New 3 way active Head Units. Which one?

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

That pico fuse issue with Pioneers kept me away for awhile not sure if they still have that problem. They should make the 10amp fuse blow if you hot swap the rca’s. Their s/n ratio is lower too not sure if that makes a huge difference but 94 has been the number in like forever.

Not sure why anyone would hot swap rcas.... Sounds like idiots trying to bring down a name to cover their own retardation

 

[Timbo74]

I haven't found an alpine that had the 3 way active functionality or it would be in the list.

It seems to me, it would exceed your expectations, if you just bought a quality head unit, and added a stand alone dsp unit.
Knowing what I have learned on here, I would never buy a head unit based off the option of on-board dsp, when the stand alone dsp units are far more tune able.
With the Dayton dsp-400, for example.. you get way more tune ability (your not limited to pre-set crossover points) there is a 10 band parametric eq for every channel. And much more.
I currently have a Pioneer avh-x4800bs, that I’m running active, and while it does sound good, your limited to pre-set crossover points, and a 13 band graphic eq. I have been experiencing ongoing issues with this unit, touch screen laggg! Error codes, random high pitch squealing through the speakers, that only goes away if I shut it down...when I power it back on everything’s normal. I am doubting it’s gonna make it much longer.
Alpine may not have all the features of some of the other units, but there is a damn good reason these feature vacant Alpines cost twice, sometimes three times what these full of feature brands cost....Quality!

Maybe one of the more experienced members can explain it further.

 

[MysticMathias]

It seems to me, it would exceed your expectations, if you just bought a quality head unit, and added a stand alone dsp unit.
Knowing what I have learned on here, I would never buy a head unit based off the option of on-board dsp, when the stand alone dsp units are far more tune able.
With the Dayton dsp-400, for example.. you get way more tune ability (your not limited to pre-set crossover points) there is a 10 band parametric eq for every channel. And much more.
I currently have a Pioneer avh-x4800bs, that I’m running active, and while it does sound good, your limited to pre-set crossover points, and a 13 band graphic eq. I have been experiencing ongoing issues with this unit, touch screen laggg! Error codes, random high pitch squealing through the speakers, that only goes away if I shut it down...when I power it back on everything’s normal. I am doubting it’s gonna make it much longer.
Alpine may not have all the features of some of the other units, but there is a damn good reason these feature vacant Alpines cost twice, sometimes three times what these full of feature brands cost....Quality!

Maybe one of the more experienced members can explain it further.

I’ll go listen to some today.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

It seems to me, it would exceed your expectations, if you just bought a quality head unit, and added a stand alone dsp unit.
Knowing what I have learned on here, I would never buy a head unit based off the option of on-board dsp, when the stand alone dsp units are far more tune able.
With the Dayton dsp-400, for example.. you get way more tune ability (your not limited to pre-set crossover points) there is a 10 band parametric eq for every channel. And much more.
I currently have a Pioneer avh-x4800bs, that I’m running active, and while it does sound good, your limited to pre-set crossover points, and a 13 band graphic eq. I have been experiencing ongoing issues with this unit, touch screen laggg! Error codes, random high pitch squealing through the speakers, that only goes away if I shut it down...when I power it back on everything’s normal. I am doubting it’s gonna make it much longer.
Alpine may not have all the features of some of the other units, but there is a damn good reason these feature vacant Alpines cost twice, sometimes three times what these full of feature brands cost....Quality!

Maybe one of the more experienced members can explain it further.

eh i've seen alpines, kenwoods, jvcs and pioneers all sh*t out, even the ones everyone says is reliable or quality with all the audiophile options and the flagship lines. Its just your luck if you have something long lasting and not buggy or if you have a straight up lemon or if you have a longterm lemon in disguise

 

[MysticMathias]

Nobody carries Alpine head units around me. Called 4 different places. They all said the same thing. “Not enough features for the price”. “Alpine is full of them selves”. This is from 4 different independent local audio shops.

 

[MysticMathias]

If you can provide evidence that the build quality is superior to equally priced head units, I’ll consider Alpine. I’m not a fan of brand loyalty. I’m about efficiency and outcome.

 

[MysticMathias]

Thanks gents. I went with the Kenwood. Installing it today!

 

[MysticMathias]

How About no head unit swap at all especially on the newer vehicles, and using that expensive phone you’re holding?

Because my OEM head unit died two weeks ago. My phone was $150 brand new.
And anyone with any sense understands that a hard wired connection will trump the reliability and sound quality of Bluetooth, any day.
Nice assumptions.

 

[MysticMathias]

Over a year of R & D Went into the clarity and level of the Bluetooth in these amplifiers! That was done because I knew everyone would have a response like yours about Bluetooth clarity and level! Turns out the Bluetooth is not only clearer, but it’s also louder! The signal was polished and preamped by the gain of 10 before it was even put into the pre-amps of the amplifier itself. The result is super loud and super clean!
In time people will see what was done here. The point is nobody’s doing that because everybody thinks the quality is so awful. But surprise it’s not!!

I’m talking about the Bluetooth from phones.

 

[BCotrell]

I bought the top jvc single din digital media player post kenwood merger and the voltage out the hu was not 4v, it was actually less all around and one channel was less than 1. I then “upgraded” to the top excelon digital media player and found the knobs cheep feeling and found it less than user friendly for fast adjustment. I finally moved toward the pioneer, voltage reading was actually slightly above 4v, knobs and buttons felt sturdy and on the fly tunability was best of the three. Also sound output was significantly better each time I swapped.

 

[MysticMathias]

I bought the top jvc single din digital media player post kenwood merger and the voltage out the hu was not 4v, it was actually less all around and one channel was less than 1. I then “upgraded” to the top excelon digital media player and found the knobs cheep feeling and found it less than user friendly for fast adjustment. I finally moved toward the pioneer, voltage reading was actually slightly above 4v, knobs and buttons felt sturdy and on the fly tunability was best of the three. Also sound output was significantly better each time I swapped.

Im waiting on my new Pioneer unit to show up to day. I’m returning my Kenwood back to Crutchfield.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

alpine is the apple of the car audio world. thinks they are all that but they dont have any of the features of android and when they do have it, they make it sound like they are ground breaking leaders in the industry.

 

[MysticMathias]

And where do you think the Bluetooth I’m talking about is coming from? The Bluetooth audio comes from the phone but gets cleaned up and polished within the amplifier

The idea of taking a bad signal then cleaning it up doesn’t sound appealing. Especially when it comes to audio.
Unless you’ve discovered some Area 51 technology, which would be cool.
How does your processing know how to clean up the signal? Other than 1 year of R&D... Then there’s the issue of interference. How many Bluetooth signals are on the highway at once?