Guys,

Finally decided to build up my audio system piece by piece, I was wondering if anyone can recommend a decent headunit with mp3 features.


Thanks.

 

lol...thats like asking what food is best. Seriously...budget? Expandability? Just how far are you going to "build" your audio system...could greatly effect a good answer to your question.

Also...theres a forum on this website specifically for mobile audio, in case you havent seen it...scroll down a bit.

 

Pioneer Premier P-740 or P-750 whichever one is out right now. I've had the Premier since i got my first car at 16. I've been extremely happy with them and they make a kick *** head unit

 

I have to agree with hypnosisracing there are just to many out there and it all depends on what you want, can afford and what you plan to install in the future. I will recommend Alpine though. I have had 3 decks that had mp3 capabilities and they were awsome. Just my opinion though.

 

i have an alpine and it is nice but pricey

go check out crutchfield, they are pretty good about car stereo stuff like that

 

Thanks.

 

it's a good idea to get something with an aux input.

sometime down the line you'll want to hook up an ipod to your car if you don't have the aux in, you now need another headunit

 

Kwel will do, still looking for a good deal.

 

Alpine, Eclipse, JVC Aresonal those are probably the main three I would look at. I personally own both a Alpine and JVC Aresonal. I prefer the Aresonal but the Alpine is also very good. I bought the JVC for my Accord as it got great reviews and when demoing them in stores it was the best sounding one. Well about 6 months later I needed a HU for my truck and decided to buy an Alpine as everyone reccomended them and I have had friends that have had them and liked them. After installing it I was a bit dissapointed as it just wasn't as clear sounding as the JVC Aresonal and it got distorted before the JVC did but don't get me wrong it still went very very loud before any distortion appeared and it is still very good just not as good as the JVC Aresonal. I don't know about the regular JVC line as I haven't heard that great of things about them. I have heard good things about Pioneer also and strongly considered one I just decided I liked the Alpine better. I'm also a fan of Eclipse HU's they seem to make some quality stuff. I would look at those 3 brands. My JVC Aresonal also has a Aux input on the front of it although I'm not sure if the newest ones still do. Whatever you do I would stay away from Sony as they tend to not last as long as the other brands and not sound so great while they do last. Although the older stuff before the Xplod crap was pretty good.

 

look for something thats double-din so that it takes up the whole space in your dash. otherwise you have to get a kit to fit the single-din in. good place to shop is Cardomain.com they have nice stuff at decent prices and good customer service. also pioneer makes a nice in dash unit.

 

Anything pioneer or alpine i would say. I personally have a Sony mp3 HU, got it for less than 200, but i dont really like it.

 

The Accord dash spaces arn't double din are they? Maybe the 6th and 7th Gen's are but I Thought they wern't either. I know the factory radio in the 5th Gen came with a pocket under it but using the whole space it would only be like 1.5 din not 2 so you could only fit an equalizer or something under it and you couldn't fit a double din hu. I got the $15 kit crutchfield has and kept the pocket under it and I would prefer it like this to a double din anyway. Plus not many radios are double din even if they do fit and chances are you wont be able to swap it into your next car which you could do with a single din.

 

Hey I had a sony xpold flip face but i just upgraded to an Alpine CDA-9847. It's awesome!!! I love it. If ya go with Alpine you can't go wrong

 

sony just introduced a new line. its a lot better than the **** that’s been sitting on store shelves lately. It might go by mobile ES or something like that.

I would recommend looking at those (and also go to a store that specializes in car audio, not best buy. Even if you don’t buy your stereo there, make sure you talk to someone who at least knows what there talking about and doesn’t just sell best buy grade stuff). It’s really all about preference in my opinion.

I have had two pioneers in the past; I liked them but wasn't too impressed. My stereo recently got stolen so I went looking for an alpine or Panasonic but was really impressed by the sonys (i have always viewed sonys stereo products as inferior and they were ever since they discontinued there higher grade components a few years ago, but since the re introduction..) I can tell this puts out more power then my pioneer did, im not sure how much but im guessing somewhere in the 20-30 watt range. It has a 24bit DAC which gives me the assurance that if my music isn't sounding as good as it should it’s probably my speakers or something other than the head unit.

I would recommend getting a deck that has MP3 capabilities, this is indispensable to me.

but honestly there’s no best brand in the under 500 dollar range (in my eyes at least), just talk to your friends see what luck they’ve had, and when your talking to someone about stereos ask them what they have and if they were in your shoes, what would they buy?

But whatever you do, take your face plate with you! Don’t want that **** getting jacked!

http://www.xplodsony.com

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hometheaterman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The Accord dash spaces arn't double din are they? Maybe the 6th and 7th Gen's are but I Thought they wern't either. I know the factory radio in the 5th Gen came with a pocket under it but using the whole space it would only be like 1.5 din not 2 so you could only fit an equalizer or something under it and you couldn't fit a double din hu. I got the $15 kit crutchfield has and kept the pocket under it and I would prefer it like this to a double din anyway. Plus not many radios are double din even if they do fit and chances are you wont be able to swap it into your next car which you could do with a single din. </TD></TR></TABLE>

My 5th gen is double din. when i bought my accord it had no radio in it (somebody jacked it.) so i took it to an audio dealer and he showed me some doble din setups and they looked pretty nice and they fit well. i ended up going with a double-din pioneer unit which i later sold(im a po bastard). and got a sony single-din with the pocket. IMO the double-din just looked awesome and the crappy little pocket thing didnt seem to fit very well.

 

and if i did put in an aftermarket HU id just sell it with the car anyway when i got a different ride, rather than swaping it to my next car.

 

i'd go eclipse. i switched the head unit in before putting better speakers, and the difference on stock speakers was amazing. eclipses lower models are around 300 bucks and have pre-outs, aux connections, and on-board cross-overs that work really well. i bought my unit a year and a half ago and it's still a better head unit compared to a lot of the new stuff. well worth the money and the quality is pristine.

 

Eclipse is the best. I have a Pioneer right now, but im saving up for an Eclipse, just cant beat their head units.

 

Ok. I know my dash opening is bigger than single din but I really didn't think it was a full double din. I might sell the radio with the car if I had a cheap radio but I would with the one I have now. My pocket fits fine also maybe you got a cheap one I don't know. I got the one Crutchfield sells and it works fine.

 

yeah im sure they make a quality pocket but mine was cheap and came with the unit i replaced it with. it really sucked there was space between my pocket and the console and i had to bend and put two screws through it and hold it to the bottom console. i just liked my double-din it had digitally adjustable equalizer settings and kicked serious ***.