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I have narrowed down my choices for an HU to:

Apline CDA 9831
Alpine CDA 9835
Clarion CD3424
Pioneer DEH 7600MP


Requirments (in order of importance):

Readbility of display (including color changability)
High voltage Pre-outs and Sound quality Managment
Minimal delay between Mp3s


I would appreciate people's opinions on these 4 units ONLY. I dont want to be confused with more units. Please rank the HUs from 1-4 on an overall scale taking into account my requirements.

Thanks in advance

 
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I'd go with the Pioneer Premiere DEH-760MP. Spend the few extra bucks on it. It'll be worth it.

 
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Do you mean the Eclipse CD3424? I don't believe Clarion makes a unit called the CD3424.

 
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Yes, sorry it should be Eclipse.... HU Brand overload !!!!!

 
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lol what is eclipse and pioneer on that list anyway?

none of the hu can compare to alpine!

 
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My personal preference would be for Eclipse, because I love my Eclipse HU. You'll probably find you get more recommendations for Alpines, because that's what most people use on this board, I believe. And, of course, you'll get the recommendations for Pioneer by some people.

And likely none of them will bother telling you WHY the HU they recommend should be the one you use, much like the two recommendations you've already gotten.

My own recommendation would be to just decide by yourself. Unless you luck out and get a reply from someone who has used/seen all these HUs and shares your opinions about what is important. You have picked the top three HU manufacturers (at least, according to many people), and they are all perfectly good HUs.

You'll probably find that the Pioneer is the most readable, since it has an OEL display. Other than that, I can't really help...

 
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you seem to be comparing non-compareable decks. the 9835 and CD3424 are not compareable.
if you are considering the 9835, you should then consider the CD8454 and the 8600MP.
but from the decks you chose, i would do:
1. 9835
2. CD3424
3. 9831
4. 7600MP
the pioneer is last not because i think its a bad deck, but i really dont care for all that extra bling.

 
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You would seriously go for the CD3424 over the Alpine 9831, is really that much of a differecne in the sound quality with the eclipse? I am really curious to know. Although the Eclipse is a simple looking deck, I heard it has SQ to kill, but the Alpine had other bells and whistles like the ability to time control.

I got quotes for the Alpine just now, these are in CDN $$ but to just give you an idea.

1. Alpine 9831 and one store:
$483 includes taxes and a three year over the counter warranty OR
$495 includes taxes and a free install of the deck OR
$535 icludes taxes, 3 year warranty and installation

2. Eclipse CD3424
$500, including taxes and installation and the running of an RCA for my Sub to be added later.

Which of these are more value for the $$$.

 
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The best one on that list is the 9835, hands down!!!

 
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The Eclipse includes no warranty? I had heard that Eclipse has very good warranties if they are installed for you.

If the $500 Eclipse really has no warranty, I'd say the best value is close between the Alpine not installed and the Eclipse. Having your HU installed and RCAs run "for free" (i.e. included in the price) is a nice deal. It's not that fun to take all that stuff apart and run stuff yourself (took me while, and I have a few marks on my car to show for it -- granted it was the first time I did it). But then, I buy all my HUs used with no warranty. Your opinion on how valuable a warranty is may differ.

Otherwise, if there is a warranty, I'd say the Eclipse is a better value for sure.

Of course, I also like the simple Eclipse style. So if you think the Eclipse style is a negative, the Alpine is probably better for you.

Both will offer very good SQ, though slightly different. I prefer the Eclipse sound. I think you'll notice that the Eclipse offers slightly clearer/cleaner sound than the Alpine, if you compare them in a store. I would highly suggest comparing them if you can, and decide for yourself which sound you like better. Then again, now that I think about it, you will also be hearing them running off their own internal amp, so it will be difficult to judge, I suppose... assuming you are also buying an amp for the HUs.

Whatever you do, don't believe the people who claim one or the other HU is way, way better than any other on that list... they are all quite good.

I would personally buy brands in order of: Eclipse, Alpine, Pioneer. This is based on both SQ and style (I like simpler styles better). But I would put features above brands in that list, assuming we are talking about features you would actually use, rather than features that sound cool in the specs but will be used once just to check it out (it jsut so happens that I don't care about features, aside from a basic EQ, AUX input, and RCA outs...)

That is my opinion...

 
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yes can't go wrong with pioneer

 
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I have a 9835 and am quite happy with it. The EQ, crossover, and display are all excellent. Time correction is a big help in our cars i've found. Also, the Alpine has a unique Mp3 engine in that you can browse folders and songs while still listening to a song so you dont have big periods of no music. It loads Mp3's just as fast as regular disks, there is no delay whatsoever. The "amber" color matches the coupe interior lights perfectly, and if you want contrast the buttons go 512 different colors.

 
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I just bought myself an Alpine 7998 (I know it is last year's model) . It was not anby of the models I had narrowed my choices down to, but I got a good deal on it. I went to a sale and they had 8 of these units factory refurb. from Alpine. I paid $460 incld tax CDN$...abuot $341 US. It is an awesome deck, will post pics when I get some.

 
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The 7998 is pretty much a 9833/9835 in a different housing. same audio processing and eq features, however I hope you have a warranty on it because the swing mechanism on them is notorious for failing.

 
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I have an Eclipse CD5444 - I love it!!! It's not on your list, however the CD4324 is. The 3424 is not even comparable to 9835. If you want to make a valid comparison you must consider the other Eclipse HU's such as the 5444 or the 8454. The 5444 has some great features as far as sound goes such as Time Alignment, Xovers, and a great EQ, just to name a few. I wouldn't go for the 3 series eclipse HU's - you might as well spend the extra $$$ and get one of the two higher-end models (5444, 8454). Just my 2 cents!

 
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From your selections, coupled with your order of importance, I'd probably go with the pioneer for it's organic EL display, which, when coupled with the angles of our dashes, is still easy to read. Glare doesn't seem to affect it as much.

 
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lol I love it...obviously you guys didnt read the thread...he got a HU already.