Best HU $200-$300

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SavageSS27

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Title pretty much says it all, i'm looking for the best head unit for between two and three hundred dollars. I hear a lot of good things about Alpine, but i've seen some of their HUs that are like $400 and the faceplates aren't even motorized, they just kinda flop down, kinda cheesy for four bills. I'm hoping their new '06 stuff is a touch better, but i haven't had the time yet to go scope it out. Thanks for any help fellas.

-Savage-
 

SavageSS27

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Yeah, that's where i got the Sony that i just took back out of there. I also got my Polk speakers from them. The Sony just sounded like (crud) and i was tired of the display, and blah, blah, blah, so i calle up Crutchfield and they said they'd take it back with only a 10% re-stocking fee. Keep in mind, i've had the unit for almost four months. I love Crutchfield!!! I opted to go for the Alpine CDA-9851. Seems like the nicest unit for the money, plus i've heard nothing but good things about the Alpine units.
 

P4M

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Crutchfield

Look on Crutchfield.

Alpine CDA-9851

Nice unit, plenty of preamp outputs for whatever you want to do. Nice display. Solid at $230.
 

frascona

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What Sony deck did you have?

I was thinking of buying the Sony GT500 deck. It has a cool display and is high power. I like the spectrum analyzer on the unit. I was going to try that on the stock speakers to see how much better they sound before replacing speakers.

Andy
 

SavageSS27

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Frascona,
I returned a Sony CDX-M8815X, i got an Alpine CDA-9856 instead and have never looked back, the iPod integration is seamless and invalueable. I can't believe the sound difference between the two units.
 

frascona

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Really? I am surprised. I thought that the aftermarket radios would all sound good. Do you think all Alpine units typically sound better than the Sony? I really wanted a cool spectrum analyzer to bounce onm the screen, but ultimately, the sound quality is most important.

How about the power? Does the Alpine seem alot louder? I was thinking about the Alpine deck that has the built in XM radio tuner and it plays MP3 for $299.

Andy
 

sqliberty

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I am not a fan of Sony car audio, stick with Alpine. Take a look at my setup on the carstereo.com link in my sig and you will see I am an Alpine fan.
 

SavageSS27

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The Alpine unit is head, shoulders, chest and hips above the Sony. Althoug i did like the visualizations as well, they were noticably off-beat, and would wash out very easily in the sunlight. The motorized face-plate was also nice, as were the dual-side controls, but i hated having to flip down the face or get the remote just to change the volume. The Sony was only XM ready, whereas the Alpine will accept either XM or Sirius, not to mention the iPod integration for $30.00. The iPod integration is seamless and i don't know how i could do without it. I barely even keep CDs in my truck anymore...
 

SavageSS27

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IMHO, the best for the money is the Alpine 9856, it's got everything i wanted except for the motorized faceplate and a display capable of lower case letters. That's not a really big issue for me though.
 

frascona

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I ordered the Alpine 9856 on ebay NEW for $175 (including shipping). Now to find the wiring harness adapter and dash kit...

Andy
 

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