head unit selction

[Gator13]

hey guys,
I am going to be buying a new head unit and have around 350 to 450 dollars. I want it to have a 4 volt sub preout and even more volts if possible. Also i don't need tape deck. I would like it to have a nice equalizer also. If the cd player could be satellite radio ready that would be cool too.
Thanks for your help
Alex

[DowmaceWH99]

I'm not sure exactly what style of deck your wanting but if I was to suggest anything, it'd be an Alpine deck for sure good stuff right thurr

[birdhouse]

Alpine all the way... wait about a month, though... The new series of Alpines will be out and it has the amber color again!

[RocketFast321]

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-We0jRjPMaZY/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?a=0&s=0&cc=01&g=62700&id=essential_info&i=500CDA9827

my dream cd player :)

[matts]

i'd say alpine too.

[Gator13]

it looks like alpine, but what about eclipse?

[illsmokeyou]

I agree with the alpine also. Higher preout and internal amp ratings

[birdhouse]

eclipse, IMO, don't have nearly as many options as Alpine... Plus, they don't look as cool :D

[dutch]

Originally posted by birdhouse
eclipse, IMO, don't have nearly as many options as Alpine... Plus, they don't look as cool :D


True, but Eclipse make a rockin HU. If I had your money, Eclipse would be it.

As for all these options u talk about...........most are irrelevant.

As far as the pre-out voltage, I've seen Eclipse with up to 8 volt.

[birdhouse]

Originally posted by dutch
As far as the pre-out voltage, I've seen Eclipse with up to 8 volt.

I don't think he has that much money to spend... A HU with that would cost a pretty penny...

[tommymcc]

the 8 volt eclipse units run around $500, but they are preamp only and don't have many features, just increadible sound

if you want features and sound go with alpine, my unit it 2 years old now and still runs great, and the new alpine units are supposed to have 512 color combinations

[car audio dave]

actually the cheapest eclipse with 8 volt out is jsut under $400 and it has a built in amp. the higher end eclipse decks actually have more options than most alpines. its got adjustable xover settings on the preouts and a very adjustable EQ. the problem is that they are more complicated to figure out than alpine.

they also have a better CD mechanism. instaead of jsut spinning all CDs at the same speed, eclipse decks weigh the cd, then measure its thickness, then spin it accordingly. that results in a more accurate reproduction of the song.

[car audio dave]

oh, and the preamp only deck thats over $500 is a balanced output, at 16 volts. you need the stepdown box to bring it down to 80 volts and UNbalance it. (unless you have an amp with a balanced input. model # CD8053

[tommymcc]

i agree that the audio features are way better than alpine, but the lack of satilitte radio is kinda bad, and until recently they didn't have mp3 capability

[car audio dave]

true, eclipse is a little behind the time on MP3 and satellite radio, but they are catching up. they are doing to release a sirius tuner this year, and itll be backwards compatible for about 1.5-2 years.

as far as MP3 capability, the cd5??? (the new one) has 5 volts output and MP3 capability. its about $340 or so, and has a lot of cool features, plus...its out now. alpine is great and its one of my top recommendations, i just felt i had to defent eclipse since they are so good.

[tommymcc]

i totally agree they are great units, i had a 5443 unit, and i'm looking at a new one now

[1992grandam]

i have a alpine cda 9807 and i absolutely love it....it had been recommended to em by quite a few ppl over the eclipse 3401? i think but im glad i picked it. awesome deck.

[Gator13]

i am getting the pioneer premier 840
thanksfor all the input
Alex