i'll be getting my christmas bonus in a week or so, and i'm going to use part of it to get a new head unit for my stereo. my question isn't as much about which head unit sounds the best as much as it is about which head unit looks the best. that is, is there anything out there that pretty well matches the blue-ish color lights on the rest of the dashboard? it seems to me like there's an awful lot of new stereos that just try to clutter themselves with bright lights, but i want something that looks good with the rest of the interior...any suggestions?

 

find something you are happy with, thats the most important and roam around the board there anre tons of pic here... find something that suits your taste

good luck

 

Nakamichi 24 bit DAC. This is still my top choice for now, altho I'm probably going to change the lighting to better match. This is just a tad too green, our stock lighting is kinda teal.

 

3 words- Flip-up DVD.

 

I like the sound and look of the alpine...i had nakamichi before great sound quality the look very very plain. I recently got into video, in that case alpine would be the best the picure the quality is unmatched and they been making them since car video systems came out.

alpine cva-1004(top unit)
alpine cda-7995 (bottom)

 

I'm doing the opposite, my Alpine is for sale (looks similar to the one above), and I'm getting a Nakamichi for the simple looks and SQ.

 

The nakamichi is great but here in hawaii they always break down the salt air i is too much for the componets. The sound quality is very much close between the two... only thing is with the nakamichi you have controll over the mids which is a nice feature as far as DAC is concerned most cd's are mastered in 16bit along with the recordings. Slowly it is changing to 24 bit but it be a few years before everything is 24bit

 

That's not an equal comparison. Recording resolution bits are not equal to DAC bits. Most Alpines use 1bit DACs. I've heard both, the Nakamichi was noticably better.

 

I do know the difference i was just stating as a example. Most cds are mastered at 16bit. I had both the cd-45z and alpine 7995 as far as sound quality it is close unless your running some 15k+ system and the car completely sound proofed. Most average people wouldnt be able to tell the difference. Also depends on your system setup: amps, component speakers, subs and fill speakers. This guy is goin on looks also the nakamichi is just plain looking green green green lights and sound quality is not his concern looks is. Cd mastering bits and DAC bits are the same. Nakamichi is good in certain areas but lacks in others. Ive had both nakamichi and alpines over the years. Now i prefer the alpine because of their video side. The alpine spec is 1bit yes but i wouldnt ever need 24bit DAC my car is not soundproofed at all. If i wanted 24bit DAC i would just get a changer. All in all if you have a 24bit DAC headunit with stock speakers or a cheap setup it wouldnt even matter.

Just my opinion.

 

Mastering bits and DAC bits ARE NOT THE SAME. Otherwise, 75% of all car CD player would sound like shit. 16bit dithered into a 1bit would be horrible. All standard CDs are 16bit/44.1KHz. HDCD, SACD, and DVD-Audio are all higher.

The original poster asked what looked best. I like the way the stock radio looks for the most part, and the Nak looks very similar. I think it looks better than a silver face with blue lights (no offence tho, I have a similer unit, just doesn't match).

I work with audio almost daily, it's my job. I can def hear the differance btwn 1 bit and 24bit. I will have a system that you can hear it on as well, def not a cheap system by any means. I'm actually debating HLCDs as I appreciate the sound of them. I will be able to purchase the gear for pretty much cost via my connections, but that doesn't make it a cheap system.

Soundproofing has absolutly NOTHING to do with it. It only affects the ambient noice, and only when the vehicle is moving. Our cars are soundproofed plenty enough anyway so that you could hear the difference. If you have nice components in your system, the difference would be evident.

 

Heres some pics of my headunit Pioneer DEH-p9300

at night...


in the day...


I really like it, i changed my guages to blue lights so the deck matches pretty well. Im hoping to upgrade to a flip out dvd one day though

 

I work with audio daily. I work in a world class recording studio and do live sound FOH engineer. Ive been doing car audio for ever. Its just my opinion and ambient noises can affect a system you should know this working with audio daily. Any noise can interfere with the clarity of sound. The difference is minimal just in my opinion. Im not saying use a alpine or buy one im just saying thats what i like. Ive had all nakamichi setups to this date. And if i really wanted to use 24 bit DAC Alpine DHA-s680. I had both headunits from both companies and rite now i like the alpine. Btw most recordings nowdays are done on protools with 888 I/0 A/D converters. The sound quality is no where near to the quality of 2" tape or 1/2 digital tape. The way the album is recorded and mixed will make a way bigger difference then any DAC converter.

 

i'll snap some pics of my eclpise tomarrow ... matches perfect with my stock lights .. plus its sick iy rates almost as clear as nakamichi decks

 

night pics

 

That's what I do, FOH/Monitors and installations. What kinda stuff you work with live? The most we keep in house is JFX/SBX and Nexo PS. Our rental company keeps 750s/760s/SBs and those nice big purple boards.

Yes, that would make a difference but the DAC would just sweeten it that much more. I guess it all depends whatyou listen for.

 

I do mostly studio work now protools/analog recordings. But i used to do FOH mixing. Everyone down here uses 850's with aura or TAD subs pm4000's and k3's for consoles. Not too many large venues out here though. I love the sound of the Vdos system but yet to herd the nexo or vertec. I was free lance but worked with several companys.

 

hey whats up bmterp. u dont happen to go to UMD-CP do you cuz i am over there too. u should just look around to see what suites your taste cuz like you said there a shit load of HUs out there and i dont think everyone on the board will have come across them all so u should look around. personally when i get the cash saved up i am goin wit something like baka_ts setup

 

CVA-1005 and DVA-5205