Subjective difference in Head Unit Sound?

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kfr01

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Posted: March 26, 2004 at 12:15 AM / IP Logged

I'm more of a home theater/stereo guy interested in constructing a high quality sound system on a reasonable budget.

I know there are some remarkable differences in the subjective 'sound' of home theater receivers, even in stereo mode. Ex: I think the Marantz sounds much more smooth and musical than Yamaha, but that the aggressive nature of Yamaha's sound is better for certain types of movies and music.

Does this same phenomenon exist in car audio? If so, how are some of the popular HU brands used in SQ systems usually described. (Alpine v. Eclipse v. Clarion)?

Thanks in advance!

(Yes, I know I should go to a dealer myself and listen, but I'm over an hour away from a dealer that might carry respectable brands ready for a good demo. )

Ravendarat

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Posted: March 26, 2004 at 12:30 AM / IP Logged

I find that Alpine are a far more harsh sounding Head Unit. Elcipse probally has the best flat response and Pioneer Decks have the most noticable change when playing with the eq's but could probally have put a little more emphisis on bass reproduction. Eclipse is usually considered the best deck you can get with the exception of brands such as Denon or Nakamichi, which are usually more pricey.

DYohn

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Posted: March 26, 2004 at 8:23 AM / IP Logged

Absolutely, the HU makes a huge difference. Just like in home stereo (or in any application of audio or video electronics) the sound quality changes for every piece of equipment. I agree with Ravendarat's SQ recomendations and find that to my ears, Nakamichi makes the best sounding equioment by a LONG shot. McIntosh heads are also in the audiophile statosphere of SQ. Eclipse is very good sounding as well, with generally warm tones. Of the mainstream commercial brands, Clarion and Blaupunkt are probably both better sounding than Alpine. Pioneer Premier can be acceptable. Main line Pioneer, JVC, Panasonic, Sony, Rockford, etc. heads will leave most audiophiles wincing.

Ravendarat

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Posted: March 26, 2004 at 12:18 PM / IP Logged

I totally forgot about McIntosh HU. They are also awsome. Correct me if Im wrong but the Difference between most pioneer decks compared to pioneer priemer decks are just gold plated preouts and a 2 year warenty. I know that sometimes the priemer models will have a 3rd set of preouts or for example the 960 has 6 volt preouts where as the 9600 only has 4 volt preouts. Is there actually anyother difference between them?

DYohn

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Posted: March 26, 2004 at 12:29 PM / IP Logged

Well, SUPPOSEDLY there is. Maybe it's just the higher voltage pre-outs that make the Premier line seem to sound better to me, but Pioneer propaganda says they use higher quality components in the Premier line. I've opened both up and the difference between a 960 and a 9600 does not appear to be much. I built a system around a DEX-P9 last year and it sounded pretty darn good.

Ravendarat

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Posted: March 26, 2004 at 1:05 PM / IP Logged

Ya, see i opened up two decks, a 7400 and a 740 and the internal components seemed to be identical, thats why I was wondering. Thanx

FullForce

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Posted: March 26, 2004 at 8:49 PM / IP Logged

premier aint no better, u just get the 2 year warranty .... everyone is headed in that direction for example Panasonic has MXE with 2 yr warranty, and JVC has arcenal w/ 2 yr warranty

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Subjective difference in Head Unit Sound?

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