singel din mp3 player with ipod conenctivity - $500

[r3ckless]

hiiiiiiiiiii

[arverson]

alpine, eclipse, pioneer

byeeeeeeee

[blackk]

cbb making a new thread so i'll ask here since its a related topic.
i was thinking of going for the alpine ida x305s but the only downside is the 2V preout.. whats your opinion about that? my plan was to to get a new headunit with ipod compatibility and high quality speakers with some good bass for my 99 civic and nothin more... no external amps and sub. my budget for the front and rear speakers are about $300 or should i only get front speakers and focus the money on that? can someone recommend me some quality speakers and any other headunit suggestions with ipod compatibility?

cheers

[GaDgeT-CRX]

x305s is the bomb for ipod / iphone connectivity, decent quality tft screen that doesn't resemble an early 80's digital watch..

Limited tuning options with the HU, requires external imprint addon or processor to get full SQ control, but has 3 pre-outs and 24bit burr brown DAC from i-device to HU meaning u are getting the best possible processing to your system.

Seems to work best with a USB source, i-device is a bit laggy for skipping tracks, but overall am wrapped with my purchase.. having the big ass volume control knob in the center, and physical buttons makes device easy to navigate while on the go.

[arverson]

blackk, lets compare the x305s with another alpine hu, the 117.

x305s: limited tuning features as mentioned. you only get the extra tuning features (5 band parametric eq, time alignment/correction & more adjustable crossover adjustments) once you add in an external processor like the h100, h650, h701, etc etc. once you add in the cost of the processor you're looking at well over $500, closer to $1000+ depending on the processor.. thats a lot for something that cant even play cds..

117: comes with the above tuning features inside already (no need to get an external processor). can give you the option of actually playing cds if you're chasing pure sq. has ipod/iphone connectivity if thats your thing. has 4V 3preouts and the same 24burr-brown DAC as the x305s (not that this means much cus thats pretty standard) YET can be had for well under $500..

i know which one i'd rather get.

btw, 2/3/4/5/8V preouts.. you'll be fine with 2V. its matters a tiny bit if you're adding amps but youre not, so its a moot point.

if your budget is $300 for speakers then spend that on fronts & a door kit of SD.

where are you located?

[arverson]

a couple more head units to compare:

alpine 9887. basically the older version of the 117. same same tho. can be had for even less than the 117.

eclipse 5030. look at what you get for the price and its a bargain.

[blackk]

thanks for the informative responses guys!

i looked into the alpine cda-117 and its specs does really attract me but it doesnt have a large lcd screen that im after like the 305s. i want it to be able to display 4-8 songs on the screen while browsing.. does it really lag when browsing/changing music from ipod slots for the 305s? man that sucks which is one the things i wanted to avoid.

i guess im not too fussy about tuning features either unless theyre the important ones.. im really after quality sound under my budget and i think i going to focus on just quality front speakers now.

ahh man decisions decisions.. why cant alpine have everything i need in one head unit

i am located in south east melb! know anywhere where they have demos of these headunits? might help me make choose my needs

cheers