Which headunit?

[325is_MadBimmer]

ok so its between these two now, please give me your opinions on which one of those two you would go with. Ignore price/looks and concentrate on the technical info.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-hdS456W1TRa/cgi-bin/ProdComp.asp?g=300&s=0&cc=01&submit1=Click+to+Remove+Items+%3E%3E+&ITM158F7700=&ITM020DXZ645=&ITM130DEHP760=&130DEHP760=on

also please if you have experience with sony/clarion fill me in on the ups/downs of those units.

thanks

[Jordan]

I wouldnt touch either of those headunits with a 10 foot pole, and aside from that neither will look "at home" in a e30.

[325is_MadBimmer]

i am not looking for an "at home looking" headunit. I am looking for a good performing headunit. And what headunit for under $200 would you touch with a ten foot pole that is better then either one of those?

[Jordan]

I wouldnt touch any headunit under $200....

[325is_MadBimmer]

ok then. Can someone not tell me if they would buy one of these or not. And tell me if they ahd to buy one which one would it be?

[gszczyrb]

It is kind of hard to help unless you provide more details.

I'd say one big question that isn't clear, will the head unit drive any, all or some of the speakers. Or will you use an amp? and which one?

Also, what speakers will you be using?

Will you use the Sat radio. One is XM, the other is Sirius. Monthly costs for each vary.

[Jordan]

If you absolutely will only buy one of those decks, and you need someone else to choose for you... take the Clarion. It looks nicer, can illuminate amber, and will "fit" in a e30 better.

More importantly, its not a Sony XPLOD.

[KenC]

What is your purpose for the deck? Are you just going to hook it up to the stock speakers and be done with it?

You can adjust the display colors on the Clarion to match the e30 illumination pretty well.

I *think* the clarion has a 1-bit D/A converter, although I can't be sure because Crutchfield sucks as far as giving specs goes.

If it were ONLY between those two, I'd go with the Clarion.

[325is_MadBimmer]

this is my setup. I am set with everything but the headunit. I got 2 - JL AUDIO 5.25's, 2 -JL AUDIO tweeters, 2 - Infinity refrence 5.25's, Alpine Type-r 10" sub, Alpine MVR-F450 amp.

[Mystikal]

What an awesome setup. Why the hell would you bottlecap it all at the headunit?

If you want to save some bucks, go for one of last year's Alpines (9835 comes to mind). Don't cheap out on the most imporatant piece of the system.

[rwh11385]

They both suck.

Buy Alpine. I love them - three cars - three Alpine decks. Need I say more?

You can buy them used on bimmerforums easily, or get them cheaply in Electronic stores Demo models.

[KenC]

The Rockford Fosgate RFX-8240 (actually made by Denon - slap yourself if you've never heard of Denon) is the best headunit you can buy for ~$200. It's everything a headunit should be, and doesn't have all of that crap that a lot of decks have nowadays (EQ, Bass Boost, Internal Amplifier, removable face-plate, etc.). It has a nice 1-bit D/A converter and 4V pre-outs.

It even has amber illumination


You can snag one for a good price too:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3293&item=5702814556&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[325is_MadBimmer]

yeah, you guys are right....i am being cheap on the headunit when i am getting an awesome system setup going. I looked a tthis ehadunit and right away fell inlove with it. It is nice and black and is for a good price on that website. I even checked on ebay and they sell for about $350 on there. Tell me what you guys think http://www.sonicelectronix.com/viewitem.php?id=2264

[KenC]

If you're going to spend $300, get the Rockford RFX-8250. It is comparable to the Nakamichi CD700 as far a specs go. It has 5V preamp outs, dual 20-bit DACs, and FULL COPPER CHASSIS, and no worthless built in amplifier to heat-up the unit.

And it has a coaxial digital input!

No other $300 (or $600) deck can even touch it as far as performance goes.

http://www.cardomain.com/item/ROCRFX8250

[rwh11385]

http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/1844

Just know how to find deals. - http://www.ikesound.com/ - Have had awesome success with them.




List Price: 220.00
Our Price: $130.00
(You Save: $90.00)

Plays CD-Rs, and CD-RWs
Detachable face
18 Radio presets (12 FM/6 AM)
1 set of preamp outputs
MOSFET internal amplifier
16 watts RMS x 4
Bass Engine
CD changer controls
MaxTune tuner
clock

http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/1843

List Price: 299.00
Our Price: $215.00
(You Save: $84.00)

MP3/WMA Decoder
Bass Engine
Bass Center Frequency Control
Bass Band Width Adjustment
Trebile Center Frequency Control
4v preout
3 pre-amp outputs w/ subwoofer level control
18w RMS x4
Ai Changer Control
Media Xpander mobile hub Link
XM Ready

It's pretty obvious.