And not to curb you from purchasing a new head unit, but you'd be suprised what an amplifier(s), new speakers, and a sub can do off of a factory head unit. I've actually built some of the best sounding systems using a factory head unit. It's a way to save some cash for the more important things amp, speakers, sub(s) etc. But you can also get a whole new sound just by replacing the head unit by itself.

 

Los Gatos, you beat me to it! I had forgotten until I got halfway down the post that Clarion would be my third choice for Decks. Nakamichi, Eclipse, Clarion, then Pioneer.

ONLY get Clarion if you are running aftermarket amps with lots of controls. Clarion head units do not have much tuning, but put out some of the cleanest sound. I can't remember the numbers, but the s/n ration is REALLY good.

Hey Rymin929, the system can only be as clean as the source. Bad Head unit, bad sound. I don't know too much about Toyota decks(other than what my cousin had in his Tundra), but in almost all cases, it's best to replace the deck first. Just like working in a sound booth. You always turn the source on first(sound board), then the amps, then the mains.

 

I think some of the higher end Clarion are around 105 db S/N ratio, but IMO they sound as good as anything short of Nakamichi, which have a low S/N ratio for some reason, but sound really, really good. The Clarion ProAudio 935 is my dream reciever...I will have it some day, oh yes, I will....


Oh and I have to add that I personally like RF headunits, my friend has one and it has a nice "feel" to it. I haven't played with it exstensively, so I can't comment on quality or any of that, but it "feels" nice to me....

 

This is very true, but you can still get a very clean sound. What most people don't already know is that a factory Toyota head unit is already made by Pioneer, Alpine, and I've seen a few with Panasonic stickers on them. The trick is is too clean up that signal as much as possible since your in most cases using a speaker level output to the new amplifier. Basically all I'm saying is it's a good way to make your tunes sound better than they did from the factory. Most Tundra's, Seqoia, 4runners, and some Taco's already have factory amplifiers and that's where a good portion of the not so good sounds comming from.

 

One point of clarification. RF does NOT own more spl records anymore. DD has officially overtaken them in DB drag, and I believe in all other arena of spl competition. RF has the edge still in sq, but that's only because DD is the spl man's best kept secret....

steve

 

I don't know what my deck's s/n is.... it's a Sony Xplod CDX-C5050X. My mid amplifier is 100db s/n. Audiobahn A4400E.

Los Gatos, is the Proaudio 935 an upgraded 925? (I've got last years catalog). I'd like the VRX925VD. In dash DVD and flip up LCD. Awesome deck. Or I'd like it's newer counterpart.... :drool:

 

I'm not sure about the 925--->935 thing...the Pro Audio line is a seperate line, though....