I dont know about Nakamichi but from the other brands, Pioneer is the most reliable, and Alpine comes next. Sound quality depends on the money you ll spend (while reliability doesn't)
sound quality
1) Noc
2) alpine
3) pioneer and kenwood tie
price (see above)
features
1) Pioneer and Kenwood
2) Alpine
3) Nock
sattlite radio
1) Kenwood (sirrus) they have the most inexpensive tuner ($50 I belive)
2) pioneer (XM) tuner about 100
3) Alpine (XM) Most expensive tuner 250 😱
(note: I think they have a new head unit that has a Sat tuner built in)
4) Nock (SAT Not avalible)
MP3's Their all about te same to me and again Nock dosent offer it.
(Note: might want to burn an MP3 cd on your computer and take it to the store to make sure it plays before you buy it)
IMO I like alpine they are a little bit more but they have some little features that are nice. but the SAT tuner is the down side.
1) Noc
2) alpine
3) pioneer and kenwood tie
price (see above)
features
1) Pioneer and Kenwood
2) Alpine
3) Nock
sattlite radio
1) Kenwood (sirrus) they have the most inexpensive tuner ($50 I belive)
2) pioneer (XM) tuner about 100
3) Alpine (XM) Most expensive tuner 250 😱
(note: I think they have a new head unit that has a Sat tuner built in)
4) Nock (SAT Not avalible)
MP3's Their all about te same to me and again Nock dosent offer it.
(Note: might want to burn an MP3 cd on your computer and take it to the store to make sure it plays before you buy it)
IMO I like alpine they are a little bit more but they have some little features that are nice. but the SAT tuner is the down side.
Alpine has the best signal to noise ratio of all the CD recievers I have seen...specs say 105dB, Sony and Kenwood spec out at 90-100dB.
Me likes Alpine. 🙂
-Matt
Me likes Alpine. 🙂
-Matt
I've owned most of them all listed above.
Sound quality wise the nakamichi was hands down the best i've heard. If you can get a older model CD45z you will not be dissapointed. Even the new CD400 is fantastic. The CD500 will have MP3 capability. But I must say if you like silver faces, bright lights, and dancing LED's, look elsewhere. Nakamichi is about sound and not looks.
Alpine is a good brand, and they make a model to suit just about anyone. They have a lowend deck with XM builtin, but it's features are pretty low on the list. They have some higher end models that are fantastic, but for the cost, I don't think it's justified.
Pioneer is a good company, and pretty darn reliable. i've had about 3 different ones over 5 years or so and all were pretty solid. SQ was not that great ,and in fact a little bright. But some of the built-in EQ and x-over functions were handy if you were on a budget.
Kenwood, was flat to me in terms of SQ. I had one quite a while back as my first deck. I wouldn't buy one again. But the main thing is that it worked...
Sound quality wise the nakamichi was hands down the best i've heard. If you can get a older model CD45z you will not be dissapointed. Even the new CD400 is fantastic. The CD500 will have MP3 capability. But I must say if you like silver faces, bright lights, and dancing LED's, look elsewhere. Nakamichi is about sound and not looks.
Alpine is a good brand, and they make a model to suit just about anyone. They have a lowend deck with XM builtin, but it's features are pretty low on the list. They have some higher end models that are fantastic, but for the cost, I don't think it's justified.
Pioneer is a good company, and pretty darn reliable. i've had about 3 different ones over 5 years or so and all were pretty solid. SQ was not that great ,and in fact a little bright. But some of the built-in EQ and x-over functions were handy if you were on a budget.
Kenwood, was flat to me in terms of SQ. I had one quite a while back as my first deck. I wouldn't buy one again. But the main thing is that it worked...
car audio advice
Okay, i am probably running way below what you guys are into and you are probably going to grimace upon reading this...but -
I have about $200 to replace my factory HU with a CD/MP3/receiver. I have narrowed it down to Alpine 9847 and JVC AR560. The Alpines seem to have better specs(sensitivity, signal to noise, etc.). The JVC's have more features for the money(2 year warranty, front input jack, remote). I haven't seen any bad reviews on either brand, that is kind of how I ended up with them (as opposed to pioneer, kenwood, eta al.).
DO the spec differences matter? I mean with road noise, factory speakers, etc. would it even be noticable? Is a remote really that handy? I am really worried about reliablity and skip-free operation as well. Am I going the wrong way with these 2? Any and all suggestions are welcome.
Okay, i am probably running way below what you guys are into and you are probably going to grimace upon reading this...but -
I have about $200 to replace my factory HU with a CD/MP3/receiver. I have narrowed it down to Alpine 9847 and JVC AR560. The Alpines seem to have better specs(sensitivity, signal to noise, etc.). The JVC's have more features for the money(2 year warranty, front input jack, remote). I haven't seen any bad reviews on either brand, that is kind of how I ended up with them (as opposed to pioneer, kenwood, eta al.).
DO the spec differences matter? I mean with road noise, factory speakers, etc. would it even be noticable? Is a remote really that handy? I am really worried about reliablity and skip-free operation as well. Am I going the wrong way with these 2? Any and all suggestions are welcome.
deck
Alpine vs JVC Id would have to go Alpine. No one mentioned Eclipse
Nak- very good sounding deck , as far as getting repaired - good luck
I hear the company is in flux.
Alpine vs JVC Id would have to go Alpine. No one mentioned Eclipse
Nak- very good sounding deck , as far as getting repaired - good luck
I hear the company is in flux.
Alpine makes good HU. I had a $330 Sony xplod MP3 head unit on a Miata and every other bump the unit would skip. I had it for about a year before it died a misearble death. but I bought a JVC KD-SX980 with MP3 for cheap ($110) as a replacement and was very impress by it. I did not skip once. The sound was way better than the Sony. I had Alpine HU in the past and my dad and brother had Alpine HU in their cars and they are good units. My brother replaced his TOL Clarion with the Alpine and I think that the Alpine sounded better. My wife have the Nak MB-75 and I'm not impressed. Over priced ($600+ new) and prone to skipping. Nak's good stuff like TD-1200 HU were great ($$$) but I think that their quality is now not as good as they use to be.
im totaly in love with alpine decks my self... if i couldn't get a alpine or eclipce i would go with a kenwood or a panasonic imho. never did like pioneer and sony. does any one remember the old school sonys that had the amp and power moduales in a separate chassis that you mounted under the seat and had a big thick cable that one had to route up to the deck to use it? i do. oh and i never experienced a nakamich deck though.
i love my rockford HU...best one i ever had
ive had pioneer, alpine, sony, kenwood
the one that compares the best is an old eclipse
ive had pioneer, alpine, sony, kenwood
the one that compares the best is an old eclipse
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