Originally posted by ziggyziggy
good points curly i guess there is no point of buying a $500 headunit unless u just want all the flashy stuff then. i assume that is what u meant right? and in response to the question of the guy calling alpines rolexes, yes he does carry other brands, JVS and rockford.
I apologize from straying so far from the original question....I get wordy when I have a point to make...sorry about that.
The sales guy is going to try to hype their most expensive gear. IT's the nature of the beast...go to a shop that carries Eclipse and not Alpine...ask them what they think of Alpine? I doubt they will praise the Alpine, calling it a "Rolex."
As a note for the last two posts, I'm not using Eclipse to say that it's better then Alpine...I just picked a brand at random...you could do the same with any other brand...
Is one guy more knowledgable then the other? Maybe, are they disagreeing because they really feel that the Alpine is a POS, no way...they are trying to make a living.
My point is that you should decide what features are important to you, then decide what you want to spend. Then find out what head fits your model of the best thing that fits your requirements. Listen to everything that you want to buy. Too many people buy on looks/price alone. When shopping for heads, I make a big deal out of the button layout.....I happen to like rotary knobs...these are the things I look for...yours may be different. A flashy 500 head may be exactly what you want...I can't tell ya.
I did the same thing when searching for a head. I have all my processing external....everything, a total of 93 bands of EQ for goodness sake!!! All I needed was a head that looked pretty good, was easy to use, and sent a clean signal to my EQ's.
I looked at Alpine, Eclipse, Pioneer, Nak, Kenwood, Sony, and more...dind't like the combo of features, designs, and pricing.
I didn't want an internal amplifier (it degrades sound), I didn't want MP3 support (no SQ there) I didn't need any EQ or crossovers (again, I have superior external solutions that most head/processor combos can't match in performance and flexibility)
What I chose: Clarion HX-D10. Why....no internal amp, and you can turn of all processing....everything, no tone controls, no fading, no sub level control. It has a nice display, not too flashy, is detachable, and it was CHEAP (~300 authorized from crutchfield...this head sold for +700) I was extrememly price sensitive at the time. It has the ability to add an external signal processor, changer, and satalite radio.
It was the PERFECT fit for my criteria. IT worked for me....
The average guy probably doesn't want/require the same things I do.
Now, that is enough of me typing, I'm tired, I have to be semi-productive today.