[HaveBlue83]

EDIT: I am talking Head Units ONLY........the sony speakers DO suck...lol....

I know a lot of people on here like Excelon, Alpine, Pioneer, clarion, kenwood, and others. I looked into ALL of them and had $600 to spend on a head unit. I was really looking onto a premier 8000BT ( i think, the one with the OEL screen and all the options, very nice), but I went back to XPLOD because it had the nicest equilizer with the most adjustments for me. They sound great and have enough power to really push what I have. (JBL GT series door speakers F&R with components up front, and kicker amp and sub in the rear)

Why do a LOT of people hate on XPLOD? Is it just the stigmata of a cheap head unit? I will admit I bought BOTH of them at wal-mart since that was the cheapest place to get them...-HAHA-

I just don't see the point of buying a $350 Alpine when you get treble +/-, Bass +/-, and a fader.......that is BS I want an EQ built in to adjust my high's, mids, and lows to MY liking. I also like the DSO settings to bring the soundstage up.

Right now I have the XPLOD CDX-GT71W HU and its really nice. I have had 2 XPLODS on the last 2.5 years and both have been great. My other one is in my brothers durango right now and its still doing great!.


any others or am I just "not understanding" what "real" music people buy as a head unit??

[scratch]

 

[kenzx3]

Sony sounds like ass IMO, but hey that's just me.

 

[HaveBlue83]

yup, that's what everyone posts.......but i don't get why, i am REALLY picky on sound quality. everyone says it sounds great that rides with me......wierd......

 

[zx505focus]

i have had my 1000 watt Sony Xplod amp for 3 years with no problems. the best amp i ever had.

 

[DarkFire1986]

I've loved my Xplod. My seek button doesn't work 100% of the time, but I think it sounds decent enough

 

[kenzx3]

Actually let me rephrase my answer, their HU's are decent but as for components they sound cheap to me.

 

[SkyPilot]

yeah their HU's are alright, still wouldnt get one, but their speakers and subs, and horrible, ive never heard anything worse than them.

i would rather have stock speakers than xplod speakers, just my $.02

 

[HaveBlue83]

Let me rephrase.....XPLOD HU's.....the speakers SUCK, YES......I just think the HU's are tough lil things that get hated on too much.

I was strictly talking HU's. I have $200 front 5x7's with component tweets in the A-pillar and $100 rear 5x7 2-ways, both JBL GT series with an 8" CVR Kicker in the ford audiophile box and a Kicker 100W amp for the sub. I think the XPLOD HU pushes clear sound in this setup.

 

[Peregrine]

I've always had trouble with Sony HUs. Mine always overheated, the buttons wore out very quickly....the list goes on.

Do they even make a HU with more than 2V output?

 

[mrfatride]

i had a sony HU in my beater for a long time...radio was "ok" and served as a radio and stuff but I would never use a sony in my daily....the sony in car audio just isnt the same sony in home theater and stuff

If you are really serious about your sound then you need one of these

 

[TnFocus]

Got that same one, I had a cheaper version, which purely sucked, but I upgraded to this, and it really does sound good lol. Most people ride with me tell me that too, I have it hooked up to a 2400watt pile amp and two 12 inch xplodes that are getting replace with some competition subs.

 

[HaveBlue83]

^^^looks sweet....and you can control a LOT of stuff with that!. $$$ but looks like a good item.

basically a similar concept to that alpine unit that you ised a cmputer to tune. I got it. Prolly would work really well!

 

[Yocrew]

I love sony xplode. Iv never had anything else. I think it sounds good too. Maybe some people just get fixed on high prices. But if you remember Sony was expensive back in the day.

And Haveblue, I like your sig and i STRONGLY AGREE.

 

[HaveBlue83]

^^^you have NO idea how upset I am over that...........but that's ANOTHER topic......



yeah, the units I have had have been good! the newer ones have even more adjustment levels and are clearer. that and whren the new ones come out all I have to do is pull the older one out and swap! [hihi]..that was EASY!

 

[focusboy5]

IMO sony is cheap. I have had one and I hated it. The sound was alright but it was crap. Pioneer all the way!!!

 

[AerofurySC]

I always found the Xplod HU fairly adjustable, and priced very great too. No gripes here.

 

[04PZEV]

I got a Kenwood with all the adjustments for $100. Brand new. I have never used one of their head units, but everything else they have is terrible. In my opinion of course. I have never heard one that sounds good and I try to stay away from anything that has 1800 watt peak and only 300 rms. Maybe that is why they are not too good. Made to last 2 minutes.

 

[highrollenzx3]

those jbl components are the best sounding speakers in there class plain and simple. that adds alot of you not hearing bad sound. but most people couldnt tell you the difference. the more expensive head units have faster compression rates higher digital clarity less line noise, faster processing rates higher voltage and more stable pre outs. shielded boards, ALOT of things make a high level source unit different from a head unit.(notice the different names) high level source units are not made to be the central EQ or crossover. high end radios are designed to give the very best unaltered signal possible to your sound control devices(amp, parametric eQ, or what have you) radios such as your explode are designed for the recreational user that doesnt need specific control over every frequency. and will compromise superior output for ease of use. which doesn't immediately mean bad just what you decide you would rather have. alot of people look at the same thing you do thinking they are doing all this control when that is just a pretty interface and you really aren't doing much. besides you most likely have no clue what moving those things plus or minus is actually doing to the sound wave or what you are actually doing. which isnt bad you dont need to know. which is exactly why they cant expect the average consumer to tune his own radio so they preset in several sound ranges and allow you to play with the sound within certain parameters. nothing wrong with sony just have to know what you are getting and dont expect fillet mignon for hot dog money. also look at a little spec call THD(total harmonic distortion) will look something like this THD<.001% anything more than that is low level products. but not meaning bad just not excellent.

 

[highrollenzx3]

I got a Kenwood with all the adjustments for $100. Brand new. I have never used one of their head units, but everything else they have is terrible. In my opinion of course. I have never heard one that sounds good and I try to stay away from anything that has 1800 watt peak and only 300 rms. Maybe that is why they are not too good. Made to last 2 minutes.

rms is the ONLY way any amp worth its aeight is going to be advertised. any audio product using the max rating as an advertising point is BS. rms is the only thing that matters. plus you have to be careful they rate alot of those amps like that at 14.8 battery volts and 5vrms inputs. show me a regular car that is going to supply that much voltage to the amp. only buy amps that are CEA-2006 compliant that way you avoid everything

 

[focuspwr]

I didnt care for the sony xplod HU's because i had one, purchased it brand new from bb and 6 months down the road the rotary knob quit workin...the only way to adust the vol was to use the remote control... while it was cool for a second it just became a hassle so i switched to my kenwood.. again with the rotary knob and i've had this unit now for 5 yrs! kenwood all the way pure quality