Head Units

[kerph32]

I'd like to get a new head unit for my car as the stock display is illegibly dark all the time. If I go to Best Buy or somewhere, I'm sure they'll just sell me much more than I need. So basically, how much should I have to spend for a basic setup? I have a 10" sub and 600W Kenwood Amp in the trunk that I need to power, and I may add speakers later.
Anyone have expertise with this?
Thanks! Mike

 

[manuel]

you are installing this yourself right? i say get any HU that you like as long as it has rca inputs(atleast 1) and is single din...i've had a panasonic(i should have never sold it), kenwood black face thing, and now have a sony. personally the panasonic was the best one...soooooo many options and stuff, very graphical too.

this was my panasonic HU...i miss it

 

[manuel]

this is the current one i have. it has some good options but not as good as the panasonic...

http://www.bmwboard.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21

 

[bahnstormer]

pioneer and alpine and nakamichi are the best
are u sure u don't have the head unit dimmed down?
lol they are fairly bright stock

sony panasonic kenwood are all not worth your money

 

[manuel]

.............sony panasonic kenwood are all not worth your money

and why is that?

 

[kerph32]

Nah the lights aren't dimmed, my old car was like this too, dealer said it's a common problem, nothing to do about it except a new radio. I'm looking to spend around $250, is that possible for a good one?

 

[frolf]

i'm a fan of clarion, though my stereo is all stock.

 

[bmw4life13]

alpine and eclipse are the best. alpine has more options though.

 

[kerph32]

Any suggestions on model though? Alpine is what my friends have suggested too, but I'm not sure which model I should get... all the features seem the same... i'm very uneducated with stereo stuff

 

[bahnstormer]

failure rates on kenwood sony and panasonic are vey high
also very poor customer support. features and sound quality
are not good. of course if u get a top of the line model it will
be ok, but the best in order that i know of (mind u there are
many small pricey solutions out there)
1. nakamichi
2. alpine
3. eclipse and pioneer
go into most high quality audio stores they'll tell u the same
go into best buy and ask for a nakamichi adapter like i did
and they'll look at you like what? stupid young kids working
there, the manager, a cool shaved head old guy walked over
and said u got a nak? that's a nice head unit. we don't carry
anything for them, we only got junk.

 

[kev415]

Kenwood processors are (or at least were) among some of the best out there, they used to make a very, very high quality headunit. I had they excelon series in one of my other cars, and you couldn't beat it. I would never buy their speakers tho. Sony is good at making TV's, they should have stayed there, same thing with panasonic and VCRs...

I am a HUGE Alpine fan, you will never get me to buy anything else. And I wouldnt waste my money on a Nacamichi. While they are an amazing unit, all the SQ that you would gain in such a unit would go to waste in such an uncontroled environment like your car. Unless of course you dropped all kinds of crazy money into having serious sound deadening installed and completely re-worked your imaging and sound stage, and to tell you the truth, a bimmer would be one of the toughest cars to do that to.

Get a good alpine, dont skimp out. It will have more features than you can handle and you will get a great SQ and all kinds of reliablility. I have the 9813 In my MarkVIII and the 7998 in my truck. Both are great units and I have never had any problems with either.

EDIT: Spelling

 

[edelweiB]

failure rates huh, nakamichi would be at the top of my list for poor reliability and pathetic customer service. its a shame that their sources sound so good when they work. i am still trying to have my nak mb-100 source repaired. nak no longer services products in house and none of their repair specialists really know how to work with or have the parts or repair manuals for the mb-100. in the past nak has used a magnetic loading mechanism that was very unstable, they have apparently taken steps to resolve this problem in the new CD-400 and CD-700II.

I have since moved on to the McIntosh Labs MX406 in my SUV and the Denon DCT-Z1 in my 3er. Very reliable and simple SQ units. I am still waiting for the day when Denon and McIntosh co-develop a mobile audio source. FYI - Mcintosh Labs was sold by Clarion Corporation to D&M Holdings (aka Denon/Marantz) earlier this year. New mobile audio products hopefully soon to come ...

I would recommend taking a look at denon, mcintosh labs, eclipse, and clarion. i prefer the former two brands, they are much simpler and don't involve a lot of unnecessary graphics and wacky control layouts. alpine is always a safe bet too. what is nice about eclipse and denon is that some units have balanced outputs, they would pair up nicely with some Zapco C2K amps that use Symbilink!

 

[wantahotbimmer]

I currently have an Alpine CDA-9805 deck in mine. im in love with this thing, its so much clearer than the sony deck the previous owners put in. It goes for about $200 here in Sac. I don't think i could've got a deck for this price.

 

[bahnstormer]

right the old nak's were full of trouble and that's why they're going out of business
now. personally i took the nak cuz it blends with the car, no shiny silver or stupid
blue...

about the SQ, def wrong there, have u pulled your stock unit and listened to a nak?
u're theorizing, i can tell it does wonders. and b4 u jump the gun, yes i had a alpine
in that car, and yes it was the same cd playing. in my honest opinion, naks are great,
and alpines are very close behind. have had my nak for 3 months, not a single fault...
its the new model they have it on eBay, 300 or so.

 

[kev415]

I was obviously NOT talking about a stock Alpine deck.

But you said it yourself, they're going out of bussiness. Dont get me wrong, I am in no way trying to degrade the quality of their products, its just that I am not wrong. Oh yes, im sure it helps alot, but with speakers in the stock locations and zero imaging adjustments, you are wasting a whole lot of potential.

 

[kerph32]

Well sounds like Alpine is my brand considering my price restrictions. I'll look into the models you guys have listed, thanks a ton for all the information!
Mike

 

[kev415]

i got my 9813 from www.indoaudio.com for $295. It retails for over $450 around here. Just a thought. They were really great people to deal with too. No problems and fast shipping.

 

[kerph32]

http://store.yahoo.com/lgdsuperstore/cda9813.html

Does that look like a reputable site to you guys? Or have any of you bought from them before? They have a great price but it's not a big company that I've heard of..

 

[manuel]

failure rates? whered you get those numbers from? bahn, you bought a headunit because it didnt have any shiny silver, stupid blue? also, to everyone that said it, why is alpine the best?

 

[kev415]

IN MY EXPERIENCE, Alpine has always been the best bet FOR ME. They offer high level options, reliablility and SQ with a mid-range price. There are obviously a few companies out there that make better units, but may be out of the range of what I want or need. While I have a little expendable income, i am by no means rich. And for what it sounds like most people are looking for here, Apline provides the greatest VALUE, or bang for the buck if you will.