What head units do you recommend?

[ph0enixrising]

I know that the stock head unit is crap when it comes to power, but the thing that bugs me about aftermarket ones is how out of place they look on certain dashes. I like how the front panel all kinda flows together, and how all the instrumention is red. Are there any head units that don't look out of place? Maybe some pics? Is there any other way to get power to new speakers besides replacing the head unit? Thanks

 

[JMDPRO5]

I know that theres manufactures that make headunits that fit just like the stock one does. Pioneer makes a few that would fit perfectly. But you can always get the traditional regular headunit and still look good.

 

[Captain KRM P5]

I am anal about the color myself - I love the red guages, in fact they were a deciding purchase factor for me. I looked at a bunch of head units and just said screw it. The ones that were backlit red or had red instrumentation just weren't my thing. Besides, the car came with the CD / Tape setup and I'd hate to give up the "full look" the large stock deck gives the dash.

Alot of the red stuff out there is the Sony XPlod line. I can't tell you how much this stuff is garbage. I've bought two Sony head units and both of them have gone to pot, from nothing more than normal use. Normal as in I listen to the news and low volume FM radio, not ghettoblasting.

Come to think of it, I have had nothing but bad luck with Sony crap for years. I've done alot of work in the videogame industry and I've never seen a crappier quality control than Sony's PlayStation division - seriously. The PS2 is barely approaching two years of age and is already in its EIGHTH hardware revision. I have replaced two systems due to defective lasers. After I did some research on the thing, I found that the laser was on six month backorder for repairs. I am sure many people remember the overheating and laser failures on the PS1.

So sorry for the rant, moral of the story is don't buy Sony.

 

[pr5owner]

if you want your HU to match your stock interior gauges (all red) sony has some HU's that have a red backlight.. should check those out, check my www buttonfor pics of a sony 750x install

 

[Protege Type 5]

sony xplod..BLEH
even top of the line..
it might look cool, but the sound is horrible, and the customization?
umm
lemme see, i think u might get treble, bass, fade...
lol

in my opinion, pioneer and eXcelon is the way to go...
and Eclipse if youre a real baller....

 

[Esteban Toledo]

I am anal about the color myself - I love the red guages, in fact they were a deciding purchase factor for me. I looked at a bunch of head units and just said screw it. The ones that were backlit red or had red instrumentation just weren't my thing. Besides, the car came with the CD / Tape setup and I'd hate to give up the "full look" the large stock deck gives the dash.

I'm having the same problem. Kenwood's kdc-mpv619 +......719 appear to be the best choices. Both offer 67 different color choices. My problem is that it has a detachable face. For security and convenience, I prefer the black panel or hidden panel.

"Give me convenience or give me death"

 

[Aricjm15]

my $.02

anything sony audio = (moon) and or s***

I would say go Clairion, Blaupunkt, Kenwood or Jvc

just DONT BUY SONY, they named them XPLOD for a reason, because they build crap

 

[ZoomZoom]

I am gonna chime in on this one too. I have been installing for almost 10 years and the quality of Sony has fallen of in the past few years. I can get the new Sony in-dash monitor for a pretty damn good price, but I am really hesitant about purchasing it and installing it in the wifes P5. I would also say that the quality of Clarion has fallen off dramatically in the past few years also. I have a Clarion deck in my truck that I bought in 89 or 90 and it still works really well, it plays CD's without a problem and up until recently it was one of the best head units I had ever seen as far as skipping goes. It is starting to skip a litte more, but I am sure it's age and the fact that I don't slow down for the tracks when driving my truck does not help it any The Clarion stuff in the past few years has nowhere near that kinda track record. My personal favorite for audio equipment is Pioneer. I have a Pioneer unit in my 240 SX that is about 6-7 years old and works great. I also have a Pioneer changer that is mounted against the sub enclosure and neither one of them skip. I also have a pioneer head unit in my Honda Civic, works great. Well, I am starting to ramble now, sorry for another long post.

Later
Griff

 

[ZoomZoom]

I am gonna chime in on this one too. I have been installing for almost 10 years and the quality of Sony has fallen of in the past few years. I can get the new Sony in-dash monitor for a pretty damn good price, but I am really hesitant about purchasing it and installing it in the wifes P5. I would also say that the quality of Clarion has fallen off dramatically in the past few years also. I have a Clarion deck in my truck that I bought in 89 or 90 and it still works really well, it plays CD's without a problem and up until recently it was one of the best head units I had ever seen as far as skipping goes. It is starting to skip a litte more, but I am sure it's age and the fact that I don't slow down for the tracks when driving my truck does not help it any The Clarion stuff in the past few years has nowhere near that kinda track record. My personal favorite for audio equipment is Pioneer. I have a Pioneer unit in my 240 SX that is about 6-7 years old and works great. I also have a Pioneer changer that is mounted against the sub enclosure and neither one of them skip. I also have a pioneer head unit in my Honda Civic, works great. Well, I am starting to ramble now, sorry for another long post.

Later
Griff

 

[Protege Type 5]

my new pioneer headunit is simply awesome..i thought eXcelon was the best...but..wow..this thing rocks
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pioneer/CDA/CarProducts/CarProductDetails/0,1429,28913,00.html

 

[eepr5]

have you looked at the Alpines? The 7894 has an amber/red illumination option that is a near perfect match. It's just the controls/buttons though, the display is blue, but it looks real nice. Just be sure to get the dimmer line hooked up right. cd/mp3/xm with built in crossovers, individual speaker time correction, and able to turn off internal amp chip

 

[dhchin]

red backlit

I fyou are looking for a HU that has a red backlit, then JVC makes a really sweet one.

 

[Finnster]

Fussy Alpines?

hey eepr5? How well does your Alpine do with CDR's? My GF has the 7893, very nice sounding (v. good SQ) and looking HU, but can sometimes be fussy on certain CDR's or even store bought CDs. It seems relatively unforgiving with scratches or other imperfections, so will skip every now and then. I don't think this particular to my GF's Alpine, as i hear this as a fairly common complaint.

Also, how well does the MP3 function work, do they load quickly, have good SQ, easy to navigate?

I am looking for an MP3 HU, and am not sure what to get.

 

[20ESGUY]

I'm gonna go out on a limb on this one, if you want a simple quality hu thats gonna last a long time and you don't need the flexablity in sound adjustment that most of the mainstream units provide check out Nakamichi's units. they're awesome quality wise and a very clean and simple face that match's the factory hu pretty close. Personally I've always been a big fan of Pioneer's stuff until recently when they started using the really small buttons, the units flexablity is still good...but i think for now i'm gonna upgrade to an alpine unit.

 

[RockfordP5]

HEAD UNIT

I SELL CAR AUDIO FOR A LIVING. SO, I WILL HAVE TO GO WITH THE ALPINE LINE. THEY ARE THE s***!!! HOWEVER I DO HAVE ANOTHER IDEA FOR ANY ONE WHO WANTS TO KEEP THE CLEAN LOOK IN THEIR P5. rOCKFORDS 2002 LINE HAS A MP3 DECK THAT HAS KIND OF A CARBON LOOK TO IT. I HAVE IT BUT I HAVN'T HAD THE CHANCE OF INSTALLING IT. THEY LOOK GREAT THOUGH. THE MODEL NUMBER IS RFX9210G. CHECK IT OUT AT THE ROCKFORD WEB SITE.

 

[RockfordP5]

SONY SUCKS ASS!!!

P.S. I JUST WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT SONY XLOD HEAD UNITS REALLY DO EXPLODE. SONY HASNT MADE A GOOD DECK SINCE THEIR ES LINE BACK IN THE DAY.