need help deciding on a head unit

pawg198 · 04-10-03, 04:51

i am having difficulty on deciding which head unit to purchase. please help me decide on which head unit out of these three without consideration for price. any help would be appreciated. thanks

alpine cda-7897

pioneer deh-p9400mp

kenwood excelon kdc-x969

SulVento · 04-10-03, 05:25

I'd choose the Alpine. They just make a superior head unit IMHO.

Jademonkey · 04-10-03, 05:27

My vote would be for the alpine. I currently have the 7894 in my car, and I love it. It works very well and has many features. I considered the pioneer as well, but the Organic Display they use for their display just did not appeal to me. The screensaver kind of thing on those gets very tiring after awhile, and pioneer seems to have a delay on their mp3 playback. Im not sure if that has been fixed now, but when I looked at them, there was a noticable, and very annoying delay between mp3s.

My suggestion is to find somewhere where you can test each one. Bring your own cd or two(one with mp3s) and just test each one, look at the features etc.

Dragon99 · 04-10-03, 06:08

I'm looking at getting a Pioneer myself. The displays are really nice on em. Plus lots of other good features. You might also wanna look at the Premier line, little bit better specs.

I've used Alpines in the past and I like them, but every Alpine product I have ever purchased has broke. The display on my last one only worked half the time after about 2 1/2 yrs. That unit replaced one that had a dead cd player after about 4 yrs. I also had a Alpine amp that died within a year, however it was replaced in warranty with another that lasted me another 6 yrs. I also originally had a Alpine six disc changer but it died after a couple years, had to rip it apart to get my discs back

I still think they make nice stuff but can't say much for its lifespan.

Anyway thats my thoughts, I havent listened to the Pioneer yet just internet browsing right now.

Scottwax · 04-10-03, 06:08

I've got the Pioneer DEH-P6400 and it is an outstanding head unit. Clean sound, 10 band equalizer, easy to set up sound field, 3 loudness contours, etc.

Best of all? It lists at $315 and was on sale for $199 installed at Circuit City!

Aurorav8 · 04-10-03, 06:12

I'd choose the Alpine, they make an awesome head unit. I've got the CDA-7949 in my Aurora and the sound is unbeatable!

pawg198 · 04-15-03, 08:53

i've definately decided on the alpine, but now i have another problem. i was talking to a friend and told him that i could get the alpine online for $435 shipping and everything with a factory warranty of 1 year. He told me not to buy it online but to get it from a local audio shop where he could get the head unit for around $500 with around 2 years of warranty. which direction should i go? is an extra year of warranty really worth an extra $65

Aurorav8 · 04-16-03, 08:22

The extra warranty might be worth the extra money. Are you going to be installing it yourself, or taking it somewhere to get it installed.

You might want to call around your area to see if anyone has deals going on if you buy the head unit that they will install it for free, or at a cheap cost.

You may save a little money that way and get your warranty, rather than buying it online...then paying someone on average of 65 bucks to install it.

milani · 04-16-03, 09:32

If you are looking to spend some money on your head, check out Eclipse. http://www.eclipse-web.com/ .

IMO, they have made some of the most innovative head units around. They were the first with a center-channel, etc. Great stuff at good prices. You can get fully integrated systems from them as well. Might be worth checking out for you.

pawg198 · 04-16-03, 07:43

i was thinking of having a friend install it for me.

Calestus · 04-16-03, 08:07

Fuji's eclipse dead heads are some of the best around alpine dead heads are not to shabby either.

frontier · 04-16-03, 08:33

I have had two Eclipse units on my prior vehicles, definately one the best.