help me pick THE BEST HU

[odxtoxic]

GO FOR THE BLAUPUNKT!!!

i have the san fransico CD70, which is just a little older then the one you are looking at, great HU, if you want pics of what it will look like, the 70 and 72 have very little differences

 

[expo5.0]

does the cd70 have the automatic eq function? how do you like that in particular? where is windom?

 

[BBQ_HotDogs]

Expo, I sent you an email about an EQ.

Ronnie

 

[expo5.0]

i replied


now its clarion or alpine fo sho

 

[Nate1]

Apline. Apline HUs are hands down the best, I love them, so feature rich and clean....

http://iweb.alpine-usa.com/pls/admn/item_info?p_main=10&p_category=10&p_item_name=CDA-7995

7995... yum assuming you are amping your speakers externally (I assume you are)

What a lovely HU.

 

[Nate1]

http://cdd.aac.ru/


http://www.aac.ru/video/cdd2_352.mpg
http://www.aac.ru/video/cdd_640_2.mpg


I can't wait for this thing to hit the markets! Russian!

 

[terdrocket]

McIntosh

I don't know how much $$$ you looking to drop, but the Alpine F#1 Status is top notch. It costs a fortune though....

 

[odxtoxic]

Originally posted by expo5.0
does the cd70 have the automatic eq function? how do you like that in particular? where is windom?

windom is a hr south west of mankato...

 

[JPA1982]

i would suggest Kenwood-KDC-mp522 mp3 player, whatever u get, make it mp3 so much better, 180 songs per CD almost, saves u so much time, changing cd's all the time and stuff like that.

www.discountjungle.net/kenkdcdmp3pl.html

look through whole site, good prices

 

[EMG7895]

get this
http://iweb.alpine-usa.com/pls/admn...7990&p_category=10&p_subcategory=20&p_main=10

 

[expo5.0]

there is no mp3 for me, although the benefits are very real, the downsides- namely awful sound quality, and having to take the time to transfer my 400-500 cd's to mp3s, and the fact that i mostly listen to my music via dvd's make them definitely unnecessary for me.


Yes, the F#1 status is the best mass market hu out there without a doubt, it isn't necessary for me. The advantages that it would give me will not be realized in a vehicle set up for spl/sq as much as mine is. My subs although in a sealed box and exhibiting beyond excellent sq for 15s simply muddy things up too much, and my components although they retail for $500 likewise are no where near good enough, nor are my amps. I won't be spending the $$$ for that one, nor will i be buying the sq audiophile quality clarion either.

thanks for all your help guys

i'd still love to hear from those who have experience with these in a proper car audio environment to make accurate truthful statements about how they work. I'll be making the decision by the middle of the week.

 

[huskyfan23]

I have a CDA-7897. I replaced my Sony CDX-MP70 with it. The Alpine gives a lot more control over everything, but I have no use for the extra features like Defeat. The only downside with this unit is my Sony had better bass control.

 

[Fhantazm]

I totally agree with you on the MP3 debate, Expo. I just got rid of my Kenwood Music keg for that same reason. I have been very much into music for years and unfortunately are one of those people that can tell a differnece between MP3 and CD Audio.

I still reccomend the Clarion over the Alpine. Both are EXTREMELY good performers, but again I find Clarion to be focused more on making the best of the music, without having to add a bunch of bells and whistles. (i.e BBE)

 

[expo5.0]

yeah, i'm still waiting on the dealer price for that clarion which in the end will help determine the one i end up with. But i have a pretty good feeling its price will end up such that i'll be picking it up. Its just an awesome concept with the touch interface, and the pro logic II is perfect for me etc

 

[expo5.0]

also, the bass control of the unit doesn't matter at all- the epic160 will serve as my bass control.

 

[Fhantazm]

Originally posted by expo5.0
yeah, i'm still waiting on the dealer price for that clarion which in the end will help determine the one i end up with. But i have a pretty good feeling its price will end up such that i'll be picking it up. Its just an awesome concept with the touch interface, and the pro logic II is perfect for me etc

Yea, I have Pro Logik II(as well as DD and DTS) on my Onkyo home receiver and it does wonders for analog Dolby Surround/ Dolby Pro Logik movies and music. Hell, it even works on plain stereo sources.

Also, I dont know what your dealer price will be for the DXZ945MP, but theres a brand new one on ebay right now for $459.00, on a Buy It Now auction.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3081998677&category=50558

 

[Harken]

IMHO

Im an Alpine man.....

Expo, you seem to have lots of audio goodies in your rig. The only thing i havent seen you mention is XM radio. As you know I have the Alpine CDA-9811 which is XM ready and only needs the addition of the Alpine XM tuner. They are still available if you look for them. The Alpine you said was one of your top choices and if you enjoy non-stop music when your not listening to CD's, why not go XM? If you go with any other make of HU you will have to use a totaly seperate unit for XM. I like a clean package so Alpine does it for me......

BTW, my Butler Tube amp is on the way. Im getting the 2150 model with 150 watts x 2 of true power. I might trade up to the Alpine CDA-7998 myself.
Im using the Focal 165W Utopia speakers. Still wondering where to mount the tweeters. Maybe on top of the dashboard?

Let us all know what HU you decide on.....

 

[expo5.0]

well, i got the prices on all of them sitting here etc.

i've decided to go with the clarion dxz945mp, and it should be here for me by the time i get back from spring break in two weeks.

Now i just need to decide if i want to go with the 5.1 processor as well. I know it would be cool to have, but movies sound so good anyways in my truck (even without this new hu and the 2nd set of 3-way seperates i'm installing soon). also, the "theatre" really is out the back of my truck like at a show watching the 23" and the 5.1 really wouldn't do me any good at all there. What do you think? have you listened to a vehicle with a properly set-up 5.1 processor? i have, but never with the quality of the rest of the stereo i'm running.

later -drew


oh yeah, if you don't like the clarion you have about 3 days to talk me out of it

 

[BBQ_HotDogs]

If it were me doing it all over again, I would still stay with Alpine, but I would be going with the F1. Sure I would be dropping quite a few grand into it, but I would never have to worry about getting another HU for a long long time. Talk me out of my Alpine HU, EQ, and the cell phone and acces that go with this and I would be F1 status. LOL.

 

[Nate1]

That russian HU never gets outdated
You can download a new firmware for it and pop a cd in and completly reprogram the whole thing! It is practically limitless. Still the clarion is nice, but I would have gone with the alpine just based on my good experiences with installing alpines.