Printer Friendly Forum Posts - looking for new head unit to replace pyle

I am looking at a tight budget to replace my PYLE (o crap) with something better and found this Clarion VB475, it is about $242.99,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,is this worth it and is it better than the PYLE???

MP3/WMA Compatible
DVD-R/DVD-RW/CD-R/CD-RW Ready
18 FM/12 AM Presets
24-Bit D/A converter
6 ch / 2V RCA Output with Subwoofer Volume Control
45 W 4 Built-in Amplifier
2 Composite Video Outputs
2 ch RCA Auxiliary Input
Remote Control Included
Detachable Control Panel

Satellite Radio Ready

4x18 Watts RMS Power Output

4x45 Watts Maximum Power

4 volts Preamp Voltage

WMA Playback

Subwoofer Preamp Outputs

MP3 playback

HD Radio

DIN

Changer Control

CD Text

Bluetooth

Aux input

Built-in EQ

CD-R/CD-RW Compatible

Remote Control

Detachable Face

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2004 Hyundai Sonata
Kenwood KDC-X599 HU
2-Sundown X-18D4
2-SQ Q4500.1
2-SQ Q90.4
1-Massive DBX4
8-Niche 5.25 mids
8-Niche Tweeters
4-Skar 8" mid-bass
OhioGen 220a alt
OhioGen 350a alt
156.0

Don't know what happened to the Alpine info but it is a CDA9886

Satellite Radio Ready

4x18 Watts RMS Power Output

4x45 Watts Maximum Power

4 volts Preamp Voltage

WMA Playback

Subwoofer Preamp Outputs

MP3 playback

HD Radio

DIN

Changer Control

CD Text

Bluetooth

Aux input

Built-in EQ

CD-R/CD-RW Compatible

Remote Control

Detachable Face

anyone of those is better than the pyle. i personally like clarion. i bought a refurbished one a few years ago and i dont have too many problems, just make sure you give it a good ground or you might get some noise later on

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I am in the market for a new head unit (on a budget) and I know that Kenwood used to be pretty good stuff, what do you all think of them now, are they still quality units?

would Kenwood be alot better than PYLE?

would Kenwood compare to Alpine or Clarion?

kenwood is ok. havent really heard anything bad about them as far as their decks go

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How about

JVC

Jensen

Panisonic

did they sell out also or are they still about the same as Kenwood?

Any head unit on your list will be better than Pyle. Well, except maybe Jensen. Jensen (and all the other Audiovox brands) belong at the flea-market.

The top head unit brand names available in the US today are Eclipse and Alpine. Clarion and some higher-end Pioneers, higher-end Blaupunkt and maybe Kenwood Excelon would be the next tier down IMO. JVC is crap. Panasonic used to be OK but not so much any more. Followed by everything else. IMO of course.

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Help me decide on what to get (best bang for the buck) here are what I have narrowed it down to, I have at most $300 to spend, but would like to get the best deal in these price ranges, I like the Jensen because of what it has, but DYohn said it is swap meet crap, so my second choice is either the Blaupunkt and the Clarion.

Please give input or review and let me know what you all think.

Clarion - VB475 - $299 (DVD reciever no screen)

Clarion - MAX385VD - $359 (2 din DVD receiver with screen)

Alpine - CDA9884 - $189 (cd)

Alpine - CDA9886 - $265 (cd)

Kenwood - KDV412 - $339 ( dvd reciever no screen)

Kenwood - KDC-MP638U - $144 (cd)

Blaupunkt - Long Beach DVD35 - $249 ( dvd receiver no screen)

Jensen - VM8012 - $197 (dvd reciever with 2.5" screen)

If you need DVD capability get the Clarion. If not, get one of the Alpines.

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Go with the alpine 9884 and with the money you save you can add the pxa-h100 imprint processor. It looks like you have a couple of amps already, so you will definetly notice a huge improvement in your sound.

What does the imprint processor do?

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2004 Hyundai Sonata
Kenwood KDC-X599 HU
2-Sundown X-18D4
2-SQ Q4500.1
2-SQ Q90.4
1-Massive DBX4
8-Niche 5.25 mids
8-Niche Tweeters
4-Skar 8" mid-bass
OhioGen 220a alt
OhioGen 350a alt
156.0

The imprint processor will give you some great sonic tweaking abilities, 6 channel time correction, 5 band eq graphic or parametric I think, individual crossover control for front rear and sub or high mid and low. It will also increase the output voltage on the preamp stage to 4 volts. All of that control will give you the ability to really fine tune your sound.

wow, that sounds like a great unit, does anybody else have some input on these units, I really don't want to be buying another one in 6 months

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2004 Hyundai Sonata
Kenwood KDC-X599 HU
2-Sundown X-18D4
2-SQ Q4500.1
2-SQ Q90.4
1-Massive DBX4
8-Niche 5.25 mids
8-Niche Tweeters
4-Skar 8" mid-bass
OhioGen 220a alt
OhioGen 350a alt
156.0

also have a friend that has a Panasonic CQ-VW100U that he really likes, what do you think of this unit?

Well for now I went with the Clarion DXZ-585-USB, this seems to be a good unit with alot of options and upgrade options, plus it was only $155

Let me know what you think of this.

any input on the Clarion DXZ-585-USB ???

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2004 Hyundai Sonata
Kenwood KDC-X599 HU
2-Sundown X-18D4
2-SQ Q4500.1
2-SQ Q90.4
1-Massive DBX4
8-Niche 5.25 mids
8-Niche Tweeters
4-Skar 8" mid-bass
OhioGen 220a alt
OhioGen 350a alt
156.0

My buddy has the model up from this one, it seems to be a solid headunit and i like slidetrack feature it has. I have always ran clarion heads and i have never had one fail. The one i am currently using is a clarion pro audio it is 3+ years old and it is awesome....

Thanx for your input, I have been doing comparisons and looking for about 2 weeks now and nobody really has anything negative to say about Clarion and the price seems to be right, I would have gone Alpine, but it seems like all the add on's will send me to the poor house.

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2004 Hyundai Sonata
Kenwood KDC-X599 HU
2-Sundown X-18D4
2-SQ Q4500.1
2-SQ Q90.4
1-Massive DBX4
8-Niche 5.25 mids
8-Niche Tweeters
4-Skar 8" mid-bass
OhioGen 220a alt
OhioGen 350a alt
156.0

I also got the 6 disc changer that goes with this head unit, should be pretty nice once I get it, you can actually run ups to 4 disc changers with this unit, the head unit has 6 volt prouts, they say this will give cleaner sound than the 2-4 volt outputs.....is that true?

I have heard the higher voltage can reduce noise but i dont know if this is true. It shouldnet matter what your voltage is as long as it is in the range of your amplifier. Once you get your new headunit you are going to have to reset your gains to match the voltage of your new headunit.

Yes and this time I will do it with a meter instead of by ear, I have a question though... I read the sticky but I am a bit confused because the amp manual says that my target output voltage at 2ohm is 31.5 vac for the sub amp (TMA-T2-500.1) and 25vac at 4ohm on the highs amp (TMA-T2-320.4). am I missing something?

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2004 Hyundai Sonata
Kenwood KDC-X599 HU
2-Sundown X-18D4
2-SQ Q4500.1
2-SQ Q90.4
1-Massive DBX4
8-Niche 5.25 mids
8-Niche Tweeters
4-Skar 8" mid-bass
OhioGen 220a alt
OhioGen 350a alt
156.0

Thats correct you have to measure it on the speaker outputs of the amps. Thats whay you have to use a signal generator or a test cd with tones. The current going to your speakers is a AC current not a DC current. Make sure when you are measuring to set your gains you have the meter in the AC setting while measuring. Also i would use a 60 hz tone to set your gains.

where can I get a cd with the tones? can I download it someplace?

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2004 Hyundai Sonata
Kenwood KDC-X599 HU
2-Sundown X-18D4
2-SQ Q4500.1
2-SQ Q90.4
1-Massive DBX4
8-Niche 5.25 mids
8-Niche Tweeters
4-Skar 8" mid-bass
OhioGen 220a alt
OhioGen 350a alt
156.0

realmofexcursion.com has test tones under their download section.

Which ones do you suggest I download and use?

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2004 Hyundai Sonata
Kenwood KDC-X599 HU
2-Sundown X-18D4
2-SQ Q4500.1
2-SQ Q90.4
1-Massive DBX4
8-Niche 5.25 mids
8-Niche Tweeters
4-Skar 8" mid-bass
OhioGen 220a alt
OhioGen 350a alt
156.0

I would test an array of around 30hz to 1kz incremented in 10 or 20 hz steps to make sure there is good overlap in all frequencies as well as the correct voltage across frequencies. start with something around 70hz and then fine tune from there...

I received my Clarion DXZ585USB head unit and DCZ625 CD changer this morning, will be installing this afternoon, so excited............. posted_image