Head Unit Question

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Tom Schindler

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Hopefully this spring, I will be buying my Wife either a Ford Escape or Mercury Mariner. I would like to build her an audio system for her vehicle. Things I want are as follows....



HD Radio

USB port on the front

MP3/WMA

5V preamps

Seperate sub output



Sat radio I could care less about. Same with iPod adapter, though it could be useful.



I don;t cre about the brand, but I waant nothing to do with Panasonic. Every Panasonic I have ever used was garbage. The best I have ever had was actually a Blaupunkt, though they have a cheap feel to it.



Any suggestions? I would like to keep the price under $400.00 for the head unit.





Tom
 
Surprised you've had such bad luck with the Panasonics, they're actually pretty good from what I hear. For that voltage of preouts though you'll have to go with brands like Eclipse (my choice, but I'm biased since I own one :)), some of the Kenwoods, higher end Sony. Should be able to find one for your price range. I bought my stuff off Ebay about 8 months ago and all works great although I know some will knock buying off Ebay. Your choice, but I bought my head unit (Eclipse, 8V preouts, multipreouts, HD and sat ready, tons of options, $250) for less than half of retail and absolutely zero probs. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions :)
 
I have a Panasonic in my other car right now. Like the previous Panasonic I had 5 years ago, it sucks. Eratic operation. Sometimes the buttons work fine, sometimes they do something else, and other times, they just don't work.



Right now, the display turns off. It is OK with me since it is so damn bright it hurts my eyes.



I was checking out the Crutchfield website. I don't have a problem spending the money. Right now, I figure the sub and box will cost about $200.00 and the head unit will run about $400.00 (I woulkd pay 500 if I had to) plus some nice speakers, she would be more than happy. It would sound great.



If OE systems would start using HD radio, I would forget about an aftermarket system. I don't care about sat radio. Waste of money, IMO.





Tom
 
I have a Panasonic in my other car right now. Like the previous Panasonic I had 5 years ago, it sucks. Eratic operation. Sometimes the buttons work fine, sometimes they do something else, and other times, they just don't work.
Click to expand...



I have had the same experiance as you with Panasonic.
 
Tom,



I have had my Kenwood HU for about a year with Pioneer speakers. I am not sorry for going this route and would do it again, although every now and then the Kenwood does have minor glitches. I would stay away from the Kenwood's with the MASK system, with the motorized faceplate that hides itself when turned off. It has minor nuisances, I think they may have gotten rid of this option, and I don't blame them.



If you go with Crutchfield, I would look at them in November / December. They seem to slash their prices to make room for the next year's models. This referral code will work for $20 off an order of $200 or more, if you are a new Crutchfield customer.



Good luck.



p205h-tkrse-gjusz
 
Check out overstock.com They have a good selection of amps and head units.

They also have speakers and subs. Don't pay retail unless you have to. also they usually ship for $1.00
 
I have had my Kenwood HU for about a year with Pioneer speakers. I am not sorry for going this route and would do it again, although every now and then the Kenwood does have minor glitches. I would stay away from the Kenwood's with the MASK system, with the motorized faceplate that hides itself when turned off. It has minor nuisances, I think they may have gotten rid of this option, and I don't blame them.
Click to expand...



I would agree with this. Two years ago when I was getting a new headunit, I originally wanted a Kenwood KDC-X979. I had it in the Trac for about 5 days, and sometimes the faceplate would close and sometimes it wouldn't properly when I shut the ignition off. I swapped it for the X879 version, which has the same motorized faceplate, and it's been flawless for over two years. It's been great, but that first one had it's issues.





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:lol: Yup, I have the Kenwood KDC-X979. I was going to get the 879 but Crutchfield brought the price on the 979 down to less than the 879. The 979 worked extremely well for the past 2 years. Every now and then it would lose its EQ settings, but I'm not sure if that was my dad pressing buttons trying to figure it out while he was driving the Trac. Recently, the faceplate has forgtten its positioning, but not in a bad way.



Does the 879 vibrate? My 979 is mounted properly, but the sliding section which is motorized rattles a lot when I'm on rough road. I can't insulate or pad that spot since it moves.
 
I haven't had any rattling or any other issues, even on rough roads. I get more vibration out of my seats and door panels than the headunit.
 

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