Bang for the buck headunit?

[Frenche]

Hello,
There are so many headunits in the same price range its a total mindfck.
Any suggestions or recommendations on a head unit in the low 100$ range?
Also, I see good reviews for a lot of head units but how can you actually tell which one will perform better?

Whats the huge difference between these two? Apart from the JVC not having the cd drive? Im hooking the HU up to a pair of 6x9 alpine type r and foresee adding a sub and amp in the future. Lets try to keep this focused on the head units though.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_105KDX5...=T#details-tab
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130X650...ml#details-tab
The JVC is 20$ cheaper at most places but I'm not sure if I should get it.

[Swanny]

oh shit! ipod and bluetooth support for under 100 bucks??? Thanks for the heads up on this one man.

JVC has better features all around. You get 2 preamps for a 4 channel amplifier, you get the sub pre amp connection, its also a higher rms head unit. Looks like the jvc is a boxier design too so it'd match the interior a bit better, especially if both the dials and display can be changed to red.

[deutschman]

I have a Dual XHD6430. For the money its kick ass! CD, AUX, and USB. Not to many buttons and it is not to flashy ether.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-kQFCi8f9hCS/p_070XHD6430/Dual-XHD6430.html

[Frenche]

Thanks for the comments guys!
At 90$ on sale at best buy it looks like I have to pick the jvc as its the best deal.
I'm sure there are more competing headunits but that is damn cheap.

[StereoInstaller1]

I have a JVC that uses the same BT chipset. It does really well on A2DP and voice. BT for voice calls in an E30 is sort of worthless, the background noise is just too much...but for that money, its a winner.

Luke

[bastianshaw]

i think the best headunit for the money is the jvc 925 its $160 but has 3 5.0v preouts front and rear usb bluetooth and a bunch of other shit

[agent]

That JVC the in the OP made my short list, though I ended up going with this Clarion unit for a little more money. The JVC will probably go in my next E30.

[agent]

The JVC is $84 at Amazon. :shock:

[Frenche]

Found this guy too in case anyone's interested.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...A1WRTEG7T8P2CK

[burlmays9]

Found this guy too in case anyone's interested.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...A1WRTEG7T8P2CK

YES.
I've been on the hunt for a very basic head unit like this. REALLY liked the Sony CDX-GT07 but it lacks USB support so that Kenwood reigns supreme. Big thanks to you guy.

[agent]

Found this guy too in case anyone's interested.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...A1WRTEG7T8P2CK

Only one set of pre-outs. Meh.

[Frenche]

I still can't figure out what preouts mean. How many pre outs do I want and what are they for?

[robo_trigger]

pre outs are pre amplified rca connections. Standard is three pre-outs. for front, rear, and sub channels. You need them to connect an external amplifier.

[Frenche]

pre outs are pre amplified rca connections. Standard is three pre-outs. for front, rear, and sub channels. You need them to connect an external amplifier.

See I don't know much about this but I thought if you plugged an amplifier in to the HU then you could power the speakers and sub off the amp. Then donezo.

[agent]

That's correct, but you need a pre-out connection for each channel. As mentioned above they are typically paired (one for left and one for right) into fronts, rears and sub.

The unit you posted only has subwoofer pre-outs, and we know from experience that running the fronts and rears off deck power just ain't going to cut it. You could run speaker-level amplification to the fronts and rears, but it's absolutely worth paying the extra premium to have RCAs for all of it.