BETTER than my old top end pioneer 940mp deck. The alpine doesn't have alot of cool features, but you will love the sound just after playing with simple bass/treble controls. Its an amazing deck for the price. And you can make it match the coupe interior very well!
I wrote a review somewhere in ice forum recently. Oh and radio quality is top notch as well. almost sounds like a cd.





Old 08-19-2005
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[QUOTE=gearbox]Alpine cda-9847 I just picked this up for $200 at best buy and is is AWESOME. Sounds WAY BETTER than my old top end pioneer 940mp deck. The alpine doesn't have alot of cool features, but you will love the sound just after playing with simple bass/treble controls. Its an amazing deck for the price. And you can make it match the coupe interior very well!
I wrote a review somewhere in ice forum recently. Oh and radio quality is top notch as well. almost sounds like a cd.

I came here to tell you to buy a Pioneer for under $200, but seeing that Gear bought the 9847 I'd say definitely pick that up. I'm forgetting these Alpines are dropping in price.
Old 08-19-2005
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ya i feel like i should have paid more for how it sounds... and i'm sure online they're cheaper than $200. I just couldn't wait so drove to best buy and got it
Old 08-19-2005
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SO PIONEER IS pretty nice? ok cool. is jvc any good
Old 08-19-2005
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garbage. I would say the order is alpine/eclipse, then pioneer/clarion, then maybe kenwood but their quality sucks these days. Sony, jvc, jensen are at the very bottom.
Old 08-19-2005
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cda 9847! 3 pre outs. has a low/high pass filters. sub setting, sub mode, sub on off, you can select the color, supports sirius, and i-pod. you can buy a remote for it. if you dont know what that is you can simply tap the volume **** to adjust balance fade bass treble sub its as simple as you want it to be or as complicated as you want it to be. far and away the best deck in the range o and it has a clock!

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Old 08-19-2005
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Originally Posted by gearbox
Alpine cda-9847 I just picked this up for $200 at best buy and is is AWESOME. Sounds WAY BETTER than my old top end pioneer 940mp deck. The alpine doesn't have alot of cool features, but you will love the sound just after playing with simple bass/treble controls. Its an amazing deck for the price. And you can make it match the coupe interior very well!
I wrote a review somewhere in ice forum recently. Oh and radio quality is top notch as well. almost sounds like a cd.





that deck is crap, I had it before I got my pioneer, wait till it just stops workin after 3 months and u'll have to send it in for service.
Old 08-19-2005
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imo...Alpine is better than all! i mean in i.c.e., they got em, subs, JL, and for mids-n-highs, go for Focal. those are the best!...IMO
Old 08-19-2005
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i go to my friend and get a stolen flip up dvd screen...lol...jk but maybe not
Old 08-19-2005
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Originally Posted by 01redJDM
that deck is crap, I had it before I got my pioneer, wait till it just stops workin after 3 months and u'll have to send it in for service.
oh really? seems pretty solid to me...and everywhere I looked it had 5/5 stars review. And its the only deck that matches the interior nicely. Anyway thanks for the heads-up. Lucky for me I have a 4 year warranty. I'll take it back to best buy and they either try to fix or give me new one. No sending it in for service.
Old 08-19-2005
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Originally Posted by 01redJDM
that deck is crap, I had it before I got my pioneer, wait till it just stops workin after 3 months and u'll have to send it in for service.

Just because you had a problem with it doesnt mean it's crap. Theres bound to be a lemon in every line of products, regardless of how much they cost. My buddy had a pioneer that the buttons stopped work on, sent it in, fixed it, then the screen went out, fixed that, then it started skipping randomly with NEW cds, got that taken care of, and now the faceplate is totally dead. This was a $400 pioneer unit. Does that mean Pioneer is crap? No, he just got a bad unit.
Old 08-19-2005
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I think if you asked everyone, the answer would most likely be alpine. thats all i have ever used and these days, they have more high quality affordable decks than ever.
Old 08-20-2005
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oh ok, so i think imma go with what gearbox was reccomending, the cda 9847, or i just might go with the cde9845, but most like ley from this thread imma go with either alpine(cda 9847), or pioneer(dehp3600) who knows. imma post pics of each, to take a vote. and once again i wanna thank everyone for your input, if i had alot of points to donate i'd split it up between u all.
Old 08-20-2005
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cool. i would definately recommend the alpine for sound quality. Its better than my old pioneer 940mp. If you're deciding between two decks, make sure they have everything you might need like preouts, functions, etc. That alpine has a whole lot. I can tell you from experience that pioneer makes good low end products, but they sound just like they should for that price--not that good. Heck even the one i had with a 13 band eq doesn't sound as good as a cheap alpine. And all i have are some cheap infinity speakers and a small alpine amp 30wrmsx4.
Old 08-20-2005
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Question srry guys

ok here is the DEHP4700MP (pioneer $120)


the DEHP4600 (pioneer $160)


the CDA9847 (alpine $160)


and the CDE9845 (alpine $144)


im sorry for being all picky, i just dont want to waste anymoney on something thats not all its craked up to be. thats y i ask for input

So is it #1, #2, #3, or #4 that you like the most
Old 08-20-2005
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have you looked at eclipse decks? I haven't owned one, but I always hear good things. Their lower line is pretty cheap and still plays mp3s and stuff.
Old 08-20-2005
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I would go with the 9847...it has the Ai-Net port and the 9845 doesnt. What this allows you to do is add an iPod unit, Satelite Radio, or a CD Changer. It also has 3 pre-outs instead of 2, so if you were to add amps down the line it would make things easier.
Old 08-20-2005
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Originally Posted by Mystic3030
Just because you had a problem with it doesnt mean it's crap. Theres bound to be a lemon in every line of products, regardless of how much they cost. My buddy had a pioneer that the buttons stopped work on, sent it in, fixed it, then the screen went out, fixed that, then it started skipping randomly with NEW cds, got that taken care of, and now the faceplate is totally dead. This was a $400 pioneer unit. Does that mean Pioneer is crap? No, he just got a bad unit.
ya u are right, the alpine I had, also had the same problems with the faceplate and skiping and going off on bumps, but I never had any problems with my pioneer deck and I've had it for almost 1 year now.
Old 08-20-2005
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also if you want to read reviews to help decide, got www.crutchfield.com
Old 08-20-2005
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one thing I did notice with the new alpine is it tends to skip more with badly scratched cds. the pioneer i had almost never did that. but an easy fix is burn a new cd... and radio reception is way better with the alpine.
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ya if u are a radio guy don't go with Pioneer, reception sucks.
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My alpine gets awful radio reception, but my power wire runs next to my antenna cable, so thats probably the problem. Oh well, I have XM, so it doesnt matter.
Old 08-20-2005
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I have a Alpine 9847 and also had trouble with it not once but twice. First 9847 would lose power if i touched some of the buttons on the screen, second one died after 24 hours, third one is currently in still working but radio stations get resetted. I think I can deal with losing station since I've been using mp3 cds mostly but its been a pain in the *** unit. People can claim its the installtion etc but this is from a authorized Alpine dealer whos supposedly been in the business from way back in the day.
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yikes. i really hope mine lasts cause its the only deck i could find with the matching lights and display. I don't see how wiring would mess it up unless you crossed them or something. I did the wires myself and its fairly easy. Been going strong for a week now. The last thing I need is quality problems. My previous pioneer still worked great after 2 yrs when i took it out.
Old 08-20-2005
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i have the 9847 and have had it for about a couple months now. NO problems at all.
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Whats really weird is that my second unit was an Alpine INSPECTED REPLACEMENT DECK so I have no idea why it would fail, especially after 24 hours. The other only negative thing about the deck was the no remote thing but I bought a remote from my installer for cheap.


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