Looking at Head Units

[Sarthos 10+ year member]

I'm looking to replace my Alpine CDA-9883, I think. It sorta depends on whether or not I can get other decks that would be like way better. Problem is that I don't know which features to look for on a head unit.

I'm running amps to all my speakers so the head unit's output power isn't important.

I have an Audiocontrol DQS 30 band 6 channel equalizer with dash control so the EQ features on he deck also shouldn't be important.

I'm looking at an upgraded Alpine unit, the CDA-9887

http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=CDA-9887

I can get one of these off of ebay for like 300 I think.

A Planet Audio head unit, P265IU

http://www.planetaudiousa.com/main/542

I can get one for like 170 somewhere online

A Pioneer unit, not sure which one

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/CarAudioVideo/In-Dash/CD-Players#section=models

Price varies depending on model

JVC Unit

http://mobile.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL028466&pathId=149&page=1

About 100 bucks

Alpine

What I like about the alpine unit is the higher output voltage for the pre-amp which would help since I get a tiny bit of humming due to having to max the input gain on my EQ. It also has a 24-bit Digital/Analog converter which supposedly sounds better. It would also match the 2 sets of Alpine speakers in my car. I also already have the MP3 player adapter cable which would be convenient. Other than that I don't know what other features are good about this one.

What I don't like is that if I want to add HD capability to it that costs another $150 or so for that and if I want bluetooth that'd also be a $150 add-on. A remote control, likewise, is a $20 add-on.

Planet Audio

What I like about the Planet Audio unit is the fact that my system is mainly planet audio (6 amps, 5 subs, 4 speakers) so it would match brands. It has 5-volt outputs which are even better than the 4-volt alpine outputs. The bluetooth is built in which would be convenient. I also like the price. It has an SD card input which would be convenient, since I wouldn't need a cable dangling somewhere to attach a USB device. Remote comes with it which is nice.

My main dislike is that there is no HD tuner or Satellite Radio tuner for this head unit, unless there are universal ones. It also doesn't have a 24-bit Digital/Analog converter. Not sure how important that is.

Pioneer

I like these because they're known to be a good brand, and sound very nice. They have 4 or 5 volt outputs, depending on the model. Most of them have 24-bit Digital/Analog converters. I think they come with remotes.

Dislikes would be that bluetooth or HD add-ons would be about 100 bucks a piece, and would be the only pioneer piece in my car.

JVC

Not considering this one very much, I just like the HD radio built in and the price.

Dislikes are that it would be the only JVC piece in my car, it is probably like a really cheap unit, low-voltage outputs, 1 bit Digital/Audio converter.

Other stuff

My system consists of 2 front speakers, Planet Audio 6.5" BB65PRO components (150 RMS/300 peak)

6 rear speakers, 4 Alpine 6.5" Type R Components (110 RMS/330 Peak) and 2 Planet Audio 6.5" BB625C Components (100 RMS/200 Peak)

2 tweeters, Planet Audio 1" Silk dome P30TW (100 RMS/200 Peak)

5 Subwoofers, 1 15" BB15DVC (600 RMS/1200 Peak)

2 10" BB10DVC (400 RMS/800 Peak)

2 12" Z-12s (375 RMS/750 Peak)

Amps

VX4004 (100w RMSx4) for rear alpine speakers

VX4004 (100w RMSx4) for rear planet speakers and front tweeters

BB150.2 (150w RMSx2) for front planet speakers

BB1250.1 (1250 RMSx1) for 15" sub

RXD-2400 (1600 RMSx1) for two 10" subs

Need to pick another planet amp for two 12" subs

Equalizer

Audiocontrol DQS

Audiocontrol DDC

Alright, that should be about all the information you need I think? Anything else ask I guess. I can say I have the oversized amps for my subs because I use switches to pick subs and only run one pair normally, and I want amps big enough to push the subs without risk of overheating and on country music you need decent power.

Click to read more...

 

[Sarthos 10+ year member]

No opinions?

 

[SRim23 5,000+ posts]

out of all of those i would go with the alpine. ive just always been an alpine fan. to be honest preout voltage wont be an issue to you as those audiocontrols will boost the voltage anyways.

the only thing i can say is some people have issues with noise from the pioneer units... id keep it between the alpine or pioneer units myself.

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

9887

 

[Sarthos 10+ year member]

What difference would I notice between the 9883 and the 9887? I'd only upgrade if there would be a noticeable quality difference.

Just wondering because one of the main things that people say about the Alpine unit for being good is the Imprint sound processing but I have a better EQ so it would be mostly useless to me and I have 18 db/octave crossovers on my amps so I don't think the built in crossovers would make any difference. Just wanna know what good it would do for the 300 dollars I'd have to spend.

Edit: Also, I'm open to any other suggestions for upgrades, if anyone knows of any. Those are just the ones I was thinking of off the top of my head?

 

[Sarthos 10+ year member]

So, would I notice any real difference in the system by changing the head unit? If so, how so, nd keeping in mind the system I have, what would I want to look for most?

 

[Sarthos 10+ year member]

How about a unit like this, how might it compare?

http://cgi.ebay.com/KENWOOD-EXCELON-KDC-X792-Car-CD-MP3-Receiver-w-Remote_W0QQitemZ130301815889QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCar_Audio_In_Dash_Receivers?hash=item1e5697ec51&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

 

[Korn4Life 5,000+ posts]

Get a Pioneer DEh-7900bt or 790bt There is one for sale right now on the forum for $130 shipped... It has the bluetooth built in and also the Ipod controls.... So you wont have to buy anything extra.... Plus its a great sounding unit.. I have one and love it 4v outputs..

 

[Sarthos 10+ year member]

It doesn't have the 24 bit processing, but is its sound comparable to one that does or do I not know what to look for in a unit? I just want something to sound better than my current unit which already sounds decent.

 

[nineball 10+ year member]

the 9887 has a lot more than just eq and crossovers. red the manual online to see all the features. in terms of ability to change the sound there is no comparison between the 83 and the 87. while it is alpine's top of the line hu if you do not plan on running an active setup you could get away with something a little lower on the scale.

stay away from the ida line though. i had the ida-x001 and the ida-x100 w/ imprint kit and neither one had very good sq imo.

i have also had 2 jvc decks, kd-g820 and kd-sh1000. both had very good sq imo and the sh-1000 had just about all the features of the 9887 for roughly half the price.

never had a pioneer deck but they are known for blowing pico fuses which require you to ground the rcas to get rid of alt whine.

never owned a PA hu nor have i ever even read any reviews on one.

i currently run an kendwood 993 and i love everything about it, including the great sq, but the display is practically impossible to read in the sunlight. the display itself is fine but the super smooth cover over it catches all sorts of sun.

i am curious, why do you need so many speakers in the rear and a total of 14 tweeters?

 

[Sarthos 10+ year member]

I've heard the term so many times and it may be n00bish not to know, but what does "active setup" mean? Does it mean running speakers off of the stereo's internal amp?

The ida line I don't think even plays CDs that'd be kinda worthless to me.

I didn't think the JVC units had that many features, I was just looking at the one for its HD built in. But looking online that unit is about the same price as the Alpine so I'd pick the alpine between the two

I had no idea pioneer decks had trouble with noise, because they're usually regarded as really nice units.

PA products aren't too widely used. They used to make really good stuff, and a lot of it is still decent, but its also hard to find. Not a dealer in my state //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

I like that the kenwood has the bluetooth built in for roughly the cost of the Alpine, but does it sound about as good?

And as for the speakers in the rear, it's cause they don't fit in the front and its 10 tweeters, not 14. Also because more speakers means if I wanna listen to my music loud (and I like hearing all the music, not just the subs) I wanna be able to blast the mids without blowing the speakers or distorting sound. That and my front speakers are significantly louder speakers.

 

[nineball 10+ year member]

I've heard the term so many times and it may be n00bish not to know, but what does "active setup" mean? Does it mean running speakers off of the stereo's internal amp?

active means powering the mids and tweets separately with an external crossover. using the supplied crossover is passive.

The ida line I don't think even plays CDs that'd be kinda worthless to me.

true, but you asked about other alpine units.

I didn't think the JVC units had that many features, I was just looking at the one for its HD built in. But looking online that unit is about the same price as the Alpine so I'd pick the alpine between the two

jvc, like any other brand, has several models available with a wide assortment of features. the more you pay the more features you get. alpine is the only line (i believe) that gives you nothing in terms of extras with a hu. you have to buy the hd tuner, usb port, bt system, etc.

I had no idea pioneer decks had trouble with noise, because they're usually regarded as really nice units.

they usually are nice units, they are just prone to the pico fuse problem.

I like that the kenwood has the bluetooth built in for roughly the cost of the Alpine, but does it sound about as good?

as i said i would stack the 993 up against almost any other hu i have owned in terms of sq. i like it.

And as for the speakers in the rear, it's cause they don't fit in the front and its 10 tweeters, not 14. Also because more speakers means if I wanna listen to my music loud (and I like hearing all the music, not just the subs) I wanna be able to blast the mids without blowing the speakers or distorting sound. That and my front speakers are significantly louder speakers.

you would be better served to get one good set of comps up front and one good set of comps/coax in the back and amp them properly. if amp'd properly you will never have to worry about them blowing from blasting them.

everyone has an opinion on what is right and what sounds good to them, so do as you please, but 6 sets of comps and an extra set of tweets is just overkill. the same, and probably better, results could be achieved with a single set of speakers in each (front and rear) with proper tuning.

-edit-

i just re-read your post and i see you are mixing subs. that is not a good thing to do. search this board and you will find lots of threads on that topic. you seem to be of the mindset that "more is more" and that is usually not the case.

 

[SicAudio 5,000+ posts]

amazingly, I sell Pioneer and Alpine both, and have never had the noise issue (pico fuse ). what is causing the ground problem on them? I have sold over 100 Pioneers in the last 2 years and switched to them from Alpine for all my personal cars because I feel they are a better unit overall for the price. I have heard of the issue but never had to deal with it, so enlighten me please.

 

[nineball 10+ year member]

most times the it is caused by hotswapping the rca lines which is why the problem is reported a lot when people are buying/selling used units. once the pico fuse is blown you have to ground the rca inputs to the hu to eliminate the alt buzz.

 

[Sarthos 10+ year member]

active means powering the mids and tweets separately with an external crossover. using the supplied crossover is passive.

Okay, my speakers have the 18 dB/octave crossovers for the mids and tweets that come with them and 24 dB/octave for the fronts. I'm not sure how much I could gain by adding in another crossover of if I'd need to amp the mids and tweets separately which would require more channels, etc.

true, but you asked about other alpine units.

I know. I was agreeing with you about that line of units.

as i said i would stack the 993 up against almost any other hu i have owned in terms of sq. i like it.

Okay, I'll add that one to my list of units I'm looking at.

jvc, like any other brand, has several models available with a wide assortment of features. the more you pay the more features you get. alpine is the only line (i believe) that gives you nothing in terms of extras with a hu. you have to buy the hd tuner, usb port, bt system, etc.

True. But when it comes down to it I think JVC is kind of a cheaper brand and probably not the same quality.

[q]they usually are nice units, they are just prone to the pico fuse problem.[/q]

[q]most times the it is caused by hotswapping the rca lines which is why the problem is reported a lot when people are buying/selling used units. once the pico fuse is blown you have to ground the rca inputs to the hu to eliminate the alt buzz.[/q]

Hotswapping? Like taking the RCAs out while the unit is running? And if the RCAs are grounded to the head units that would take care of it? Also is this just specific units or all of them in general?

you would be better served to get one good set of comps up front and one good set of comps/coax in the back and amp them properly. if amp'd properly you will never have to worry about them blowing from blasting them.

Wouldn't that setup sound weaker? And how would the results be better?

everyone has an opinion on what is right and what sounds good to them, so do as you please, but 6 sets of comps and an extra set of tweets is just overkill. the same, and probably better, results could be achieved with a single set of speakers in each (front and rear) with proper tuning.

Yah, I like overkill //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif. But the rear speakers sound really nice if I'm like listening to music from the back seat or even from the front seat. And once summer starts I intend on fine tuning the different pairs of speakers in the rear separately with the extra channels on my DQS and modifying the boxes a little bit.

i just re-read your post and i see you are mixing subs. that is not a good thing to do. search this board and you will find lots of threads on that topic. you seem to be of the mindset that "more is more" and that is usually not the case.

Amps for the subs are all on switches so I can just run 10s or 12s daily, 10s for the better SQ or 12s for the better SPL, and I can blast all 5 if I just wanna show off. That's why I have mixed subs, so I have the different choices.

And thanks, you've been a really big help //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif