Decent Headunit

[Shuriken]

Right then, open to your thoughts, I'm gonna spend some money on a decent headunit as one of the next things to do but am looking for some advice. I've always been under the impression that Kenwood headunits are good, would this be right or am I being stupid?

I'm looking for an MP3 cd player and I've noticed an AAC player which said it compresses 4 times better than mp3, which I like the idea of. Are these good or not?

As it's ICE I'm willing to spend a bit of money on it 'cos I can just rip it out if I get a new car so its more of an investment rather than a purchase - if you follow me.

I'm looking for something that will last and have enough bits and pieces to support any extra bits I might add into the mix, are there any particular features that are absolutely necessary? Preouts and the like..

Saying all of this I probably won't have the money to go allout like some on here have ;) - but I just want a headunit that will give me a nice clear, crisp sound (once I've upgraded the speakers).

Thanks in advance,

Shuriken.

[peppernick]

I have been under the impression that Alpine makes the best headunits for the price.

Nakamichis are good too but more high end.

[Raj]

I have a Nak. Absolutely brilliant sound quality/reproduction. But it is deffo a no frills unit (but then for me that is part of the appeal). Nothing fancy just clean excellent sound :D .

[ANT MAN]

Check out caraudiosecurity.com good service too.
they're selling the Alpine CDA9855 and CHA634 cd changer for £480!!!
That is one awesome head unit, s/wheel controls, 4v preouts and the illumination exactly matches the BMW orange. Sub woofer control, frequency control for each speaker........the list goes on. [cool

[Shuriken]

Thanks for the info guys. I wasn't aware that you could spend so much on a headunit, I don't think I want to spend much than about £200 on it.
I'll have a nose about for Alpine stuff, see what they've got.

Shuriken.

[ANT MAN]

Something to bear in mind whatever you do; is that if you have an E46 the BMW changer will not work with an aftermarket head unit. I don't know if this applies to E36 or other variants.

The price above includes a 6 cd changer btw :)

[Shuriken]

I don't have a changer and I haven't heard of it, but its worth remembering. I've seen this (http://www.alpine-electronics.co.uk/content/english/a582.det.CDA-9851R_CD---MP3---WMA-RECEIVER.htm) which I quite like the look of, what do you guys think? Its £185 I think from car audio security. I like the fact its got the amber buttons which apparently match the dashboard, like the sound of that :)

Anyway, your thoughts are welcome, as always.. :)

Shuriken.

[Stock323iSaloon]

Sambo, you should have bought my Clarion MP3 headunit...it went for like 50 quid on eBay [bang

[Shuriken]

Bugger.. didn't realise you had it up for sale.

Shuriken (aka Sambo ;))

[ANT MAN]

The 9851 is a good unit. Alpine's website incorrectly states it producing 4v preout (at the top) but then corrects itself further down with 2v. Will you hook it up direct to the speakers or via an amp?

I have a 9831R which is going to be steathly installed by Andy very soon. :)

[Shuriken]

Yeah I noticed the discrepency but I have little idea what effect that has on things other than the preouts are used for amplification (but even that maybe wrong). To start with it will be going straight to the speakers and I suspect it will probably stay that way, got other stuff to buy before amps and subs. I just want to sort out the headunit for the time being as I'm sick of tapes, necessities first. :p

Thanks for the help Antman, is the 9831R an older version? I couldn't find it on the Alpine site.

Shuriken.

[ANT MAN]

Yeah the 9831 is no longer made. You can still buy it though.

The higher the preout the stronger and cleaner the signal will be. Thus if when conected to an amp, the amp's gain can be turned down and this should produce noise free sound at high volume.

Hooking the 9851 to some decent speakers with decent gauge speaker cable will sound great.

[Shuriken]

Cheers mate, as much money as it is for a headunit (although not a lot compared to some I'm sure) I think its worth forking out a bit as it can easily be transferred between cars, so it's not like it won't last.

I'll poke about at my finances for a while I think and see if I can save some pennies. It's annoying 'cos I don't really know what I'm looking for, I like to be confident that what I'm buying is worth the money and is appropriate for my needs. Saying that, it didn't work with my graphics card (6600GT = SHIT!), but thats a different story lol.

Thanks for the help Ant man and everyone else, greatly appreicated. If anyone thinks there is a better (as in more suited to my needs) headunit I should get please let me know. I only picked it as it was the best I could afford and thats a fairly poor way of picking I think.

Anyway, I'll give it a think..

Shuriken.

[Sport Coupe]

Supprised that no one has mentioned the Becker units such as the mexico pro, its up there against the likes of Nak and Alpine. Its not a feature orientated brand but they are regarded as a very good SQ HU, guess thats why ferrari fit them in to their road cars :rolleyes:

[benny boy]

alpine is the beat i had a kenwood it spent more time being repaired than being in my car

[Shuriken]

Thanks for the info, I'll check Becker's out, I'm guessing they're expensive though. :s

Shuriken.