Headunit Recommendation

[Laconian]

I just upgraded my car to Clearwater speakers and now it is obvious that my POS head unit has to go. (Seriously: the CD playing functionality is really, really messed up now.) I am fairly oblivious to the world of car audio brands, so if you guys could give me some leads I'd be happy to follow up with my own research..

Here are my requirements:

• Sound quality: I'm flexible. I think I'm fundamentally limited by the road and wind noise of a Miata here
• Price: $300 ceiling, but I like a good value too
• Preamp: needs to drive two 6" speakers and four 3" speakers up to pretty loud volumes (wind noise and all that..) I will NOT be connecting this to an external amplifier nor will I be driving a subwoofer with this!
• Formats: Single disc CD OK. MP3 on USB and CD.
• Display: nothing seizure-inducing please. prefer red or orange illumination.
• Controls: prefer knobs over buttons, don't like head units that are overloaded with buttons. NO CRAZY POP-OUT DISPLAYS
• Security: are any brands theftproof? I've heard good things about Eclipse in this department.

[Speed_Racer]

I've found some Sony Xplod units to be good buys. Here's one I found on a quick search:
http://www.xplodsony.com/xplod/headunits/CDX-GT620U


Sound quality: I have an older model Xplod in my MR2, and it works great. They have a feature called DSO that "lifts" the sound from the floor to give you the impression that you have dash mounted speakers. It works really well, too! I used that with my Escort (door speakers)

Price: $160

Preamp: 52W x 4 is very good (I ran 2 6.5" speakers, 2 tweeters, and 2 4" rear speakers with no distortion)

Formats: Single disc, USB input

It's also detachable, which helps theftproof a stereo, since without the headunit, the stereo unit is not functionable (therefore not worth stealing).

[hotrodalex]

I've found some Sony Xplod units to be good buys. Here's one I found on a quick search:
http://www.xplodsony.com/xplod/headunits/CDX-GT620U


Sound quality: I have an older model Xplod in my MR2, and it works great. They have a feature called DSO that "lifts" the sound from the floor to give you the impression that you have dash mounted speakers. It works really well, too! I used that with my Escort (door speakers)

Price: $160

Preamp: 52W x 4 is very good (I ran 2 6.5" speakers, 2 tweeters, and 2 4" rear speakers with no distortion)

Formats: Single disc, USB input

It's also detachable, which helps theftproof a stereo, since without the headunit, the stereo unit is not functionable (therefore not worth stealing).

I have Sony Xplod speakers, subwoofer, and amps in my Camaro and they're great. I don't have an Xplod headunit, but I'm sure it would be just as good.

[AutobahnSHO]

I prefer the controls on Pioneer units, myself.

Pretty much anything over $100 will have decent sound quality, you pay for the 'extras'-

Go to a store and Play around with a few, see how you like the button layout, etc...

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

I only but Pioneer units. They have the best price and features to me. They have really nice decks for well under 300 bucks.

[Laconian]

You know, I did some browsing last night and I realized just how much prices have come down since I last looked at headunits in 2000. Price ceiling drops to $220.

I hear your preference for Pioneer.. Some of the Pioneer units look really nice, but the USB port isn't accessible from the front. How hard is it to run an extension cord to the back of the unit? I have a cubbyhole directly underneath the current HU, can I just drill a hole and run a cord through that?

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

You know, I did some browsing last night and I realized just how much prices have come down since I last looked at headunits in 2000. Price ceiling drops to $220.

I hear your preference for Pioneer.. Some of the Pioneer units look really nice, but the USB port isn't accessible from the front. How hard is it to run an extension cord to the back of the unit? I have a cubbyhole directly underneath the current HU, can I just drill a hole and run a cord through that?

Thats exactly what I did in my Corolla! My Pioneer has a RCA input and a 2.5mm headphone input. I used the RCA input for my IPOD connection. The RCA to headphone cord was 99 cents on Ebay and plugs into the back of my deck. Also invest in a wiring harness (about $4.99 at Walmart or 3 bucks on Ebay) so you don't have to cut into the factory wires!

[AutobahnSHO]

USB extension cords come 'free' with a lot of different itms, or you should be able to pick one up very very cheap. Beware that certain USB devices need a fairly strong connection, extensions weaken the digital signal. My mp3 player (older Sansa) doesn't like USB extension cables..

Did you look to see if any have the USB 'hidden' behind the faceplate?

[Laconian]

USB extension cords come 'free' with a lot of different itms, or you should be able to pick one up very very cheap. Beware that certain USB devices need a fairly strong connection, extensions weaken the digital signal. My mp3 player (older Sansa) doesn't like USB extension cables..

Did you look to see if any have the USB 'hidden' behind the faceplate?

I can't go with a front-mounted USB port since the faceplate is right next to the shifter. I'd end up punching the USB stick when I shift into 3rd or 5th.

[cozmik]

Anything Alpine.

[omicron]

I can't go with a front-mounted USB port since the faceplate is right next to the shifter. I'd end up punching the USB stick when I shift into 3rd or 5th.

Get out of fifth, man! What are you doing - cruising freeways?

[giant_mtb]

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_113KDCX592/Kenwood-Excelon-KDC-X592.html?tp=5684

[Raza]

I can't go with a front-mounted USB port since the faceplate is right next to the shifter. I'd end up punching the USB stick when I shift into 3rd or 5th.

Then just don't use those gears.

Simple problem, simple solution. 

[Raza]

Anything Alpine.

I agree.

[Minpin]

I have an alpine 9857 (i think)in my car and I have had no problems with it. It is very easy to use, and is great for playing my ipod. Be sure to get satellite radio, I cant live without it nowadays.

[giant_mtb]

I found satellite radio to be a bunch of crap.  Sure, they have more variety, but if you listen to a station long enough, you start to realize that, hey, they're playing the same shit all the regular radio stations are.

Plus they had nothing that I actually liked.  Their rock and metal stations were pathetic, and I liked a couple of the jazz stations, but that was about it.

[sportyaccordy]

I had an Alpine 9??? in my first Accord and it sucked; CD player + buttons stopped working and it was eventually stolen

I swear by Pioneer, on my 3rd HU (not cause the last ones died, I left them in the cars I sold); however, Kenwood is good too. My friend has a deck in his car with a lot of cool features; only thing I don't like about them are their ugly faceplates

[Laconian]

I have an alpine 9857 (i think)in my car and I have had no problems with it. It is very easy to use, and is great for playing my ipod. Be sure to get satellite radio, I cant live without it nowadays.

I can't stand the audio quality of satellite, sorry d00d. Most music stations are at 48 or 64kps, using a codec that's older than MP3. Ehhhhhhhhhhh.

(though I likely wouldn't notice the diminished quality since my car is hardly vaultlike)

[giant_mtb]

I think you must have had a bad experience, Minpin.  Or I just had a good experience with Alpine.

But I also love Pioneer.  Everything they make is great.  HUs, home theater systems, speakers, everything!

[Minpin]

I think you must have had a bad experience, Minpin.  Or I just had a good experience with Alpine.

But I also love Pioneer.  Everything they make is great.  HUs, home theater systems, speakers, everything!

I think you are confusing me with Sporty, buddy.



And to you guys knocking the satellite radio, I guess I can understand that, everyone is allowed to make their own opinions.

That being said, lack of music you like being on the radio is hardly an excuse, they have 300 channels for goodness sake. So, there is no way  that free radio has better tunes playing.

And the audio quality is not really noticeable laconian, and I spent some good coin on the audio in my car. There is hardly a difference between it and a CD.

Most of all, I like not having to listen to rotten commercials. We have it on all four of our cars, and on our boat. 

[Rupert]

Cars in general make for pretty crappy listening environments, at least if the engine is on.

[giant_mtb]

I think you are confusing me with Sporty, buddy.

Good call.  My bad.

[Soup DeVille]

Cars in general make for pretty crappy listening environments, at least if the engine is on.

In technical terms yes, but:

Can you turn up the volume all the way in your house without the neigbors complaining? Can you have complete control ofver what is being played unless you're the only one at home?

Cars may be acoustically crappy, but they generally give the listener many more opportunities to listen.

[Laconian]

And the audio quality is not really noticeable laconian, and I spent some good coin on the audio in my car. There is hardly a difference between it and a CD.

Don't underestimate my ability to pick out compression artifacts!

[Rupert]

Don't underestimate my ability to pick out compression artifacts!

Too much of a stretch? 

[Rupert]

In technical terms yes, but:

Can you turn up the volume all the way in your house without the neigbors complaining? Can you have complete control ofver what is being played unless you're the only one at home?

Cars may be acoustically crappy, but they generally give the listener many more opportunities to listen.

I'm not saying it's worthless to get a good system in your car, but there's a point...

[Laconian]

Congratulations Psilos, you've outnerded me. I don't get the reference.

[Minpin]

Congratulations Psilos, you've outnerded me. I don't get the reference.

Haha.

[Soup DeVille]

I'm not saying it's worthless to get a good system in your car, but there's a point...

I know, and I'm saying: what's the point of having the ultimate home system if every time you really try to use it you get a "disturbing the peace" ticket?

[Laconian]

OK, I'm pretty set on this baby:

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/CarAudioVideo/Source/CD-Players/DEH-P6000UB

I used one at Circuit City. The thing that won me over for this model over the DEH-P5000UB was the clever detachable faceplate mechanism. The other models had a faceplate that required some finessing to work the hinges apart, but the 6000 releases the hinges automatically, so you just flip the plate down and snatch it. Reattaching it is even easier, it first snaps on magnetically, and then hinges re-engage automatically.

The crazy stupid OLED displays can be dialed back to a simple black background. The clicking dial is very intuitive and does a stellar job of keeping the faceplate free of clutter.

And it sounds really good too!