Good Headunit??

lil black liberty · **Posted:** Wed Jun 17, 2009 12:33 pm

Okay I have a new model Pioneer don't remember the exact model but it's fancy.. Anyways the CD Return quit on me and it eating my cd's!! :shock:

Well I want a new headunit that comes with HD Radio, Sirius Satellite Radio as an Add-on, and of course I want it to pick up FM Radio quite well, and Subwoofer response from the headunit out is a must! Not to mention ipod integration where I can control my ipod from the headunit.. if you guys have any ideas let me know please..

JL Rockies · **Posted:** Wed Jun 17, 2009 2:23 pm

Getting a good head unit is all about buying during the right cycle. Head unit companies all have a habit of going from hero to zero as new models come out and they either fail or don't.

I can tell you that the only head unit company that actually bought licenses from Apple and therefore offers the only full speed iPod control that also supports album art as well as meta data is Alpine.
Back in 2007 they introduced a head unit without CD transport allowing for a bigger screen. Seriously, who buys CD's anymore and if you did, why would you want to carry them around if you have an iPod?

I have all those features you're looking for integrated into my stock head unit. I'm not a fan of buying after market head units especially now a days when they're all so ugly and difficult to use.

lil black liberty · **Posted:** Wed Jun 17, 2009 2:27 pm

1st.. I can get better audio quality and bass response off my CD's compared to my Apple I-Pod. 2nd, I have approximately $20,000 worth of CD's that I am not going to put on my I-Pod because I have the CD's no sense in paying for all those songs again. 3rd, I like the Alpine units but they don't have HD radio unless you buy the seperate unit for it, and Lastly, I wouldn't put a stock radio back in my vehicle if you gave it to me, my pioneer is plug n play.

Mike08Liberty · **Posted:** Wed Jun 17, 2009 3:20 pm

lil black liberty wrote:

1st.. I can get better audio quality and bass response off my CD's compared to my Apple I-Pod. 2nd, I have approximately $20,000 worth of CD's that I am not going to put on my I-Pod because I have the CD's no sense in paying for all those songs again. 3rd, I like the Alpine units but they don't have HD radio unless you buy the seperate unit for it, and Lastly, I wouldn't put a stock radio back in my vehicle if you gave it to me, my pioneer is plug n play.

1 - If you have your iPod integrated into your head unit you can get the same if not better sound response from your iPod then a CD. You can get music at a high bit rate on your iPod then from a CD.
2 - I doubt you have 20k worth of CDs but if you did you can rip them all to your iPod FOR FREE and you could carry all 20k worth of music around in the size of your wallet.
3 - If you have Sirius (because you said you want a head unit that could accept Sirius signal) why would you want HD Radio. You know there isn't anything really "HD" about it. There is no "High Def" radio.
4 - As said above you can get all you want with good sound quality with a stock unit.
5 - If you really want to get an aftermarket radio and you want "The Best" get the Alpine IVA-W505/P1 or Eclipse AVN6620
6 - Go to GOOGLE and RESEARCH!!!!

lil black liberty · **Posted:** Wed Jun 17, 2009 4:54 pm

Mike: lol how did I mistype that? $2,000 worth of CD's eh.. Where did I get $20,000...too many nights of no sleep.. hmm oh well anyhow why in the blue blazes would I want to rip all my cd's which would take forever to my Ipod? I listen to my CD's because of the high bit rate man all my cd's are recorded from 128kbps to 320kbps. Itunes best rate is 256kbps. I think 320kbps is a little higher don't you think? Also if I was to transfer from the cd to my computer it would burn in an MP3 format therefore I would lose quality there unless I did it straight to MP4 then lossless audio like .aiff files or .acc but then I would take up so many gigs on my computer it would defeat the purpose. The best thing would be like a headunit that has a built in hard drive that can copy the cd so I wouldn't have to worry about audio quality yadda yadda :shock:

I know quite a bit about the whole audio thing I'm an Audiophile when it comes to stuff like this, that's why I only use Skullcandy headphones with my ipod because I like to feel the bass. My problem though Mike is the fact that I don't have the direct connect cable for my Ipod from my pioneer it's hooked via 3.5mm stereo cable attached to the aux in on my Pioneer unit.
Next thing Google is thy friend but Google isn't thy friend if you need a review from someone that has had the same problems as you. As far as HD radio is concerned I just want one channel being broadcast in HD Radio and that's the area weather channel since I am a storm chaser, and you couldn't run fast enough to make me go back to a stock radio. In fact I'm quite sure that my new "Wolf" mod won't allow me to go back stock..

JL Rockies · **Posted:** Wed Jun 17, 2009 5:16 pm

You can import your music using apple lossless and it's the same quality as the CD. If it takes forever to rip a CD on your computer, maybe you need a new computer and not a new head unit.

Audio signal is ac voltage and ac voltage is ac voltage no matter where you get it. So I guaranty the sq of a stock deck is the same as the aftermarket. Especially when to consider head unit companies don't make much money making aftermarket decks. These companies have huge OEM divisions the supply the parts that make up your stock deck.

I'm kind of an industry expert; I know these things.

But yeah...... I'd go Alpine and leave the CDs at home and join us in the 21st century!

PS
Don't get all douchey when peeps are trying to help you.

timmyb457 · **Posted:** Wed Jun 17, 2009 6:57 pm

i agree with JL 100% on this. an ipod is just as good of quality as cds and a lot easier to have with you. i havent used a CD in my jeep or actually in any of my cars in a few years and i have one of the cleanest systems ive ever heard

hrogi · **Posted:** Wed Jun 17, 2009 7:01 pm

Sorry to rip on you here.
but not many people can tell the differance in SQ from a Ipod vers a CD.

Alpine make great stuff. they have good patents for what they sell.

for HD radions, I think most are Extra plug in units.
I know jensen is. as I have 3 sitting next to me.

I have had high end and low end and now I can not hear the differance.
So I go for Cheap and whats on sale with free install.
I am a happy camper...

lil black liberty · **Posted:** Wed Jun 17, 2009 7:20 pm

Hmm going all douchey huh? Well that is a matter of opinion never once did I get hostile and if you took it that way well then that is your choice. I was simply defending my position however since you this up I must defend another position. My computer does not suck as you will see

oh and yes that is 64 bit and yes that is 8 gigs of Ram oh and not to mention that, it is a quad core phenom.. Oh I didn't even show you the cool part I have blu-ray.. So yeah I know my computer doesn't suck. It takes a long @ss time to put $2,000 worth of CD's on there, some of us do have to work and actually do have a life. So not getting into a pissing match or a d!ck swinging match here You should insert foot into mouth before we both get beat down. I respect your opinion and you should respect mine as we both have different ones.

You prefer strictly ipod however I clearly stated I don't have the direct connect cable as you guys do, I have an older pioneer and I don't plan on putting in a stock headunit ever again that's why I went aftermarket. I clearly also stated that I wanted opinions/reviews and so far all I have gotten is grief and BS over ipod quality compared to CD quality. Honestly I don't give a d@mn about that, I just want a simple and clean review on headunits ok? If that's too hard to understand start a new topic and begin it with this Why am I such a dink on the forums? and I'll be sure to join in..

Once again I am not starting a fight clearly stating my defense and defending my constitutional right of freedom of print and speech. Thank you and good night.

tumanator · **Posted:** Wed Jun 17, 2009 8:30 pm

Well i would recommend the new kenwood HU. The Kenwood Excellon KDC-X693 is awesome, I have over 14k songs on my Ipod, some are old rips at only 128k, a lot are new at at 320, and they all sound great through this HU. It comes with the built in sound processor which actually does make a difference, I turned the processor off and it sounded like i was listening to music through a crappy set of headphones. I think the next step up from the one I got has the HD radio and Bluetooth if you want that.

lil black liberty · **Posted:** Wed Jun 17, 2009 9:13 pm

tumanator wrote:

Well i would recommend the new kenwood HU. The Kenwood Excellon KDC-X693 is awesome, I have over 14k songs on my Ipod, some are old rips at only 128k, a lot are new at at 320, and they all sound great through this HU. It comes with the built in sound processor which actually does make a difference, I turned the processor off and it sounded like i was listening to music through a crappy set of headphones. I think the next step up from the one I got has the HD radio and Bluetooth if you want that.

Thank you for a good response.. I do kinda like the kenwood's how much did you buy yours for at the time? Also do they have good subwoofer response?

tumanator · **Posted:** Wed Jun 17, 2009 9:47 pm

I bought mine from crutchfield, i don't remember exactly what it was but i think like 169.99 or something like that, if you do get one i've got a $20 off code for crutchfield.com

tan's2002kjlimited · **Posted:** Wed Jun 17, 2009 9:51 pm

Mike08Liberty wrote:

5 - If you really want to get an aftermarket radio and you want "The Best" get the Alpine IVA-W505/P1 or Eclipse AVN6620
6 - Go to GOOGLE and RESEARCH!!!!

I just googled (actually Binged) the Alpine IVA-W505/P1.
Nice, lots of bells and whistles.
I also almost soiled my shorts when I saw the price! :shock:

lil black liberty · **Posted:** Wed Jun 17, 2009 9:52 pm

tumanator wrote:

I bought mine from crutchfield, i don't remember exactly what it was but i think like 169.99 or something like that, if you do get one i've got a $20 off code for crutchfield.com

Cool man I might take you up on that..

Tan's2002kjlimited.. yeah they are pricey little buggers :lol:

Burchie · **Posted:** Thu Jun 18, 2009 12:47 am

tumanator wrote:

Well i would.... want that.

Thank you for bringing this tread back on topic. Makes Burchie happy

Hey maybe TBJ is on to something with this 3rd person stuff.

lil black liberty · **Posted:** Thu Jun 18, 2009 12:54 am

lol me thinks the forums have gone to the dark side maybe :lol:

We so gotta add more emoticons... but to keep it on topic.. Tumanator I was thinking about getting this:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_172 ... 10HD-.html

timmyb457 · **Posted:** Thu Jun 18, 2009 1:08 am

since u are sticking to ur word on just going with cds. i have a Sony-CDX-GT930UI in my libby now and it is amazing. the only thing i wish it had was bluetooth. I have installed around 100 or so HUs and i have always found Sonys to sound the best

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_158GT930UI ... ml?tp=5684

lil black liberty · **Posted:** Thu Jun 18, 2009 1:13 am

Interesting because I kinda thought the Sony headunits had a nice tone to them because I put one in my friend's truck and it sounded pretty good.. hmm What Sony would you recommend for me? I have 2 Kicker subs and I want to go the Sirius Satellite Radio route again someday..

timmyb457 · **Posted:** Thu Jun 18, 2009 1:18 am

i love my sony head-units. i have had a Sony CDX-GT500, Sony CDX-GT530UI, and now the Sony-CDX-GT930UI. When i had my grand prix i had the Sony-CDX-GT930UI with 3 kicker cvx's in it and with these sony's you can control every part of the equalizer which make it easy for you to customize the sound to your vehicle.

STINGN · **Posted:** Thu Jun 18, 2009 2:05 am

i got the Alpine CDA-105 and I LOVE IT

Good Headunit??

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