I've always had pioneer and my best friend had the Kenwood. I just can't get with the way they sound. Pioneers come across as being clear and powerful, but I can't lie I bought my first one because of the 'disco lights'



Originally posted by zedex
pioneer? panasonic?kenwood?sanyo?alpine?..Its all the same...Now if you want excellent sound and not disco flashing lights and wacky displays. Buy a Nakamichi.
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I've never heard a bad thing from even the most pro-pioneer/kenwood/clarion/alpine/blaupunkt/sony/jvc/& jensen enthusiast out there. They must be doing something right.
I'm gonna have to give them a try here pretty soon.


My $0.02,
Outkast

 

I have Kenwood products in my truck... KDC-X559 headunit and 10 disc changer. I only chose Kenwood because I got a smokin deal on my changer, plus back when I was in high school (damn... 16 years ago), Pioneer sucked a$$. I do hear that the Premier line is excellent though. I would love to convert to Alpine or (in my dreams) a Nakamichi set-up. Lately, I've been wanting Clarion... my first auto cd player was Clarion and it lasted forever, plus it sounded great!

 

For brands, I'd go with Pioneer in the low-end equipment range and Kenwood in the high-end equipment range.

A lot of people mentioned Pioneer Premier...which is good, but don't forget that Kenwood has a top-end line also...called Excelon.

You really can't go wrong with either though...

Jim

 

Aack...wait...this post was from back in March. Dude - Beachrunner, you need to keep current.

Jim

 

From working in a car audio shop for about 3-4mths i have gotten to know all the brands and tlaked with more experienced staff as well. For me i have been using Panasonic for aobut 4-5 years now and could not love them more....i just installed that Pioneer headunit in my Girlfriends car and it sounds reallll nice...it has some nice features in it that i still have yet to learn. Of course i have the panasoic indash dvd in my truck =] just got it free which i won in contest...
http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp...el=CQ-VAD9300U
anyway i vote for pioneer as i have actualy had experience witht hat excact deck.

 

IMO, pioneer makes the best head units

 

jruz... yeah, I didn't even catch that! Oh well, it's late and i was just going down the list of posts. Maybe someone will gain a little more knowledge since it got bumped back up.

 

Pioneer- Always best sound and quality- Pioneers always work.
Claw Hammer reliable.

 

I like Panasonic myself, but if I had to pick between the two i would go Pioneer.

 

ok sorry for the hijack, but just a quick question, what would it cost to get a whole new system? I'm not talking about top of the line, but maybe above average? Like a new head unit, new door speakers, amp, and subs. I wanna go for a flip up dvd display, but I think that's a little too much $$ right now.

 

Definitely go with Pioneer!

I have DEH-P8500MP unit and I couldn't be happier. It has 3 RCA pre-outs, it sounds very good and looks very cool. Another thing I like about Pioneer is that their units are relatively easy to use with all the buttons in the right places. Or maybe that's just a matter of habbit, who knows...

-- Andrey

 

I am a technichian for Ultimate Electronics and i would go with the Pioneer. I am not a Kenwood fan. Alpine is only ok if you go for there High End audio. Sony Explode suck. but that is my own opinion and remember that my opinion is biased because we only see units that have failed.

 

The best answer to this question is how much $$ are you willing to spend on the upgrade? It will be much easier to find the best components for the money instead of guessing what's the best out there, since every single component will have its pluses and minuses.

-- Andrey

 

No problem. I started the thread back in March... so right now I consider it anybody's thread.

I see you have a 96 4Runner. You could upgrade your system for relatively cheap compared to what most pay. If I were you, I'd get all my equipment from TheZeb.com, as they have the best prices I've seen. I got my head unit and amplifier from them. The only downside to that company is that they usually carry last year's products. But that means that they can offer them for way less.

Check out my audio page to see what I went with. I like the system a LOT.

 

I used to install high-end systems.

Don't like Pioneer or Kenwood (or Sony [audio] or Blapunkt or JVC [Car] or Clarion)

Installed a super cheap Aiwa once and its wasn't half bad. Was supposed to be a temporary unit while another was on order and the person kept it.

Sony ES is the upbrand for Sony Xload.
Premier is the upbrand for Pioneer.
Eclipse is the upbrand for Panasonic.

Eclipse is good. Alpine is awesome.
Go with Alpine.

 

Nice lookin setup you've got there Chris. But why is it cheaper to upgrade my system compared to others?? Right now I think my price range my be around 800, but I'm probably gonna wait on upgrading the sound system cuz I just ordered my susp. lift

 

Pioneer! I had one of the Kenwood MASK units a couple of years ago and it was a royal pain in the behind. 3 warrantied repairs in 2 years .. 1 of which was on a replacement unit because the first was deemed a lemon after many phone calls on my part After the 2 year warranty was up it failed again 4 months later. I promptly threw it in the trash.

 

I meant that to be in reference to TheZeb.com. Most people don't know about that site and buy all their equipment from resalers who only carry the newest stuff. Just because the stuff is a year old doesn't mean it's no good. It's still brand new. My boss bought the same model Pioneer that I got when it first came out and paid $400 for it. I paid $250 a year later.

 

Pioneer

Went on an 8 hour road trip waiting for this commercial to finally come on

 

Yo Poboy.. what unit is that? its very nice..