NOOB head unit upgrade

[john_dikeman]

Just got an old Peugeot 307 station wagon and want to upgrade the head unit. Biggest thing for me is sound quality. Clarity and natural sound as opposed to blasting bass... Bass clarity would be great though. Otherwise I do want bluetooth and aux or USB inputs.
Don't care about the display at all. Aesthetics, don't care... Preferably single Din.

Been looking at Pioneer units. Any comparison between PIONEER deh-x8700DAB and PIONEER deh 80PRS?
In the future I will probably upgrade the speakers and maybe even get an amp and subwoofer.

Don't have a lot of money, would be happy to look out for something used.

All suggestions very welcome!

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[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Basically any head unit outside of the gutter brands should be fine as far as functioning as it should and sounding good. Pioneer, Kenwood/JVC, Alpine are probably most popular and all trustworthy brands. I've had good luck with Jensen in the past and have been really digging the Sony lineup for the last few years.

Really it all comes down to picking the tier with features you feel you "need" then I'd suggest if at all possible go into a brick and mortar store and see if you can play around with them. My definition of user friendly/intuitive controls and display may not be the same as yours. This is all personal preference and IMO more important than specific brand. In short, look at the reliable brands and see which one you like the look and feel of.

 

[john_dikeman]

Basically any head unit outside of the gutter brands should be fine as far as functioning as it should and sounding good. Pioneer, Kenwood/JVC, Alpine are probably most popular and all trustworthy brands. I've had good luck with Jensen in the past and have been really digging the Sony lineup for the last few years.

Really it all comes down to picking the tier with features you feel you "need" then I'd suggest if at all possible go into a brick and mortar store and see if you can play around with them. My definition of user friendly/intuitive controls and display may not be the same as yours. This is all personal preference and IMO more important than specific brand. In short, look at the reliable brands and see which one you like the look and feel of.

Thanks for the input.
Just wondering if a basic unit by any of these is fine or if it's worth going for what seems to be a midgrade unit, like the PIONEER deh-x8700DAB or even an expensive unit like the PIONEER deh 80PRS.
Just in terms of audio quality. I'm really not too worried about extras. As long as I can play music from my phone, with best audio quality possible, that's all I need. I have an LGV20 by the way...

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

Thanks for the input.
Just wondering if a basic unit by any of these is fine or if it's worth going for what seems to be a midgrade unit, like the PIONEER deh-x8700DAB or even an expensive unit like the PIONEER deh 80PRS.
Just in terms of audio quality. I'm really not too worried about extras. As long as I can play music from my phone, with best audio quality possible, that's all I need. I have an LGV20 by the way...

If your not an Audiophile you wont need the 80PRS...but I do recomend a slightly better deck than the x8700DAB ... I'm not sure of all models available where you live but the 8700 only has basic sound features such as only a 5 band EQ ...a step or 2 up in models should give you a 13band EQ and active 3 way crossover ... that way you have more expansion capabilities in the future and better sound features for now to get familiar with....and a lot more budget friendly than the 80PRS ...

 

[john_dikeman]

If your not an Audiophile you wont need the 80PRS...but I do recomend a slightly better deck than the x8700DAB ... I'm not sure of all models available where you live but the 8700 only has basic sound features such as only a 5 band EQ ...a step or 2 up in models should give you a 13band EQ and active 3 way crossover ... that way you have more expansion capabilities in the future and better sound features for now to get familiar with....and a lot more budget friendly than the 80PRS ...

OK thanks for the input.
I am sort of a wannabe audiophile. I'm a professional musician. Which means I love music, and I'm poor... Which makes it kind of hard to be a true audiophile.
That being said, I'm interested in clarity and the most natural sound possible. At home I never mess with eqs at all. Want the most honest representation of the recorded sound as possible. However, I guess with car stereos it's a bit of a different world as the EQ functions are really there to help you cope with the limitations of listening to music in a moving tin can with an engine on it. Or am I mistaken?

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Thanks for the input.
Just wondering if a basic unit by any of these is fine or if it's worth going for what seems to be a midgrade unit, like the PIONEER deh-x8700DAB or even an expensive unit like the PIONEER deh 80PRS.
Just in terms of audio quality. I'm really not too worried about extras. As long as I can play music from my phone, with best audio quality possible, that's all I need. I have an LGV20 by the way...

Always good practice to stay out of the absolute entry level. Generally when you bump up to something with 3 sets of pre-amp outs you've about arrived as being future proof if you want to try to add amp(s) down the road. 80PRS is a wildly popular head unit for all the powerful sound processing features which you may or may not need but considering the next step up from that as far as processing power will have a comma in the MSRP it's a good value.

Personally I use USB sticks for everything these days and find a double DIN is much easier to navigate when you have 50+ albums/folders on your media. You may consider more screen real estate if you carry thumb sticks for music. Android Auto or iPhone control from the head unit may also be more convenient with a larger screen. Again, this all runs into personal preference.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

OK thanks for the input.
I am sort of a wannabe audiophile. I'm a professional musician. Which means I love music, and I'm poor... Which makes it kind of hard to be a true audiophile.
That being said, I'm interested in clarity and the most natural sound possible. At home I never mess with eqs at all. Want the most honest representation of the recorded sound as possible. However, I guess with car stereos it's a bit of a different world as the EQ functions are really there to help you cope with the limitations of listening to music in a moving tin can with an engine on it. Or am I mistaken?

The car interior isnt an idea location to reproduce music like a padded sound room with acoustic tiles ..so a good eq is a plus ... if you want really good sound another nice test tool is a rta meter ..you may already have one ...but with the rta meter you can measure your sound environment. Place the mic where you sit at head level and send pink noise through the speakers at a low volume using the rta you can see where you have bad peaks or dips in the sound spectrum by using the EQ you can flatten the curve out ... it doesnt have to be completely flat to sound good ...but major dips or peaks will sound bad ... also if you use any of the decks other built in processors you'll be able to tell if they are helping or hurting you...an rta also comes in handy in setting up studios or home theater systems as well.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

Your car does have provisions for a double din...like hispls stated having the larger screen could be a plus ... and you can get the 13band EQ with active features In the Pioneer double din I'd get the touchscreen over the basic double din ...dont waste any money on the android radios that look cool ..they are all junk sound wise ...you wont go wrong with Pioneer ... they are good quality ...

 

[Firewalker]

I picked up my Pioneer PRS-80 for 200 bucks shipped 2 years ago NIB. Plus I know there is some refurbished units out there as well. Just have to take your time and look around. Mine was from eBay and its still going strong. I upgraded from Kenwood's Excelon top of the line at that time the KDC-X998 which was really good but the Pioneer is so much better overall for adjustments and sound.