head units - huge sq differences?

[percept 10+ year member]

I'm considering purchasing a new deck for the first time in years. I've only owned one Clarion deck so i don't really have a point of reference of what's good and what's not. I just know Clarion is better than stock. I know alpine and pioneer are two of the heavy hitters. My question is, how huge of a sq difference will i hear between different brands?

My reason for asking is because I'm looking at the Clarion MAX385VD. I'm pretty amazed that a touchscreen dvd deck can be had for so cheap. The last time i bought a deck, dvd touchscreens cost upwards of 2k. I'm wondering how huge of a sq loss i'll suffer if i go with this clarion rather than an alpine or pioneer. thanks in advance.

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[Bass Addict 10+ year member]

that all depends on the high end or low end hu's.what ever you decide,just make sure to get a high end one

 

[dafobbishon3 10+ year member]

yes yes. like he said. high end.

ex: like pioneer. make sure you get the premier. end

 

[percept 10+ year member]

well the price range for the clarion is about 250-300. the 9886 everyone seems to love is in that price range. will i hear a huge diff between the 9886 and the clarion i'm looking at?

 

[eharri3 10+ year member]

IMHO between head units in a similar price range it's all in what it's connected to. It's when you jump up to a completely different category and start talking about things like high voltage output/low impedance and built-in SQ related features such as EQ and time alignment that you will start to hear a real difference with head unit changes.

IMHO if youre that serious about SQ there isn't a head unit in the Alpine line worth getting below the 9887.

Nothing else in there is really that special. Look at the mid or high end Eclipses and the Pioneer Premiers. I am quite happy with the SQ difference my Premier DEH 980BT has made, but also was looking at the 880 and 800 PRS which would have been even better if I needed that level of tuning.

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

I'm considering purchasing a new deck for the first time in years. I've only owned one Clarion deck so i don't really have a point of reference of what's good and what's not. I just know Clarion is better than stock. I know alpine and pioneer are two of the heavy hitters. My question is, how huge of a sq difference will i hear between different brands?
My reason for asking is because I'm looking at the Clarion MAX385VD. I'm pretty amazed that a touchscreen dvd deck can be had for so cheap. The last time i bought a deck, dvd touchscreens cost upwards of 2k. I'm wondering how huge of a sq loss i'll suffer if i go with this clarion rather than an alpine or pioneer. thanks in advance.

i believe it is because that is an older model clarion, correct me if i'm wrong. Besides, there is a big difference in the SQ of units is in the ability to have more adjustment. I.e. active xover, time alignment, etc.

yes yes. like he said. high end. ex: like pioneer. make sure you get the premier. end

The only difference between regular pioneer and the premier is the warranty.

 

[percept 10+ year member]

the thing with the clarion deck is that it plays dvd's too...so i would imagine comparing price points between the clarion and a regular cd deck is apples to oranges.

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

possibly, especially when you're talking about SQ

 

[percept 10+ year member]

i believe it is because that is an older model clarion, correct me if i'm wrong. Besides, there is a big difference in the SQ of units is in the ability to have more adjustment. I.e. active xover, time alignment, etc.

i don't plan on running active as of now, and i'm not huge on tweaks. i just want something that'll do the job well without me having to micromanage.... so if this is the case, should i be ok with the clarion?

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

i don't plan on running active as of now, and i'm not huge on tweaks. i just want something that'll do the job without me having to micromanage. so if this is the case, should i be ok with the clarion?

yes

 

[Trey803 5,000+ posts]

yes yes. like he said. high end. ex: like pioneer. make sure you get the premier. end

yea b/c extra visualizations really packs a sq punch

look at pre-amp output voltage

T/A

how many bands the equalizer has

auto eq/imprint

ability to run active

these are going to be the biggest improvement with sq(not visualizations)

 

[percept 10+ year member]

so if the preamp output voltage is 2, and my current deck is 4...this means i'll need to raise the gain on my amp to achieve the same spl?

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

the same output, yes. Doesn't really affect SQ though

 

[groundpound4200 5,000+ posts]

yup

 

[percept 10+ year member]

ouch, that's not a good thing. i have enough trouble now trying to hit the volume levels i want with the deck at 85% volume and the gains on my amp **** near maxed out. is there some sort of adapter or amplifier i can purchase to change the 2 volts to 4 volts?