head unit help please

[TW166Y]

Right lads ive got a Pioneer deh-p8600mp as pictured below... Point is i think its shite.. im gonna be buying another one as this one has gone and i wanna get something that is well loud, crisp, smotth and punchy.. trouble is there are so many choices out there! please post suggestions to help me choose my new unit.

[dazleeds]

alpine

nakamichi

[jamo]

I have allways had Alpine, if you are after a quality head unit go for CDA 9855R its i-pod ready plays most formats only thing it doesnt do is play dvds, if you need a dvd player go for DVA 9965R. Believe me, you cant go wrong with Alpine, you will not be disapointed

[Jon_Bmw]

Whilst i agree about Alpine being the daddies, surely money would be better spent on an amp and better speakers. With my limited audio experience, should say very limited, an decent Amp will power speakers far beyond the realms of any alpine head unit, or indeed any other manufacturer.

I think that a new head unit will only see you a benifit in the higher operating ranges of a head unit, whereas with a good amp, it wll allow the head unit to be turned comparitavly low, meaning the amp is doing all the work and not using the head units limited power.

Does this make sense pete? Or have i gone off at a rather large tangent.

[dark_sounds]

the older year 2004 alpine units have a better sound then the newer units, the new range units tend to be a tad more crisp but too crisp that it can be quite harsh.

stick to pioneer and alpine if you want mainstream,

top top end JVC is not too bad. but with 200-300 quid to spendon a headunit, alpine will be a safe bet

[jamo]

To get a decent sound quality it is right that you need a quality amp, but, you need a decent head unit to run your amps, a couple of pre-outs an a sub control, i-pod ready etc, all of which the alpine will do with ease.

[TW166Y]

well above fella's thats a £300 head unit.. its shite... cant control base and it really poor quality.. i have a 500w pioneer amp on the 6x9's and the bass sounds like a cat farting! ive been advised to go the sony route or kenwood as ive had alpine units in the past and never really been happy with them

[TW166Y]

this is what im thinking of getting... its a bit more basic but i think its pretty cool. let me know what you think

[Globulator]

Before you ditch the Pioneer see if you can borrow another head just to check.
I'm assuming the speakers have all been rewired if they were the old common-earth system fitted by BMW.

New head units I'd consider include the Blaupunkt Nashville DAB35, which gives you DAB radio and recording and playback to SD card, + the usual MP3 CD etc.

[gcorky]

panasonic in mine....high end!

[iil325i]

sony is a no no there s**t, iv got a Pioneer and its the nuts, mind you they have had it more than i have (fixing it) lol there is a head unit thats about £500 looks s**t but is ment to be the dogs

[TW166Y]

well mines shite gutted! im gonna go the alpine route i think then cause everyuone said they rule the roost.. i just think they look cheap but everyone knows they aint!

[ian332isport]

sony is a no no there s**t

That's a bit of a sweeping statement

While I will agree that they did loose their way somewhat with the X-Plod range, their new units are much better and well worth a look. If you don't mind used gear then old (early 90's) Sony mobile ES units are still world class.

Ian.

[TW166Y]

thanks buddy ill have a look.... my budget is around £150... what do you think ill get for that, just wanna leave a few pennies free for the "new" speakers too

[Patm3]

To be honest the pioneer is a good buy, and i dont understand the problem you are having with the sound, like the above post said check everything with the wiring, as i have heard this unit in my mates shop and it sounds the bo***cks and was my next choice, but due to having a crook rip my old pioneer system and screens out the car i have gone for the JVC which has all the features of the pioneer omitting the bluetooth, and you can play MP3's from DVD instead of Cd, which means more tracks, and it sounds just as good if not better, but thats my opinion, its all up to what type of sound you go for. Halfords are probably the cheapest for the JVC as they bought near enough the whole stock when it came into the UK.

[TW166Y]

mate i dunno why it sounds crap but it does... to many features and too hard to set up! bass is apauling and treble distorts! ??????

[miniblob]

Before you get a new unit, try visiting a car audio specialist if you can and get them to check the setup - or find someone who has one working fine and compare settings!!

A mate of mine bought a very similar looking unit last year and i remember he was very unhappy with it for a good few weeks until he read the book!! Couple of button presses later and he now thinks it is the best unit in the world!!!!!!!!

[TW166Y]

Before you get a new unit, try visiting a car audio specialist if you can and get them to check the setup - or find someone who has one working fine and compare settings!!

A mate of mine bought a very similar looking unit last year and i remember he was very unhappy with it for a good few weeks until he read the book!! Couple of button presses later and he now thinks it is the best unit in the world!!!!!!!!

stereo has gone now .... on the prowl for a new one so if anyone has suggestions please forward them

[SHAKEELE30]

Hey twiggy, in my opinion and experience i recommend pioneer systems as you can adjust base, mids, treble. And you got the eq on there to sort out the sub frequencys etc. I got a old skool pioneer system which i have had for about 5 years now , still in good condition etc and it does depend on how u wire everything up and set it up. You should mess about with the system first but make sure the wiring is done properrrly!
Also alpine systems are good but does depend on which one you get the older the betta, i think. Correct me if im wrong any one!!!!

[TW166Y]

well i swapped the system for a strut brace and to be honest i think ive been shafted up the arse! i personally think its faulty, internal amp blown or something along those lines! it sounds absolute tosh

[placey]

i've just bought a nakamichi to replace my alpine 9813r - so the alpine is up for grabs. it's a quality unit that cost £400 when i bought it - those that have heard it will vouch for it's proper clarity. pm if interested.

i bought the nakamichi as i've always wanted to run one and thought that i'd better give it a try before i lose interest in all this stereo malarky - there was nothing wrong with the alpine i just fancied a change.

pics soon

paul

[TW166Y]

u got pm dude