I'm looking for a new head unit and I haven't been following it for a while and now there are all these new mp3 decks out but I have no clue which are good... just looking for a suggestion on which to get, I am basically gonna be running my 6.5's and 6.9's from it and I plan to have a sub system in the trunk so I was wondering what you guys would suggest as far as that is concerned... basically I want mp3 playing capabilities and that it looks nice, willing to spend around $400(msrp)

 

are you going to run amps for the front speakers too? Do you need any kind of processing such as eq, crossovers etc. Ones i would look at are the pioneer premier 860mp or if you dont need all those features the 8600mp. Alpine whatever is in that range or maybe eclipse. If you dont need too many features maybe a clarion. Just a few suggestions.

 

Alpine makes a nice deck too and it sounds clean. I have a 7894 from a couple years ago and love it. It has 60W X 4 built into the deck. That's one of the most powerful decks you can buy.

If you are looking new, go with an Alpine CDA-9833. Its around $450, but it's getting mid year so they will be starting sales. Also the CDA-9835 is a nice deck, but it's around $550. You will be happy with either.

As far as subs, what kind of sound do you like? Nice tight bass, or boomy bass. One 10" will give you some nice tight bass where a 12 or bigger will sound more boomy. I have a 10" Alpine Type R and an Alpine 700W Mono class D amp to run it. It sounds clean and can get very loud if need be, while still remaining clear. Can you tell I'm an Alpine fan?

 

go simple : http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pn...891888,00.html (330 MSRP but you'll pay around 200 +tx)

It looks good, sounds good and as amp output so if you're not planning on getting more than an amp ... go with this one I have a basic mp3 player from pioneer and it rox!

 

Just remember that when getting a deck, if it says 50wattsx4, it peaks at 50wattsx4, the RMS would prolly be somewhere around 22-23watts or so.

Oh yea, I have a Pioneer 7400MP, its a great deck...

 

That's a myth. A false one, at that. I could get my 15" TDX to sound just as "tight" as its 10" version. It's all in the setup. I could make a 10" sound boomy and I could make a 12" sound tight. Build the enclosure properly and limit the more capable low-end extension of the larger sub with the use of some crossovers and you'd have a hard time arguing that the 10" is tighter. This is a comparison between a 15" and a 10". You'd have to have a dog's sense of hearing to think there'd be much of a difference between a 10" and a 12", if any at all.

 

I second that suggestion. It looks nice and has all the features you could probably want. The 860MP and the 8600MP are essentially the same deck with different pre-out voltages and the Premier has pro-mode for outputs. The Premier DEH-P860MP can be found for just about the same price as the 8600MP so I'd go with that and have 6.5V preouts instead of the 4V. It can play MP3s and has a nice organic display, so it covers what you want.

Eclipses are also nice, but have a higher learning curve and really require you to tinker to realize their full potential. Alpine is in the same league as Pioneers, but their displays aren't as "flashy."

 

i had an eclipse for 7yrs with no problems, i couldn't make it skip or anything, they are great, but as mentioned have a lot to be learned. in my family we have had nakemichi and alpine which have been very good too. the nakemichi is real simple and powerful with a clear no b.s. display that works well in hondas and acuras, however it is kinda rare and depending can be costly