I've got about $275 to spend on car stereo stuff and I can't decide whether to upgrade my speakers (stock right now) or my headunit. My current headunit is an alpine 3de-7886. Its about 4 or so years old and its the one with the 3cd magazine in the dash. It doesn't like to play some burned cds and cds will occasionally get stuck in the unit. It only plays CD-Rs too (not CDRW or mp3). It also only puts out 35 watts x4. The only thing keeping me from replacing it is that its specs are pretty damn good for something that is 4 years old. 94 DB signal to noise ratio, 5-20000 htz for cds (thats better than most current units ive seen). Would 35 watts x4 be enough power to make some infinity components sound good?
Im debating whether to get a unit that plays mp3 cds which would elimate the use of a 3 disc changer. Maybe a pioneer or blaupunkt that puts out 50 x4 watts...what do you guys think the best mp3 cd units are for under $250? So should i get the components and stick with my alpine or go with the new head unit and components later?

 

I'll tell you.....when I got my new head unit it made my stuff sound 100X's better. I think that if I had gotten new speakers with the stock HU the quality wouldn't have improved much. Get a new HU

 

My opinion is that unless the speakers are blown, the head unit is the first thing that should be replaced in a stereo system. And w/$275 to spend, you can get a pretty good unit. I would recommend Alpine, Kenwood, the JVC DigiFine head units are pretty sweet too. Just shop around, play w/some of them, see how easy they are to use, get familiar w/the different features and make sure to get something that gives you flexibility. Meaning, don't get the Sony head unit w/1 set of rca's that costs $175, instead get the $250 Sony w/3 sets of rca's, built in eq, crossover, and fold down face. That way if you plan on building a system w/more than one amp, you won't be restricted by the single set of rca's on the deck that saved you some $$$.

 

aiwa cdc-mp3, i got one and i love it, plays mp3 cd-s, puts out 45x4, sounds awesome with my infinitysand polks, only costs around 175

 

first thing i would get would be speakers and an amp... your sound will be infinitely better than the sound that any headunit can put out alone.

 

speakers and an amp would be "things" For those of us who aren't so financially gifted, we can only do a little bit at a time. But hey, to each his own.

 

if your gonna buy now, get speakers... if you wanna wait a little and save up some more $$, get an Alpine cda-7894... dont skimp on the head unit quality... you can have the best speakers in the world... but they wont do **** without a good signal...

Its not the best idea to power components, especially higher end brands, with deck power... its not enough to really drive them and make them sound good. If you dont play your music loud, you can get away with it...

 

im just use my stock accord headunit and changer with a 4ch amp powering the front stock speakers and a 10" jl sub. the whole setup cost < $200 and it sound better than any headunit alone. i dont want to waste money on a headunit. all it does is attract theives. the sound quality from the factory headunit isnt the best, but im not looking to win shows, just a decent setup to bump my music on

 

I'd say both at the same time, you upgrade the head unit, it will be giving more juice than the stock card-board speakers can handle and blow.

 

I agree with Max, just save about another 100, and replace everything at once. I'd suggest a Kenwood or Alpine, I've had both, and they are great products. I have the cda-7894, its the best radio I've had to date, and before that I had the Kenwood kdc-9017, which was my first aftermarket cd player and it had great sound quality. And personally, I like the pioneer 3-way speakers, they're very crisp and clean. IMO