processing power? best SQ headunit

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

Alpine 7990 is coupled with the H900 which completes the F1 status... which is far superior than the P9 combo.
P9 can be had for $1200 if you look hard enough.

Lowest I've seen Alpine combo, probably 3k.

You can go with another Alpine combination, any Ai-Net capable unit coupled with the H701... which can be had for $500 with display, which be better than the Alpine and Eclipse, and par with the P9 combo.

I've never heard the F1 combo so I can't deny or confirm its performance compared to the P9 combo. But I stand by my comment that the P9 owns it in performance to dollar ratio.

As far as the other Alpine combo is concerned, which head unit are you talking about going with the H701 is comparable to the P9 combo.??

 

[3.5Max6spd 10+ year member]

As far as the other Alpine combo is concerned, which head unit are you talking about going with the H701 is comparable to the P9 combo.??

You can use ANY transport with a H701 and it will offer greater flexiblity than a P9

 

[chadillac3 10+ year member]

Best reply thus far, I love technical explanations, not just I heard this and that. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif
For biamping capabilities, the Eclipse would be the winner. Anytime you have an independent control on each driver, you have more control over your stage.

BTW, a couple of pointers...

Alpine 9855 and 9835 are both 5 band parametric.

Alpine 7990 is coupled with the H900 which completes the F1 status... which is far superior than the P9 combo.

P9 can be had for $1200 if you look hard enough.

Lowest I've seen Alpine combo, probably 3k.

You can go with another Alpine combination, any Ai-Net capable unit coupled with the H701... which can be had for $500 with display, which be better than the Alpine and Eclipse, and par with the P9 combo.

H701 combo is more than $500 with display. $600 would be a good price since eBay is more than that.

 

[bikejunkie223 10+ year member]

The best SQ head is a Nakamichi, sadly it is also rediculously expensive compared to Eclipse/Alpine.

 

[billybrown66 10+ year member]

if the eclipse 8454 is new, where exactly are you buying it from?

 

[zfactor 10+ year member]

for proccessing power the p9 or alpine 701 is tops. the next would be the pioneer p1 if you can find one that works and is in good shape, they were really awsome. down from them go to the 9255 from clarion, then to the eclipse cd8455 then youll keep going down from there. but i did read your budget is 300$ for 300$ about the only one of these 3 youll get is the p1 pioneer unit. i know someone selling one that is near mint for 300$ shipped if you are interested he is over on the eca forums. NOTHING FOR 300$ WILL TOUCH THE PIONEER P1. PERIOD. let me know if interested ill set you up with him

 

[DiamondFanatic 10+ year member]

for proccessing power the p9 or alpine 701 is tops. the next would be the pioneer p1 if you can find one that works and is in good shape, they were really awsome. down from them go to the 9255 from clarion, then to the eclipse cd8455 then youll keep going down from there. but i did read your budget is 300$ for 300$ about the only one of these 3 youll get is the p1 pioneer unit. i know someone selling one that is near mint for 300$ shipped if you are interested he is over on the eca forums. NOTHING FOR 300$ WILL TOUCH THE PIONEER P1. PERIOD. let me know if interested ill set you up with him

Man... First off, there are two different clarion 9255's the DRZ9255 and the older DRX9255. I think that in terms of SQ you can do a lot better in terms of signal output quality then the H701 In my opinion an eclipse would be better, not a big fan of the alpine outputs. If all you want is a crazy EQ and TA setup then get the H701, but even that is out of his price range. I would just get something with clean outputs, rather then focusing on the processing power (I'm a pioneer fan at this price point) and you can always add a 30 band eq later on.

 

[zfactor 10+ year member]

i was specifically speaking of proccesing power of those particular units. as i stated for proccesing power....... i loved the older clarion 9255 for its sq. yeah i mean if you really want sq go for the top of the line nak or denon z series ,, but i was speaking of proccesing power as he asked and all of the ones mentioned will still have great sq.

 

[chadillac3 10+ year member]

The best SQ head is a Nakamichi, sadly it is also rediculously expensive compared to Eclipse/Alpine.

And well-known to have reliability issues.

 

[chadillac3 10+ year member]

Man... First off, there are two different clarion 9255's the DRZ9255 and the older DRX9255. I think that in terms of SQ you can do a lot better in terms of signal output quality then the H701 In my opinion an eclipse would be better, not a big fan of the alpine outputs. If all you want is a crazy EQ and TA setup then get the H701, but even that is out of his price range. I would just get something with clean outputs, rather then focusing on the processing power (I'm a pioneer fan at this price point) and you can always add a 30 band eq later on.

If you know how to set gains properly, signal strength won't be much of an issue.

 

[DiamondFanatic 10+ year member]

If you know how to set gains properly, signal strength won't be much of an issue.

... I never said anything about signal strength, but thanks for pointing out the fact that some pioneer premier headunits do have higher voltage preouts. I simply meant quality of signal. If all you want is a lot of processing, I say the eclpise or a pioneer 860 mp (if you don't want to add on a processor) if you are willing to add the processor, then go with an Ai-Net alpine and the PXA-H701

 

[chadillac3 10+ year member]

I had the 9855 before I had the H701...and I've owned an Eclipse 8454 and Pio 860mp. I'd take the Alpine any day for a number of reasons. If not using iPod, I'd take a 9835 over all the others.

If we're talking Pro Mode here for all three brands, each has pluses and minuses.

Eclipse units: Nice that there is a 10 band PEQ (5 for mid, 5 for tweet), but it's kinda shitty you can't EQ the sub at all. Some will claim that there is no need, but there is a LOT of cabin gain in the midbass/subbass region that isn't flat across the freq spectrum by any means.

In addition, in Pro Mode, to adjust the sub level you have to go into the freaking Time Alignment menu. Now, *maybe* they changed this on the 05 units, but I don't believe so. Talk about a PITA.

Otherwise, exceptionally flexible unit in terms of the xovers and the EQ.

Pioneer:

The biggest issue I have w/ the unit is the EQ. I'd much rather have a PEQ than a 13 band graphic. In terms of the crossovers, no complaints at all. My 860mp died for no apparent reason, and I'm not the only person to have this happen. Seems that these units go through cycles where there is a major issue like the preouts dying or they won't eject cd's.

Alpine:

5 band PEQ is nice, although I don't like the fact you can't choose center frequencies that are within 1 octave of each other. Crossovers are plenty flexible.

Biggest problem here for most is the Glide Touch. If you're not using iPod, it's completely worthless. If you are, you'll most likely end up liking it. It definitely needs some refinement, and I think Alpine should leave more functionality to the knob and buttons.

Having owned and used all three, I can say from experience that with proper settings, the differences in "signal quality" is minimal. From my experience, I thought the Eclipse sounded by far the worst, but I never did get used to the **** thing.

 

[thadman 10+ year member]

How are the DXZ955MC and DXZ855MC Clarion HUs?

 

[chadillac3 10+ year member]

For processing...not good. Look at the DRZ9255...but that unit ain't cheap, nor does it do much in terms MP3 or iPod unless you want to use the Aux in.

 

[thadman 10+ year member]

How do the Clarion units compare in sound quality to the alpine unit?