For my car stereo: Should I just buy from Crutchfield, or get it cheaper at other estores?

[phatj]

I have a 2000 Impala. I need to upgrade the audio system in it.

I'll end up buying something like the Sony CDX-F7705X. Crutchfield has it for $289, and etronics has the same exact thing for $189.

Now, Crutchfield offers free installation kits with all car stereo crap. However, I will not be installing this crap myself, because I have never done that kind of crap and I don't want to chance messing anything up. That said, I will probably take it to a local car audio place and have them install the crap (I'll have to give them a call to see how much they charge).

Anyway, do these car audio installer people usually charge extra for the "installation gear"? In my case ,would it probably be cheaper to go with Crutchfield since they offer the free installation kit? Any help? Thanks.

 

[Zugzwang152]

i went with crutchfield, even though their prices are the CompUSA of the car audio industry. The reason was I got a lot of extras, including installation guides, since I am a car noob. Also, a CSR called me to confirm my credit card as well as ask if i had any other questions regarding my order. Good stuff. Even Newegg doesn't do that.

 

[amdskip]

Call the place you would like to have it installed at and get a price for them to provide an install and you providing the unit and they install. Yes they will charge extra for the wiring harness. You can do it yourself and save cash too, really not that difficult and Crutchfield sends out nice detailed instructions sheets for you vehicle.

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Hi,

No, Do not purchase from Crutchfield. They are way to overpriced for their products. Thats a mistake. Another mistake you are making is by choosing a Sony head unit. No offense, but I have NEVER EVER EVER had a good experience with a Sony head unit. Want to know the 2 most common problems you will have with a Sony head unit? 1. If the face is motorized, especially if it is that double face one, the face will get jammed and stop working. 2. Outputs tend to go bad. These are so common in Sony head units. Even if you buy from etronics with the installation kit and harness, its still will be cheaper than crutchfield. The kit and harness are about 25 to 30 dollars for both.

How do I know this stuff? I have been working with Car Audio for almost 10 years, and I still sell car audio till this day.

Want to know something else about the Sony stereo? It doesnt use Mosfet outputs. When you see that stereo say "52x4" thats bull. That stereo is only putting out like 20 watts per channel.

What do I recommend? Panasonic or Pioneer. They both use mosfet outputs, you get the full 50x4, and way better sound. If you were to go for Pioneer, get the Premier models. Premier is high end Pioneer, you get double the warranty, and they use better parts in the Premier models.
Panasonic on the other hand, makes their stereos cheaper, and the lower end Panasonics are actually better than the higher end Pioneers, excluding the DEH-P860 and 960. The lower end Panasonics come with a 7 band eq, opposed to the pioneers 5 band. But the 860 and 960 come with a 13 band eq.

Check out Pioneer here. Make sure you look throught the Pioneer Premier Stereos.

Check out Panasonic stereos here.

Choose one of those stereos you think you will like best.

Good Luck. By the way, if you need any more help, feel free to PM me, and I will help you the best I can.

 

[CTrain]

If you know how to take the factory head unit out, it should be prretty simple to install the the new head unit. All the connections are color cordinated.

I suggest you go to car/sound domain.
Their price are very cheap(they have price matching) and they give you free installing kit just like CrutchField.

 

[Aimster]

www.etronics.com

enjoy.

Crtuchfield = rape your wallet prices

Wow didn't even read your post and you already know about etronics. Obvious choice then.

 

[jst0ney]

No to crutchfield. I like to look through their catalogues but their prices are horrible.

 

[styrafoam]

If you can turn a screwdriver and match wire colors on the stereo to wires on the harness you should have no problem doing it yourself. Sounddomain.com includes the same accesories as crutchfield(stereo to make/model harness and bracket), save for the guide, but at a better price.

What a local shop charges for extras depends entirely on the store, they traditionally overcharge though. I know Best Buy offers free installation but charges you around $30 for the bracket and harness that online stores give away.

 

[kt]

Originally posted by: Thin Lizzy
Hi,

No, Do not purchase from Crutchfield. They are way to overpriced for their products. Thats a mistake. Another mistake you are making is by choosing a Sony head unit. No offense, but I have NEVER EVER EVER had a good experience with a Sony head unit. Want to know the 2 most common problems you will have with a Sony head unit? 1. If the face is motorized, especially if it is that double face one, the face will get jammed and stop working. 2. Outputs tend to go bad. These are so common in Sony head units. Even if you buy from etronics with the installation kit and harness, its still will be cheaper than crutchfield. The kit and harness are about 25 to 30 dollars for both.

How do I know this stuff? I have been working with Car Audio for almost 10 years, and I still sell car audio till this day.

Want to know something else about the Sony stereo? It doesnt use Mosfet outputs. When you see that stereo say "52x4" thats bull. That stereo is only putting out like 20 watts per channel.

What do I recommend? Panasonic or Pioneer. They both use mosfet outputs, you get the full 50x4, and way better sound. If you were to go for Pioneer, get the Premier models. Premier is high end Pioneer, you get double the warranty, and they use better parts in the Premier models.
Panasonic on the other hand, makes their stereos cheaper, and the lower end Panasonics are actually better than the higher end Pioneers, excluding the DEH-P860 and 960. The lower end Panasonics come with a 7 band eq, opposed to the pioneers 5 band. But the 860 and 960 come with a 13 band eq.

Check out Pioneer here. Make sure you look throught the Pioneer Premier Stereos.

Check out Panasonic stereos here.

Choose one of those stereos you think you will like best.

Good Luck. By the way, if you need any more help, feel free to PM me, and I will help you the best I can.

That 4x50watts Pioneer claims... they are not that accurate either.

 

[0roo0roo]

got an ipod? alpines now have this thing that lets u connect to em.. pretty neat.

http://www.alpine-usa.com/driveyouripod/

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Originally posted by: kt
That 4x50watts Pioneer claims... they are not that accurate either.

Internal amps in all decks are pretty much crap compared to any real amp. They're like the car audio equivalent of onboard video on a motherboard.

 

[0roo0roo]

yea something doesn't jive when external amps of the same power are much larger then the entire deck just divide deck wattage by two for a better idea.

 

[imported_Lucifer]

That 4x50watts Pioneer claims... they are not that accurate either.

Sure it may not be very accurate, but more accurate than Sony. At least Pioneer uses Mosfet outputs. Pioneer has been using Mosfet for years, and Sony hasnt even bothered to even do it yet. So which stereo will put out more power? The Pioneer.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Thin Lizzy

That 4x50watts Pioneer claims... they are not that accurate either.

Sure it may not be very accurate, but more accurate than Sony. At least Pioneer uses Mosfet outputs. Pioneer has been using Mosfet for years, and Sony hasnt even bothered to even do it yet. So which stereo will put out more power? The Pioneer.

Please show proof of measured power output of each? Due to space/heat limitations head units RARELY put out more than 15 watts a channel.

Also - thou shalt not pay retail for electronics. Crutchfield = retail.

 

[Drakkon]

Personally I look to etronics for a cheap price and then take it one step further pricematching it to thezeb.com or sounddomain.com
Both are GREAT stores from my experience, and drastically cheaper than crutchfield to the point where even if u buy the install kit from them your STILL coming out cheaper.
Chances are though any isntaller would rather have u buy their parts...you'd probobly have to take it to a local mom/pop/punk store than to a BB or CC to get it installed too since they only like to install stuff they sell.

 

[hevnsnt]

Anyone want to buy a $75 Crutchfield GC.. I need a 4 channel Line driver!

 

[MarkW]

Only time I buy from crutchfield is when they are only about $30 dollars more than the lowest price you can find. Reason I say this is they have GREAT customer serivice. I bought a Us Acoustics 4085 Amp, and it fried about 6 months after I purchased it. I gave crutchfield a call and they gave me a rma number... no questions asked. about 5 days later i get my new amp. For head units, pretty much the lowest price you can find, head units are generally pretty reliable (as long as you buy from respectable brands.. pioneer, alpine, eclipse, etc...). So yeah, dont buy sony, get a lower end pioneer head unit if you have to... it will last for years.

Oh, and sounddomain is an awesome place too, sooooo easy to pricematch

 

[Slvrtg277]

Originally posted by: Thin Lizzy

That 4x50watts Pioneer claims... they are not that accurate either.

Sure it may not be very accurate, but more accurate than Sony. At least Pioneer uses Mosfet outputs. Pioneer has been using Mosfet for years, and Sony hasnt even bothered to even do it yet. So which stereo will put out more power? The Pioneer.

And what is your opinion of Alpine's V-Drive amp compared to Pioneer/Panasonic?

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Please show proof of measured power output of each? Due to space/heat limitations head units RARELY put out more than 15 watts a channel.

Where did you get that head units RARELY put out more than 15 watts a channel? Where did you get this information?
According to hooked on electronics, the RMS watts for the Pioneer Premier stereo is 22x4. Go here.

As for Alpine, I havent had much experience with Alpine, so I cannot comment on the V-drive amp in their stereos. Only thing I know abou Alpine is that they make high quality stereos.

 

[kt]

Originally posted by: Thin Lizzy

That 4x50watts Pioneer claims... they are not that accurate either.

Sure it may not be very accurate, but more accurate than Sony. At least Pioneer uses Mosfet outputs. Pioneer has been using Mosfet for years, and Sony hasnt even bothered to even do it yet. So which stereo will put out more power? The Pioneer.

There are really only 2 common output stages. One using MOSFET and the other using BJT. MOSFET output stage is more complicated but do give you slighly higher gain at the cost of noise. Other favors BJT output stage because of its simpler design. But higher gain doesn't necessary equals good. If not done correctly, you boost the noise level as well. Again, like someone already said HU internal amp however you want to put it is crap. I am not disagreeing with you that Sony HU suck donkeyballs.

 

[kt]

Originally posted by: Slvrtg277

Originally posted by: Thin Lizzy

That 4x50watts Pioneer claims... they are not that accurate either.

Sure it may not be very accurate, but more accurate than Sony. At least Pioneer uses Mosfet outputs. Pioneer has been using Mosfet for years, and Sony hasnt even bothered to even do it yet. So which stereo will put out more power? The Pioneer.

And what is your opinion of Alpine's V-Drive amp compared to Pioneer/Panasonic?

I haven't really listen to recent models of Pioneer/Panasonic internal amp, but I do have experience with Alpine's internal amp. It actually sounds decent although compared to external amp, there's just no comparision.

 

[MarkW]

Alpine V-Drive is MUCH better than a standard internal amp, hell, most alpine cd players ive listened to have awesome sound quality. I haven't really heard much of Eclipse's, but Alpine's are awesome. Major reason why the V-Drive is so much better is that the cd player (internal amp wise) requires you to run a cable to the battery to use it.... not a major difference if you plan on running an external amp, but even if you run an external amp, it still sounds awesome.

Oh, and you will still get about 25 watts rms, but that 25 watts rms is CLEAN power. Even in somewhat decent speakers you can hear a difference, and better quality speakers you can easily hear it. But you reach a point for the speakers that you pretty mcuh have to use an external amp to really bring the speakers to life.

Major question is if you plan on using your stock speakers or upgrading. stock, it really doesnt matter which cd player youll get, theyll all sound pretty much the same. if you upgrade, personally i would get the alpine if you feel like dealing with the battery cable.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: Thin Lizzy

That 4x50watts Pioneer claims... they are not that accurate either.

Sure it may not be very accurate, but more accurate than Sony. At least Pioneer uses Mosfet outputs. Pioneer has been using Mosfet for years, and Sony hasnt even bothered to even do it yet. So which stereo will put out more power? The Pioneer.

Please show proof of measured power output of each? Due to space/heat limitations head units RARELY put out more than 15 watts a channel.

Also - thou shalt not pay retail for electronics. Crutchfield = retail.

Did you forget about RMS? Most HU's nowadays put out 22ish.