Keenwood vs Clarion - new head unit around 200$

[Ghostt24]

Hello everybody,

Im looking for cd radio with BT and good sound quality for about 180-200 euro/$, I think the Kenwood KDC-BT52U is perfect for me, but what about the sound quality ? I currently have separate alpine 16.5 cm and 2 tweeter system in front doors of opel vectra b and stock radio. It doesnt sound so good, so my first step is to change the head unit and then I will see if the sound quality would be enough for me. If not, I will consider an external amplifier and better speakers as well. But for now - is there any other unit on the market, which will give me BT hands free calling and better sound quality than this Kenwood KDC-BT52U ??

PS - I just realized that the new clarion units just came on the market - cz302 and cz702, thi second one is really nice but a bit expensive, anyone have comparision between these 3 units - kenwood and 2 new clarions ? thx

regards.

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[Ghostt24]

Anybody... ?? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

i like clarion over kenwood but i cant judge European models both brands are solid the kenwood have had usb issues in the past though i believe it was the upper line that would have the issue

 

[dross93ranger 10+ year member]

I have 4 vehicles, 3 Kenwoods and not a single problem.

 

[05fronty 5,000+ posts]

love my excelon. will get another. sidenote op send me some beer from over there now!

 

[wone 10+ year member]

i used to be a hard fan of kenwood but they are so **** slow in start up and way to many menus, no doubt they are good but i like simple stuff. i got the pioneer z14 now but I might switch to clarion

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

I think the only question that matters is "Do I want to run active?". If you want to run active crossovers and separately amplify the 16.5cm speakers and the tweeters then get the Clarion CZ702. Otherwise the Kenwood BT52U should do just fine. You're comparing Parrot Bluetooth to Parrot Bluetooth so it might come down to the microphone.

 

[Ghostt24]

Thanks guys, I bought Kenwood - it sounds MUCH BEETTER than I expected, really powerfull and deep sound with no external amplifier... BT works very good, I recomend this unit.

 

[zako 10+ year member]

cz702 has digital time alignment and 3-way crossover. It should be much better for SQ.