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Alpine Car CD Decks the best?

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Originally posted by: Xiety
Originally posted by: boomdart
If you want the best, that'd be around Clarion, Nakamichi, Eclipse.

Otherwise, for price functionality and performance, go with Pioneer head units. They both have about the same amount of power at the same THD rating but the Pioneers are customizable beyond your wildest dreams. Get a 4600 model or greater and you will not be disappointed. Not to mention they are much more aesthetically pleasing than the alpines, IMHO.

www.ikesound.com has outrageous deals on car audio stuff.
Click to expand...

that site is shady dude. all their equipment must be stolen or something..

also they are not authorized dealer for any brand... your warranty is void.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've only delt with them once before (I bought two sets of Infinity Kappa components) and they worked just fine when I recieved them. My mother tried to order from them once, and the bank said they were not a credible company and wouldn't let her use her debit card with them.

www.thezeb.com and www.onlinecarstereo.com are good sites.
Ikesound used to have a really cool flash intro, but it's long gone 🙁
 
This is a really late reply, but I'm finally ready to purchase a head unit. From everyone's comments, I think I'm going to go with a Pioneer. Even if I pay more for an Apline or Eclipse, I don't think I'm going to be able to tell the difference. Ignorance is bliss.
 
Pioneer's are piece of s hit.. use facts b4 u talk about anything...
i use to work at bb and we use to get countless psp returns on pioneer hu/speakers/subs name anything w/ pioneer u got it back as junk

alpine is straightly engineered in japan w/ high quality control standard.. they use gold connectivity/pcb on all their hu their non-type r spekaers might suck but their HU have own standard. it will last you longer than sony/pioneer/kenwood and others..

another good brand is eclipse they are pioneering new tech (especially security/theft lock features/ that is leaving some other competitors behind. their designs are also good and last long...

in the in-dash market pioneer and alpine are on top in the GUI/operating system area/features.. pioneer has realeased new indash that is worthy to be praised lets see if alpine can match up to their strive...
 
I used to have an Eclipse head unit and EQ in my Durango about 3 years ago. I had a/d/s components front and back and a 8.50 a/d/s amp and a 4.50 a/d/s amp. I love Eclipse, you should give them a listen and get a feel for their quality. You can't go wrong with Alpine tho!

Obviously go to your local car audio place and mess around with all the premium head units and pick the one that looks best in your car. 😀
 
For Car Audio speakers I'm a big fan of JL, for head units that play Mp3's, WMA, ect.. I've had good luck w/ Sony's 1st Gen High End head unit and various Pioneer units since then. Just my 2 cents... 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Childs
My Pioneer DEH P5500 is excellent. I don't see how any deck can be better than mine, and it cost around $175 new.
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[Michael Jackson on South Park]That's just ignant![/Michael Jackson on South Park]
 
Originally posted by: XietyCOM
Originally posted by: boomdart
If you want the best, that'd be around Clarion, Nakamichi, Eclipse.

Otherwise, for price functionality and performance, go with Pioneer head units. They both have about the same amount of power at the same THD rating but the Pioneers are customizable beyond your wildest dreams. Get a 4600 model or greater and you will not be disappointed. Not to mention they are much more aesthetically pleasing than the alpines, IMHO.

www.ikesound.com has outrageous deals on car audio stuff.
Click to expand...

that site is shady dude. all their equipment must be stolen or something..

also they are not authorized dealer for any brand... your warranty is void.
Click to expand...

Ikesound is one of the largest car audio vendors on eBay - anyone whose bought any decent amount of car audio stuff has bought from Ike at one point or another.
 
right now, pioneer is around 3rd place overall in best headunits, alpine one above them, and eclipse above that (those are the affordable ones) everyonce in a while you will find some rockford fosgates 8240 floating around on ebay but they dont play mp3's and they are dead heads, but are ahead of eclipse in terms of sound quality (balanced outputs too)

for the one person who knocked on kenwood. stfu i love my head unit, i have had so much experience w/ other headunits (pioneer specifically, and a lil sony) that the kenwoods menu system is so much easier to navigate and understand what every setting is used for. its a kenwood kdcmp919 fold out face.

MIKE
 
I'll be installing a Pioneer AVIC-N1 once I figure out what car I'm getting...love the look and the functionality, and I can get it for almost a thousand less than the Eclipse AVN
 
Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Originally posted by: XietyCOM
Originally posted by: boomdart
If you want the best, that'd be around Clarion, Nakamichi, Eclipse.

Otherwise, for price functionality and performance, go with Pioneer head units. They both have about the same amount of power at the same THD rating but the Pioneers are customizable beyond your wildest dreams. Get a 4600 model or greater and you will not be disappointed. Not to mention they are much more aesthetically pleasing than the alpines, IMHO.

www.ikesound.com has outrageous deals on car audio stuff.
Click to expand...

that site is shady dude. all their equipment must be stolen or something..

also they are not authorized dealer for any brand... your warranty is void.
Click to expand...

Ikesound is one of the largest car audio vendors on eBay - anyone whose bought any decent amount of car audio stuff has bought from Ike at one point or another.
Click to expand...

Dunno. I heard that they are not an authorized dealer of Pioneer and their warranty system works out of Pioneer. They do the warranty repair themselves, not Pioneer. I don't want that. They've got 3.33/10 on ResellerRatings.com.
 
Originally posted by: XietyCOM
Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Originally posted by: XietyCOM
Originally posted by: boomdart
If you want the best, that'd be around Clarion, Nakamichi, Eclipse.

Otherwise, for price functionality and performance, go with Pioneer head units. They both have about the same amount of power at the same THD rating but the Pioneers are customizable beyond your wildest dreams. Get a 4600 model or greater and you will not be disappointed. Not to mention they are much more aesthetically pleasing than the alpines, IMHO.

www.ikesound.com has outrageous deals on car audio stuff.
Click to expand...

that site is shady dude. all their equipment must be stolen or something..

also they are not authorized dealer for any brand... your warranty is void.
Click to expand...

Ikesound is one of the largest car audio vendors on eBay - anyone whose bought any decent amount of car audio stuff has bought from Ike at one point or another.
Click to expand...

Dunno. I heard that they are not an authorized dealer of Pioneer and their warranty system works out of Pioneer. They do the warranty repair themselves, not Pioneer. I don't want that.
Click to expand...

I've had 4 Pioneer decks and all have worked fine. (2 of them were 5+ years old, in the TX heat, it's amazing nothing got fried) 😀 I can't say the same about other brands, but Pioneer has always been rock solid for me.
 
Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Originally posted by: Howard
Originally posted by: JohnCU
Pioneer is the best, not Alpine.
Click to expand...
Eclipse more expensive > *
Click to expand...

Fixed.

For a price-performance comparison I vote Pioneer hands down everytime.
Click to expand...

Eclipse is not that expensive buddy. I helped my gf pick one up for $199. Plays MP3s even. It sounded better then Pioneer/Kenwood/Alpine HU's costing 2-3x as much. Yes, I did a side-by-side comparison. I'm totally convinced they are the best sounding affordable HU's on the market.
 
Eclipse > all, except Denon.

Eclipse prices have dropped drastically, there very competitive to most other brands. And seeing as thats the case, I'd say Pioneer is a hunk of shyte next to an Eclipse. Granted, Pioneer makes good decks. Dont get me wrong. But next to an Eclipse its just no comparison.
In addition, a theft warrenty is a sweet deal.
 
Originally posted by: Shockwave
Eclipse > all, except Denon.

Eclipse prices have dropped drastically, there very competitive to most other brands. And seeing as thats the case, I'd say Pioneer is a hunk of shyte next to an Eclipse. Granted, Pioneer makes good decks. Dont get me wrong. But next to an Eclipse its just no comparison.
In addition, a theft warrenty is a sweet deal.
Click to expand...

What are some sites (other than Crutchfield :roll: expensive piece of shiet) that sell Eclipse headunits? When I search for Eclipse Audio, all I get is reviews.
 
Originally posted by: XietyCOM
Originally posted by: Shockwave
Eclipse > all, except Denon.

Eclipse prices have dropped drastically, there very competitive to most other brands. And seeing as thats the case, I'd say Pioneer is a hunk of shyte next to an Eclipse. Granted, Pioneer makes good decks. Dont get me wrong. But next to an Eclipse its just no comparison.
In addition, a theft warrenty is a sweet deal.
Click to expand...

What are some sites (other than Crutchfield :roll: expensive piece of shiet) that sell Eclipse headunits? When I search for Eclipse Audio, all I get is reviews.
Click to expand...

Pretty much none.

One I ordered Eclipse speakers from this site tho I bought the HU at a B&M. The prices are pretty much the same wherever you go.

These guys also carry Eclipse stuff. They're a local B&M to me.

This is a B&M that carries it as well. They don't sell Eclipse online though.

EDIT: Does Crutchfield even carry Eclipse? Last I looked they didn't.
 
It depends if you have a separate amp or not, and how sensitive your speakers are. If you don't have a separate amp, you may actually do better with the Panasonic digital one, surprisingly enough.
 
Originally posted by: Apex
It depends if you have a separate amp or not, and how sensitive your speakers are. If you don't have a separate amp, you may actually do better with the Panasonic digital one, surprisingly enough.
Click to expand...

Interesting point. I did all my comparisons using the HU's built-in amp as that's the setup I'll be running. I should have done some testing using an amp as well. Maybe if I'm bored one day......
 
Originally posted by: NutBucket
Originally posted by: XietyCOM
Originally posted by: Shockwave
Eclipse > all, except Denon.

Eclipse prices have dropped drastically, there very competitive to most other brands. And seeing as thats the case, I'd say Pioneer is a hunk of shyte next to an Eclipse. Granted, Pioneer makes good decks. Dont get me wrong. But next to an Eclipse its just no comparison.
In addition, a theft warrenty is a sweet deal.
Click to expand...

What are some sites (other than Crutchfield :roll: expensive piece of shiet) that sell Eclipse headunits? When I search for Eclipse Audio, all I get is reviews.
Click to expand...

Pretty much none.

One I ordered Eclipse speakers from this site tho I bought the HU at a B&M. The prices are pretty much the same wherever you go.

These guys also carry Eclipse stuff. They're a local B&M to me.

This is a B&M that carries it as well. They don't sell Eclipse online though.

EDIT: Does Crutchfield even carry Eclipse? Last I looked they didn't.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Yeah, I just checked Crutchfield and they don't. I don't care though. I'll never order from them. I heard they have some good deals at their B&M store next to UVA campus.
 
Another question: What's the difference between regular Pioneer headunits and Pioneer Premier headunits? I looked at their specs a little but didn't see much difference for the similarly priced items.
 
Originally posted by: XietyCOM
Another question: What's the difference between regular Pioneer headunits and Pioneer Premier headunits? I looked at their specs a little but didn't see much difference for the similarly priced items.
Click to expand...

Not much at all. The only difference between my Premier 750mp and the Pioneer 7500mp is my Premier has higher voltage RCAs and a 2 year warentee.
 
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