Which HU’s do you prefer for SQ?

The old guy here also recommends Eclipse. Of all the cd players I have used or sold over the years, the Eclipse line in it's price point has proven to be the #1 choice for a SQ based cd player.

Turn YOUR caps off.

I used to recomend pioneer as in the past I had pleassant expereinces with them. Due to recent design flaws, I have switched to eclipse and no I don't sell them but I am honest. I ahve also been experimenting with kenwood so far they have been decent but I won't commit until I have sold and installed more.

xtremej wrote:

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Turn YOUR caps off.

I used to recomend pioneer as in the past I had pleassant expereinces with them. Due to recent design flaws, I have switched to eclipse and no I don't sell them but I am honest. I ahve also been experimenting with kenwood so far they have been decent but I won't commit until I have sold and installed more.

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Could you elaborate on the Pioneer design flaws? What's your opinion of the Eclipse so far? Any change in sound compared to Pioneer? Thanks!

xtremej wrote:

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Pioneers have a ground plane noise or simply put they whine. Sometimes you ground the oute shields on the rca and it goes away sometimes you can ground the case on the h.u. and it goes away. Sometimes you can do this and it still is a noticeable noise. I like eclipse but another shop in my area did a buy in so it looks like I am going to have to wait a year before they will split the line in my area. Pioneer used to be on their game but with the recent problem I and many others have lost confidence with them. I would try to get in somewhere and listen several head units and see which one you like.....

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Thanks for the help and advice.

Also bring in music that you prefer to listen to sometimes I have folks come in and I only have certain types of music in the shop and they are into gospel.........

xtremej wrote:

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Also bring in music that you prefer to listen to sometimes I have folks come in and I only have certain types of music in the shop and they are into gospel.........

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Yep. Used to bringing my own for home audio. Car audio is so hard to judge in those listening rooms though. The peaks and dips in autos can really change the sound. Now to find a decent shop in the Phoenix or Glendale area. I'm sick of these butchers around here. There's got to be someone who can do it right.

[QUOTE=DYohn]You could start searching for an installer here:  https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/findinstaller.asp?search=yes&City=&state=Arizona&country=United+States&Submit=Search[/QUOTE]

Thanks. It's not too comforting seeing Audio Express on that list.

IMO running an exteranl amp seems to amplify the noise even worse.

i personally find it easy to sell pioneer but i will not own it. the problem i have with pioneer is, if you have subs when you have it turned down low, the subs are loud and as you turn it up the subs quit getting louder at some point and the mids and highs start to catch up...its wierd and maybe its me but i dont like them because of that...and it sucks how they have thier head units volume set up anyhow...62 is tops??? way too many turns of the wrist! I like alpine always have...always will...agreed that they used to have this used to have this and that built in..but now its an add on...its like everyone in electronics is going the route of IPOD you have to buy everything separate. But i know you can get an alpine add the eq that they make and you can do whatever you want from there! the thing is sick!

i'd have to go with alpine or eclipse. i personally own an alpine and i love it. i've owned an eclipse and loved it as well, kinda wish i still had it. i love the alpines time alignment feature but of course adjustments for correctness to the driver affect the alignment to the passanger. but it's all about me anyway since i'm in the drivers seat.

dsrtjeeper wrote:

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I'm curious which brands or models are most prevelent when it comes to SQ installs and competitions? I would think features like time alignment, DSP, EQ, etc.. would help tweak out the sound quality and staging. Thoughts? Suggestions?

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dwarren wrote:

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This forum has turned into an Eclipse bandwagon, every one has a boner for it.

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I agree with dwarren 100% and will add another that I recently heard and was absolutely blown away: Linn Audio.  Now only available as OEM products in some high-end cars, the Linn car audio line is supposed to become available as aftermarket gear in the US in 2007 or 2008.

That being said, I have owned all the brands Dan mentions and would class Nakamichi as far and away the best sounding head unit that is commonly available (and yes it's me, I think the CD transport and the external DAC in the CD700II are the best ever used in car audio and it's not likely to be surpassed any time soon.)  I will be able to give an opinion about the new Alpine heads with 24-bit Burr-Brown DAC, as this weekend I'm replacing my broken Eclipse CD5444 with a new Alpine DVA-9860.  I'll be sure to post my impressions after I listen for a while.

The forum going to Eclipse is all my fault. You can blame me. David, I am very interested to hear your test results.

DYohn] wrote:

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P>I will be able to give an opinion about the new Alpine heads with 24-bit Burr-Brown DAC, as this weekend I'm replacing my broken Eclipse CD5444 with a new Alpine DVA-9860.  I'll be sure to post my impressions after I listen for a while.

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Why are you using that Alpine? I am sure you are aware that there are almost no audio control functions built in on that deck....unless of course you plan on using the h701, which is a pretty cool piece. And what do you have use for a DVD capable h/u?

Rob, I blame you for SO MUCH more that that.    Seriously though, I think it is a very GOOD thing that this forum promotes high quality gear like Eclipse and tries to protect children from spending their allowance money on crap brands.  So thanks.

Dan, I have no use for any control functions other than volume in a head unit.  I decided to try the Alpine for the DAC, and went for it instead of the 9861 since I don't need iPod controls.  The DVD will be interesting since I own quite a few DVD-A's and I assume I could also load up a DVD-R with quite a few more audio tracks than a CD-R for those long commute drives.

I probably should mention my goals with a different head unit. This has turned into a good discussion and I'm learning as we go.

Someone had questioned why I'm concerned with HU SQ. My rear fill speakers are powered by the HU while everything else is powered by the PDX 4.150. My system is in a very difficult '06 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. (15" longer than a regular Wrangler.)

I'm stuck with 5'1/4 components on each side of the dash and they fire at my knees!

The rear speakers pods hang from the roll bar just behind the driver and passenger head. (Overbearing and take lots of fading.)

Being stuck with 5-1/4" components really puts a damper on midrange bloom and midbass.

I figured a head unit with EQ,DSP, Time Alignment and such would help with sounstaging, boost midband and give better sound to the rears. I don't even have a loudness button on my Alpine for low volume listening. I constantly have to crank the music up to get good bass from the sub. I wish to preserve my hearing.

dsrtjeeper wrote:

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I figured a head unit with EQ,DSP, Time Alignment and such would help with sounstaging, boost midband and give better sound to the rears. I don't even have a loudness button on my Alpine for low volume listening. I constantly have to crank the music up to get good bass from the sub. I wish to preserve my hearing.

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I hate to say it, but no matter how great a headunit you have or buy, you are simply limited by the install, which includes speaker capabilities and their location. Now, that's not to say that an eq or time alignment won't help, or even make a difference, but it may not do what you are expecting it to do, simply because of install limitations and/or other factors.

Dave, I figured that you were after audio options with the dvd option. Ans I suppose you could just use the x-overs in the amps, but you know those specs are always way off

tcss]W wrote:

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ich Alpine do you have?

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9856

dwarren wrote:

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dsrtjeeper wrote:

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I figured a head unit with EQ,DSP, Time Alignment and such would help with sounstaging, boost midband and give better sound to the rears. I don't even have a loudness button on my Alpine for low volume listening. I constantly have to crank the music up to get good bass from the sub. I wish to preserve my hearing.

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I hate to say it, but no matter how great a headunit you have or buy, you are simply limited by the install, which includes speaker capabilities and their location. Now, that's not to say that an eq or time alignment won't help, or even make a difference, but it may not do what you are expecting it to do, simply because of install limitations and/or other factors.

Dave, I figured that you were after audio options with the dvd option. Ans I suppose you could just use the x-overs in the amps, but you know those specs are always way off

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Agreed. That's why I'm trying to do my homework on this subject first. Thanks for your honesty.

dwarren wrote:

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Dave, I figured that you were after audio options with the dvd option. Ans I suppose you could just use the x-overs in the amps, but you know those specs are always way off

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Crossover schmossover, just run everything full range.

dsrtjeeper wrote:

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Was reading another thread and decided to only run the front Diamond 6 series 5-1/4 components with the sub. Soundstaging is more like my home system now and the Alpine sounds fine. If I could just get a bit more of that sweet midrange and midbass; I'd be completely satisfied. I've been using the rear fill for more midbass, but it sure messes with staging.

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Where are the front speakers crossed over at?

dwarren wrote:

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dsrtjeeper wrote:

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Was reading another thread and decided to only run the front Diamond 6 series 5-1/4 components with the sub. Soundstaging is more like my home system now and the Alpine sounds fine. If I could just get a bit more of that sweet midrange and midbass; I'd be completely satisfied. I've been using the rear fill for more midbass, but it sure messes with staging.

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Where are the front speakers crossed over at?

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80hz. It's kind of confusing though as there is a crossover in the HU and on the amp. Also; on HU is a feature to widen or narrow your crossover point. There are steps 1-2-3-4. You first choose your center frequency and then choose one of the 4 positions with 4 being the widest and 1 being a narrow crossover point.

tcss]Y wrote:

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ah Dave, who would sell you that piece of junk Alpine?

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Not sure, but I recall he's a good person to do business with.