Ajjra

I'm sure this is an over-simplified posting, but in your opinion, who makes the best aftermarket HU for our car? And why?

PJK3

well, one thing you need to decide is this -- do you want to keep the dash controls? and if so, what solution would you prefer to use to keep the controls... then, based on that decision, you will have a list of available head units.
for example, Modifry's solution (via Lucid) will do the Alpine and Pioneer, but not Eclipse. DJQube's solution will work w/ just about any headunit.


over the last 15 years, i've owned a lot of different headunits by most of the major brands... the last 3 i've put in for my own vehicles have all been Alpine. so, i'm a biased opinion, but my reasoning is based on build quality, functionality, sound quality, and reliability.

NFRs2000NYC

I agree with PJK3....

The question you asked is similar to asking your friend...."whos mother cooks better?" Everyone has their own preferences. However, I would like to share some light on the issue.....

I am not biased towards any manufacturer.....I can only say good/bad experieces....and with me and electronics....1 bad experience makes me never buy another product again. (This sounds crazy...but with so many choices out there, I just do not see the need to "give a second chance") Now.....I have had experience with a pioneer HU, and absolutely hated it. It was the top of the line HU at the time and performance was terrible. The HU I have now is Alpine and I cannot find one thing I do NOT like about it. Its great. Made very well (in japan, not taiwan) so I am pleased. SQ is great, features, ease of use.....connectivity and flexibility. From what I hear....eclipse makes wonderful equipment, but the 100% loss of the dash controls would steer me away from it. If you want quality, I suggest you go with a nice Alpine or Clarion HU. As we all stated before, Clarion's speakers and such is ehhh.....but their componentry is top rate. Also, price plays a big role....How much are you willing to spend....that would let all of us give you a better recommendation....

P.S. If you do not care about the dash controls (since most radios come with remotes anyway,) look into the top of the line BLAUPUNKT decks....

Some of them retail at like $700, but can be had for $250 or so. They make an extremely high quality product as well.
Let us know what you decide,

_-Dave

NFRs2000NYC

I just put this bad boy in my friends lightning, and boy does it perform....



5V preouts, and more features than NASA's space shuttle...

You can turn off the internal amp for even better SQ and trust me....your system will be night and day from the stock HU. This HU can be had for $250-$300 bucks....not bad for a $699.95 HU

PJK3

my experience w/ Pioneer has been alright... decent gear that never really gave me problems, but the sound quality wasn't the greatest and the thing was hard as heck to navigate and use...

JVC gear, while not the greatest for sound quality, never gave me any problems and was relatively easy to navigate.

Clarion gear - never owned it, but others who have really liked it, and it held up well. navigating around in it though wasn't as easy as it should have been.

Eclipse gear -- some what esoteric, but incredible sound quality. didn't find it hard or easy to navigate. somewhat pricey for the features that came with it.

Blaupunkt - too flashy for my tastes, so i've never used it.

Kenwood - some quirks, but decent sound quality and fairly easy to work with

Alpine heads - solid equipment, easy to configure and forget, not overly gadgety, but with good features that make it worth it's value, reliable and consistent. sound quality on par with Eclipse. only thing i can say bad is they lack a good variety of color lighting selections, so matching dash colors is hard. hope you like green or blue.

Tiger8119

I would say its a battle between Alpine and Pioneer. I have a Pioneer a lot of my friends have Pioneer and Alpine also they all work and look great. It's up to you to decide which one YOU want not just because someone else likes it.

petraidm

I was originally strongly considering the eclipse unit but abandoned it because I wanted mp3 / wma playback capability. Eclipse has mp3 playback on some of its lower end models but you have to buy another module if you want mp3 on the higher end units.

Ajjra

Thanks guys. I'm going to see how my new upgrades sound and then decide on a head unit from there. There are very few places near me that have an array of gear to sample. I HAVE TO keep my dash controls

modifry

[QUOTE]Originally posted by PJK3
[B]for example, Modifry's solution (via Lucid) will do the Alpine and Pioneer, but not Eclipse.

Ajjra

Also, I put a Blaupunkt in my last car. I wasn't impressed. SQ was good but the controls were HORRIBLE. This was 4 years ago but from the faces they look the same...