[NickD]

Hey guys, my factory CD changer died on me several months back and I have been doing the Cd player via the tape deck deal. The CD player I was using was a POS and after much frustration it died (so I ran it over with my Legend and burned it). I am now going to buy a headunit.

I was wondering what are some good headunits that have CD Changer controls, MP3 player built-in, subwoofer output, pre-amp out, I have a 160watt amp wired into my current stock headunit I will continue using, and under $300. I also want to be able to wire it into my steering wheel controls, at least the volume portion of them. I remember seeing a unit that did this a LONG time ago...

Clarion is too expensive from what I looked at and I am not crazy about the Sony's. My old headunit I had in my last car was a Panasonic and it kicked major ass.

 

[Eye Candy]

Well, if you want one with 3 rca output's you will have to wait a while more or spend some $$$.

All Prices in Canadian Funds(and as of Dec-Jan)
Panasonic - $325.00
Sony - $325
Kenwood - $350
Alpine $800

I have installed the Panasonic, Sony, Kenwood & Alpine MP3 players and the only one with 3 rca output's front, rear, sub is the Alpine.

The panasonic looks VERY cheap and has front and rear outputs. Has basic functions (bass.treble.fad.bal), but that's about it. I found that the remote output was also very weak (meaning it could not handly 2 amps, ant. neon and a cooling fan, the deck would just shut down) No Remote either and did not do a good job of playing cdrw
***Found it to be a waste of money***

The Sony (I have always HATED sony products) looks really cheap as well (RED WITH BIG BUTTONS, am I blind!) Anyways it also had basic functions and was fairly good at playing cdrw and had a remote. This unit also had only front and rear outputs, would also have to stop and look for trackings on a mixed cd.
***Big Waste of Money***

KENWOOD - only had 2 outputs as well, but found it to be really good at playing cdrw with mpgs. I was also impressed that it could find mpg3 in folders and play them. You could have pictures on the same cd and it would just find the mpgs. Down side it would do a search every so often to find tracks. Bought a remote for $25.00 extra.
***BEST value for your $***

AlPINE - AMAZING. has 3 outputs front, rear, subs with built in hp&lp filters. Full sub control and very impressive sound quaility.
It also found mpg's on cd's with other stuff on them and also found mpg's which were in folders. I noticed that it did not stop and search for track's that long at the begining and did not search at all once the cd's started to play. Came with a remote.
I was impressed because I put a 7863 or something like that cd player or something in my sister's car last year for here (costed $670) and it does not play cd-r's and has been at alpine for service 3 out of the 12 months.
***This deck amazed me, but I personally would not spend that much money on it***

I hope this helps and hope I did not confuse you more. If you are on a somewhat restrictive budget then I would say go with the Kenwood, but if you are a HIGH ROLLER then I would say go with the ALPINE

GOOD LUCK

 

[LIVING_LEGEND]

Yes, Either Kenwood or Alpine

I have the Alpine 7878 mp3 receiver, Although It is a bit more expensive then the rest.. It is well worth it

My next choice would have been the Kenwood..

I tested Alot of units before I bought the alpine.. I found the Alpine to be in a class by itself.. It is very fast and has the cleanest sound..

A friend of mine has the kenwood, I would also agree that the Kenwood is the best bang for the buck.. (I think you can get it for around 250 300 or so) (The alpine will run you at least 5)

 

[Fun92]

I have the Jensen model 5010K MP3 player and have found it to be great. It is the only one I could find that had not only three sets of RCA but also a full ten number buttons on the front. This allows you to go directly to any track number you want, and also happens to be the main reason I bought it. I haven't had any problems with it yet and, despite my reservations over Jensen's reputation as a cheap manufacturer, am very pleased by my purchase. Just letting you know.

 

[NickD]

Thanks for the info guys

 

[WhiteLegend]

I read a lot of positive reviews on sound domain forums about the JVC Kdsh-99. You can pick one up for less than $300 on ebay, it meets every requirement you posted.

 

[Shapps]

What you need is a RioCar. I dont know if you can get hold of them still, but it is basically a 10GB harddrive in a single din unit, and as it uses laptop harddrives, they are easily upgradable. The largest capacity I've seen is 150 Gb, using 2x75Gb drives. So if the average track is 4 mb, we are talking about 37500 tracks !

S

 

[Alexander]

Nick, get this Pioneer Premier DEH-P740MP. It will serve your purpose well, and only cost you about 270 bucks from ebay! hehehhee............, good luck.

 

[NickD]

Hey guys, thanks for all the info I think I've narrowed it down to these two:

Pioneer DEH-P7400MP for ~$240

Kenwood KDC-MP819 for ~$330

I looked at the Alpines and they look very nice but way out of my price range. I am heavily leaning towards the Pioneer simply because it has all the features I wants, looks good and is priced very nicely considering I may have some major engine work to do in the next few months.

 

[Alexander]

Nick, get the Premier instead of the regular Pioneer, because you get 2 year warranty instead of 1 year for about the same price.

 

[G1Lover]

Check this out! This is NEW alpine MP3 deck.

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/competitiondirect/alcda7caraud4.html

Good luck.

 

[NickD]

That Alpine was the one I kept finding for between $500 and $580. $334.80 is an amazing price, is there a catch or something?

Alexander, I haven't come across Premier... got any more info?

 

[G1Lover]

If you want to buy Pioneer MP3 deck, definitely premier 740MP (not 7400MP). 740MP has 3 pre-out even though price difference is just about $20. (MP7400 has only 2 pre-out)

 

[LIVING_LEGEND]

That Alpine was the one I kept finding for between $500 and $580. $334.80 is an amazing price, is there a catch or something?

Alexander, I haven't come across Premier... got any more info?

Yeah, there is a catch.. That Alpine model is not the mp3 unit.. the mp3 unit is 7878 , not 7874.. That is just the standard model that looks almost identical to the 7878 but does not read mp3 disks

 

[G1Lover]

Yeah, there is a catch.. That Alpine model is not the mp3 unit.. the mp3 unit is 7878 , not 7874.. That is just the standard model that looks almost identical to the 7878 but does not read mp3 disks

No catch. You are confused 7894 with 7874. 787* are old models. I'm pretty sure 789* are the new 2002 models like I said before.

 

[LIVING_LEGEND]

Wow , if it has the same features as the 7878 (last years) than it is a good price..