steven

I'm not sure if i want to get kenwood,sony,clarion,pioneer, or what, i've been told that they all are good, but i think pioneer is going down hill, i heard the new sonys and they sound dope, but i'm not sure what i want, i have like $200+ to spend, and i'm getting it next week so, if everyone to put there two cents in and give me some info about these recivers it would help alot, thanks

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191(3.1)V6 Overhead Valve,Multi-Port Fuel Injection 1992 Pontiac Firebird,140 HorsePower @ 4400 RPM,180 FT/LBS @ 3600, Compression Ratio: 8:9:1, 3.42 Ratio Rearend,700R4 Transmition, check it out at www.geocities.com/my_92firebird

JP84Z430HP

Well, I'm a BIG Alpine fan, but I just hate the look of their current line. I'm also a BIG fan of having a volume **** (most use a "Rotary Encoder" now). If I was to buy a new head right now (I will be in the next few months) I think I'd look at a Clarion. The shop that I buy my stuff from sells more Clarion's than anything, and they carry Pioneer, Alpine, Rockford Fosgate, and I think a couple others.

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Working on:
'84 Z28 LG4 305
Added dual elec fans.
145 MPH IROC Speedo
Building 430 HP 350
using primarily GMPP parts.
Block is in shop!

Justins86bird

Well, i have a Sony Mobile ES CD player. Really nice, but it built rather poorly. I have had lots of problems with it. The rotary encoded know broke twice in 2 years. And when it goes, the deck is useless. Plus now, all the Sony stuff is going to that red illumination, which i cant stand. I would recommend Kenwood Excelon. Nice stuff, looks cool, great features and specs. If you have the extra cash, get the MP3 player they make. Just burn MP3s onto CDRs on your computer, take them to your car and pop them in the deck. Has its own file menus and decodes them on the fly.

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-Justin-
T-Top '86 5.0L WS6 LG4 700R4 Now Bilstein equipped!
T-Top '92 5.0L TBI 700R4
My '86 Firebird Homepage
The F-body Model Kit Pictoral Archive (updated 5/15/00)

There can be only one!!

[This message has been edited by Justins86bird (edited September 10, 2000).]

admrlam

Well, i USED to be a Pionner fan... but i hate the lineup they have this year and last, they are getting too hung up with their graphics... And i LOVED alpines lineup from last year and before, ti used to be my absolute favorite.... But i agree with the guy above, this years look is hideous. And the performance numbers dont seem up to Alpines usual par. As for the clarions, a friend had one a year ago, and he got a nice one, paid over 5 hundred, darn thing skipped like mad. Ive never been a fan of Sonys, and i think this year they commited reciever suicide... Those things look like something on a tyco remote control car... And a co worker has one, and i think the performance aint anything good enough to warrant looking that butt. This year though, i also really like the Kenwood lineup, with the exception of the mp3 deck. They are selling rhe deck based solely on that feature, and youll notice every other aspect of it stinks... pre out voltage is down, and so on.... But the rest of their lineup likes stellar to me, thats what im puttin in my bird next season its out... i took out the 1995 pioneer premier and put it in the station wagon, hehehe. Hope i didnt offend anyone, these are just my own personal thoughts, everyone has their own.
peace

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1988 Formula, 305TPI, 700r4(for now), headers, stage 2 PROM, modded MAF, cat back, no catalytics, cowl hood, centerline champ 500 rims, KOBEL predator ground effects kit, Trans AM tailights, dash pouch, 92 shift console w/indicator, white face gauges, accented red trim, 12 speaker stereo, 4 amps, tint, T tops... icq 44373460 AIM:admrlam
see it at www.geocities.com/admrlam/bird.html

Topgun

My head unit is a JVC it is the KD-SX750 model. I love it. 45W x 4 Max power. Cd player. Control for a cd changer. Multi-color desplay. remote. And pre-amp outputs. I love it to death. It has searved me well.

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EMAIL: CTopgun5@aol.com
_______
84' Z28
350 Ci 4 Bolt Main with all L69/HO Parts
4 BBl Carb
160º Thermostat
K&N High Flow Filter
700R4 Trans
15X7 Standard Z28 Wheels, With 215/65R15 BF Goodrich Comp T/A HR4 Tires
Charcol in Color
no T-tops, but wish
As FiremanZ28 says "Friends don't let Friends Drive Mustangs"
Pic of my Z28, thanks to ZZ4 and his web page: Http://www.geocities.com/ukzz4iroc/z28camaro.jpg

JP84Z430HP

I hope Alpine can hear this!

I've never heard of anyone having trouble with a Clarion Skipping!

I think I will be looking at Kenwood though. Maybe I can find an older Alpine somewhere......

Bandit76

I used to swear by Clarion, skipping's minimal (only on really hard bumps), sounds great, easy to use without looking at it...
but now I have a JVC, and it rocks as well.

Only thing I really miss from the Clarion that this JVC does not have, is the volume's gradual rising when you turn the radio on. If you left the JVC on with the volume at 28, that's exactly where it starts when you turn the car on.

xybertron

If you just get a deck with 4 volt pre-outs it doesn't matter who makes it. Just go and ask to see whichever decks have 4 volt and go from there. I personally have a Pioneer Premier P-98R and it is great. It's way out of your price range but a great deck. It replacer my P-56 which only have .5 v pre-out. If you can't afford a deck with 4 volt at least get twisted pair rca's if you add any amps it makes a world of difference. Kenwood has some real nice decks these days and I think all the excelons have 4.5v and most Sony decks have models that are $20 more than the basic that have upped rca voltage.

Dan

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

4 volt pre-outs aren't necessary for an every day system. On a competition system it's nice because you can lower the gain of the amps and in turn lower your noise floor, but that's the only benefit. Virtually all amps can reach maximum output with as little as a 1 volt input.

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The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

Get Blown ?

I've got the JVC CD Headunit KD-SX650 costs 150 brand new 40wx4, detachable face with remote. BTW I like it. A little hard to get at the presets with my stick shift in 3rd, but other then that I'm happy.

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My car is the perfect women. She's braless, won't talk back and loves a good beating.
1989 Camaro RS L03 w/ WC T-5
http://350.StreetRacing.org
ICQ: 61342629 AOL IM: BlackSunshineZ28

daniel dekay

i dont agree with you jim85iroc. i know you are extremely intelligent, ive seen you answer the vast majority of questions on this board, and you've helped me out alot too. but in this case i have to disagree. ive had a 2.1 volt sony cd vs my 4 volt sony tape deck. suffice to say the 4 volt sounded so much cleaner when played at loud volumes. even for the daily driver, they will apprecaite the cleaner sound. and lets face it, everyone in here has a v8, and its nice to hear music over the exhaust rumble.

bottom line:get 4 volt if using well built amps, 2 volt if amps are "cheaply built" or u dont have an amp all together. DONT GET JENSEN, and u will be fine.

Garmer

I have a Clarion and it has never once skipped even over speed bumps!

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91 RS Camaro
3.1L
Cat Back System, K&N filter, Fastchip Stage 2, 160 thermo, Rapidfires and Bosch Wires
CD Player

scoob8000

im still a big fan of pioneers, they're a great value for the money you wanna spend.. the upper line clairions and alpines are really nice, but out of your budget im sure.. ive been running the pioneer 7000r in my camaro for a little over a year now with no complaints, i love the features like the built in HPF's, preout bass boost, 4v preouts, 3rd set of outputs for subs, etc.. like i said, a lot of goodies for the price.. as far as skipping, only once have i heard it skip and that was with a generic burnt cd hitting one massive crater.. (ya know, PA does have the 2nd worst roads in the country :P )

Aaron91RS

iTrader: (2)

more volt on the preouts will result in a few more decibls from the subs. Not alot, maybe 4 or so on a 134db system.

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

No need to justify yourself. I'm not going to jump all over you for disagreeing . I only do that when people start calling me an idiot or make it personal. Anyway, it is most likely just other variations between your 2 volt and 4 volt deck that made up for the difference in sound quality. Quite often, the better decks were the ones that employed the 4 volt pre-outs. Plus, you may have gone to a newer model year. Either way, what it means is that there was a potential for major internal changes that could have contributed to the differences in sound quality. I've installed a lot of decks with the 2/4 volt outputs. Remove a 2 volt deck and put in one model number higher from the same model line. After the gains were adjusted, there was no difference. Going from old to new decks, or going higher up the food chain will make a difference.

Another reason that I feel that I'm correct is that sound quality wouldn't change with a higher voltage per-say. Technically the ONLY difference should be the noise floor, which in 99 out of 100 cases is either inaudable or caused by something other than the amplifiers. In either case, the 4 volt deck would be of no advantage. If the noise floor of your amp is unusually high, by using a 4 volt pre out vs. a 2 volt pre out, you can reduce the gain of the amp, along with the noise floor, by 3dB. In a worst-case scenario, this is the maximum benefit that you will get from a 4 volt gain. Any other perceptable improvements in sound quality are a result of different circuitry within the deck.

Please know that I'm not trying to prove you wrong or anything like that. I'm just explaining why I feel like I do

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

No it won't. Your amp is only capable of a maximum undistorted output regardless of how high of a voltage you feed in. Once the amp reaches its maximum output, anything further will just be distorted. The only time that you will see a reduction in output is when you have a deck that puts out such a pitifully low voltage that the amplifier gain is not sensitive enough to compensate. This is usually in the range of .5 volts or less output, depending on the sensitivity of the amp.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

JP84Z430HP

Well stated Jim. I've been very leary of the 4 volt RCA's myself. I noticed that the better head's out there don't necessarily have the 4 volt. I think I'll just stay with a quality amp (Kicker! :-) ) and be just fine with my antique Alpine 7618!

------------------
Working on:
'84 Z28 LG4 305
Added dual elec fans.
145 MPH IROC Speedo
Building 430 HP 350
using primarily GMPP parts.
Block is in shop!

Jason E

Hey Steve, whats going on??? Long time no talk, eh???

Glad to see you're finally getting the head unit. For the money you wanna spend, go either Alpine or Clarion. My friend just got a new Clarion ProAudio for 200 thats real sweet...personally though, I like the new Alpine's looks, and for about 180 they make a sweet head unit too.

poorboy8

Lots of opinions...hehe, I like!!

WEll I have the Kenwood Z919 which is the mp3 player. Personally I think its the next best thing since sliced bread. I really truely believe this, and its not just because I own one. I did a lot of research and decision making before I purchased this unit, and to say the least it has been serving me well for the past 3 months.

Dont get me wrong, I'm not saying this unit is flawless and or perfect, because there are some things that I'm not happy with. Like the character reading on the folder and file names from the mp3 cds. It doesnt support long names or spaces. Another words if you have a folder that is named "Allman Brothers Band" it would come up on the player as "Allman~1" another example is if you have "2 Pacs Greatest Hits" it would come up as "2PacsGr~1" hence the none recognistion of the spaces. The other gripe about this unit is that it doesnt have the Mask option availible. As for those who think the voltage is down or "not up to par" I would definately disagree with this. I have herd many Excelon units as well as Pioneer Alpine and Clarion and the 919 sounds just as good as any of these any day of the week. In fact the store that i bought the unit from had a demo car setup with the 919 hooked up and running off the pre outs and it was as close to digital as you could have wanted. Personally i dont think your going to hear that dramatic of a sound difference weither or not you have 4volt pre-outs or gold plated 4.5 preouts. I mean I have a great ear for quality and music in general and I even had a hard time picking out a difference between units.

JM2C

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j.wolfe
________
91 GTA
ET: 15.3@89.2mph in OD taking it easy on 190,000 mile engine!

Zepher

iTrader: (1)

I have an Alpine CDA-7832 and CHA-1204 12 CD Changer.
I love having the volume ****, not volume buttons. Also, mine is from 96, almost top of the line with 3 sets of 4v pre-outs.
I don't have flashing lights or anything on it, just a green illuminated display and buttons.
My brother on the other hand has this Premier DEX-P1R with an EQ, DSP, bouncing lights and motorized face. Very impressive deck, but too flashy for me. I like simple high quality sounding decks, just like high end home audio gear, like Krell, NAD, Threshold, etc....

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Zepher
'86 Pontiac Trans Am WS6, 5 Speed:
Edelbrock 1406 Carb, Edelbrock Performer RPM 7101 Intake Manifold.
Edelbrock Open Element Air Cleaner: Flowmaster Exhaust, 160* Thermostat,
Grant GT Steering Wheel, MSD HEI Coil, Taylor 8mm Wires, Recaro Seats,
Alpine CD+Changer,Rockford & Soundstream Amps, Premier TS-1040C Subs, Polk Audio highs/mids.

86 Trans Am & Girls

85TA-AZ

HEY JP84Z430HP, i have an old alpine reciever ill sell to you its pretty nice.

i also have a pretty nice jvc-kds 640 reciver for sale, only $120.

if u guys are interested email me at fullbak@aol.com

RSpeed

Hey Steve, it's me Jeff from Detail Pro Audio just down the road from you in RR. If you were thinking about a Sony, don't do it.We carry the Sony line but don't sell too much because they just don't seem to be built all that well,as Jim was stating earlier.I have had a number of customers come back for warranty work because their Sony head was causing problems.Problems skipping, the laser not reading, buttons quit working, etc,etc. So now we push the Pioneers harder and Apline and Clarion.If you ever stop by, I'll show you what all we've got and give you a deal on a good head unit.

Slush92RS

iTrader: (6)

I have an Eclipse head unit in mine, it is sweet.

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White 92 RS,388 cu.in.N/A
3.73 gears,auburn posi
Best 60 ft : 1.97
Best 1/4 : 12.679
all runs made on BFG Radials (NOT DRAG)
Complete Steve Spohn Rear Suspension
Full Custom Dash full of Autometer guages
Extremely Loud Stereo !
Driven Daily

AAustin50

I've got a Blaupunkt "Miami Beach" installed in my RS and it sounds great, never skips and has nice features without being over-complicated or gadgety.



Check 'em out at http://www.blaupunkt.com



[This message has been edited by AAustin50 (edited September 29, 2000).]

85TA-AZ

Hey jp8--
I have an older alpine i would be willing to sell to you. if interested email me at fullbak@aol.com.

Lostsol

Howdy folks, I have that new Alpine din 1/2, the CDA D855 or the better model of the two. I went and listened to it and though it wasn't what I was looking for I couldn't pass it up. It has something called M-DAC that no one other than an audiophile could tell a difference from, but what I liked was this new circuitry, BBE that served a similar purpose as the old "Loudness" button, only it optimized all the frequincy's at all the sound levels and it was nice! I didn't think you could make a cd sound cleaner, better. Anyway one of these days when we're through working cows or something I'll yank my old pioneer and cd changer and put it in and try to get back to ya'all. The most impressive thing about the deck was that it sounded so good from regular cd to BBE that it was noticable, and the set-up wasn't even in a sound room or anything to make it sound better. It was that noticable. Like I said though, one of these days I'll see if it was worth the 460 dollar price tag. LOL Take care now