Can't decide between two head units :(

Hey all,

Want to upgrade my head unit as the cd-less factory stock radio is lame, im not part of the cassette generation (no offense) and want to have bluetooth capability, both calling and streaming music from my android. Thus, I whittled it down to a sony and pioneer head unit but can't decide. The sony is 20 bucks cheaper but no light show "mixtrax" thing the pioneer has. Has anyone had experience with either and care to weigh in?

For referencee:

Pioneer: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130X6500BT/Pioneer-DEH-X6500BT.html

Sony: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_158BT3000P/Sony-MEX-BT3000P.html?tp=5684

Well. First, sony sucks.

Second, my friend has that Pioneer in his accord for the same reason you want it. Music and phone. Need had it for about 4 months, and the Bluetooth wont connect to anything.

So beware.

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I'm not fond of the foresters. Does that mean Subaru sucks?

Clarification. Sony does not suck.

Still have a few old big reds:P

I'm not fond of the foresters. Does that mean Subaru sucks?

 

Clarification. Sony does not suck.

 

Still have a few old big reds:P

It's not that I'm not fond of them, it's that they suck. The headunits and amps all use cheap electronics with shitty solder joints. The subs use the crappiest voice coils ive ever seen.

They're a great entry level system, but as soon as you get a job somewhere else then McDonald's, you should get a new one.

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I got a uses clarion CZ501 from eBay for the Miata. It is a great deck and the Bluetooth works flawlessly for both music and phone calls. The sound is really great as well with many ways to customize it.

X

It's not that I'm not fond of them, it's that they suck. The headunits and amps all use cheap electronics with shitty solder joints. The subs use the crappiest voice coils ive ever seen.

 

They're a great entry level system, but as soon as you get a job somewhere else then McDonald's, you should get a new one.

 

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You're right. I can't argue with someone who has the intelligence of a 3 year old.

Check your context.

All I can afford is the LegacyGT. Wait, you work at McDonalds too?

Do yourself a favor & research before you embarrass yourself. The ES series Sony made are still sought after as well as O/S PG, Zapco, PPI, etc.

Many of the SQ guru's over at Diyma run Pyle. The Blue Labels are ideal candidates for IB.

Are you going to rip on them as well?

Sent from a Diyma SQ addict who competes yearly.

I stay off this forum for one reason. It's one big ego. Call me a hypocrite, but you needed it.

If I was wise, I would stay out of this. But I am not wise

This is not directed at anyone but the OP. Everyone else should not care what I have to say, since I am not wise, especially about car audio. In fact I know very very little about car audio.

I have not been wise before, and what ended up happening is this: I was a guy who had $10 bottle of wine taste, and decided I should get wine advice from a wine expert. He said I could get this crappy $80 bottle of wine, but it would be better to get the $100 bottle of wine. No matter what I said, the wine expert could not get away from the fact that I was not interested in his passion of wine, and would actually be happier doing the OPPOSITE of what made him happy. I made a mistake, and bought the $120 bottle of wine, in the form of DLS's top shelf component speakers. I regret it massively, on so many levels. Somewhere some 16-year-old car audio expert wants my address so he can grab them. That would be a win for both of us.

This basically sums up every car audio thread I have ever seen. The guys who know what they're talking about have much valuable information that they are kind to share. But the people listening have lower taste. I do not care about vintage wines, wine history, how the wine is made. Good years, bad years. No one cares! Except wine experts, who love these things passionately.

I massively regret the SQ expert buying advice. They require a massive amp to run them. Or by SQ standards, they require nothing special to run them

I have an Alpine CDE-125BT, bought because it was cheap, had BT, iphone hookup, etc. It loses all its memory when you disconnect the battery, is ugly, otherwise works pretty well. I have had a great time with it. If I could do it again, I would have bought a Clarion headunit. BT would stream music (something a SQ expert would never allow due to the low quality). It appears to work well by almost all accounts. It costs more, but what you get is great functionality, better features, and something that has few negative reviews out of the 100+ I've seen.

I also have JBL GTO door speakers. I have never been happier! They sound (to my own ears) like finally I got something right. They are perfect, except according to the experts, some say they are junk I would buy nothing other than JBL GTO series door speakers.

Moral of the story, OP, is to think about your options. Then forget all of it, think about something else. Then, without agonizing again about your choice, buy something. That's it. This strips away the issue of being too close to the research, too caught up in the specs, in the tiny differences. Somewhere, in the back of your mind, is a clearer idea of what you actually want.

I've said too much, and I do not know anything, so you are now all dumber for having read this, and I am sorry for that. But seriously, do it.

I must look into the JBL GTO speakers as an alternative to the Focal ones I am searching for.

X

 

They require a massive amp to run them.

 

I also have JBL GTO door speakers. I have never been happier!

Correct. & if they're not being powered as they should, they'll sound like a $10 bottle of wine.

This is almost analogous to a person looking at purchasing your VB, clutch packs, & bushings. -If you're not making the power, you just don't need it.

$120 is a pretty forgiving loss. Glad you learned your lesson on efficiency.

Laz,

Harmon Kardon (JBL & Infinity) produce some of the most efficient drivers out there. Check the numbers.

I was looking and had in the past Infiniti kappas. On the Miata forums they recommended the focal 165's as a good fit for the Miata. Now the Miata is a special case since it is not the best platform for good sound quality. So far I have two 8" free air subs on the deck behind the seats and the clarion head unit with an amp for the 6 1/2 and another amp for the subs. The speakers in the doors are super cheap, but sound good with the clarion and the amp. I just want some more definition and maybe warmth to the sound. It's a NA Miata so I don't want to break the bank.

X

JBL vs Infinity (very similar for obvious reasons) comes down (in my opinion) to bass. If you're like me, you don't want a proper subwoofer and amp to properly make good bass. Instead, if you're like me, you will want your door speakers to cover the bass, to the extent a door speaker can. The Infinity do a great job on highs. The JBL do a great job on highs, and also have more low end punch. Obviously if you're an audiophile, you will hate me for even mentioning the possibility of not running a sub

I threw JBL GTO 6x8" door speakers in my girlfriend's edge. You can hear crappy talk radio clearly. You can make the doors bump with hiphop's bass line. They get loud. All driven on the stock Ford Edge Sync headunit. They are pretty sensitive speakers, so it works. The efficiency is the key, and Harman gets it. And I have $2000 left over because I did not put in a competition system. We're both 100% happy about the purchase. They're that good. I had something like $60 and 1 hour into the whole install.

*Cross accordingly or you won't have a voice coil left

lmao

Well, I was impulsive and ordered the pioneer after some posts about sony and reading they arent the best elsewhere.

Well. First, sony sucks.

 

Second, my friend has that Pioneer in his accord for the same reason you want it. Music and phone. Need had it for about 4 months, and the Bluetooth wont connect to anything.

 

So beware.

 

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Hmm... I will definitley make sure it works once i install it. Good thing I can always return it or exchange it at crutchfield

Thanks everyone for the input, sorry if i started a heated debate a little there, haha.

Moral of the story, OP, is to think about your options. Then forget all of it, think about something else. Then, without agonizing again about your choice, buy something. That's it. This strips away the issue of being too close to the research, too caught up in the specs, in the tiny differences. Somewhere, in the back of your mind, is a clearer idea of what you actually want.

Exactly, i went with my gut after liking the pioneer. Worst case I'll combat buyers remorse with exchanging it for a alpine of clarion unit some of you have been mentioning!

Clarion all the way. Alpine always wants you to add modules for any extra functionality.

X

Be different go Nakamichi.

I guess I could try and give some intelligent advice... Though I haven't been in the audio scene for about 6 years now since I closed my shop. I don't even know all the good players anymore. Last I knew Eclipse closed their doors which was somewhat of a let down.

IMO I stay clear from Pioneer, and Sony... along with 90% of the other local retail sold brands. Pioneer Premier and Sony Elite could at times attempt to make a case but I was never sold on them completely (I'd kind of be shocked if they kept those lines to be honest) Problem now is there are a lot more 'bells and whistles' desires and not so much 'sound quality' demands.

If I had to pick based off what I knew was out and direction of companies I would probably look at Alpine, then Clarion/Addzest. I don't think Eclipse made it far enough along to get into BT before they closed shop so any used unit from this is out.

You can check out some others to see if they have, Nakamichi, Denon, Mcintosh, Addzest (Clarion just japan models)... but again.. I came from the world of competing in SQ. I still have a set of Sound Stream ss10r in a box unused...

Best of luck!

Ugh even thinking about audio again gives my wallet a heart attack...

Mac/Nak are definitely the custom EL twinscroll billet Ti turbine turbos of the audio world.

Yeah, but can it stream my sub-par internet radio music from my smartphone via bluetooth while going thump thump creek thump?

X

Yeah, but can it stream my sub-par internet radio music from my smartphone via bluetooth while going thump thump creek thump?

 

X

You need the special Japan module for that, check ebay.

Yeah, but can it stream my sub-par internet radio music from my smartphone via bluetooth while going thump thump creek thump?

 

X

Are you kidding? Once you spend as much as it takes to support a properly powerful aforementioned billet TI twinscroll turbo kit and get it all setup right, you won't even be able to afford the data connection on your smart phone. Hope you have a lot of free music saved on your ipod. And your car won't even be fun to drive anymore on the street because it will only make two levels of power:

1) Below 3800 rpm: boring boring boring BORING boring gettingpassedbyahondacivic boring

2) Above 3800 rpm: OMFG TRYING TO DODGE TREE AHHHHH!!!!!!

Don't believe me? Just read the last few posts from any missing big power build person on the forums, before they post their partout thread. Moving on to a new _______ (Pontiac G8, BRZ, 335i/335xi). Or talk to any tuning shop owner who tells the truth about things instead of trying to sell you something.

Just because you can build the most amazing thing in the world, doesn't mean you should. I wish I had learned this lesson $10,000 of waste ago, which does not count the non waste modifications. I couldn't even tell you where the money went, I honestly can't even remember. All I know is the forums said they were the best parts, so I bought them. That was a couple years ago, and I've been working to make it back ever since, and to get the car back to being enjoyable because I now can't afford to buy anything else. Now I'm depressed, and today was looking to be so good. But to be realistic, I probably had to go through that to learn my lesson. Who wants my DLS Ultimate 5.25" component speakers? They are the best! I'll give you a good deal! No returns accepted.

Well, I got the pioneer head unit installed. That was interesting, my friend who coincidentally had the same unit in his saturn helped me wire it (had the crimp tool and such and I didn't).... but it got dark before we could wrap the crimps in electrical tape and put it back in the bracket/dash.... So half un-did themselves.

So I redid it, carefully using wire cutters to crush the connectors without actually cutting them, then put it all back together. So far I love it, bluetooth working flawlessly for music both on my phone and ipod, and for bluetooth calling. Pretty satisfied thus far! Except for my dash being stubborn and only going back in 90% cause the stereo is like a millimeter longer than the oem one -______-

Well, I got the pioneer head unit installed. That was interesting, my friend who coincidentally had the same unit in his saturn helped me wire it (had the crimp tool and such and I didn't).... but it got dark before we could wrap the crimps in electrical tape and put it back in the bracket/dash.... So half un-did themselves.

 

So I redid it, carefully using wire cutters to crush the connectors without actually cutting them, then put it all back together. So far I love it, bluetooth working flawlessly for music both on my phone and ipod, and for bluetooth calling. Pretty satisfied thus far! Except for my dash being stubborn and only going back in 90% cause the stereo is like a millimeter longer than the oem one -______-

There are tons of connector solutions to use that don't require the need of electrical tape. IE

http://www.gordonrichards.net/300zx/foglight.splice.connector.jpg

Also check to make sure you aren't being restricted by wiring or mounting kit.. the dash and radio should fit back together. (I'd hope)