rimpainter.com

My Alpine deck crapped out on me. So, I need to buy a deck today. I am buying something in the $150 price range. I have narrowed it down to the following options at the following stores:

Pioneer DEH3500, $149, local store. Does not include install.

Kenwood KDC222, $129, Fry’s, includes installation. I am a bit hesitant on these guys. I don’t like their service. However, I can get a price match on the deck. Is it a decent deck?

JVC KDS890, $149, Best Buy, Installed, comes with free Pioneer speakers

Pioneer DEHP2500, $159, Circuit City, Installed

Help me out guys. I have never been much of a stereo guy. I have the wiring harness that goes in place of the stock amp, so install should truly be "free." What do you think of these decks? Any other recommendations, thoughts, etc?

Thanks a bunch!

-Christian

PS: I hear JVC is junk, and to stay away. Is that true?

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Christian,

I've never bought a head unit, or any stereo equipment for that matter, from a big chain type store, they just don't have install techs that are ever worth a hill of beans. At least that has been the word of mouth where I live. I always use the same individual owned store that sells all the same equipment as the big guys but has an install guy who has been doing just that for 15 years or more. I've never been disappointed yet and they always have free installation, excellent customer service and just replace defective stuff, not make you wait on the manufacturer to fix, replace or repair it. Never pay for installation, never! A cheap deal is not always a good deal! Around here a good deck is in the $179 to $199 range, depending on output per channel.

I would say go with the pioneer, but my personal preference is Alpine and JBL components. I just like that combination and the sound it produces. Good luck!



Brian

Vato Loco

Go for the Pioneer DEH-3500, that is an awesome unit for that kinda money. All the CD Players I've had in my trucks, have all been Pioneer, not one has given me a problem.

Darx

I'm looking into the Kenwood Music Keg system. It uses a cartridge bases setup, no skipping I would assume. The cartridge can either be a 10GB or 20GB version. Rip your CDs to your computer then transfer the files to the cartridge and pop it inot eh unit in the truck adn you have hundreds of CDs in your truck on one cartridge.

It's not cheap butit's a pretty cool piece of equipment.

http://www.kenwoodusa.com/product/re...oductId%3D2474

Memphis4X4

Christian: I am a Alpine person and I know you are going to miss your Alpine. However, since I see no Alpine options in your list, I will give you my recommendation. Because of your previous Alpine experience, you are used to a certain level of build quality, sound quality, reliability, and class. Kenwood and JVC will not meet your expectations in any of these areas. Pioneer will come the closest. I will be in the same situation as you when my Alpine craps out. I have friends that used to work for a sound shop that sold Alpine and they turned me on to that product line. They have since gone independent and opened their own shop. These guys only sell what they are confident in (as well as what they can get licensing for). They sell the Pioneer line (and Clarion & Eclipse as well). When I have asked about the Kenwood and JVC lines, they have advised against them becuase of the reliability and quality (sound & build) issues....they said I wouldn't be happy with those products. I have a decent system and don't buy stuff that produces cheap sound quality. It'll bump/hit to impress when it needs to and it will play crisp and clear as well. If you want, I can ask them which is the better Pioneer unit of the two you mentioned above....or if you want to call them, I can get you their phone number and you can ask them any question you want and they will give you a straight answer......Tell them you are friend of mine. If you do that, you can even ask them to compare & contrast all 4 of the units above and give you a honest answer.....they aren't selling you anything since you live so far away...they'll shoot you straight.

I typically don't weigh in on stereo issues on this board because everyone has their favorites....in fact, some folks are pretty rabid in their allegiances. I know enough to know what I like and still be dangerous when it comes to car audio.....I just want you to get good advice.

David

Ishinc

hey, i'm also a Alpine person, ever since i used them i never want to use anything else. the sound quality is great!

I had a kenwood before and they aren't built as well as others, it broke on me pretty quick. I also had a older jvc unit, it was pretty nice, they skip a bit and the preouts wasn't really strong but i'm not sure about the newer ones.

I had some friends with pioneers and they seem to be pretty good units! just don't lose the faceplates because they cost a load of money to replace! have you tried ebay if you don't mind not having a warantee and if you can install yourself?

White SR5

Well... my advice is a bit different. I would say wait around on eBay for a good price on something even better, and then snag it while you can. I snagged my Pioneer DEH-P9300 for $130 and shipping. It retails for $500-$600!!! And there was nothing at all wrong with it. It did smell like weed though and had a porn movie on it... but I can live with that lol. If ya need something immediately though, you might be better off going to a store. Maybe I got lucky, but I'm just going to show you that there are definately some good deals on eBay, it's not all crap.

Zach

its2slo

^i was going to say the same thing, look for a good eclipse on ebay. i see my deck i paid $500 for at a stereo shop go for $150 all the time (used). good luck.

rimpainter.com

Well it has to be today guys. So I will be looking for an Alpine or Pioneer.

Thanks for the advice!

jgs9455

Since you are looking at Circuit City and they also have Alpines in your price range, I say go for Alpine again!!

Cebby

In order of preference:

Alpine
Clarion/Eclipse (tie)

I've used Alpine products for about 16 years including a few IASCA competition systems. Even their inexpensive models smoke the likes of Kenwood, JVC and even Pioneer IMO.

Alpine has the best reliability and fidelity in mobile audio - PERIOD!

sick4runner

memphis is rigth, of the three companies pio is the best quality, at least in my experience. and if you do go with pio then get the premeire deck, pio premiere is the higher quality line and and it comes with twice the warranty.

My only caution about purchasing a stereo from a place like curcuit city or other big name stores is the trustworthiness of their installers. I have talked to way too many people in my home town who have had their stereo's stolen within two weeks of purchasing them from such stores, just think about it, you paty some 18-29 year old to have several hours alone with your car to istall/scout your vehicle, then you take it home as they check the stores database for your address, some time later, bam! its gone! I know a few peoploe who have gaone back to the same place and purchased and had the same deck stolen up to three times in a row.

i would recommend going to a local stereo store that appears to be pretty reputable, stay in the store/near during the install and NEVER give them your address. or just DIY its not too hard.

Good Luck

j-dub

I agree with sick4runner.

I had a stereo installed at a best buy or circuit city and the guy did not even install the clips to the side of the stereo that lock to the sheath. Therfore, anybody could simply slide it right out.

He seemed like he did not know he did it wrong when I confronted him about it.

I would install it your self, of have a reputable place do it with preference on the first.

rimpainter.com

I ended up with the Pioneer Premier DEH 350P from Ultimate Electronics. By far, they were the nicest of all the places I went. I am willing to drop a little extra for good service.

I installed the deck myself, which was really easy. I soldered all the connections and ditched the factory amp. With wiring the harnesses, the install was really easy.

I am very happy with this deck.

I paid $179 for it, but Costco online has it for $149 if anyone wants it. I couldn't wait, and Ultimate would only match the price of stores in AZ. My rig literally sounds twice as good. You might need a MCSE to use all the features of this deck!



Thanks again guys!

Memphis4X4

Good choice Christian! I'm glad you went with the Premier version of the Pioneer line. I think you'll be happy with it.

I'm also glad you installed it yourself. You're good at working on your vehicle and you now know that the job was done correctly.

I think you made a good decision on buying it locally....even though COSTCO had it for cheaper. The reason it is a good decision is that if something goes wrong with it, you can go get service immediately. Most of the time, a local store will swap out the unit if it is under warranty (I believe the Premier has a decent time period on the warranty). Swapping out means that you are on your way bumpin' and boom-bangin' in the same day. Buying something on-line doesn't provide you with that ....you would have to box up the messed up unit and wait for the new unit to be sent back to you. I think the $30 difference that you paid is cheap insurance!

David

rimpainter.com

David-

Thanks! I would like to mention that Costco has an unsurpassed return policy, even for online ordering. They will take anything back if you are not satisfied - for any reason, anytime. So, if the deck were to crap out, I could take it in to any Costco and get a full refund. Then order another one.

But, you are right, there would be some lag time to get another deck if that happened.

You would not have believed the nest of wires I yanked out of my rig! No soldered connections, just twist-n-tape everywhere. Totally cheap and lazy.

So, I yanked it all out and started from scratch. I can't stand when people do half-butt jobs on things.

Thanks again