I'm trying to decide on which one of these is the best bang for the buck...

Alpine IVA - D300

Pioneer AVH - P6600 or 6500

or some of the panasonic models.

Let me know if there's anything you like/dislike about these models.

I heard the Alpine units are kind of slow when it comes to switching and turning on and all that.

 

Hey Doc,

I personally think Alpine is far superior to Pioneer. Pioneer units are nice, but it seems that most of what you pay for is looks with Pioneer, but Alpine has very high quality sound.

 

edit: best thing you can do is go to a store and play with them to see what features you need/like most and what unit works best for you

 

check out the eclipse avn 2454 its soo hot i wish i had the money to get it.
check it out its not a flip out but it is indash wit dvd, cd, mp3, navi, hardrive to store songs, and has a option for review camera add on.

 

alpine is good, the iva-d901 is awesome, but kind pricey, can't go wrong with iva-d300, the faceplate is nice.

 

Alpine - Picture quality is the best with the IVA-D300 at like 1.2 million pixels.

Pioneer - Picture quality isn't as good as Alpine but far more user friendly and a ton more features to offer (navi on a certain model)

Eclipse - AVN2454 is awesome and is what I wish I would have gotten (http://www.eclipse-web.com/products/avn/avn_top.htm) It features 6.5" touchscreen & NAVI WITHOUT having to flip up and out. That's really nice because with mine I've noticed that it gets annoying having to open/close it every time I want to get to the bottom five AC buttons.

Clarion - I have the VRX745 (paid $850 / retails $1800) and I honestly wish I would have gotten one of the other three. The picture quality isn't ANYWHERE close to perfect and there are no screensavers or anything cool to watch while music is playing other than a blue screen .

Kenwood, Panasonic, Rockford Fosgate, Audiobahn, etc I have heard nothing about nor have seen in person. If anyone has their on them I would really enjoy reading your opinion/s.

 

the one with lots of pixels is the 900/901 and not 300, just making sure you guys know the difference

 

Ok... Let's get into it... It all comes down to the specs, options, performance, and of course price...

I'm going out today to fiddle with these damn things and we'll see what happens.

the Alpine d900/901 doesnt' have a touchscreen, but does have the most pixels and resolution... and it's the most expensive so that's out.

Let's compare the Alpine D300, Pioneer AVH 6500/6600, and the panasonics...

Personally, I've never owned anything panasonic exept their phones and I think one VCR. I hope they make a good unit for the price they are asking on their head units.

Anyway, these are the things i'm comparing since most of them do about the same thing and all have touchscreen...

Compare, Processing speed (like when you switch sources and push buttons.. does the system lag at all), how well the system is built ( is the pop out mechanism solid and can it last for a long time?)....

Now compare resolution, sound, user interface (how well the mp3 folders are setup. How well it plays burned cd's or dvd's VCD's and porn lol... jk

I know the pioneer 6600 as a couple animated screens when listening to a cd, but I don't know about the others... I might be happy with a functional graphic eq while I listen to a cd/mp3 or some kind of visualization plugin like on winamp would be absolutely awesome in our cars... Is that available?

Do any of these units contain a digital graphic eq while listening to cd/mp3's.

 

Oh yeah ... another important feature is that of the display...

Does it have Wide Zoom or Full, for use when the DVD is formatted for a regulart 4:3 ratio? or do the people look stretched out in a way?


by the way the eclipse models look badass for our cars. http://www.eclipse-web.com/products/avx/avx2494.htm

It would be really cool if these units had some kind of eye candy visualization while we play music.. not just dolphins or some bullshit... my

 

Of the ones you selected, I would say:

Alpine
Pioneer
Panasonic

Alpine makes great stuff, a cut above the Pioneer. I saw the Panasonic and it just looked kinda cheap. The Pioneer is a great value. Looks good and is very popular. To me, Eclipse is cream of the crop for build and quality. I had an Eclipse 7002, 7301, 8022 and still have a 8132 and am about to buy a 8533. I have loved them all. Second to none in my opinion. My only complaint with them is the ability to add on. No TV tuner, no sat radio, things like that.

 

Yep, the eclipse looks cool, but you probably won't find a good deal on those units.

 

You can get the AVX2494 for around $1400 on ebay brand new. Bad thing about that unit is, it has no preamp outs. None. Only built in power. Verified it thru my local Eclipse dealer. They have to use line out convertor to use amps. WHAT??

 

I'm thinking the best deals will be on the pioneer 6500/6600 and the alpine d300.

So, which one?

Which one sounds the best?
Which one has the best picture quality?

Graphic EQ?
Animation?

 

lol

 

Hard one to call. The Alpine is probably a better all around unit but, on ebay anyway, you will pay $200-300 for it. I have seen the 6600 for around $800-850 brand new. The Alpine for around $1,100-1,200.

 

i have had two pioneer screens including the one i have now. i can always find pioneer for a good price but i really dont like the quality of video. the images are blurry. i dont notice it that much because my eyes are bad but if you get close to the screen you can tell that the quality is not so great. my boy has a clarion in his civic and the screen is alot clearer than my pioneer. if money was no concern i would go for the alpine but since my funds arent that big im going for the double din kenwood. my main issue over anything else is the ability for the player to read dvd-/+r which the kenwood satisfies.

 

what features are you looking for on it,
dvd, and navi
or just dvd

i still say go wit eclipse avn/avx series

 

went to my local car audio place today....one of the models they showed me was the Jensen VM9510....its a 7" screen, 1.15 Mega-Pixel Screen Resolution, etc...anyone heard anything good/bad about it....they quoted me a price of $984 with tax, installation, dash kit, and harness...i really don't want to spend $1500...what do ya think?