Best Car Stereo for my X

[JCIS]

Gentlemen,
I have the next question for you:
I'm looking at getting a CD Stereo for my X with limited resources ($), What is the cheapest that you would recommend considering the next?

Where I lived although there is pavement it's pretty much look like a dirt road and don't want to get one that would be skipping all of the time as often happens with the real cheap ones.

Thanks

 

[xxScapegoat]

ive always liked pioneer decks.. theres probably some things you should consider to narrow down your choice:

do you want it to play mp3s?
do you have an ipod? (ipod interface)..

things like that. im sure other people will be more than glad to help you come to a decision

 

[JCIS]

Thanks XXScapegoat.
Don't have ipod and does not have to play mp3.
As long as provides good power to the stock speakers.

 

[badazz89lx]

go with a sony..ive never been let down by any of my sony products.....pretty much all ive bought new has been sony..from home audio to car audio etc....

 

[davidmmm69]

pioneer also make sure it plays mp3's
hundreds of songs on one disk...

 

[BeauJ]

Pioneer rocks, nothing bad to say about them

 

[liquidx9]

ive got a pioneer premier HU, you dont have to go fancy, but pioneer is nice, and if you do get an ipod at least youll have the upgrade potential

 

[Monty]

I just got home from best buy. I am getting a really nice pioneer with a remote and alotta watts installed tomorrow. The headunit was 169 and the installation was free but only till tomorrow so I couldn't pass it up.

 

[badazz89lx]

install is always free at best buy..ive had the same sony Hu and changer about 6 years now..still works like the day i bought it...and it never has skipped on me besides when i had scratched discs.....

good luck with the pioneer

 

[White97Jimmy]

I'd stay with Pioneer...If you ever want AUX inputs, Pioneer is sooo much cheaper than Sony.

 

[stretch]

Well I'll throw a different one out there. I am very satisfied with how my Alpine performs. And I do drive on many dirt roads and trails in the woods and haven't had a problem with it skipping.

 

[leetz]

Also happy with my alpine It's leaps and bounds above my eclipse head unit I had. I paid 175 for a 269.99 dollar head unit on ebay. You can almost find anything cheaper there. It arrived the day after I ordered it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7970763909&category=38655

I love the xm radio man!!! I have 6 channels I really like and at least 4 of them have a good song on them at all times. I also love the ability to play mp3 I can fit about 200 some songs on a cd and they sound the same.Saves on space in the truck for cd's and can easy scroll through whole albums organized by folder.

 

[Crispy Niggets]

I would recomend something with easy to push buttons, something solid, I hate mine now I bought the pioneer moffset mp3 sterio and it is hard to push the buttons, and the screen never dims so to drive at night I have to flap it down

 

[leenjen]

the new eclipse headunits are nice. three sets of 5 volt outputs. sub level control. mp3, hd radio and sirius ready. built in crossovers and 3 band eq. all for $199 and it comes with a 3 year warranty and 1 year theft warranty.
if you dont need a sub out or mp3 they have one for $179. and eclipse does have great skip protection.

 

[izackary]

I'd stay with Pioneer...If you ever want AUX inputs, Pioneer is sooo much cheaper than Sony.

What are you talking about? I like Pioneer, too, but some Sonys have straight RCA inputs. $0 auxiliary input.

I would recomend something with easy to push buttons, something solid, I hate mine now I bought the pioneer moffset mp3 sterio and it is hard to push the buttons, and the screen never dims so to drive at night I have to flap it down

For you, I'd suggest playing with the pioneer a little more. The buttons on the one I had did get testy, but as for the brightness, that should be adjustable. Try pressing and holding "FUNC" while the head unit is off and the key is in on/accessory.

 

[expo5.0]

actually, i believe you should be able to wire it into the stock dimmer as well. maybe someone who installs more pioneers can chime in (i usually do clarion, eclipse, panasonic)

 

[izackary]

that too, but chances are it's not a dynamic dim function, though it dims significantly to a fixed level....

forgot to include that part.

 

[expo5.0]

this is off-topic but it reminded me

you guys seen that new saab commerical where the button shuts off all the gauges you don't need for driving at night?

reminds me of my 1998 suburban... it did that on its own. gm owns saab right? maybe they are trying to justify the faulty bulbs they put in everything.

also, sort of off topic- is how the panasonic units actually shut completely off (display wise) at the touch of a button for at night. its pretty cool.

 

[Longjohn119]

Pioneers have a very good laser units pioneered (pun intended) in their excellent laser disc/karaoke machines ... they also like to use Burr-Brown PCM DACs (Now part of Texas Instruments) which are very good although I don't know if they put them in their autosound ... I wasn't a big fan of Pioneer until I did factory authorized service on their laser karaoke machines in the mid-90's, seldom was it anything major (usually a loading/sync problem caused by misuse) and those suckers took a beating and I only remember one bad laser out of well over 100 units I serviced .... I still have a digital delay and a digital reverb in my studio that have Burr-Brown DACs hacked into them from Pioneer laser karaoke machines too far gone from abuse to save ... theres a good reason the US Military used Burr Brown ADCs and DACs in their advanced communications equipment and it is rare to see US chips in Japanese consumer equipment

Sony makes their own lasers and chipsets but they make everything from complete junk to high end and you just don't know what you are getting unless you tear it apart and look ... I haven't been a Sony fan since the started putting Daewoo drives in their low and mid range VCRs several years back .. why the hell would I pay $149.95 for a Sony HiFi VCR with the same drive as a $79.95 Daewoo pick of crud? Lots of companies use their lasers and chipsets though but like I said you are rolling the dice as to whether you are getting one of their good ones or one of their junk ones until you get to the high end

 

[Hartman]

go with a sony..ive never been let down by any of my sony products.....pretty much all ive bought new has been sony..from home audio to car audio etc....

hahahhaha are you serious.