Clarion Vs Pioneer

[Khemraj]

Sup folks, here i am stuck with a dilemma with my choices for my head unit...

On one hand i have the choice of the Clarion CZ509 and the other is the MVH-P8200BT. Haven't found any specs on the Pioneer seeing that they haven't released them yet and I've look on Crutchfield and apparently the Clarion fits. I can the Clarion for like $209 + plus the free gear that comes with it. But i can wait and pay $369 + the free gear for the Pioneer. Only thing is Crutchfield doesn't know when it will be getting the new Pioneers.

Do you or did you have either brand and what were your experiences with them like? I'll be running 4 Infinity References 6x8 2 way speakers and a Infinity References 12" sub with a Rockford Fosgate P300-1. I'm playing on running the speakers amp free until i get a 4 channel amp for the speakers.

What do you think?

 

[john21]

in my opinion i like the sound quality on clarion alot better then pioneer, and the pioneer is more expensive for almost the same features except for the pioneer being satellite radio ready, i would personally go with the clarion.

 

[Khemraj]

yeah i just saw that the pioneer is "mech free"...need an mp3 player or sd card...no cds...hmmm...i think i'll check the clarion out more...

 

[judman13]

Im just going to throw out there that you get what you pay for when it comes to gear like this. The reason the Pioneers are more expensive is they have put tons of R&D in to their products. Their products work and they last.

I am not sure what pioneer head units you have been listening to john or what components were attached to them, but in a head to head contest I guarantee you that the pioneer will win out a sound quality contest over a clarion every time.

As for the mech free deal. How often do you really use cd's anymore? Just go out and buy a 4 or 8 gb sd card and throw a ton of your music on there and you never have to worry about changing sd's or scratching them. Its much easier, plus the pioneer file browsing system is a breeze.

Another aspect to look at is the ease of use. I set up a clarion head unit for a friend and the menus were crap. I had to dig through so much useless garbage I just finally gave up and took out the manual which was almost as hard to read. Every pioneer I have owned (totaling 4 now all in different cars) were extremely easy to set up and tune to your liking.

 

[Khemraj]

hmmm...convincing...i've been reading a few reviews on it on the crutchfield website and some users have mentioned the work it took installing the clarions...i like this...more feedback please...i got the greenlight to make my purchase on the 1st of April...time is short...lol...i'm depending on you!!! only you can help me not make a bad choice on head units!!! LOL

 

[Khemraj]

ok so i'm reading about the Pioneers and it seems that it also is plagued with display, ease of use issues as well...i want some nice sounds, easy to use for a reasonable price...

 

[judman13]

All I have to say is that my experience with pioneer thus far has been flawless. I know a lot of people here love their pioneer headunits and a few pro installers that recommend them.

Also remember that there are people out there that could have bought fake products or previously damaged ones, therefore giving bad reviews where they are not warranted. Also there are idiots out there that cant change the time on a clock much less all the functions of todays headunits.

My advice would be to try and find a local audio shop or retail store that has both in a demo setup that would allow you to listen to both through the same setup with the same source. That also gives you the ability to play with the interface first hand to know how it feels for you.

 

[Khemraj]

yeah sounds like a good idea, problem is there's hardly any audio shops that i know of where i'm at...

 

[Khemraj]

so i spoke with Crutchfield and i was recommended the following...

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_020CZ509/Clarion-CZ509.html

http://signature.crutchfield.com/s_113KDCX794/Kenwood-Excelon-KDC-X794.html

 

[DPRACING]

Pioneer

 

[1sty]

Sup folks, here i am stuck with a dilemma with my choices for my head unit...

On one hand i have the choice of the Clarion CZ509 and the other is the MVH-P8200BT. Haven't found any specs on the Pioneer seeing that they haven't released them yet and I've look on Crutchfield and apparently the Clarion fits. I can the Clarion for like $209 + plus the free gear that comes with it. But i can wait and pay $369 + the free gear for the Pioneer. Only thing is Crutchfield doesn't know when it will be getting the new Pioneers.

Do you or did you have either brand and what were your experiences with them like? I'll be running 4 Infinity References 6x8 2 way speakers and a Infinity References 12" sub with a Rockford Fosgate P300-1. I'm playing on running the speakers amp free until i get a 4 channel amp for the speakers.

What do you think?

The Pioneer is listed as in stock at crutch field.

I sold and installed both for several years.
Both brand same good.
I don't get how you are comparing a $200 head unit to a $350 one.

If there $200 one has the features you want....buy it.

The units when set flat with no boosting circuits on will sound damn near the same. IF they didn't then something is wrong with one of them as they should be within +/- a db over the audible range of sound.
Head units are all about features so get the one that best meets your needs for the price.

At tweeter alpine was by far the number one brand in sales, however pioneers were the ones that had the least percentage of repairs.
Clarion was decent on both fronts too.

Feature to feature neither pioneer or clarion is drastically more expensive then the other. Neither are an elite brand as those really don't exist in the US market anymore. Closest to it is alpine which ends up usually around $10 more then other units for the feature set.

The pioneer is more expensive because it has high voltage pre-outs so it should be better at driving amplifiers but this that bi of deal.
Also the pioneer has 8 adjustable parametric EQ bands which can be helpful to really adjust the sound to what you want. Although not listed I would suspect the Pioneer would have better adjustable crossovers.

 

[cplagge]

here is my .02: I think Pioneer has some very high quality products, but also some very low level stuff. The fact they sell them at walmart should be an indicator right there... HOWEVER, Ive used a clarion, a pioneer, a JVC, and a Kenwood in my car,( Currently using the Pioneer) and if you go for the pioneer, you wont be disappointed. As far as sound quality goes, I'm an audiophile. the built in amps are worthless (again, my opinion). I would never use a nice stereo without an external amp running everything... and I believe that the Pioneer has higher volt pre-amp outs, so that is always a nice thing. So just some more things to think about...