I'm planning to buy a deck for my 01 TL. I had a Pioneer deck for my Accord, but everybody's telling me to get an Alpine. I got a Pioneer deck cuz of the display and features, but the sound wasn't the best.

Sound quality wise, nobody beats an Alpine?

 

That is correct. I may be Bias but I don't use anything else for headunits or changers. I will always get Alpine.

 

eclipse, and kenwood are good. ive had great luck and really like the sound

 

IMO, ///ALPINE is the only option for head units and screens. Every aftermarket HU i've had, has always been Alpine. Just like LIGHTBEING, i'm also biased. But if you don't feel like dropping the cash, I suppose Kenwood, Clarion, Eclipse, and Pioneer are okay.

 

Alpine is by far the best. the best quality and design. you wont be unhappy with alpine.

 

I had a Panasonic 983u that was supposed to be 20x4 watts rms. It broke, and I replaced it wit a alpince 9827 that was listed as 18x4 rms. I immediately noticed that my speakers sounded a lot nicer with the alpine. Also the features are a lot better. go with Alpine

 

alpine is the shiznit. i've had pioneers and kenwoods. all garbage. if you're reluctant to spend alot of money on a new one then get a used one on ebay. you will not regret it. night and day difference. let us know how it goes.

SSTS

 

Wait....I'm confused. The headunit refers to the actual stereo in-dash, right? (The radio, CD, cassette, etc.) However, I thought it's really the speakers that make a huge difference in sound....so how can changing the headunit make it sound 'better' when still using the stock Bose speakers? Isn't the headunit just reading the track on the CD and sending it to the speaker? Hmmm.... I always understood that it doesn't matter so much what is playing the song, it's which speakers are hooked up to it....

Also, have you guys found the amazingly small buttons on 99% of all aftermarket units annoying? I live in a cold climate, so I wear gloves in the winter....I always found it annoying (in my previous car) to make sure I was hitting the right button since it was so tiny!

 

the head unit makes a HUGE difference in sound (yes head unit as in CD, tape, tuner, etc.). quality of components is different from manufacturer to manufacturer. difference in digital to analog converters, number of EQ bands available and even down to which resistor or capacitor used in the unit will alter your sound. dont get me wrong, speakers make or break the sound as well, but no matter how expensive a speaker is, it will not make a bad stereo sound better. but on the other side of the coin, you can choke a good radio with crappy speakers.

the alpine buttons are'nt too bad for me, but i can see how gloves would make them hard to manipulate.

i just put my alpine into my tl and it's a big difference. although personally i will say it does change the flow of the interior a little, which is something i liked. but look at my sig at all the alpine stuff i have. alltogether it cost me around $1000, and that was with discounts from alot of places. i don't regret spending a single penny of it, and im a cheap bastard.

SSTS

 

If you generate a crappy signal it does not matter what speaker u use, it will sould like crap ... i just think alpine does an excellent job in reproducing a clean signal.

 

so would it be reccomended to change the headunit before getting new speakers n subs?

 

I would suggest - get a new amp to push the stock 9" sub - that will improve bass sound dramatically - Then look into replacing the HU (headunit), that will increase the power going to each speaker...making the car sound much better (mids and highs).. The next step would be a aftermarket amp to power the mids and highs and a aftermarket sub and amp to get a cleaner bass sound. out of the trunk.

 

Sounds Like a Plan! wow i jus lengthened my "to do" list and accelerated my "brokeness". Although, my friend does have a spare aftermarket amp, that i can hook up the the stock bose sub. i think i'll do that for now, and ill prolly look into an aftermarket HU next.

*sorry for a possible thread hijack, but i think Alpine is Bomb and although i havent owned one, ive heard my friends' systems and they rock!

 

Here's my suggestion for stereo upgrades. First would be to add an aftermarket sub and amp. Just hooking up an aftermarket amp to the stock sub isn't going to make it any better. Second would be to add aftermarket speakers AND amp, or do the eq bypass mod. The weak point in the Bose system is the speakers. It's eq'd like crazy to get the treble sounding decent. If you don't bypass the eq, it'll be too harsh with aftermarket speakers. If you put in an aftermarket headunit with the stock speakers, the eq is bypassed and it'll sound dull.

 

When you guys added the head unit, did you leave the stock Bose speakers, or get after markets? Because I thought Bose were pretty good anyways, and there was no need to change them.

In my Accord, I changed the head unit first and I noticed an immediate difference. A lot louder and clearer sound. But when I changed the speakers, I didn't really notice a difference.

Should I even bother buying speakers, or would the deck, or even an amp do the job?

Thanks

 

the previous owner of my tl had allready put aftermarkets with tweeters in so i was hooked up, but i'm sure your bose stock setup will suffice for a while. aftermarkets will definately brighten up the sound though. the bose speakers are only around 3 ohms if i recall properly so they are made to a different operating characteristic.

 

the stock speakers in the TL are 4 ohms. But like I said, it is heavily eq'd on the high end to compensate for the lack of treble. If you swap out the headunit, you end up bypassing the eq, and the BOSE speakers will sound flat. There's a saying that goes "no highs, no lows, must be BOSE"

 

yeah but an aftermarket alpine will have multiple bands of EQ to choose from anyway

you know for some reason i thought my friend's tl speakers said 3 ohms when they pulled them out. ill have to ask him....

 

I'd like to leave my HU alone, it looks decent enough just stock, but I'd like to upgrade the stock sub and add components. I've heard of the BOSE converter, just don't know how to go about things.
If possible, I'd like to leave the sub in the stock position, just add a little juice and clear up the sound.
Anyone taken something like this on?