YACAT: What's the best MP3 head unit for around $250?

[Shawn]

I just got a Pioneer DEH-P8400MP from a friend for $250 which was a really good deal! (easily worth other $300) It's a really awesome head unit and it sounds wonderful but the only problem is I didn't realise that it would get in the way of my shifter!!! I have to keep it closed when I'm driving which defeats the purpose of the cool looking display and it also makes it so I cannot see the song names. I was looking at getting the Pioneer Premier DEH-P750MP to replace it which can be had for under $250 on ebay. I was wondering if anyone has any other suggestions for a nice headunit. Basically what I'm looking for is a high quality head unit with great sound quality, a cool display, and lots of features (especially an equalizer) like the Pioneer has. From what I have looked at the DEH-P750MP seems to be the nicest I can find in my price range. There may be some nice ones out there that I don't know about though so if anyone has any suggestions lmk.

 

[Shockwave]

You know my vote. I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Once an Eclipse user, always an Eclipse user.

 

[DanJ]

I've been asking myself this as well, as I'd love to upgrade my speakers/head unit while I still have my discount (~50-60% off)...but my laptop purchase is hurting my finances.

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: Shockwave
You know my vote. I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Once an Eclipse user, always an Eclipse user.

Care to offer any links or models at least?

 

[Shockwave]

Originally posted by: iloveme2

Originally posted by: Shockwave
You know my vote. I've said it before and I'll say it again.

Once an Eclipse user, always an Eclipse user.

Care to offer any links or models at least?

Sorry.
Eclipse
They have a model that comes in around 250 and is feature packed. But, unfortunately I cant remember the damned model number.

**EDIT** Looks to be Model CD3414 or CD3404.

 

[Shawn]

It doesn't look bad but it only has 2.7v RCAs (the Premier has 6v) and the screen doesn't even look like it can display song titles.

 

[Shockwave]

Yes, the Pioneer does look a bit more loaded. According to Eclipse the CD3414/CD3404 are CD Text Ready. Whatever that is? But if I had to bet on better internals I'd take the Eclipse. Dual 1 bit DAC's vs the Pioneers 1 Bit Dac.
Dont get me wrong, Pioneer makes really stong head units. I'm just a Eclipse user through and through. Course, I intend to get the 8 series decks, which is the top of the line deck for them and comes very feature loaded. But, for under 250 for the Pioneer thats a very very good deal.

 

[Zugzwang152]

i just got the blaupunkt mp3000 from crutchfield. regular price is 259.99, grabbed it for 199.99 with the free remote 🙂

 

[isekii]

i'd go with an eclipse, they're audio kicks major arse.

I'd go one of these.

Pioneer DEX-P1R which is what I want although it's discontinued.

Alpine, Nakamichi, and Eclipse.

Maybe Cazzeriopeia or something ( Pioneer in Japan ) They got some sick looking headunits.

 

[isekii]

Originally posted by: Zugzwang152
i just got the blaupunkt mp3000 from crutchfield. regular price is 259.99, grabbed it for 199.99 with the free remote 🙂

when you buy from crutchfield you know you got ripped off.

you get good cs tho, so that alone is worth it I think.

 

[Shockwave]

I dont buy for looks. Doesnt determine build / sound quality.
Example
Thats the finest mobile you can buy. But if I saw one in a car I'd not think twice about walkin right past it. It looks base model plain. And output? A whoppin 4 volts (Vs the 6 or 8 some models offer...) So I wouldnt let output voltage be your final judge in SQ either.
Thats an example. I'm still not saying the Pioneer is bad, just showing you an example of some of the finest gear you can buy is.
And yeah, Nak is the one brand that might sway me from Eclipse for HU's, but I've heard nightmares about the loadmechanism's being just pure sh!t on them so......

 

[Zugzwang152]

Originally posted by: isekii

Originally posted by: Zugzwang152
i just got the blaupunkt mp3000 from crutchfield. regular price is 259.99, grabbed it for 199.99 with the free remote 🙂

when you buy from crutchfield you know you got ripped off.

you get good cs tho, so that alone is worth it I think.

same reason i still buy from newegg, even though googlegear is the better deal by far for me 🙂

 

[Shockwave]

Also, notice the THD on the Eclipse.... .02% And its considered a pretty high end deck by alot of people.
Now look at the Denon. .004%..........
I cant find a paper with the THD or any other kind of measurements for the Pioneer though...Anyone else find one? I'm curious what it is. Around .02-.04 wouldnt suprise me though.

 

[isekii]

Originally posted by: Shockwave
Also, notice the THD on the Eclipse.... .02% And its considered a pretty high end deck by alot of people.
Now look at the Denon. .004%..........
I cant find a paper with the THD or any other kind of measurements for the Pioneer though...Anyone else find one? I'm curious what it is. Around .02-.04 wouldnt suprise me though.

This is the deck I want

Pretty badass

 

[Shockwave]

Originally posted by: isekii

Originally posted by: Shockwave
Also, notice the THD on the Eclipse.... .02% And its considered a pretty high end deck by alot of people.
Now look at the Denon. .004%..........
I cant find a paper with the THD or any other kind of measurements for the Pioneer though...Anyone else find one? I'm curious what it is. Around .02-.04 wouldnt suprise me though.

This is the deck I want

Pretty badass

Nice deck for sure. I myself am getting the Eclipse CD8053 or 8843 (one has amp, the other doesnt) in September if I dont buy a club first. If I buy a club....I aint getting shizzitle for a long.....long...LONG....LOOOOONG time. Except maybe lots of women.

 

[isekii]

Originally posted by: Shockwave

Originally posted by: isekii

Originally posted by: Shockwave
Also, notice the THD on the Eclipse.... .02% And its considered a pretty high end deck by alot of people.
Now look at the Denon. .004%..........
I cant find a paper with the THD or any other kind of measurements for the Pioneer though...Anyone else find one? I'm curious what it is. Around .02-.04 wouldnt suprise me though.

This is the deck I want

Pretty badass

Nice deck for sure. I myself am getting the Eclipse CD8053 or 8843 (one has amp, the other doesnt) in September if I dont buy a club first. If I buy a club....I aint getting shizzitle for a long.....long...LONG....LOOOOONG time. Except maybe lots of women.

That deck is couple years old. And I still think it's one of the top of the line still. Competition model So many features I prolly won't even use most of em during my life time. LOL

 

[HokieESM]

I'm by NO means an audiophile... but I bought a Pioneer 7400MP about a year ago for roughly $200, and I've been relatively happy. There's a slight delay in between MP3 tracks, but it'll display all the ID3v1 tags (song, artist, album, bit rate... as well as track name, folder name, and elapsed time). I usually play 192kbps CBR MP3s... with all the road noise, I can't tell much of a difference between that and the full CD. Oh, and the OLED screens are NICE.... but the "inversion" gets old at night (it switches light and dark at regular intervals to prevent burn-in, supposedly).

Anyways.... I think either of your suggestions would be fine. Unless you have a SUPER quiet car or play your music horribly loud on a GOOD set of speakers, you probably won't notice much difference. 🙂

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: HokieESM
I'm by NO means an audiophile... but I bought a Pioneer 7400MP about a year ago for roughly $200, and I've been relatively happy. There's a slight delay in between MP3 tracks, but it'll display all the ID3v1 tags (song, artist, album, bit rate... as well as track name, folder name, and elapsed time). I usually play 192kbps CBR MP3s... with all the road noise, I can't tell much of a difference between that and the full CD. Oh, and the OLED screens are NICE.... but the "inversion" gets old at night (it switches light and dark at regular intervals to prevent burn-in, supposedly).

Anyways.... I think either of your suggestions would be fine. Unless you have a SUPER quiet car or play your music horribly loud on a GOOD set of speakers, you probably won't notice much difference. 🙂

This years model supposidly fixed the delay between mp3 tracks.

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: Zugzwang152
i just got the blaupunkt mp3000 from crutchfield. regular price is 259.99, grabbed it for 199.99 with the free remote 🙂

Great player. I like mine a lot, and it was bargain priced. Few frills, but incredibly intuitive to use, and FAST track/folder switching. The only thing I don't like about it is that it lacks a dimmer wire, so it's too bright at night. Bright blue light in the periphery is no good for night driving on dark rural roads, so I tend to flip the face down if I'm on such a road, except to operate the controls (it still plays with the face flipped down).

 

[Zugzwang152]

Originally posted by: Thegonagle

Originally posted by: Zugzwang152
i just got the blaupunkt mp3000 from crutchfield. regular price is 259.99, grabbed it for 199.99 with the free remote 🙂

Great player. I like mine a lot, and it was bargain priced. Few frills, but incredibly intuitive to use, and FAST track/folder switching. The only thing I don't like about it is that it lacks a dimmer wire, so it's too bright at night. Bright blue light in the periphery is no good for night driving on dark rural roads, so I tend to flip the face down if I'm on such a road, except to operate the controls (it still plays with the face flipped down).

nice to know it's a solid player 🙂 just got my shipment in today from Crutchfield, I'll be up and ready to go hopefully by tomorrow. Hope it plays nice with my Kicker speakers...

 

[LS20]

750mp or go alpine

 

[ChefJoe]

I still love my Pioneer 740MP from thezeb.com . I found the lowest price I could (ikesound at the time) and had thezeb pricematch (best price guarantee) (and beat it by a few $$s). I was also ordering a 12 disc changer at the time...

BTW: 12 disc changer can't handle mp3 cds, just the headunit.

Ahh, here's what they did for me:

1 Pioneer CDX-P1270 139.99
1 Pioneer Primier DEH-P740MP 227.99
1 Harrison Labs 20 Hz Hipass 900073 28.99

 

[geno]

I got a DEH-5500MP for a really good price, and it retails for around 220, so I'm sure you could go a step up from there within your price range. BTW: The 5500MP kicks ass for the price 🙂

 

[Viper0329]

but the "inversion" gets old at night (it switches light and dark at regular intervals to prevent burn-in, supposedly).

You can turn that off. I think it's in the manual, if not, search some of the caraudio boards and they will tell you how to turn it off.

 

[ChefJoe]

Originally posted by: Viper0329

but the "inversion" gets old at night (it switches light and dark at regular intervals to prevent burn-in, supposedly).

You can turn that off. I think it's in the manual, if not, search some of the caraudio boards and they will tell you how to turn it off.

Yeah, I was annoyed by that until someone pointed out that you could remove it... it's called demo mode or something like that on a little insert in the manual. The screen inversion can be removed by holding the 5 or 6 button.... can't remember which.

Aha, found it... http://forums.caraudio.com/vb/showthread.php?t=25382&page=2&pp=15

It can be turned off. Check your manual with the Demo Features
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What do you know, it is there. When I read the "reverse" demo I thought it meant crawling backwards through the menus, not the display going into reverse/negative color. Just act like you're adjusting the display brightness, aux input (turn HU off but the car/ign will be running) and then push number "5".