Need a new HU desperately and i got $250 to spend

[mendon mafia 10+ year member]

what do you guys think about the JVC KD-R900. it has 24 bit. BT, variable colors, front and rear usb, front aux, passenger ipod control (control through ipod or h/u), 5volt preouts and everything else.

only a few things it has that im not a fan of, the 3 band parametric EQ and it dosnt have the eeq restoration of high frequencies (not sure if this really does ne thing, i dont think my 590ib had it) but i think an external eq would solve this issue and would give me much more control than 7 bands anyways. also you need to use you own ipod cord to direct connect so i would need another one to keep in my car but thats only a small expense. also no itunes tagging but its $50 less than the pioneer i think i can stick with my pen and paper like ive always done to save $50 that should fund my extra ipod cord too.

I think it has everything else i wanted like hp and lp filters but it only has a 1 year warranty but i can get 3 year protection for $25 so it still less than the pioneer.

Any thoughts, too good to be true?

 

[brynm 10+ year member]

=mendon mafia;6959665
This deck is nice and all but i NEED direct ipod control, thats where the vast majority of my music comes from, this optional bull aint gonna fly with me. also sonix has lost me as a customer forever. they took 12 weeks to repair my old pioneer and something else that i cant remember but it was terrible service and i will never buy from them unless there giving stuff away.

The KDC-x993 doesn't need an adapter for ipods, just uses a regular ipod cable. Eclipse CD5030 as well.

 

[1hawaii50 10+ year member]

forget which deck for a minute. can anyone tell me why i have fuzz in my music before the track starts playing, when paused and when the track fades out, i cant remember if it happes on cd's or not but definately happened with my direct ipod connection. im sure the fuzz is there always but it is masked by the music when its playing. the fuzz gets louder with the volume.


This deck is nice and all but i NEED direct ipod control, thats where the vast majority of my music comes from, this optional bull aint gonna fly with me. also sonix has lost me as a customer forever. they took 12 weeks to repair my old pioneer and something else that i cant remember but it was terrible service and i will never buy from them unless there giving stuff away.

I'm not sure what optional bull you're talking about. The X993 has direct Ipod control. If you don't like Sonic, then Crutchfield has it for $270. They always have a $20 off coupon floating around, so you're still at your $250 limit.

 

[mendon mafia 10+ year member]

The KDC-x993 doesn't need an adapter for ipods, just uses a regular ipod cable. Eclipse CD5030 as well.

ok so thats just like the jvc only i found the jvc for $180 shipped and i dont have to buy from sonix.

The eclipse 5030 is very tempting but it dosnt have a 24 bit dac... has everything else tho besides dual usb inputs. The only deck with true dual usb is the pioneer still because the jvc needs to have a usb dongle installed for BT functionality but its included.

I found the eclipse for $220 shipped. same as the kenwood but i wont buy from sonix so it will cost me 250 shipped. the pioneer is 250 shipped and the jvc is 180- shipped

So basically the jvc is the same as the kenwood except the kenwood has the EEQ to restore the high frequency range i cant tell if the jcv does the kenwood also has time alingnment, but the JVC has 5 volt preouts vs the Kenwoods 4v also the kenwood seems hard to navigate with the main nob being on the wrong side.

Cant tell if the Eclipse has the EEQ or not either my guess is it does but who knows. i think in the end the cheapest deck will be the one i choose since there all basically the same.

the one feature that the JVC lacks is the time alignment but ive never had this before and im not entirely convinced i need this. no one seems to be able to claim its worth it. Besides time alignment and eeq the jvc has it all.

IDk i keep wavering between the decks they all seem so good but my ideal deck dosnt quite exist yet. id love to wait but i dont have a HU and need one by march 1 since thats when im putting my car back on the road

 

[brynm 10+ year member]

Well I can tell you that I have a 3 year old JVC KD-G820 like this:

Overall I've been happy with it, the only pick I have is that the sub control doesn't allow you to turn off the crossover. I have a couple of great amps that I can adjust everything on ( crossover point and slope) using a remote, but the only options I have on the HU are 80/120/160 hz. It would have been nice to have the ability to send a full signal and let my amps do the work.

 

[brynm 10+ year member]

And I just noticed they still use the exact same remote.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

is this a repoast //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

 

[dizint]

i am also trying to decide between Eclipse cd5030 JVC kd-r900, and possibly kenwood kdc-x994 when it comes out...

 

[mendon mafia 10+ year member]

i am also trying to decide between Eclipse cd5030 JVC kd-r900, and possibly kenwood kdc-x994 when it comes out...

ive notice the pioneer and the kenwood are not in your choices. why is that?

 

[dizint]

for some reason i am not finding pioneer to my likeness. i did list kenwood - the upcoming x994. i am not into spl or competition, just want good sound, and relative ease of use.

 

[mendon mafia 10+ year member]

for some reason i am not finding pioneer to my likeness. i did list kenwood - the upcoming x994. i am not into spl or competition, just want good sound, and relative ease of use.

not sure about the new pioneer 710bt but my 590ib was super easy to use and very simple, one of the reasons i loved it so much and why i want the 710bt so badly. It was the best sounding deck ive ever heard but it was also the most expensive one ive ever heard by about $80 too so i cant really be a good judge. On of my friends has a really high end eclipse but he uses the HU for power on some jl comps and has shitty kicker comp subs so it dosnt do it any justice im sure.

well i mean the x994 is not out yet so i was just saying i cant really put that into my choices. Ive read several reviews of the x993 and i guess its really hard to use which really turns me off to it and also ive heard the eclipse is not ecactly simple but w.o using either myself i cannot say for sure. I just really hate the idea of having the main nob on the right hand side of the deck like the x993 does.

 

[1hawaii50 10+ year member]

I had the X693 in my Taurus before I sold the car. A lot of reviews for that H/U said it was very difficult to navigate. After playing with it for a day or two, I didn't find it difficult at all.

 

[mendon mafia 10+ year member]

I had the X693 in my Taurus before I sold the car. A lot of reviews for that H/U said it was very difficult to navigate. After playing with it for a day or two, I didn't find it difficult at all.

bunch of the reviews i read said you need to wait in between selecting menus and such but im trying to watch some vids to see what they are talking about. I might head over to best buy and just play with some decks but i dont know if they even have any of these.

they also say the nob is hard to push directly centered throwing you into a different menu if you mess up.

 

[1hawaii50 10+ year member]

bunch of the reviews i read said you need to wait in between selecting menus and such but im trying to watch some vids to see what they are talking about. I might head over to best buy and just play with some decks but i dont know if they even have any of these.
they also say the nob is hard to push directly centered throwing you into a different menu if you mess up.

Well, I've currently got the Pioneer Premier DEH-P980BT, and I just ordered the Excelon KDC-X993. It should be here early next week. The Pioneer models also have the single rotary command knob...everything has to be accessed via the knob. Occasionally with my P980, I've found that while trying to use the knob, I end up in the wrong menu because instead of pushing straight in, I rocked it slightly sideways. Not a big deal for me, I just back back out of the menu and try again. I've found that for me, I'm not typically trying to scroll through a bunch of menus while I'm driving. I turn the radio on, or pop in a CD, or now, plug in the Ipod, and off I go. Most of my initial settings (crossover/slope/EQ) are setup as soon as I install the unit. The only thing I may need to change while driving is the radio station, or song track...and that's easy enough.

The reason I'm going to try the X993, is because of my Ipod. I got a Nano 5g for Christmas. I'll need to buy the Ipod controller breakout box for the Pioneer, and it WON'T charge a 5g Nano, so I'd have to buy a separate adapter for that...total cost for the 2 is around $170 shipped to me. For $200 shipped to me, I should be all set with the X993! Also, the X993 will play the Ipod files through the Wolfson 24 Bit DAC, bypassing the Ipod's DAC.

I almost bought an Eclipse CD7200MkII, but I couldn't justify the cost. I'm glad I didn't buy it, now that it looks like Eclipse is getting out of the market.

You're doing the right thing by doing your research before you buy. You may find that you may need to make a few concessions though...at a $250 price point, the PERFECT H/U (for you) may not exist.

 

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

I almost bought an Eclipse CD7200MkII, but I couldn't justify the cost. I'm glad I didn't buy it, now that it looks like Eclipse is getting out of the market.

What makes you say that? The interpretation that they are getting out of the market because their products are no good, or because with them out of the market, support for their units will be dropped? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif