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im looking to buy a mp3 cd headunit. i don't wanna spend more the $300 if possible. What do you guys think the best MP3 deck is for under 300? i was lookin at this one cause i have had Sony headunits and have had no problems with them, but i never had a MP3 deck. Is this one good? what other ones do you recomend.

 
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I wouldn't buy a Sony MP3 deck. A Pioneer 7400 would be nice, or a Kenwood MP3 deck.

 
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which one you think is better? the kenwood or the pioneer? i like the look of the kenwood, but i don't know how it is.

 
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i have a kenwood mp3 deck and it doesnt skip at all, and it reads cd's even if they are pretty scratched

 
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Look here . I mod the Blaupunkt forum, but you can research all the MP3 decks. They all have their +/-s so you will have to decide what features are important to you

 
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mp3 is a terrible medium for a car. highs often sound harsh or intermittant because of bitrate effects on frequency response, bass is often misrepresented or not there at all due to its "inability to be heard" b u l l s h i t. music can be felt at that frequency, if not heard, at the very least.

20 years from now, when the world has moved on to MP# as mainstream, you will ALWAYS find me here, with my pioneer CD player and changer, switching out CD's because at least it sounds more representative of the recording than MP3

MP3 is fantastic for sampling, but actual recording? CD will always be king over mp3.

my opinion is to get a nice CD player and forget about mp3.

 
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dont buy from crutchfield either...they are expensive as hell [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

Buy Here

 
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you have a good point, but it applies only for real audiophiles; average guys, like most of us, cand do fine with high quality mp3

 
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Sounds like you're used to the crappy 128kbps MP3s available on Kazaa and other file share programs. High bitrate MP3s >192 can sound indistinguishable from the original CD. As long as your deck can handle it, a 320 kbps MP3 has been tested to sound exactly like the CD, and still 1/4 the size of the original track. The MP3s that I rip are all encoded VBR at decent bitrates and you'd have to have super ears to tell them from the original in any system. Of course the ones that I've downloaded, well, you get what you pay for. I'd watch those blanket statements about the quality of MP3s. I have no doubt that musical compression will eventually be the standard in some form or another. CD's will go the way of the record once the RIAA unleashes its strangle hold

 
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i download all my mp3's at 192 bitrate. i actually went to my friend yesterday who works at 6thave electronics by me and he can get me a sweet deal on this kenwood for 350. i brought a cd i made with a couple mp3's on it to check it out and it sounded quite good. so im probably gonna get that one in a week or so.

thanks alot for your opinions

 
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DEH-P7400MP rather have this one, better display, same functions, a bit pricey tough

 
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i was looking at that one too but it only has two sets of preamp outputs. the kenwood has three, plus the Kenwood also has a built in cross-over, i don't think the Pioneer does. The display on the Pioneer is quite cool though.

 
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I'd pick the pioneer, had 2 different headunits over the years and nothing but good experiences with them

 
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Get the JVC KD SH707 it has an aluminum face that will match your dash if you have the metal trim. You can get it off ebay for $229.00. Grey has one in his car... or maybe it's the model above the 707.


Attachments:
[IMG]/forums/themes/orbitz/paperclip.gif[/IMG] KDSH707.jpg (39 Kb)

 
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I had the pioneer premier 740 and kinda liked it... It was practically the same but it had 3 rca outputs the only prob was there was no attenuator/mute on the HU just the remote. I got it for like 255 shipped from ike at ikesound.com.

 
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I know you don't want to spend a lot of money, but it is well worth it for the sony mp-70. The cool thing about it is that it is a tray loader. I put all of my cd's on the mini mp3 discs just for the hell of it. Check it out in my members rides.

My ride

Or here....



Sony MP-70

 
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I have the Kenwood Z828 and i love it...it sounds and looks really good!

 
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get the sony mp30x, i run it in my car. I find that the sound quality is really good and it helps they have two pre-outs. I found it to the best bag for my buck.

 
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i give it 7 months and it will be skippy as hell =p

sony has a terrible track record for cd players.......

 
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Ive got a Sony MP450x CD/Mp3 player. Had it since about August of 01. I love the sound quality and power. Also, if youve got the dash that lights up red at night it totally blends in.

My only gripe however is that during the day its really hard to read the deck display because it is angled too high. I have my chair all the way back and i can barely read anything if its sunny. Oh ya one other thing is that it dosent scroll mp3 names or i havent figgured out how =) Im allready happy with the unmatched sound quality it gives out even when playing Mp3's on stock speakers. As with any sound system, make sure you get the sub! Even if its only a 10, theres a big difference. I coupled that deck with an infinity basslink sub and i'm really happy with the combo.

 
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i got the kenwood kdc-mpv619 for $220 locally (they go about $299-$349 retail) and it's pretty decent. matches the interior both day and night, and comes with two sets of outputs, which is ok

 
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This is easy-Pioneer! After all, Honda trusts them enough to use them as their stock equipment for a good reason, Pioneer have excellent products!!! I have the Pioneer 8400 and it does excellent with the mp3s, it is more than you want to spend so go for the 7400 HU!!! Good luck and have fun with it!

 
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I have a JVC KD-SX980 MP3 deck and I'd say I'm pretty happy with it... I gotta say though that the radio receiption with the 'window imprint' antenna sucks bigtime...

 
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Honda also trusts Firestone for their stock tires [IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG]

 
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[IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG][IMG]i/expressions/laugh2.gif[/IMG] That was good [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]...

If you wanne spend an extra $200 and never worry about skipping do what I did.. Steal your g/f's Solid stae MP3 player get a headdphone-RCA adapter..hook it to aux input on your HU..sounds pretty dang decent..can't skip....

 
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dragoon-excellent acerbic wit! [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG]

 
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ALPINE CDA-7995

www.smilephotovideo.com

look at the specs for the deck at www.crutchfield.com

You can see the display fine during the day. No internal Amp, clean outputs.
reads MP3's much faster than Pioneer... had the premier 740 for a week and sold it cause it took way to long in between tracks on Mp3 Alpine works much better.

 
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Allmost forgot, my cousin picked up an MP3 player too by Blaupunkt. Nice rotary volume controlls and the display is big azz and very blue. Works great and sound quality seems to be allright on stock speakers of a 96 civic. Very functional when it comes to MP3's as it does a great job reading text and scrolling. Navigation though folders is quick and easy.

Whatever you get make sure its got rotary controls =) I think they are far better than buttons I had on countless decks i have in the past.

 
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ok. the main prob with mp3 decks is the lag time in between tracks.
is the lag created when u actually push the next track. or is the in between songs when the song ends and is switching to another. grey suggested that i should get a the Pioneer Premier DEH-P740MP or JVC KD-SH909.
but then the 740 has the same lag time as the 7400 the one i was about to buy...
i want to stay around 250 bucks. cause im poor.

 
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Actually, both. Also, check out sounddomain.com to see which player is better, the DEH-740MP, or the KD-SH909. You can compare the DEH7400MP and the KD-SH707 as well. Sound quality, radio reception, signal to noise ratio, all are a little better in the JVC HU's. Plus the JVC's remote has more buttons, so that you can control more functions remotely. I didn't need the flashy display or the crossovers in the Pioneer line of HU's, so I went with JVC. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]