Recommend a new car stereo

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Hayes

Hayes

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South Jordan, UT
The cheesy Panasonic CD player in my 80 is finally dying. The CD drive is making horrible noises and wont play discs, so I need to get a new one.

I've been out of the car-audio loop for a while, so I'm asking for recommendations.

I've got a 4-channel Viper amp (can't remember the claimed wattage, but it is pretty high) running 6.5" Focal separates up front, with some coaxial Kickers in the back door, and a small JL amp running a custom 8" sub in the back. I really like the way my system sounds, and I figure the head unit was the weak link in the chain. I'd like to upgrade to a new unit appropriate for the rest of my gear.
I favor sound quality over bells and whistles.

Any recommendations on a new deck?

Not sure on my price range yet.

Hayes
 
One thing you might want to mention is what you want to do with your new head unit. Some can be satelitte radio ready, partial iPod integration, full iPod integration, DVD player, and some have USB input. Specifics like these can make a new head unit very nice. Just trying to help others give suggestions. I haven't been in the audio loop for a while - so I'm not really any help.
 
Believe it or not, I have yet to step into the land of MP3 and iPod. I listen to CD's, that's all. XM radio is far down my list of priorities as well. Any and all of this would be nice for future changes in my habits, but in the end I would just like a high quality pre-amp.

Thanks.
 
Hayes said:
The cheesy Panasonic CD player in my 80 is finally dying. The CD drive is making horrible noises and wont play discs, so I need to get a new one.

I've been out of the car-audio loop for a while, so I'm asking for recommendations.

I've got a 4-channel Viper amp (can't remember the claimed wattage, but it is pretty high) running 6.5" Focal separates up front, with some coaxial Kickers in the back door, and a small JL amp running a custom 8" sub in the back. I really like the way my system sounds, and I figure the head unit was the weak link in the chain. I'd like to upgrade to a new unit appropriate for the rest of my gear.
I favor sound quality over bells and whistles.

Any recommendations on a new deck?

Not sure on my price range yet.

Hayes
Click to expand...



Best sound quality was my criteria: Eclipse (Fujitsu Ten) with their higher Voltage output, etc., is what I went with. You will not be dissappointed.
 
i'm an alpine fan. 9856 has good features and can be had for cheap on ebay, i went with the 9857 for a little more to get the biolite display, they're both pretty sharp performers with some uncluttered layouts and some solid stats. i dunno. i've allways gotten alpines, strayed a few times and wasn't happy.
 
Hayes said:
Opinions on the Eclipse CD3000?
Click to expand...


Don't know...I've got the 8455. My only gripe is the small, slippery, volume wheel...don't know what kind of idiot would design such an unfriendly knob...anyway the new model has a larger, rubber ringed volume knob that takes care of the my only complaint with this unit (naturally the year after I bought mine :rolleyes: ). Knock on wood it has ridden through thousands of miles of Nevada backroads without an issue.
 
I'm in the market for a new stereo and found this thread.

What's satellite radio ready and IPod ready and is tough and plays CDs burned from a computer (I hate scratched up CD originals)

I'm completely ignorant about stereo systems. Just tell me what to look at...
 
I like Alpine and have 2 MP3 players - not sure of the model numbers. You can get iTunes free from the Net and, with proper setup, it will transfer your CD WAV files to MP3 on your hard disk. Any CD burner software will burn an MP3 disk. You get 10 to 12 disks on one CD.

I also was wondering about the Eclipse CD3000. There is a used one locally for $300. I have read good reviews but never owned one.
 
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FWIW,

Alpine head units can all have a simple chord added to them to allow the use and charge of your ipod. It uses the CD Changer port... of course you have to have a CD Changer hook up port.

MP3s on the trail rock. No mo' skipping.

Drew
 
Another consideration may be a Scion radio. I picked one up for $50 and it's great, I had to use an adapter for my iPod but some have that built in IIRC. I don't know about all LC models but it was plug & play in my 62.
 
Hayes said:
Since this thread was brought back to life...

I installed a used Eclipse CD2000. Got it for cheap on EBay. Unit sounds great. Major complaint though:
The control knob SUCKS!
Click to expand...

Agreed on the control knobs. I've got the CD4000 installed.
 
I love Pioneer, and the 4600MP is my travel buddy... It is a great CD player, even though it's old, it's still a sweet little thing w/ a remote, MP3/WMA reading, auxillary input equipped, and has preamp outputs. 4x50 watts. Just my $.02

Brian
 
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