Car Stereo - Which one?

[elortt]

The other day my car stereo, along with some other stuff, just magically disappeared out of my car :angry I need some opinions on which deck to get in its place. I am not trying to win a comp. but would like to get a good stereo / cd player in it place. I have had both Kenwood and Pioneer in the past, and would like to see which manufacturers seem to be the most consistent in producing high quality components.

Thanks

Eric

[Jngrbrdman]

Depends on how much money you want to spend. Do you need a CD player or would something like a Cassette headunit and a CD changer work out? I did that in my Accord and I like it alot. Nobody is going to break into your car to jack a cassette player. I put a MiniDisc player in my Integra. I just gotta say that I love that deck. MDs are more durable and hold just as much information as a CD. I can fit well over 300 minutes of music on a minidisc and they never ever ever skip. The headunit is a Sony Xplod and I am very impressed. Also, nobody is going to steal it because hardly anybody in the states uses minidiscs. I don't know why they never caught on.... they rule!!!

Something else to consider is if you want the CD player to play MP3 discs or just normal discs. Its possible to get a really good CD deck that just plays normal discs and then get a changer that plays MP3s. There are just too many choices. I've been really impressed with the Xplod decks that I've had and I can safely recomend them. They may not be as high quality as a 300 dollar deck, but they sound great for a normal car that isn't planning on entering any bass wars or anything.

[probegt]

When looking for a cd player, look for the s/n ratio (signal to noise). I is the amount of background static when playing a cd. Also look at the RMS watts and not the peak power watts. THe RMS is continuous watts like music playing all the time while max is at a certain point. Check out Crutchfield.com they have lots of info and the specs of lots of cd players/

[wifehatescar]

I always get a cheap player so it is less likely to get stolen
With a removable face too.

I've had good luck with Blau's and Alpine.

[rhillstr]

IMHO as an ex-car audio salesman and installer...
Blaupunkt is very bland and tends to be problematic for most users. Pioneer is okay, loud but not clean sound. Sony tends to be mellow but also they have a sound curve they use to create the "Sony sound" and if it's not your taste it sucks. Alpine used to be the all around king with a super flat response aimed at accurate reproduction of the media, however their quality sucks now and they fall apart too much. The finish wears off their plastic REALLY easy too leaving odd colored spots on your stereo face. Aiwa leaves too much to be desired and I tend to think of them as "Mickey Mouse". JVC is simple and for the most part inexpensive, leaving much to be desired. Kenwood tends to follow Alpine by flat response curves but their products tend to flucuate from year to year on quality, look, and features. Some years good, some bad.
My picks are Clarion and Eclipse.
However, your taste (like choosing a wax or sealant) is all that matters and you have to ask what you want from your deck. A deck that plays mp3's will allow you to play 200+ songs from one disc but... the quality will be quite lower ON A HIGH END SYSTEM. If you run stock or inexpensive speakers off the deck's power you will not be affected as much, but you can still tell.

JNGR. Like Beta, MD's never caught on because of Sony's execs. They overprice new technology that in both cases was vastly superior and chose not to license it out. Also, they priced them high very and in the US that doesn't get market share. In Japan, the most high tech, exclusive, and novel is what sells and they do well there. For reference Japan has had HDTV for decades because when it became available they bought it up. Over here we had to have laws passed (I'm not kidding) requiring us to switch over to Digital media (CD's, DVD's, and HDTV). Go figure....

ProbeGT good advice.

[Bryce H.]

I like Eclipse the best, followed by Clarion and Alpine. JVC is usually pretty good for the money, as are kenwood. Figure out what features you want and need, then find one that you like the looks of and that fits your budget. Also make sure you like the ergonomics. And one last thing to check for, make sure it will play your cds before you buy it. Some are really picky about playing burned cds (such as nakamichi) and some don't read through scratches very well. So just take in a few of your cds (cdr's, scratched, etc) to the shop and make sure they all play.

Just my opinion

[groebuck]

Funny Blaupunkt used to be the oem stereo in Mercedes..at least I think they used to be

[rhillstr]

yeah and porsche.
German electronics are also known to be crap. Look up Bosch and Blau in consumer reports and other sources. Mercedes and VW and plagued with electrical probs....

[groebuck]

I thought so...Eclipse .. never heard of em...I'll have to check them out!

[elortt]

Thanks for the replies. So far the top 3 are pretty even :dunno Keep 'em comin

Eric