Need advice: Kenwood or Sony radio?

[mpqtpie]

I am a total novice and can use any advice you can provide! Which brand would you recommend Kenwood or Sony?

I bought and installed a Sony CDX-GT130 car radio from Best Buy. But the sound is really muffled and flat, so now I'm having second thoughts. I'm thinking I should have bought the Kenwood KDC-MP242. Should I exchange? Will the sound quality be better?

Which is the best brand of car audio for an entry-level buyer? What do I need to look for?

I have a 2002 Toyota Corolla. It's an older car with subpar speakers, so I didn't want to spend a lot, but I still want it to sound halfway decent. Please any advice would be amazingly helpful. I've been reading posts on here, but am still a bit confused how you can tell which radio to buy since you can't test it in the store beforehand. Thanks.

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[oldschool4me 10+ year member]

panasonic is what i would go with, you can get a very nice one for 200ish new. its all i run. i have the 9801, 9701, and 8803. all are great.

 

[blackdragonaudi 10+ year member]

Only alpine I would ever go with

 

[fasfocus00 5,000+ posts]

i'm another panasonic person.

 

[papo783 10+ year member]

I have had sony, kenwood, pioneer, and alpine and all I have to say is after I got my alpine I will never go to any other head unit company.

 

[mpqtpie]

I have heard a lot about alpine, from reading the posts here and other threads. Why are alpines so good and are they expensive?

 

[Symon_say 10+ year member]

Kenwood's are really nice i prefer then over pioneer, haven't hear an alpine for a while but they are good to.

 

[blackdragonaudi 10+ year member]

Alpine are a little extra money because they better built and better processing power inside them. Also give you more control over your system. You get what you pay for.

 

[texasfight 10+ year member]

pioneer is the way to go

 

[macq32 10+ year member]

Kenwood, Eclipse and Alpine are top notch IMO. you could get something similar to my kenwood for under $200 for sure, you'd be very happy with it im sure

 

[mpqtpie]

Ok, I am getting the impression that Sony isn't well liked then? I have heard panasonic, pioneer and kenwood so far...and of course Alpine.

I had never paid attention to this kind of thing much before, but it's actually pretty interesting. There's nothing like a bad radio sound experience to turn a person into a potential audiophile. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[bigaudiofanati2 10+ year member]

I also vote for alpine never will i go back to pioneer or kenwood.

 

[mpqtpie]

I'm definitely considering switching out the Sony for the kenwood! I would have to pay to have it reinstalled, but I'm thinking it would be worth it...

But before I do I'll have to look into Alpine. I don't remember seeing those at Best Buy.

 

[mpqtpie]

I found some Alpine on Best Buy's website. How is the Alpine CDE-102? It is on sale for $160 (double the price of the Sony that I just got, but it sounds like it would be worth it).

 

[bigaudiofanati2 10+ year member]

It's good only thing is it only has 2 sets of outputs for amps. If its the one I am thinking of.