Budget SQ HU for iPhone

[Hulk311 10+ year member]

Just like the title states, gentlemen, I'm looking to replace my old Alpine deck (it's like 7 years old!) with one that I can hook up my iPhone too and stream Pandora and Howard Stern. I'm looking at the Alpine CDE-122 and Kenwood Excellon X494 but I am open to other suggestions. Thanks!

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[shnitz 10+ year member]

Sound quality will overall be the same across pretty much every unit from Clarion, Kenwood, Pioneer, Alpine, Sony, and JVC. Just buy based on the convenience and tuning features you need, i.e. parametric vs graphic equalizer, time alignment, high/lowpass filters if you need them, adjustable slopes if you use the HPF and LPF, etc.

 

[JoshC 10+ year member]

Sound quality will overall be the same across pretty much every unit from Clarion, Kenwood, Pioneer, Alpine, Sony, and JVC. Just buy based on the convenience and tuning features you need, i.e. parametric vs graphic equalizer, time alignment, high/lowpass filters if you need them, adjustable slopes if you use the HPF and LPF, etc.

i dont agree at all, i feel every brand has there own vibe to them. Ive heard good things about that kenwood deck but i recently got the pioneer deh-9400 and it sounds better then my old alpine did. higher bit DAC and better digital decompression

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

budget and sq dont go together sorry to tell ya ,unless used

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

your using pandora and iphone. you will have no sq, get what ever you like most, I suggest a newer alpine

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

budget and sq dont go together sorry to tell ya ,unless used

your using pandora and iphone. you will have no sq, get what ever you like most, I suggest a newer alpine

Yep...

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

Yep...

well maybe not an alpine 2 volt pre outs now on almost all of their decks now

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

well maybe not an alpine 2 volt pre outs now on almost all of their decks now

Arent you selling some of the new Pio's? That would fit his needs...

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

meh 2 volt just means setting gain higher.

 

[shnitz 10+ year member]

i dont agree at all, i feel every brand has there own vibe to them. Ive heard good things about that kenwood deck but i recently got the pioneer deh-9400 and it sounds better then my old alpine did. higher bit DAC and better digital decompression

I doubt you, or anyone else on earth for that matter, can hear a difference between a 16 bit and a 24 bit DAC. My last post got deleted for being a new user that posts links, so please type: "head-fi 24bit vs 16bit, the myth exploded!" into google and read up on that nice little thread. Also, you cannot hear the difference between a Burr Brown DAC and some non-name-advertised DAC. Sorry. What you're maybe hearing that you're liking better is that headunits are not completely transparent. Pioneer, even with a flat EQ, supposedly likes to introduce a bass-heavy sound coming out of the unit. You like this bassy sound (who doesn't, that's why Bose and Dr Dre headphones sell so well among the laymen!) so you conclude that the unit sounds "better." Alpine, even with a flat EQ, likes a more highs-filled EQ, so that people hear it and think that it sounds "crisp and airy." You can equalize this out yourself as well, if you feel like. your Pioneer 9400BH overall though sounds exactly the same as my 8400BH, which both sound exactly the same as the lowest-end 2400, which all three sound just like my 4-year old Pioneer DEH-P500UB. Plus, hearing is so subjective that you spent money on your headunit, so you expect to hear a difference. It happens all the time in car and home audio; if you sell someone an expensive piece of equipment, then it will sound better to them. Third, since you have something that's new, and since it's new, you're probably jamming more with it. This matters because to human perception, music that is played louder sounds better. Google "louder music sounds better" and the "Fletcher–Munson curves." As you turn up the music, your brain perceives a more "W" shaped EQ curve, which most people perceive as a better, more fun sound.

Overall, you may get a sound that you like better, but the sound quality itself is no different between the cheapest and the most expensive headunits today. Plus, most headunits have enough equalization options today that you can make any headunit sound however you want.

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

here we go again with the "I can't afford high end equipment so claim low end is just as good" bullshit.

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

here we go again with the "I can't afford high end equipment so claim low end is just as good" bullshit.

A Watt is a Watt bro! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/blush.gif.99bc659ee2012b7d826165e26fb5eebe.gif

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

Arent you selling some of the new Pio's? That would fit his needs...

yes i have 3 in stock

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

yes i have 3 in stock

There you go OP

 

[shnitz 10+ year member]

here we go again with the "I can't afford high end equipment so claim low end is just as good" bullshit.

Sorry man, I've been through a lot of school, and I still have my physics textbooks on my bookshelf, and have to turn to them periodically. There are many scientific discussions online about the subject, and about psychoacoustics. There's a lot of diffuse claims being made online, and I'm just trying to set it right according to my current understanding of the laws that govern the universe. If you're privy to indisputable evidence that is contrary to my knowledge, I am all ears. It has nothing to do about money; I am heavily involved in optics and photography, and I have to battle misconceptions and misunderstandings in that field as well.