What's the best in-dash cd player for stock ford/jbl system?

[centaurus3200]

if anybody has stereo opinions, let them speak now ;-)

my 8 year old alpine deck seems to be toast. i could buy another faceplate, but it's just cheaper to get a new deck, right?

i was very happy with my old alpine CDM7824 in my SHO. it had an aftermarket wiring harness installed. the alpine head unit sounded very nice when running through the ford/jbl system, amps and all. i DO NOT want to run the speakers through the deck. the jbl speakers are known to blow unless running on the OEM amps.

there should be no problem getting a new deck to run on that same wiring harness, right? my alpine has preamp jacks.

i have NO interest in motorized faceplates. the first time i saw them, i was like "what's the point of that other than breaking?"

any other opinions on alpine? lastly, a high quality preamp section is very important to me. cheaper decks are like cheap home receivers. they have cheap op amps and knock of 1960s solid state pre/amplifier sections. sounds like grating nails on a chalkboard.

for example, my $97 phillips DVD player sounds AWFUL compared to my Rotel 930AX player. cheap transistors suck!

now, i don't want to blow a lot of money. no more than $300. i love music, but not only am i sick of spending money on my car, i fell pretty confidant the system would be stolen if i upgraded the whole thing.

i thought about buying a used head unit. maybe something spiffy, like McIntosh or nakamichi. but, i can't imagine why anybody would sell a perfectly working used deck unless it was either broken and/or stolen.

besides, a nice head unit and the stock ford/jbl system sound pretty decent. my car stereo nut friend thought for sure i had boston acoustics pro series in the doors ;-)

so far, i've heard that premier is the best choice and that alpine is just a name now. overpriced and cheaply made.

see ya,
Robby

 

[K-Dawg]

Alpine still makes a very nice headunit.
Most decent Alpine decks have 4volt preamp outputs. Eclipse headunits have an 8volt preamp output, but that might be a little too much for the factory amps. However Eclipse makes what many people agree to some of the nicest headunits.
As long as you stay with a name brand you should be fine. Personally, I would get an Alpine.

<small>[ August 14, 2003, 02:35 PM: Message edited by: K-Dawg ]</small>

 

[centaurus3200]

bah, all this crap is giving me a headache! don't know what to buy. i guess i should just spend the weekend cruising car stereo places and getting to know the equipment first hand.

i love music. my home system consists of vintage McIntosh MC60 monoblock tube amps, apogee centaur minor ribbon speakers and a powered B&W subwoofer. so, i guess i'm a bit of an audiophile wink

i don't want to get into the whole car audio thing. but, at the same time, i will be ****** if i get a deck that sounds like nails grating on a chalkboard. much like many low end cd players and preamps with cheap ass output stages.

see ya,
Robby

 

[jelloslug]

You really need to check out the Eclipse stuff. You are obviously an audiophile so you know what to listen for. Eclipse makes some top notch stuff for low $$.

 

[92sho16]

I have an alpine cda 9815. i love it best deck ive i had. Alpines tend to have more options than eclipse thats the only dif between the two.

 

[K-Dawg]

centaurus3200:
bah, all this crap is giving me a headache! don't know what to buy. i guess i should just spend the weekend cruising car stereo places and getting to know the equipment first hand.

i love music. my home system consists of vintage McIntosh MC60 monoblock tube amps, apogee centaur minor ribbon speakers and a powered B&W subwoofer. so, i guess i'm a bit of an audiophile wink

i don't want to get into the whole car audio thing. but, at the same time, i will be ****** if i get a deck that sounds like nails grating on a chalkboard. much like many low end cd players and preamps with cheap ass output stages.

see ya,
Robby

Definately go out and listen. If you are that much into music, then you will notice a difference between brands and models. Listening and using is the only way to know if you are buying something that you like.

 

[centaurus3200]

thanks man,

i will go check some stuff out today. gotta be careful though. my fiancee just got laid off and my company is moving out of state inside of a year. the last thing i need to do is come home with a McIntosh/Dynaudio system for $8,000 wink

see ya,
Robby

K-Dawg:

centaurus3200:
bah, all this crap is giving me a headache! don't know what to buy. i guess i should just spend the weekend cruising car stereo places and getting to know the equipment first hand.

i love music. my home system consists of vintage McIntosh MC60 monoblock tube amps, apogee centaur minor ribbon speakers and a powered B&W subwoofer. so, i guess i'm a bit of an audiophile wink

i don't want to get into the whole car audio thing. but, at the same time, i will be ****** if i get a deck that sounds like nails grating on a chalkboard. much like many low end cd players and preamps with cheap ass output stages.

see ya,
Robby

Definately go out and listen. If you are that much into music, then you will notice a difference between brands and models. Listening and using is the only way to know if you are buying something that you like.

 

[MG]

92sho16:
I have an alpine cda 9815. i love it best deck ive i had. Alpines tend to have more options than eclipse thats the only dif between the two.

I have this one too, used to have an Eclipse which didn't have as many features, but it's also a couple years older. I think the new Eclipse are ugly and you have to pay a lot to get MP3 capabilities.