Which Car Stereo Head Unit is Best

[profbooty]

As a Electrical Engineer myself, I would hesitate calling oneself an engineer or offering engineering services to the public without a PE credential (or degree) as it may open yourself to legal troubles. Of course this depends on what jurisdiction you are in and the nature of one's actual profession, though it may be akin to putting an Esq. after your name and implying you can provide legal services.

Of course a technician with considerable experience may be considered a peer to an engineer (or may know far more and treated with due respect), but that doesn't matter in the eyes of the law.

[kung fu jesus]

Thanks so far. Oh, I forgot to mention that Bluetooth is a necessity, hands free driving these days is a must, and I refuse to be one of those people wearing an earpiece, lol.

I installed two different JVC headunits in my Miatas over the last 2-3 years. They were both mechless. The 50BT in my NA and the 80BT in my wife's NB. My NA was pretty loud inside with an uninsulated hardtop etc. The BT mic worked very well at picking up my voice and cancelling the background noise. I could speak so softly where I could barely hear myself over the car and people could hear and understand me just fine. My wife's HU is a bit more feature-rich and works just as well. She takes phone calls from her office on it quite often and likes how the system works for her. The ipod interface is pretty good as well.

The JVC units are a pretty good value and the BT features work well. I even installed a third in my daily driver I use for appointments (Acura). I use mine paired with my phone for turn-by-turn directions. All three had microphone adjustment menus in the interface. The color display options are also very nice.

[StereoInstaller1]

Basically what it comes down to is this: there is a tremendous amount of competition is what has become a very difficult market to maintain market share in.

Bummer for the manufacturers, great news for the consumer.

Pretty much all decks today have incredible features and performance for very little money.

Personally, I have yet to find a deck that does everything well or has all of the features I would like, so to me, it is a matter of deciding which is least objectionable.

Now if there were a motorized face deck (visibility is greatly improved from my seating position when "tilted") that had 3 or 4 USB ports, dual-channel bluetooth and full 24 bit audio capability that played FLAC and Ogg Vorbis, did full-face color change and had a knob for volume and subwoofer level control I would jump on it...but those are my wants, not necessarily yours. Shoot, I don't even need a tuner, just give me a 4 line display and a logical file system with the ability to use say 80GB of music easily I would be 100% down.

Good luck on the hunt

Luke

[GAbOS]

Unfortunately quality changes vastly over the years with any manufacturer. It's a pretty bold statement that Everyone hates a particular brand though. I wish I still had my old school Clarion Pro HU's. Those things were the best I've ever heard. Had zero options because they put every dime into the sound.

I currently have a Kenwood Excelon series that is the tits.

[Cabriolet]

some people love Alpine some people love JVC and others Pioneer.
everyone hate kenwood, clarion and sony

Both Greg and Luke are right, both guys have different opinions and can personally judge by hearing both. both guys boxes are damn good. both audio setups are damn good.

I personally will only buy alpine bc their ipod interface is 1000x better. the blue doesnt bother me but pisses off others. so if you hate blue on your dash dont go alpine. but if you are an ipod/iphone person alpine is the way to go.

tbh you wont here the difference between the head units in a blind test.

[Gregs///M]

Typical "College Kid" attitude.

Here, go learn something: http://www.geek.com/news/engineers-w...degree-554635/

Sitting in class for 4 years does not make you capable and working in a lab does not make you an installer. Designing new products and utilizing known concepts and ideas in new ways does.

Oh, BTW, I had zero interest in "partnering up" in any way with you, I thought you were a pretentious douche from the moment you came around. In no way would I ever associate with anyone with your snobby, stuck up attitude.

I just have no time or interest in selling wires and you already do.

Glad to see you found that ignore button, Greg.

Lets see if it works.

Luke

Seriously? That article Luke? That article says nothing to prove my point. How dare you call yourself an engineer! It takes more than a 4 year degree, you must also prove yourself in the work place or pass the PE exam. Did you pass the professional engineer exam? I can't believe you used that shitty article to justify yourself as an engineer. Ridiculous! so any random dude who comes up with a new product or idea is automatically an engineer? You cannot just call yourself an engineer, the title must be given to you by a professional entity.

I never hit the ignore button, your advice is too comical and entertaining to me. Lets just stay away from each other because we're both too stubborn to give up, you said what you had to say, as did I.

[StereoInstaller1]

Oh I see your facebook page says you are a "Automotive Audio Engineer at German Audio Specialties"

What right do you have to call yourself an Engineer? You must earn that title.

Typical "College Kid" attitude.

Here, go learn something: http://www.geek.com/news/engineers-w...degree-554635/

Sitting in class for 4 years does not make you capable and working in a lab does not make you an installer. Designing new products and utilizing known concepts and ideas in new ways does.

Oh, BTW, I had zero interest in "partnering up" in any way with you, I thought you were a pretentious douche from the moment you came around. In no way would I ever associate with anyone with your snobby, stuck up attitude.

I just have no time or interest in selling wires and you already do.

Glad to see you found that ignore button, Greg.

Lets see if it works.

Luke

[agent]

I'm just here to disagree that a 5.4" monitor will be aesthetically great in an E30.

If the half dozen threads in this subforum where I've already posted weren't enough, I'll add it to this one too: the Clarion CZ702 does everything at a very reasonable price, with minimal bling factor so it doesn't look ridiculous in a 25 year old car. See Klaus' build thread for more details.

[Gregs///M]

Oh I see your facebook page says you are a "Automotive Audio Engineer at German Audio Specialties"

What right do you have to call yourself an Engineer? You must earn that title.

[Gregs///M]

Luke, I've moved away from the car audio/security world because it was no longer making me enough money and it no longer challenged me. My skills in electrical engineering far exceeds yours. And perhaps I do not have as many threads as you but I get daily emails from members asking me advice and always provide thorough advice which solves their issues. Your threads (killer $500 stereo, box install, amp install, radio wiring, etc) C'mon those are basic electronics, elementary skill required for those installs. Heck, one could easily learn those skills by intuition alone. Tuning an amplifier? Cmon, that stuff is already published all over the net since the 80's.

Your advice is mostly contained in this car audio sub forum. My advice is mostly in the general tech, M20, and other sub forums where I provide advanced electrical troubleshooting. I get daily messages thanking me for my advice.


But hey I don't know what doing right? I'm the one with the engineering degree. What educational and professional experience do you have? Working in the car audio industry is nothing, simple circuits for simple minds. Rookies can do the same work you do after a year of work. I work full time for a prominent Nat Lab in their Electrical Engineering Division. The custom products and systems that I develop and fabricate would literally blow your mind. I develop, from conception, one-off control systems for particle physics (particle accelerators.) My electrical skills and knowledge far exceed yours in every regard and I probably get paid triple what you take home in a year. That's my evidence that I'm doing things right. Do you know how hard it is to get a job here? A car audio installer like you would never make it.

I've heard your Lukebox. I'm not impressed. I've built lighter, better sounding, and louder boxes. I've had several people listen to my boxes and agree mine are superior to yours. And your the one trying to "partner" up with me, sending me private messages to develop amp kits. I was actually considering it too but I cannot risk my company name selling to such an unprofessional installer. And that's all you are Luke, just an installer. Sad for your age.

So please ignore me because many members, including me, ignore you so we don't have to hear your childish rants like when a kid does not get his way. So again, grow up Luke. Oh and BTW, you'd be surprised how many of your "ex" customers are now MINE.

[StereoInstaller1]

You should think before you post, the alpine hu I mentioned were all made before 2012 and have amber displays. Your not the only one who has competed professionally on this forum. These were also limited manufacture v-drive units with extra amplifier power built in. For you to say I am 100% wrong is, in itself, incorrect. I've installed JVC for over a decade and I disagree with you but in a much more professional manner. Grow up Luke, your not a adolescent teenager cussing all the time.

Greg, save it.

Your opinion is wrong, deal with it.

Yeah, there WERE some great decks form Alpine...what is this guy gonna do, jump in his time machine and go buy a 10 year old deck?

Sorry dude, your lack of understanding this persons needs is not my issue.

Oh...and let me make this clear: I do not give a fuck what you think of my choice of wording...got it? Drop it now and forever or find your fucking "IGNORE" button and use it. Your idea of "professional" means talking shit about things you clearly have no knowledge of, or at very best limited experience, while pretending to be an expert in some obscure way.

This is a FORUM, not a library, nor an office. There is no reason to censor myself nor anyone else. The whole "lets clean up R3V" was a proven failure. If you don't like my choice of words, fuck off. BTW, which one of us gets dozens of threads directly asking for advice? Oh yeah..not you...because I give good advice, not some fanboi bullshit. One of us ACTS like a pro, but one of us IS a pro...oh yeah, lets point out that again, this is NOT a professional environment, this is R3V.

Just because you seem confused my the concept, let me explain: actions speak louder than words. My posts and tutorials have helped hundreds of people install systems in their cars...where are all of your tutorials, Greg?

How about you do something better than sell stupid ground cables and talk shit about stuff you have no clue about or has relevance to the actual issue at hand?

Get the fuck over yourself, dude.

Luke

[Gregs///M]

You should think before you post, the alpine hu I mentioned were all made before 2012 and have amber displays. Your not the only one who has competed professionally on this forum. These were also limited manufacture v-drive units with extra amplifier power built in. For you to say I am 100% wrong is, in itself, incorrect. I've installed JVC for over a decade and I disagree with you but in a much more professional manner. Grow up Luke, your not a adolescent teenager cussing all the time.

[StereoInstaller1]

The Alpine CDA-7893 or CDA-7895 with the V-drive 60x4 is the best head unit for the price. Comes in orange illumination, ipod capability, time alignment.

All JVC and Parrot are garbage. I've installed car audio for over 12 years.

But there are many other good options too. i'm sure this topic has been discussed at great length too.

Jesus fuck, what a retarded opinion. I've installed professionally for 32 years, won dozens and dozens of trophies, was certified IASCA and CAN judge, you name it... and this opinion is 100% wrong.

JVC is superior performance to Alpine in every way, dollar for dollar, and Alpine is 100% made by Panasonic as of 2012.

In other words, whatever bullshit anyone wants to think about Alpine can be tossed out as of 2012...it is now all Panasonic made decks, all of them.

If you can tolerate the hideous blue display, Alpine is fine, now that they are made by a reputable company. At least their Bluetooth now works most of the time, unlike their older bullshit that wouldn't connect 75% of the time.

You still get that shitty blue display.

Personally, I will take JVC over that Alpuke garbage any day...hell, I would take Pioneer over Alpine any day, especially if we are talking dollar for dollar.

Alpine has the highest failure rate of any major manufacturer prior to 2012, when they quit making their own crap. Again, now that they are 100% made by Matshusta (Panasonic), they are much better quality.

Oh, and the $200 JVC in my dash will kick the shit out of any old school "high end" Alpine any day in any meaningful performance parameter, and certainly has better sonics than the dark and dirty Alpuke of yore.

Oh yeah...I get a completely amber display too, not some hideous stupid white/blue crap in the middle of my dash, in the center of a few "almost amber" buttons.

Fuck Alpine, JVC kicks the shit out of it...unless you are a fanboi, I guess.

Luke

[davesmystery]

Check out the Kenwood KDC-200u and 400u series. Has colors that can be matched exactly to the interior and it's not too flashy.

Check this thread (on BF) for pics installed. (not mine)

[fakeplstctrees]

Thanks so far. Oh, I forgot to mention that Bluetooth is a necessity, hands free driving these days is a must, and I refuse to be one of those people wearing an earpiece, lol.