Best MP3 Head Unit for $500-$600. Please Help.

[JeremyCivic]

Yeah it's a good deck. Multi award winning in previous year. Price is a little bit steeper compared to some of the others mention, roughly in the $799 mark. But good SQ unit. Never been a Kenwood fan but this i would recommend.

Would you recommend it over the Clarion DXZ856MP?

Thanks

[ICACHA]

Hi,

Looking to purchase an MP3 head unit for my car by next week and was hoping to get some opinions on specific models you'd recommend.

Have been looking into some Alpine, kenwoods, clarion, pioneer etc and cant seem to make a decision for myself.

I'm not really fussy about it being IPOD compatible as I don't have an Ipod anyway. hehe

I will have front splits, rear speakers and an amp included in this setup. Was just hoping to figure out which head unit to get.

I want one that looks good, sounds good and clear/crisp, doesnt skip on cd's or stop when my car hits a bump.

Oh and it has to be within the $500-$600 price range.

Thanks

Your after an opinion right?

Why not have a search around the manufacturers websites for specifications and choose one that suits your needs and has the features your after, bit odd asking people what they would have rather than thinking about what you would want.

you obviously know how much you want to spend, why not do your own research, that always helps

[JeremyCivic]

Your after an opinion right?

Why not have a search around the manufacturers websites for specifications and choose one that suits your needs and has the features your after, bit odd asking people what they would have rather than thinking about what you would want.

you obviously know how much you want to spend, why not do your own research, that always helps

Actually, I have been trying to research myself if you havent noticed.

I didnt just make up all the head unit models I'm interested in out of thin air.

I've tried to narrow down my search and was hoping for other's opinions in regards to which ones are good units etc from either experience or knowledge.

I have also stated in my first post what I wanted in the head unit, and was hoping to get people's opinions on a good headunit that would suit my criteria.

[J-MuN]

Would you recommend it over the Clarion DXZ856MP?

Thanks

To be honest with you, i haven't come across the DXZ856MP. Don't stock clarion at work, not saying Clarion is no good or anything, but just don't know much about their products.

[Ru$kI]

I suggest try 2 play around with both of them and see which one appeals to you more, as both of the decks are quite great.

Clarion seems to have a cleaner design, and is definately easy to use. The touchscreen is a feature specific to this line of decks...as I haven't seen a 1 DIN headunit with touchscreen before. I was a little skeptical initially about how sensitive the touch screen may be and the operation of all the functions from it..but the software is written in a very simple way which follows genuine logic convention (unlike some other headunits where u have to press 10 buttons just to turn the volume up!). Also the software allows you to choose between 2 different layouts of the buttons on screen, to better suit your style of operation.

The headunit is feature rich...and i can definately say the ADF (Anit-Distortion Filter) function is probably its biggest feature. It does wonders when you play an encoded format like MP3 or WMA...seems to replenish alot of lost sound. However the downside with ADF...once you turn it on, you have to basically retune your whole SQ settings to match it.

Sound quality wise, it's hard for me to comment as I havent felt the best sound from it...but that is purely due to the setup of the rest of my equipment (speakers / amps / sub). Im rectifying the problem by getting an external 1/2 DIN 7-band EQ, Dynamating the car, and re-cabling the whole system with fatter cables. This should be done by the weekend so Ill let you know then how it sounds .

With the Kenwood...design seems fine....but is nothing that strikes you as something exciting or interesting. Infact it is almost identical to their low-range headunits. However I guess some people are after that to kind of retain that stock headunit look. Mind you I only once had a chance to fiddle with the deck...and that was for 5 mins. Recalling my memory I was interested that such an ordinary looking deck seemed to have so much potential, but nothing about really appealed to me. One more thing is the remote...which looks way oversized IMO.

Feature wise...im just reading through the list of features and telling you my initial thought on each one.
1. G-Analyser....absolute waste....basically shows you how many G-forces affect your car when you're turning or something of that nature.
2. Full colour OEL...good...its nice to have a detailed display
3. Tel mute...good idea...but skeptical about its compatibility with various types of phones
4. Subwoofer Level & Low Pass Filter Adjustable...a necessity in any high-end headunit. Clarion has this also
5. Built In Amp Mute Function....good idea...suppose to mute the internal amp of the headunit if you have your speakers powered by an external amp...to improve clarity of sound. Clarion has this too...and personally I never felt the difference with it on or off (could be coz i listen to MP3s and not actual CDs)
6. Digital DSP....I have never been a fan of presets...as Id never use them and instead try to tune the system to my own liking, but it may be a different story for you
7. Digital X'over/ Digital Time Alignment/ 4-band Digital EQ/ Digital SRS WOW Effect....awesome SQ stuff...Clarion deck has none of this..so thats a big point to note
8. Attenuator...useful...but you can just as quickly turn the volume down using the rotary knob
9. AUX input...nothing special...most decks have this
10. Phatnoise media manager...not quite sure what it does...but sounds interesting.

SQ wise...as I stated before...seems impressive (also has 24bit Burr Browns )...better than the Clarion...but as you can see in my situation...it all comes down to the rest of the equipment you have in your car, with regard to what the music ultimately sounds like.

Bottom line...gota play around with both of em...gota listen to both of them...and then make a decision

Good luck

[Astro]

I suggest try 2 play around with both of them and see which one appeals to you more, as both of the decks are quite great.

Clarion seems to have a cleaner design, and is definately easy to use. The touchscreen is a feature specific to this line of decks...as I haven't seen a 1 DIN headunit with touchscreen before. I was a little skeptical initially about how sensitive the touch screen may be and the operation of all the functions from it..but the software is written in a very simple way which follows genuine logic convention (unlike some other headunits where u have to press 10 buttons just to turn the volume up!). Also the software allows you to choose between 2 different layouts of the buttons on screen, to better suit your style of operation.

The headunit is feature rich...and i can definately say the ADF (Anit-Distortion Filter) function is probably its biggest feature. It does wonders when you play an encoded format like MP3 or WMA...seems to replenish alot of lost sound. However the downside with ADF...once you turn it on, you have to basically retune your whole SQ settings to match it.

Sound quality wise, it's hard for me to comment as I havent felt the best sound from it...but that is purely due to the setup of the rest of my equipment (speakers / amps / sub). Im rectifying the problem by getting an external 1/2 DIN 7-band EQ, Dynamating the car, and re-cabling the whole system with fatter cables. This should be done by the weekend so Ill let you know then how it sounds .

With the Kenwood...design seems fine....but is nothing that strikes you as something exciting or interesting. Infact it is almost identical to their low-range headunits. However I guess some people are after that to kind of retain that stock headunit look. Mind you I only once had a chance to fiddle with the deck...and that was for 5 mins. Recalling my memory I was interested that such an ordinary looking deck seemed to have so much potential, but nothing about really appealed to me. One more thing is the remote...which looks way oversized IMO.

Feature wise...im just reading through the list of features and telling you my initial thought on each one.
1. G-Analyser....absolute waste....basically shows you how many G-forces affect your car when you're turning or something of that nature.
2. Full colour OEL...good...its nice to have a detailed display
3. Tel mute...good idea...but skeptical about its compatibility with various types of phones
4. Subwoofer Level & Low Pass Filter Adjustable...a necessity in any high-end headunit. Clarion has this also
5. Built In Amp Mute Function....good idea...suppose to mute the internal amp of the headunit if you have your speakers powered by an external amp...to improve clarity of sound. Clarion has this too...and personally I never felt the difference with it on or off (could be coz i listen to MP3s and not actual CDs)
6. Digital DSP....I have never been a fan of presets...as Id never use them and instead try to tune the system to my own liking, but it may be a different story for you
7. Digital X'over/ Digital Time Alignment/ 4-band Digital EQ/ Digital SRS WOW Effect....awesome SQ stuff...Clarion deck has none of this..so thats a big point to note
8. Attenuator...useful...but you can just as quickly turn the volume down using the rotary knob
9. AUX input...nothing special...most decks have this
10. Phatnoise media manager...not quite sure what it does...but sounds interesting.

SQ wise...as I stated before...seems impressive (also has 24bit Burr Browns )...better than the Clarion...but as you can see in my situation...it all comes down to the rest of the equipment you have in your car, with regard to what the music ultimately sounds like.

Bottom line...gota play around with both of em...gota listen to both of them...and then make a decision

Good luck

Excellent post

If I could give you a rep point, I would!

hehe

[ICACHA]

yeah i would of said read some brouchers too, but someone else beat me to it with an essay

[Ru$kI]

lol...i thought anyone and everyone could give rep points?

Excellent post

If I could give you a rep point, I would!

hehe