Best Car Stereo for my X

[expo5.0]

i dont believe that the new pioneer's have burr browns. the older ones may have (9400 series or so) i think that may be part of the reason the high end models have dropped in price quite a bit. i'm not real informed on pioneer anymore. the main thing i know is that their high end has dropped off in quality since 2001 or so.

as for sony- they are not putting quality stuff into their autosound.

 

[izackary]

for my information.....who does use burr-browns? maybe mac, naka, eclipse? i think possibly an alpine or 2? i'm not sure....

For the record, I had one sony deck, an MP70. it was decent, but i never got to liking the tricks it played on my ears with its DSO, etc. I prefer something subtle. More of a variable loudness function or something. From prefessional eperience, though, I can readily recommend most sony home products.

 

[Longjohn119]

Actually I don't know who is using what anymore, I haven't done consumer electronics since 1997, there just isn't any money in it with all the disposable junk from China on the market nowadays .... chances are Pioneer dropped Burr Brown after TI bought them out ... if I remember right the Japanese and Chinese were interested in buying Burr Brown also but the Military put a stop to that because of National Security concerns about having our Defense product IC's owned by foreign governments

I'm not saying all Sony stuff is junk, they do have a lot of good products at their high and mid end, they are just less than ethical at their low end when they slap a Sony name on Korean and Chinese made crap .... not really any worse than Ford/JBL slapping the JBL name on stuff not even made by JBL, all Ford did until recently was license the JBL name and although it was decent stuff for OEM, it's not really JBL quality ... same thing with JBL's computer line of sound, you'll pay twice as much for the JBL name and still not have as good a product as the Klipsch ProMedia series ... still JBL's high end and studio monitor speakers are the best in the industry and everything else is compared to the standard they set, much like Sony ...

 

[badazz89lx]

as for sony- they are not putting quality stuff into their autosound.

you my friend are lost....they have been 1 of the top 5 for years and still will be....ive owned other companies junk stuff..sony blows them away by far in product and price.......sony amps im not too fond of...subs..ill pass..but for HU,EQ's,ETC they are a good product.....

but to each his own..when you are on your 2nd or 3rd "other" brand unit..ill still have my good ole reliable SONY

 

[davidmmm69]

Have always loved Pioneer.

SOny in my opinion has gone way down recently at least in my experience.
their new XPLOD series or whatever they call it. i think is ugly I hate Just one button on a radio.

 

[expo5.0]

you my friend are lost....they have been 1 of the top 5 for years and still will be....ive owned other companies junk stuff..sony blows them away by far in product and price.......sony amps im not too fond of...subs..ill pass..but for HU,EQ's,ETC they are a good product.....

but to each his own..when you are on your 2nd or 3rd "other" brand unit..ill still have my good ole reliable SONY

got anything to back that up? awards, certifications, even pictures of your killer system? wtf are you thinking?

i run clarion 945mp hu and dvh 940 digital 5.1 processor, upstream of audiocontrol 6xs, epic160, and eql... you think sony puts out a product to compete with those items?

 

[izackary]

got anything to back that up? awards, certifications, even pictures of your killer system? wtf are you thinking?

i run clarion 945mp hu and dvh 940 digital 5.1 processor, upstream of audiocontrol 6xs, epic160, and eql... you think sony puts out a product to compete with those items?

Anyone ask you about your system? I didn't hear him claim to have a "killer system" like yours. If that's what you decide to spend your time and money on, fine. Quit acting like we need to look up to you and your opinions. If his Sony has worked like new for 6 years, is this supposed to be bad? That's at least the 3rd post of yours in the past few days where you seem to feel a need to describe your wonderfully awesome and perfect system. I guess Minnenoplace is really that boring. Someday you might see the light and realize most people have better uses for their money than to waste it on thousands of dollars of toys they'd only use maybe a couple hours a week...

[/soapbox]

 

[expo5.0]

wow


anyways, how else can you support your opinions over the internet other than using what you can to enhance your credibility?


if his sony has worked for 6 years that is great! doesn't mean sony is better than the other companies.

 

[izackary]

You can enhance your credibility with a simple little link in your signature like everyone else who wishes to do so. I won't be the last to admit your system IS impressive...but it's still unrelated. I'm sorry, but I hate seeing audio threads turn into stupid pissing contests, don't you? I'm done talking about it here...

To try and get back on track, I have personally had brief good luck with a sony before selling it to a friend; no complaints. I also had good luck with some older alpines and my Pioneer Premier. I often go with what I have good experience with, though Eclipse's double-din nav piece looks very nice.

 

[expo5.0]

i'm sorry. i didn't mean to turn it into that. i was just trying to set somewhat of a benchmark for what I was considering "quality" (i know that its low quality as compared to true audiophile level stuff)


i will vouch that i have observed sony hu's to be durable as well- that just wasn't what i was talking about earlier.

 

[White97Jimmy]

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


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.

FYI- You state "Some"...If he wants a less expensive HU, its not gonna come with AUX inputs. Then, to add AUX to a Sony, it costs $99 + a CD changer.

Pioneer = Already has AUX or $29 to add. Big diff.


As for the the dimmer, there is a dimmer wire on the Pioneers. It hooks up to the factory light switch dimmer wire on the truck.

 

[Longjohn119]

I'd be careful bragging about other brands .. there is a damn good chance you'll open it up and find it has a Sony laser and Sony chipset inside ... I know Clarion does not make their own lasers or ICs ....

I'm surprised no one has mentioned JVC ... I had one in my Ranger that I got after someone brought it into the shop with thrown belts because of a bad cassette ... I rebelted it, cleaned it up and aligned the azimuth and he never came back so I got it a few months later for the cost of the belts .... it was still working when I sold the truck a little over a week ago after almost 10 years and it was at least two years old when I got it ... it was 4x15 watts RMS and had line outs, Dolby B & C and Dbx noise reduction, autosearch ... very nice for a casstte deck

 

[davidmmm69]

Anyone ask you about your system? I didn't hear him claim to have a "killer system" like yours. If that's what you decide to spend your time and money on, fine. Quit acting like we need to look up to you and your opinions. If his Sony has worked like new for 6 years, is this supposed to be bad? That's at least the 3rd post of yours in the past few days where you seem to feel a need to describe your wonderfully awesome and perfect system. I guess Minnenoplace is really that boring. Someday you might see the light and realize most people have better uses for their money than to waste it on thousands of dollars of toys they'd only use maybe a couple hours a week...

[/soapbox]

I second what he just said!!!

 

[expo5.0]

if my opinions are not valued i will keep them to myself

funny, how i get emails, personal messages etc. etc. more than a few times a week from new people from this site and other that do value my opinion and whom i am able to help out with building or fixing their stuff. if i'm going to be bothered for posting my opinion (and trying to support it with the things i can which lend me credibility- i never said anyone else should be the stuff i have or should have a stereo as large) i will keep my opinion elsewhere.



and minnenoplace is one of the sadest things i've ever read. you have to be able to come up with a better way to make fun of me (if thats what the point was) its not like i have "minnesota pride", or could ever be offended by someone making fun of minneapolis (i'm only here for college since it was cheap and i'm really from a small town). not to mention that i've been to your end of the world multiple times for ski races and almost for college- its not a whole lot different. On top of all that i am moving to the southwest the end of july or early august...

 

[ToneDawg]

if my opinions are not valued i will keep them to myself

funny, how i get emails, personal messages etc. etc. more than a few times a week from new people from this site and other that do value my opinion and whom i am able to help out with building or fixing their stuff. if i'm going to be bothered for posting my opinion (and trying to support it with the things i can which lend me credibility- i never said anyone else should be the stuff i have or should have a stereo as large) i will keep my opinion elsewhere.



and minnenoplace is one of the sadest things i've ever read. you have to be able to come up with a better way to make fun of me (if thats what the point was) its not like i have "minnesota pride", or could ever be offended by someone making fun of minneapolis (i'm only here for college since it was cheap and i'm really from a small town). not to mention that i've been to your end of the world multiple times for ski races and almost for college- its not a whole lot different. On top of all that i am moving to the southwest the end of july or early august...

I value Drew's opinion when it comes to car audio...just looking at his everchanging system and the work he does is enough for me to listen to him. I believe in what he tells me, and so far it has worked wonders. Normally he is one of the only people that responds to my questions, so that stands for something.

 

[JBROJ]

I have to agree with what has been said no i dont think sony offers a great car audio selection. Does that mean that they dont meet the needs for all people? no. i had a sony headunit and changer in my ex for about a year and cant say i was completely satisfied with its quality.

back to the original question my sony unit for instance skipped when i would hit a decent sixed pot hole/bump or what have you, however i never encountered a problem with the cd changer skipping... now i didnt say that all sony headunits skip or are bad however the one i had did (Sony CDX-M8800)...

I recently went to a pioneer head unit and have had no complaints although it would be stupid to compare the two being that i paid about 750 for my pioneer and about 200 or so for the sony (which do you think is better?) But i can say that if he wants a solid head unit to look around and ask for a unit that does not skip a great deal...

oh and finally i think the abiltity to dim the head unit when lights are on is set up through the illumination switch (orange wire on most) not all head units need it or have a connection in the wiring harness my old sony did my new pioneer doesnt but only because it has a night/day sensor...

but if i were to reccomend a head unit it wouldnt be a sony... (sorry to all the avid sony supporters)

 

[badazz89lx]

I value Drew's opinion when it comes to car audio...just looking at his everchanging system and the work he does is enough for me to listen to him. I believe in what he tells me, and so far it has worked wonders. Normally he is one of the only people that responds to my questions, so that stands for something.

everchanging system being the 2 KEY WORDS here......

 

[ToneDawg]

Oh yeah, and on another note, my buddy swears by Sony...he will not own another HU. Another one of my friends swears by Kenwood HU's...that's all he will ever own. I myself am currently using a Pioneer, and in the past I have used Alpine and Eclipse. I loved my Alpine to death, but for some reason it started skipping whenever it would try to read a CD-R...maybe it has a dirty lens and needs cleaned???

I highly recommend Alpine, but Pioneer is good for the money. It just depends on what all you need your HU to do...if you want all the bells and whistles, what options you want with it, what you want it to do, if looks are important, and how much you are willing to spend. My advice is to go around, find some places that sell different HU's, take a CD with you, and play around with them. Find one that you enjoy using and that you could enjoy for a while, and that is the one for you.

 

[JCIS]

Guys,
I got th stereo, I went with a Pioneer, but now have the next problem, I took it to the shop and the guys couldn't get it done, they were kind of intrigued because my X has factory AMP and Subwoofer, they told me that I'd need a wire harness to make the connection to the AMP, bottom line, couldn't find that harness, they gave me one that it was for FORD 95-97 but didn't fit and they were not sure which one was the right one, now I'm going to have to go to Tucson, AZ (bigger city) and see if Circuit City has it or if is has to be ordered.

Anybody has had this kind of problems just to get the stock stereo replaced?

Help!!

 

[leenjen]

any decent car stereo shop should have the right harness in stock. you dont have to drive that far. Metra makes the right harness for your explorer, and most shops carry metra.