Head Unit manufacturer ranking...

RedRoadster · Postby **RedRoadster** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:14

alrighty.. after getting back from Cali and riding around in my brother's IS 300, I think it's time to help out the Miata's rather paltry audio...

I have my personal preference of manufacturer for headunits, but wanted to see where it fell in among the others, based on the common consensus here..

So, give me your top picks as far as companies go, based on quality.. if you have a big list, top 5 should suffice.

tsx_guy · Postby **tsx_guy** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:14

define quality....overal durability of the unit, sound quality, is is bulletproof, etc?
you will most likely get tons of opinions of what eveyone considers the best.

nakamichi, eclipse supposedly produce the best sound, but i dont' like the way they look,function and not sure of
the long term durability. Never used them.

I have an older alpine in my civic and it's been running strong for 5 years, now, i like it. but many complain
the alpine's are lacking in midbass adjustment...this may be addressed in the newer units, Lee has one of the best
in his car.

something to note your bro's car is a luxury sedan where is your car is a convertible miata. It will hard to duplicate
the same full sound found in a quiet enclosed luxury car in your open air miata regardless of how much $$ you spend.
I expect to get flamed for this, but I found my oem deck/speakers in my 6 sounds better than my alpine deck in my civic which has upgraded speakers as well. part of the reason I have the the system I have in my car.

RedRoadster · Postby **RedRoadster** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:14

Definitely understand about the acoustics of open air versus not, not to mention that the stock system on the IS300 is probably going to be more than what I can cram size wise into the Miata...

Durability is definitely a concern. I don't expect to be replacing this on a yearly or even semi-yearly basis...

I guess my definition of quality is being able to get as clean sound as I can expect with the top down (I don't intend on entering any competitions with this).... obviously this request disregards the other components in the system, but you have to start somewhere..

Oh, and i'd like it to control my iPod. :P

tsx_guy · Postby **tsx_guy** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:14

most new decks have ipod integrations kits where you can control right from the HU...neat...but I don't ipod. :lol:

RedRoadster · Postby **RedRoadster** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:14

so if I say 'Pioneer', is everyone going to run screaming?

Postby **RX-7 Chris** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:14

I would also say alpine. Mine is about 6 years old and still runs great. I lived on a bad gravel road for 4 or those years. The alpine has lasted the longest.
I had 2 kenwoods- lasted 1 year for one and 6 months for the other.
1 sony - lasted 1 year

My brother got a pioneer primere about the same time as my alpine and he still has it. although the flipdown face ony works half the time.

MazdaTom · Postby **MazdaTom** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:14

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Red95FMII @ Jul 24 2008, 12:12 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=58057]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

so if I say 'Pioneer', is everyone going to run screaming?[/b]

Both of my cars have Pioneer HUs in them. The older one is 4 years old or so and haven't ever had any problems with it. Both put out really good power (RMS rating wise). The HU in my Protege has multiple pre-outs, an AUX input in the faceplate (which I use for my Sirius plug in) and a bunch of other features and functions that I don't use.

RedRoadster · Postby **RedRoadster** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:14

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RX-7 Chris @ Jul 24 2008, 12:53 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=58061]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

I would also say alpine. Mine is about 6 years old and still runs great. I lived on a bad gravel road for 4 or those years. The alpine has lasted the longest.
I had 2 kenwoods- lasted 1 year for one and 6 months for the other.
1 sony - lasted 1 year

My brother got a pioneer primere about the same time as my alpine and he still has it. although the flipdown face ony works half the time.[/b]

My one and only complain about the Pioneer that I'm currently using is that the CD player doesn't like to eject. The disc gets caught on the dust shield material that protects the opening. So I have to put something in there in order to guide the CD out. But, given that I haven't changed the disc in there in probably 18 months, it's not an issue, as my primary audio source is my iPod.

alrighty.. so.. what's next after the headunit?

Postby **RX-7 Chris** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:14

I think that is the same problem my brother is having with his.

I would go with JL speakers.

LM · Postby LM » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:14

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RX-7 Chris @ Jul 24 2008, 01:20 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=58075]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

I think that is the same problem my brother is having with his.

I would go with JL speakers.[/b]

JL Speakers are simply the worlds most common component speaker...nothing really wrong with them, they are just.....bland.
It really depends on your budget. My personal preference is Focals. Even the lower end Focals will blow JL's into the weeds.

My Jeep wrangler has the top down most the time and the only way to make that system sing is to introduce a sub woofer.
Not sure if you have room for one but it will make a huge difference.

As for head units, I would only ever consider two manufacturers. Eclipse or Alpine.

Speak to Bryan of Mile High Sound Designs if you need some more advice/help.

tsx_guy · Postby **tsx_guy** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:14

i myhu history I had sony --> clarion --> pioneer --> alpine. Stayed with the last because of sound quality however I doubt I could tell a difference. You should be fine as long as you skip dual and pyramid. :lol:

as for mid/hi speakers. they say anything is better than the oem paper ones, but reading in crutchfiled, circuit city, i found most people noticed a loss in bass when running aftermarket speakers from the oem or aftermarket HU. And yes 6" speakers can only produce so much low end in a car. Even amping them will only give you modest bass gains.

if you want bass get a sub.... my opinion and flame away, but I've tried the poor man 100watts rms to my 6.5" and been let down.

i also still have my paper woofers in my doors and content with them, but I'm not an audiophile...

dommo_g · Postby **dommo_g** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:14

The head unit is only one link in your chain. If you were gonna build a quality system and change from one deck to another, you'd be hard pressed to find any difference in sound quality so long as you're using decks with similar specs. Narrow down your list of most important features and go from there. I've been into car audio for a looooong time. I've been thru many many brands of head units. Of the most common brands, I prefer Pioneer, the Premier line. I also like the Alpine. I had Eclipse back in the day, and it was considered high-end at the time. For the money, the higher end Premier decks have tons of adjustability for sound control. They have a better appearance then comparably priced other brands. (My opinion). Most of them will have high volt pre-outs. Premier line has a better warranty than most others if I'm not mistaken. My current Pioneer does full speed iPod control and it didn't even require a separate unit or cable. It came with a USB port that you can install anywhere as it's on an extension cable. I don't really use my iPod, so I just stick a 4GB flash drive in there and do it that way. This may sound funny, but give serious consideration to the higher end Panasonic models.

tsx_guy · Postby **tsx_guy** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:14

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (dommo_g @ Jul 24 2008, 06:57 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=58129]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

The head unit is only one link in your chain. If you were gonna build a quality system and change from one deck to another, you'd be hard pressed to find any difference in sound quality so long as you're using decks with similar specs. Narrow down your list of most important features and go from there. I've been into car audio for a looooong time. I've been thru many many brands of head units. Of the most common brands, I prefer Pioneer, the Premier line. I also like the Alpine. I had Eclipse back in the day, and it was considered high-end at the time. For the money, the higher end Premier decks have tons of adjustability for sound control. They have a better appearance then comparably priced other brands. (My opinion). Most of them will have high volt pre-outs. Premier line has a better warranty than most others if I'm not mistaken. My current Pioneer does full speed iPod control and it didn't even require a separate unit or cable. It came with a USB port that you can install anywhere as it's on an extension cable. I don't really use my iPod, so I just stick a 4GB flash drive in there and do it that way. This may sound funny, but give serious consideration to the higher end Panasonic models.[/b]

a 4gig flash drive works eh? that's pretty sweet....

Army RX8 · Postby **Army RX8** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:14

Pioneer has great performance for the price. Pioneer Speakers are pretty good too. I have the Same set for years thru most of my cars. Before i went to germany i took the speakers out of the car. I made 2 6x9 and 2 6.5 inch boxes at the wood shop and now have em hooked up to my receiver in my living room. JL Audio makes nice speakers too. Rockford Fosgate ive always thought to be over rated. MTX makes real nice Subs. I havnt used any of the Kenwood stuff. Alpine has been around for years and there head Units are pretty good. I dont know what to say for amps i had an El Cheapo amp in my old Nissan.

tsx_guy · Postby **tsx_guy** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:14

i can't find 'el cheapo' brand amps on crutchfield... :lol:

Head Unit manufacturer ranking...

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