Sony Head Unit Anyone? get it? dont get it?

[HondaBoy]

ok, well i found a good head unit. its a Sony CDX-L510X. looks pretty good from what i could see. i was told i can have it for $80, maybe i can haggle the guy down a little lower. it has detachagle face and comes with a remote control. i dunno. if y'all know of something better i can get at a better price, let me know. here's a pic of it.

[Vanilla Sky]

have you tried ebay? i know in store displays i'll take a badly scratched disc, and it seems that the sony unit has the most trouble reading...

[AccordEpicenter]

yeah i had that prob too... i avoid sony stuff because i had 3 decks of theirs and none of them worked quite right... and ive never had a problem with any alpine or pioneer deck ive owned soo...

[Vanilla Sky]

IMHO, pioneer is almost as bad as sony, and alpine is simply overrated...

good values are panasonic, clarion, and jvc... kenwood is a middle-ground...

i'm not talking about high-end decks, as those are a whole different story all together...

[HondaBoy]

there's a really nice JVC one too i looked at. i have a kenwood, doesnt play burned CD's which sux ass. maybe i'll just keep looking around. i dunno. i just dont wanna get stuck with a POS head unit.

[PortugalFocus]

IMHO, pioneer is almost as bad as sony, and alpine is simply overrated...

good values are panasonic, clarion, and jvc... kenwood is a middle-ground...

i'm not talking about high-end decks, as those are a whole different story all together...

Panasonic and Clarion decks are fantstic!

Come to think of it i have a few Panasonic decks up for sale right here actually!

https://www.3geez.com/showthread.php?t=36764

https://www.3geez.com/showthread.php?t=36763

[HondaBoy]

dont remember if i told y'all how i wasnt able to get my head unit out. but i couldnt without taking the dash out. today was the day to get the dash redone. i'm doing that right now. i got the kenwood hu out a little bit ago. i had to get a long screw driver and push the little tabs in. damn, that thing came right out after that. now, tomorrow i get my paycheck. i made this one a really good one because i worked hella overtime. last week i quite so i'd have some free time before school started. anyway, maybe by the end of today or tomorrow i'll have something new? i dunno. i'll look at some of the brands y'all suggested too.

[AccordEpicenter]

low end clarions suck... the higher priced ones are very nice tho... Ive had a few JVC decks also and wasnt impressed either... but they did work better than the sonys usually

[my86dx4dr]

i would take a sony over a clarion anyday.
i would take rampage over clarion.
all theyr shit falls apart on me and other people

but in the 250$ and under range i would go
KENWOOD for a deck

and for the 250 and up
-eclipse.

and if your rich.
mccintosh(sp?)

[Brentm]

ive gots a sony deck, never had any problems with it, looks pretty good, IMO pioneer decks look like junk, hell for 80 bucks id say go for the sony, itll play cds. if you want kick ass high end, go for eclipse only problem is non detachable faceplate, but whatever. Me and my friend bought decks on the same day, I got a sony he got a pioneer, abnout the same price range (250 bucks) hes allready had problems with his deck taking forever to read cds. I dunno why everyone badmouths sony stuff, its allright low end, better then stock stuff. Rockford decks equal bad,. the futureshop chain doesnt send back all of the rockford decks because there good, and they diddnt send back the sonys so makes u think again about sony.

[AccordEpicenter]

isnt eclipse out of your price range?

[HondaBoy]

the HU i have its a Kenwood KDC-3012. IMO, its a piece. 40watts x 4. nothing too great. i talked to this guy at a pawn shop and he said he'd give me $30 for it. i was thinking i could only get $10 or $15 at the most. i'll pawn it only when i'm gonna get a new one because i cant be driving around without some music. i dunno, i've thought and thought about it. i cant decide wheather or not to buy one from a pawn shop or buy it brand new. i mean, the pawn shops i go to will test the stuff out for you right in front of you. i think i'll take another look at Best Buy and Circuit City, maybe some of the other local shops. Mcintosh, well i had actually thought about that but being practial isnt what that one is. nor is orion or some of the other high end ones.

[AccordEpicenter]

you generally get what you pay for with car audio... thats why all the higher priced stuff sounds better/looks better/holds up better

[accordfever]

you generally get what you pay for with car audio... thats why all the higher priced stuff sounds better/looks better/holds up better

That's not always true, I have a Bazooka EL1500 mono 600watt amp paid about $130 3years ago amp still pushing strong no matter what i hook up to it runs with no problem. a guy in town has the same amp running 4 10's in a sealed box and they sound great. I've had 2 12" MTX Thunder 4000 then 6000 and now 1 Bazooka P.Miller 12" DVC sub hitting 130dB and just ordered another P. Millier off ebay paid $45 for open box at Circuit City and same price including shipping for the one off ebay. I had pioneer deck that could not be killed it's been through 2 car accidents that through it out of the dash tossed in the bottom of a junk box when i got my new sony deck and when i lost the faceplate to the sony i installed the pioneer and it played perfect better than the sony. Finally let the deck go when i got rid of my last car. in my accord i have a jvc which is fine except it doesn't play cd-rw. IMO I would chose pioneer over sony anyday. pioneer has proven reliability even in their low end stuff. You don't need $100 wiring kits to get great sound a Wal-Mart kit will due.

[AccordEpicenter]

Finally let the deck go when i got rid of my last car. in my accord i have a jvc which is fine except it doesn't play cd-rw. IMO I would chose pioneer over sony anyday. pioneer has proven reliability even in their low end stuff.

My thoughts exactly

[HondaBoy]

ok guys. i've been shopping and researching on the head units. i've been looking at RMS ratings for the power output. i've found most people dont ever look at that and to tell you the truth, the guys at the stores dont know shit about the exact stats on the HU's. they also dont know much about the amp rating for the sub pre outs. kinda pisses me off that they dont know shit! i see Best Buy is haveing their HU's on sale. i did see some nice pioneers, and infact their RMS ratings where quite good. most over 22 watts per chanel. i cashed my pay check so i dont know, maybe i'll take the sale price as a chance to get something nice.

[HondaBoy]

well, that money was burnin a hole in my pocket. plus, i'm just tired of not being able to play my burned CD's and have more clear sound output. so out with the old and in with the new. i went to best buy and got a new Kenwood head unit. it was up there on my other top picks. i had 8 in a price range of $130-$240. here's a pix of what i got. its a Kenwood KDC-MP425. remember, i had a Kenwood and have seen that they will hold up pretty well. i bought the old one at a pawn shop and its going right back. lol.

[Vanilla Sky]

how much did you pay for that one? looks like a good choice, as it has the HD radio tuner, too

[HondaBoy]

with taxes, it came to about $193. holy shmoly, thats a big ass difference over the old HU! man, even before i plugged the subs back in the 6x9's were bassing way more than they ever did on the old one. and with the subs hooked up, they are getting the full effect of power. i'm very happy with this purchase. i'll still need to get totally used to the new button configureation and the remote. i actually got a head ach from my system. so thats a good sign. lol. sounds a lot more clear, no grainyness. and it looks real pretty on or off. better on. i was trying to stay away from any thing like the face motorized. also i looked for ones with 2 pair of pre outs. now i just need to get new front speakers because they arent as powerful as the rear ones. they are optimus from radioshack, they really suck. the backs are boss which are really nice and sound good, they dont get all scratchy at high volume. they arent crappy at all like most people thought they would be. well, hopefully it'll stay good like the old one.