LancerXtreme

iTrader: (5)

I got the hottest head unit my for ride. Its the stock one. Volume goes up to 49, its XM ready, has the repeat/shuffle track option, and can withstand any bump or ditch you may run into.

SpeshalK

iTrader: (1)

Id deffinaty say Alpine is the best.. I dont have one in my lancer but in my old car I was all about the stereo...and i went through alot of head units and Id say my alpine 7875 was the best.

poolshark2015

I think this thread was a curse. When i posted my head unit a couple days ago. The cd player stopped accepting disks ,and it was only 6 months old. So eclipse is gonna fix it. I did however buy a new deck an eclipse 5442 with 3 5 volt preouts so when i receive my fixed 3421 im gonna put it in my girls car

CRXAudioSound

pls tell me how its possible that rockford or any other company for that matter can make a HU that performs better w/ amp & speakers of the same company...does the HU magically recognize that the speaker and amp are also RF and sends an enhanced 'RF only' signal thats superior to the signal it sends to amps/speakers of a different brand?

rklancer

I'm gettin one soon, havin trouble decidin which one to choose, ts between the Panasonic MXE CQ-DFX683 and the Alpine CDA-9807
let me know what you guys think.
sorry for the large image, i was havin problems with my computer compressin the size of files and images today.

YouNVthis

Stock...I plan on getting the Pioneer Deh3400 though.

BOOYAH1369

JVC KAMELEON
About $340 if I can remember correctly.
Dayam senior moments!

Mod1Fy

Alpine CDM9815 $849 can - $500 US

trance

iTrader: (4)

pure stock baby...well untill i can spare some money to get a sony cdx-m630

YouNVthis

this is the headunit i plan on getting

Stumpy221

iTrader: (5)

pioneer DEH-840mp
Got it for 300

purecoda

iTrader: (6)

CRX

I wouldn't necessarily say that running the same brand HU and speakers will give the best performance. I imagine it would be a safe bet to say that it could be better than mixing and matching though. Why? Because of research and design. EX. Pioneer designs their subs to have a certain response curve off of their test amp, which of course is most likely theirs.

In all honesty though, few companies have perfected the whole package. Either the speakers kinda suck, or the amps aren't that great...

Best advice ever given when buying audio equipment: Listen to it first yourself. If you like it, then get it.

cupOZnj

this is good advice....but rarely do you find somewhere that has the audio setup that you desire. you could listen to headunits all you want at bestbuy, but if they are put through crappy speakers or bad wiring.....same with amps, subs, etc.

in terms of stereo, you can't really go wrong as long as you follow some simple rules.

1. power. make sure everything is getting enough juice. it is better to overpower speakers than underpower them. make sure that at the volume you plan on listening to your music, the amplifier isn't clipping. when tweaking your stereo, match the volume of the head with the gain on the amp til you get the right formula.

2. crossovers. DO NOT send inappropriate frequencies to speakers. this is another major cause of distortion. a subwoofer should be getting around 150Hz and below, the lower the better. make sure your midbass or midrange speakers aren't trying too hard to pump out bass.

3. grounding. this is THE MOST IMPORTANT. if your system isn't ground properly, you will introduce noise very easily. make sure your grounds are clean, the same gauge as your power, and short, no more than 18".

when buying your system's components, look for the most efficient items in that price range. especially with amps, a 500watt amp that is very ineffecient will sound worse than a 100watt amp that is very effecient. don't just buy the most powerful, buy the CLEANEST. in terms of amps, a good rule of thumb is the heavier it is, the better quality. in my opinion, the amp is the most important piece of your stereo. speakers are only as good as the signal you give them. headunit with 2+ volt preamp outputs will help so your amp does not have to strain as hard, giving you much more headroom.

ok, i'm done now.

reddog

stock works just fine for me. However I do have a pretty good setup in my POS chevy corsica.

Grey Ghost

Alpine is good, but for me it is Eclipse all the way. I have an 8062 in the Lancer. Retail is 1100 but I got it for 800. If you want to run screens, you should get the 55090 ( in dash DVD player). That is what i have in my Yukon. To me, Eclipse sounds better than any other easily attainable HU. The only thing that sounds as good, to me, is the Nakamichi my mom has in her car, but it is a three piece unit that cost around 3Gs. I hear that the the Alpine F1 HU is AWESOME, but I have not actually heard one yet.