Recommend me a HU

[ne1l]

Can anyone recommend me the best head - unit available on the market.

Most friends say Alpine are best but which one? Or do you recommend something else. Don't really have a budget but something within a realistic price range is fine??

Also can you recommend an amp/sub set up? Happy with the standard speakers in my car at the moment (all JBL standard) but would like a more deep sound (I.e. better bass) but not something that's gonna shake the car to bits 6x9's ain't an option as I don't wanna go cutting my parcel shelf to bits etc simply wanna hide a sub/amp away in the boot

Cheers in advance

 

[beau]

not alpine not alpine not alpine

we need to know one major thing- budget roughly, you say realistic, but my realistic and yours are totaly different.

 

[ne1l]

Well I ain't gonna go spend £1000 on a hedunit

Anything up to about say £300-£400 but if there's a good un out there at £50 then let me know (doubt it but you never know

 

[custard]

beu i really wish you wouldnt slate a brand on little experience.
every HU manufacturer has a different sound and style. i personally like and have kenwood but a lot of that can be what you are used to.

spending £400-£500 on a HU is getting into high end units. you are even getting into screen HU in that price.
but what do you want your whole system to be?no point on spending that much on crap speakers

 

[H2DaE]

I have this one - http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/3429.html

IMO awesome for the money, but looks like you have a bit more money to play with than me

If I was you I'd spend about £150 on a HU and get some speakers/amps/sub with the rest

And Beau, what exactly is wrong with Alpine? Last time I checked they were one of the best car audio companies about...

 

[beau]

£300-400? on a headunit. ok. my heart just stopped.

well personally i would

get a headunit and replace the speakers

or

get a headunit and put in a amp and sub.

would you do either of them? or are you spending that much on HU and upgrading rest later?

 

[custard]

And Beau, what exactly is wrong with Alpine? Last time I checked they were one of the best car audio companies about...

he's bitter over one he got 2nd hand off ebay.now spends his time saying how crap the entire brand is

 

[bozzy]

Bit of info required first. What colour is your current dash lights (most important factor for me). Do you want MP3 playback. Will you want to connect an i-pod at all

All this is available for about 100-200 whatever your response.

As for the sub/amp. A great amp is the Kenwood 8151D and can be bought on e-bay for about £80 new. I have one running two Pioneer DVC 10" subs and it's tight. Very good price for a cat D power amp. Subs? it's a personal thing but look at talkaudio.co.uk for more suggestions.

 

[H2DaE]

LMAO, well Beau I'll let you know how "bad" my new Alpine comps and amp are when I get them set up

 

[ne1l]

The speakers at present are all top end JBL's.

That's why I want a better head unit to get full benifit 9plus a sub) The £300-£400 is only for the head-unit. I'd say budget for sub/amp would be another £200 or so??

 

[H2DaE]

Are the JBL speakers amped? Because I personally would look at amping the speakers up with some of that money. You'll see better gains than from a better HU

 

[beau]

no, really to be honest, i love them they look nice, sound nice tonnes of features but i just find them so unpratical, fiddly to use and who want to have to sit there holding the off button for 5 seconds to actually turn the system OFF, there good headunits but not practical i dont think. also build quality should be better than it is for how much they cost.

 

[beau]

LMAO, well Beau I'll let you know how "bad" my new Alpine comps and amp are when I get them set up

lol, alpine speakers are real good.

 

[ne1l]

So is anyone gonna recommend or all squabble with each other all night

 

[custard]

no, really to be honest, i love them they look nice, sound nice tonnes of features but i just find them so unpratical, fiddly to use and who want to have to sit there holding the off button for 5 seconds to actually turn the system OFF, there good headunits but not practical i dont think. also build quality should be better than it is for how much they cost.

and how many big name brand head units have you used to compare?
a lot of HU have a soft and hard 'off' feature which is helpful if you want it to come 'alive' via the steering remote

 

[bozzy]

So is anyone gonna recommend or all squabble with each other all night

I thought I had

 

[ne1l]

Yeah thanks bozzy

Was looking for a few ideas and recommendation to compare though.

I'll let them settle it out then they can tell me the winner lol

 

[beau]

and how many big name brand head units have you used to compare?
a lot of HU have a soft and hard 'off' feature which is helpful if you want it to come 'alive' via the steering remote

i have stood in halfords for a long while looking at the stereos , the alpine just doesnt feel as "solid" build quality as some of the others available, but i would highly recommend alpine still. but they still get on my nerves lol, before buying any stereo, from internet i would go to shops and play around with them, because you might find out you hate it!

 

[crazydave]

Hey Im all for alpine, alpine, i dunno bout door speakers but yeh they are good in my opinion

 

[bozzy]

OK, specifics. I purchased a Pioneer DEH-P6700MP and it is outstanding. It produces incredibly deep bass. It is i-pod ready, plays MP3, It has a panel with a display & buttons that can be configured to match your dash light colour. It took me ages to find a head unit that could completely match my amber display. When you want you can change it to any colour you like or have it change continuously. It has many presets for different stages of bass. It is complex in it's configuration but when you get it right its great.

I picked it up brand new off e-bay with warranty for £90.

I have no regrets. Pictures at http://www.bozzy.f2s.com/