Well, I canned that broken Kenwood deck today, and returned my Infinity 6X9 speakers (one was blown), because I got Circuit City's extended warranty on them. They didn't make the same Infinity's anymore, so they gave me the credit for them and I got new ones. I kinda lucked out on that one, because Polk speakers were buy one get one half off, so I got comparable 6X9's essentially free, and then paid half the price for the front ones. I ended up picking up a decent Alpine deck as well. Can anyone share their experiences with these brands? My previous setup included the aforementioned Kenwood deck, and Infinity speakers. I was pleased with these until the whole thing crapped out piece by piece.

 

I think you will be pleased with the deck. Alpine makes some good equipment. I've had 3 of their amps and have had no problems. What model # was the deck?

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-Justin-
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There can be only one!!

 

It is the Alpine CDM-7857. Not too fancy, but it sounds pretty nice and I like the interface. It was a toss-up between that and the JVC El Kameleon. I went with this one because I trust Alpine over JVC, and I was afraid that all those moving parts on the Kameleon would start breaking piece by piece in about a year.

 

You made a good choice between the two.We have customers bring in a number of the JVC because,like you said,too many moving parts that wear out.Besides that,Alpine makes high end components.Never had any problems with Alpine in the years that I've been doing car audio work.So feel good about your decision.

 

RS- so you work in the car audio field? What do you think of Polk? I got 6X9's in the back and 4 by 6's up front. I haven't gotten a chance to put in the front ones yet, but the Alpine and the 6X9's are hooked up and sound pretty good even with my cheapie front speakers. I think I did make a decent decision though, you really can't go wrong with Alpine. What I've heard about Polk, is that they make a good product, and are one of the best in their price class because they don't put much money into advertising and marketing hype.

 

I used to work at Circuit City so I have a lot of their products too. Alpine decks are very nice in most ways. They seem well made, they're incredibly easy to install, and they hardly ever break. I just hate the tiny buttons and poor ergonomics.

And just like you said, I don't think I'd trust any radio with too much motorized stuff. And besides that, who do JVC, Sony, and Kenwood think they're fooling with their "black-out" radios? If I was a thief I could spot an El Kameleon in about three seconds...no detachable faceplate...no security coding...a good thing to steal.

I have Infinity speakers and I like them very much; they have a very bright sound which I like. My friends both have Polk dB series (the more expensive one they don't sell anymore) in their Mustangs, and they sound great as well. I think that with speakers, you should just go with whatever you think sounds good...but Polk is a good company that makes a good product; you made a fine choice.

On another note, I really REALLY wish I knew you had those Infinity speakers...I have one pair of 6913i (last year's model) and a pair of 6903i (from two years ago). One of each pair is blown.....if you know anyone with an extended warranty on either of those speakers I would love to work out a deal so I can return mine at a store.

 

i have the el kameloin deck and am very pleased with it. i originally had the kdsx940 (i think that was the number) and something happened to it, so i exchanged it on an extended warranty. that model wasnt offered anymore, so i went with the kamelion because i love the sound i get from jvc head units and the bbe sound processing. i havent had a problem yet w/ the moving parts they work fine for me, its been maybe 10 months that ive had it. im also considering a polk component set so its good to hear some praise for them.

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350, Comp 262, Edelbrock Performer intake 600 cfm carb and exhaust, headers

 

Chris- that's a good point which was also a factor in my decision. If a would-be-thief looks in your car (especially if he's seen you cruising around bumping a system), and sees a gloss black plate with no faceplate connectors, he's obviously going to know you have either Kameleon or a "Mask". Both of those being desirable to steal. BTW- do you ever see a yellow Camaro bombing around Malden? I have a number of friends there, and was seeing a girl from Malden as well, and am around town quite a bit. Just curious....

 

I thought the original yellow Camaro got totalled or crashed or something like that...did you get it fixed?

I've been working like crazy lately, and on my days off I'm usually in Worcester where my girlfriend lives...but now that you mention it, I could have sworn I'd seen a yellow Camaro someplace or another recently.

 

Hey, I always thought that about the El Kameleon and that one Sony unit (that a theif would know what's up). Heck even if he didn't, he'd probably just have to check under the seat or in the console for the detached faceplate anyway

That's why I have a pullout! Yep, a pullout... I bet some of you have only heard of those as a rumor. I take the thing with me... it must confuse theives. "Hey Jimmy, gettaloada this!" "Woah, I thought nobody had those anymore!" Might as well be an 8-track!


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
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Chris- the infamous "Yellow Camaro", did get banged up a bit a while back. I lost my license for a while, then drove my '81 Z28 (which has a much better paint job, larger engine, fairly suped up, and cooler because it's so old) and I kinda lost interest in the yellow one. But for some reason I just wanted my yellow one back. I don't know why, but I just didn't have the heart to send it to the junkyard, and couldn't stand seeing it banged up on my lawn. So I recently put it back on the road, gathered the parts I needed to get it fixed (nose, a fender, and hood), and am in the process of trying to find a body shop who will fix it up. For now I've been driving it with the damage, but I intend to get it fixed soon. I have the cash, I'm just trying to find someone who will do the job right for a decent price. There are definately people out there who would have given up on it in my shoes. But it was my first car, and I've had so many great memories revolving around it in the few years I've owned it, that I just feel like I can't let it go out that easy. Plus, you really don't see very many yellow thirdgens. Color doesn't affect value at all, but it's uniqueness has earned itself a name around town.