Valentine's day gift - car noob needs help deciding which HU to get!

[aurorafield]

Hi all!

I'm a massive car noob, so please bear with me. Ive been searching the web for a head unit to replace the old broken Kenwood unit my boyfriend currently has in his Mitsubishi Lancer '98... but I'm having a little trouble deciding which one to get.

The factors that affect my purchase are color (blue and maybe a chrome finish), the presence of a usb port and a CD receiver.

I've been told to stick with brands like Kenwood and Pioneer, so these are the units I'm considering so far:

Kenwood

KDC-HD545U

KDC-U553BT

KDC-U453

Pioneer

DEH-7450SD

DVH-345UB

Which ones do you guys like?

I'm open to other suggestions as well; your valuable input would be very much appreciated! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Click to read more...

 

[Dtrom 10+ year member]

One of the pioneers IMO. I have a Kenwood and I hate. Pioneer has always treated me well

 

[ewadz3006 10+ year member]

One of the pioneers IMO. I have a Kenwood and I hate. Pioneer has always treated me well

This^^^^. I wouldnt say i "hate" my kenwood but i wouldn't say i like it either. I am looking for a replacement.

 

[Dtrom 10+ year member]

This^^^^. I wouldnt say i "hate" my kenwood but i wouldn't say i like it either. I am looking for a replacement.

Well I guess I really don't hate mine either. But I sure don't like it that much. Mines the kdc352u

 

[aurorafield]

Thanks guys!

Hmm the kdc352u was actually my first choice, but then I couldn't find anyone in Australia that sells it.

Looks like I might be going for the Pioneer ones; why the dislike for Kenwood? I've read somewhere that they're pretty sturdy?

 

[Fi-brations 10+ year member]

What's ur budget? And kenwoods just tend to be cheaply made compared to most pioneers, but u were right to choose between those two main stream brands. I have had good luck with alpines as well, I'm not up to date on what their latest stuff is though

 

[aurorafield]

I was looking to spend anywhere up to 250aud.

Something tells me that the boyfriend may not like Alpine - they're not as "pretty" lol

 

[ewadz3006 10+ year member]

why the dislike for Kenwood? I've read somewhere that they're pretty sturdy?

Mine will stop making sound altogether, the display and all features work as they should but no sound. You have to push the reset button behind the face plate. Not that big a deal but very annoying, especially in the dark which is 90%the of the time for me (3rd shift). And my rear outputs have a terrible alt whine coming through them. So i have to use only my front out puts.

 

[707 10+ year member]

I had a Kenwood Ddx418 double din for about a year and half. I had no problems. I loved it. I know it is not a Mcintosh but sound quality was great for my setup.

 

[meekgj 10+ year member]

i recommend pioneer dehx6500 bt

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

i can sell you pretty much any deck you want and ship it direct if you pay for the shipping .there may be a better selection of decks here in the states as apposed to au where your at .

 

[aurorafield]

Whoops forgot to check this for a few days!

Last week, I went into a local store to inspect the stereos; sure enough, among the HUs on display, the Pioneer ones felt more "solid" than Kenwood.

I'm so glad I decided to check out the stereos in person - some of them looked better online

I almost went for an Alpine HU (they looked mighty fine), but after a long chat with the salesman, I decided to go for a Pioneer DEH-3350UI.

After all, my partner he has no use for blue tooth and doesn't really listen to the radio.

High fives all around for the feedback guys,

and, mylows10, will be keeping you in mind if this stereo fails in the future!

 

[Jes 42 10+ year member]

Pioneer imo.