New head unit.. choices, choices, choices...

[Ferendon]

I'm looking for a good head unit, preferably 50x4 max, 25x4 RMS, but I've found some 52x4s, etc... If I want to add a sub later, can I hook up an amp w/o subwoofer preamp outputs?
Are any of those worth the money?
Aiwa CDC-X504MP
Blaupunkt Indianapolis
Kenwood KDC-122

If anyone has any ideas for a basic player, that's worth a crap, let me know. I REALLY want red, but that's hard to find... White/silver/black is good. I want to avoid blue an green as much as possible...

 

[Camarok]

personally I'm not a fan of Aiwa.... but I would suggest Kenwood, and yes you can get a HU w/o outputs for an aux. amplifier set up for like subs or something.... you need a line output converter I got one at best buy, not that much either, i've got that in my car, works like a charm.... and you really wouldn't be able to tell, i find it hard to distinguish the quality of bass personally

g/l man

 

[Ferendon]

I mean do I have to subwoofer preamp outputs, to hook up a sub? If I get to the point of a subwoofer, I WILL get an amp...

 

[Ferendon]

I've decided on the Kenwood KDC-105... Should I use the free harness to bypass the factory sub and amp, or should I go ahead and shell out the extra $49.99 for the other harness that will allow me to keep on using them... How does the factory system sound without it?

 

[AutoSHO]

Use the bypass harness, it will sound *much* better than the factory amps.

 

[Ferendon]

I'm buying Mike92Silver's amp and sub, so, I should get the free harness, and I used to work at Best Buy, so I know all the install techs, so install's free. I'll just hook that sub and amp up instead of the factory one, Then I can remove the factory amp, and get the straight across STB, rather than the one that goes around the sub, as it doesn't seem as strong to me. I guess it all works out. Thanks Auto

 

[underdog1924]

I think the best HU for the money by far is the Clarion DXZ835MP. thezeb.com has it now for $220 shipped. It does something like 700 colors so you don't have to get green or blue.

 

[wood_e]

My Aiwa HU has not given me trouble since I got it.

 

[93blkbuty]

Alpine

You should seriously consider an Alpine Head Unit, they are some of the best around and if you look hard enough you can find one for a very reasonable price (ebay?)...I got an Alpine CDA-9807 off of ebay a few months after it came out for $170 brand new, and its great! plays WMA and MP3 files, is 50X4 which is what you said you were looking for, consider Alpine seriously, they are a great brand and their prices as I said are fair if you look hard enough.

 

[Ferendon]

Alpine's definitely my first choice, but at the moment, I need something that sounds good and will play a CD. Other than the look those are the most important things...

 

[Brandontw]

i have had super bad luck with blaupunkt they used to be a good company then sony bought them and brought them down to there level or beyond. No go on blaupunkt. I dont know about Aiwa and kenwood is decent, also look into alpine for sure. maybe pioneer, and clarion is decent ecxept for there internal amps.

 

[FoSHO]

Alpine is my number one choice too. I had 3 different one's and their quality is superb.

 

[Ferendon]

I wanted Alpine, but I got a Pioneer DEH-16. It was cheap ($108.43), and looked nice, even 50x4.

 

[Dave Ladely]

had unit

be sure to have pre amp out, line converters from speaker output is high distortion junk

 

[MG]

I have an Alpine, it's pretty good. Before it I had an Eclipse, also good. Don't get an Aiwa, they're garbage.

 

[DemonNeno]

if anything, alpines are all go and no show. I don't like their styles, but their performance, quality, and reliability simply make their not-so-cute HU the ultimate buy.

 

[40BelowSummer]

When I was looking for a head-unit (although he already found one) I knew the features I wanted:
Fairly high power ouput (60x4 which on this particualr one was about 96W RMS give or take)
Be able to read MP3 formatted discs
Aux input (in my case for video etc)
Pre-amp outputs
Reasonably priced

The best canidate was the Jensen MP5010K, I am pleased with this unit:
60x4
Front, Rear, and 5V Subwoofer Preamp Outputs (VS normal 3V)
MP3 Playback
Remote
Flip Down detactchable face

I think this unit is the best bang for the buck, I love the pre-amps because straight from the deck I can adjust the amount of bass (frequency) w/o adjusting the subwoofer's output. That is a seperate control, I can turn the subs all the way down from just the deck. I bought it for $250 a year and a half ago from crutchfield, you can find it now on ebay for around $100-$150 or so.

conclusion 3 pre-amp outputs is the *******

 

[FOSHO94]

im buyin a Pioneer P7300 to put in my car, are they hard to install?

 

[40BelowSummer]

im buyin a Pioneer P7300 to put in my car, are they hard to install?

Ive installed many CD players, and IMO the SHO (or Taurus for that matter) is by far the easiest to install a deck in. You should have no problems. Just make sure you buy the Ford DIN Removal tool to get the stock one out (like $3 at WAL MART)

 

[Grifter]

I have the JVC Kamelon HU. IMO it's the niecst looking HU for ther SHO. It looks like it came with the car and when the car is off, it's completly flat and black. I love it.