HU confusion: Alpine vs cheaper HUs sanyo

Hello, I really liked the fantomeface (Alpine CDA-7897) which has a motorized face, which some other companies call "stealth" face. I spent around 200 dollars on it (ebay) and it didnt work, I have sent it for repair, and if it gets repaired, the unit will cost me a total of around 350 to 375 dollars. Now that is going really out of my budget and I am thinking of buying a cheaper one and selling the alpine unit when it gets fixed (msrp of this unit i think is around 550 and i have seen used units being sold for 300+ on ebay)

Can you please give ur suggestion/thoughts on these questions?

1. How important is a HU in car audio. If I go for cheaper HUs like aiwa, sanyo (which i know have similar stealth face option), will it be a major compromise on sound quality? I am also planiing to add amplifiers in my truck. Has anyone experience with sanyo stealth face units?

2. My two basic preferences are 1. rotary volume control and 2. stealth face. stealth face because I am planning to keep the truck (1st gen 4runner) open during the summer and such a feature will add security I think. Can you suggest some HUs which have these features (with mp3 if available)?

The HU is the heart and soul of your system.  The better the quality of the head, the better the whole system sounds.  I have installed some Sanyo units, and they are decent for the price but cannot hold a candle to an Alpine.  I'll let someone else chime in on your other q's.

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Eclipse! And I used to own the same vehicle. A stealth face is no guarantee that it will not be stolen, matter of fact no stereo can give any guarantee that it will not be stolen. AT least the Eclipse is replaced free of charge in the first year if it is stolen and has a 3 year warranty. If this cd player is mounted properly using the factory Toyota radio mounting brackets, there will be 4 bolts to secure the brackets to the cd player and 4 bolts to attach the brackets to the dashboard. You need one mighty hefty crowbar to remove any cd player from the dash when it is mounted this way, and even then, it would thoroughly destroy any cd player that was mounted there.

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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.

Alpine I had this headunit and loved it.It is not very user friendly but it has a lot of nice options that make it worth the money if you plan on doing a good system. Kenwood,Sony, and Eclipse all make some phantom face radios but imo the alpine has the better sound.  I think that the Eclipse may actually have a better signal to noise ratio than the Alpine.

eclipse is crazy when it comes to s/n ratio..... but.... do you have an external amp for ur door speakers??? or do u plan on going with the deck...if with and external amp find a good amp with only a preamp output...usually cheaper and sound better.... i know alot of places are getting there new stock in so go around some local shop and see what kinda deals u can get on last years stuff...... u may have 2 ask if they have any lying around

I have no door speakers, just dash speakers and I bought a pair of Boston RM6 which I will install in the rear (actually near the rear seats, which would be a rear door for later 4runners). I have Kenwood KAC 648s amp (4 channel) I was thinking of connecting the rear speakers via amps (bostons) and the dash ones directly through the HU.

which are the dealers (online) for eclipse? i know one is cartoys which I think have low price guarantee