opinions/facts about brands?

what are your opinions on the following brands (head units, speakers, subs) as far as quality, functionality, and likability? i've acquired a new distributor and it seems to be mostly low end stuff they carry. i'll be posting with my impression. Clarion - from what i've seen it's garbage. from what i hear it used to be top of the line. on the dvd/navs the screen is cheap/fuzzy, the buttons click loudly like mc donalds toys, the plastics feel cheap, the user interface is dull *or* overly busy(trying too hard to look cool) lacks features and settings comparable to those no name chinese all in one double din units that people buy on ebay. my guess is clarion was purchased by some cheap company trying to make a buck off it's old reputation. JVC - i dont know what to think about jvc... their single din's seem, aesthetically, 2-4 years behind everyone else. as far as sound quality, usability, feel, i've never played with, installed, or heard much about them, so i dont know. price wise, they're on the lower end. thoughts? Boss - sounds cheesy, looks cheesy, havent even touched a boss anything in like 2 years. coming up in the game? probably not. i've even seen cheap pioneer speakers literally fall apart, this stuff scares me... MTX - i've always thought mtx was reputable but i've also seen some pretty cheap stuff from them. overall opinion? amps/subs Autopage - i know it's not audio but anyways... cheap, compact, basic. whats quality and reliability like on these? i've always been a DEI guy.

oh, and soundstream, comparable to....? i dont know much about them

I use Alpine.

Clarion: i support only their radios, multi media, and nav units. they actually make a good product although im with you on how their buttons feel. a cheap fuzzy screen? i dont know what you are comparing it to but its as goo as any screen i see. as far as too many things going on on the screen, its called demo mode, you can turn it off if you want. clarion is middle of the line. i dont really know how well their navi actually works cuz ive never actually owned one but i have installed many of they and have had very few complaints about anything they make. they dont break and they are quiet and not prone to noise like pioneer although their sound adjustment features are usually pretty basic. JVC: lately they have been very good to excellent. i have their highest level single din tv in my truck right now and its awesome in my opinion. their prices are good and they are very user friendly unlike alpine or kenwood. i hate kenwood for that reason. most of their stuff comes with a variable color feature that gives you complete control of what color the face displays which is a cool thing that customers will buy on. none of what they make is junk and its not just some re-branded Chinese knock off like most of Boss is. ive been dealing with JVC for as long as ive been installing audio and its always been one of my personal favorites. low returns, low hassle installs, you cant go wrong. but, just like clarion, their speakers, amps, and subs are all mediocre. not many to chose from, but their amps are basic as hell but they do what they are supposed to. MTX: some of their stuff might look cheap but they really specialize in amps and subs. very good amps aside from their lowest lines. their speakers actually sound pretty good, nothing thats gonna win any SQ competitions but for the average guy they fit the bill. Boss: pawn shop equipment... doesnt look very good IMO, made cheap, sells cheap, make sure you keep your receipt type of stuff. any questions?

oh, soundstream, they actually make a lot of nice stuff. some of it looks cheap because they insist on putting that giant spider on everything they sell but most of what they make is good to great. they make a huge line of amps and they are mostly the real deal. their subs are good but a little over priced, for my area anyway. stay away from their radios and tvs, all that stuff is just cheap crap they re-branded and marked up the price with no increase in quality at all.

I have sold clarion since the late 90's  They have always been pretty good.  EXCEPT for a couple years ago when they had a goofy faceplate with panels that slide instead of buttons.  I forget what they called it exactly, but it was something like touch slide.  That was a total FAIL.  They figured it out quick and they disapeared.  I am leary of the newest models of the last couple years.  They look a LOT like Jensen, they now use transport screws in the cd mechs again and those look JUST like jensens right down to the "remove these screws first" label. The wire harnesses are also jensen. I have questioned the clarion fact rep about this but they neither confirm or deny my feelings (i feel they have been coached!)  For now they seem to be trouble free, but time will tell.  I will say I do not like what I am seeing from them lately.

BOSS? I would expect to see those in the crane machines in the mall as prizes. Not anything I would want to sell my customers. OK for cheap used car dealers.

MTX  has been very good to us.  There are a few problems that reoccur with the thunder elite amps, mainly the larger ones. We have had several that have had the large filter caps break loose inside the amp and cause trouble.  MTX says its from mounting the amp to the sub boxes, but we RARELY do that anyway.  Their woofers hold up better than any other brand we sell and have the lowest return percentage.

No opinion on the other brands you mentioned.

I have worked for a Clarion dealer for about 10 years now. Our shop has used Clarion since 1990. Its what we all use in our own personal vehicles, so I'd recommend their stuff to anyone. Lots of adjustments to tweak your sound if not running a mid/high amp, user friendly controls, easy to read display even in driect sunlight, etc. I'm not sure what ac0j means by Jensen harnesses though. They haven't changed their harnesses in about 12 years except that the multimedia/nav units now have a removeable rca harness if you're not using anything in the harness you can remove it and save space in the dash.

As far as MTX, we dabble in their stuff a little. I recently just picked up a loaded Thunderform for my 02 quad cab Dakota and a Jackhammer 600W amp to run it. In my opinion it sounds awesome for the $300 (Thunderform was used and the amp was dealer cost) I have into it all. We normally push Orion for subs and amps but the MTX is a nice affordable product if you have customers that have a limited budget. But they also have alot of nice high end stuff.

I dont really know alot about JVC and Soundstream but I've never really heard anything bad about them, other than Soundstream isn't the original product line it used to be. back in the day there amps were top5 easy, now not so much.

BOSS = Bought On the Side of the Street. Garbage stuff unless you want to sell your car and wanna take the good stuff out and put something cheap in its place. I still have all my factory speakers in my truck and would keep them in a heartbeat before I used BOSS to replace them.

great info guys, i really appreciate it! ac0j, what you're saying about clarion looking like jenson is basically what im getting at! everyone, your information is really helpful though, i can sell these products more confidently now, i wasn't thinking too highly of them before.

nfrank89 wrote: great info guys, i really appreciate it! ac0j, what you're saying about clarion looking like jenson is basically what im getting at! everyone, your information is really helpful though, i can sell these products more confidently now, i wasn't thinking too highly of them before.

yeah they did start using the screws maybe a year or two ago and it seems like they have cut costs on their radio faces i would still put them miles above jensen in terms of quality. the buttons might click but they wont just fall off like a jensen would. i think they just decided to focus more one their multi media and nav units because that is where you still see the old clarion quality shine through, and they make some of the absolute best marine equipment other than say JBL. i dont know if you in a big boating area but if you are then clarion is worth having.

blanx218 wrote: BOSS = Bought On the Side of the Street.

LMFAO!!