what head unit to buy? please advise!

[andyman61]

well, today was my last day of high school (WHOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!! ). for my graduation present, i told my parents i want a head unit for my camry. i am in no way a bass head or anything. i just want to be able to play cd's in my car without the portable cd player/cassette tape set up. if we're looking to spend 100-150, mabye 200, on a head unit, what would you guys get? i'll probably go to best buy or ultimate electronics. they're close by and have free same day install. i want a good sound, but don't require anything great. i'm keeping the stock speakers for sure. no amp, no subs, nothing special. thanks for the help!

[Stealth]

clarion!
www.thezeb.com or www.ikesound.com

[JaJay721]

At your price range it doesn't really matter. Just get something that has the features you like and a unit you would feel comfortable using the controls while driving. In your price range I recommend JVC, Pioneer or Kenwood. I'd stay away from anything Sony, Aiwa and motorized face plates in your price range.

You can get something with MP3 playback in your price range, but you'll pay for it. Maybe not in price, but you'll lose other features.

From BB I recommend these decks:

Pioneer P2600
Straight forward deck. CD-changer ready. Decent tuning options. XM Ready $149

Kenwood KDC-MP225
Basic deck with cheap MP3 capability. Less than average EQ settings. Sirus Ready $159

Pioneer P4600MP
The Pioneer P3600 isn't worth it. Step up to the P4600MP for MP3 playback and a better face for $10. $179

The Pioneer 1600 and Kenwood 205 are decent budget decks. They're priced along side each other at $109 and will do the same thing. If you want to go with the lowest line deck from Pioneer or Kenwood choose whichever you think looks best and you feel more comfortable with. They're both about the same.

[rawdawg]

If you have the ability to burn your own .mp3's then you should consider getting that feature in a head unit. It's nice to have 100+ songs at your fingertips but you run the chance of catching the "channel surfing" disease that afflicts most cable users.

I don't believe the choice of head unit determines if one is a bass head or not.

You know, I once said that I wasn't looking for something great concerning audio and now look at me.

[finese1]

Yeah i hate mp3 just a waste of money. You hear guys say i got mp3 player wit mine. You ask if they got any disc they usually say "no". Get yourself a regular cd player that can play cd-r and cd-rw. You should be alright.

[andyman61]

thanks for the input. i think i'm gonna head over to best buy and some other places today with my dad. i'll defintely look at those 3 you recomended.

one thing i'm confused on. are you saying that some cd players won't play cd's that i burned off my computer? i'm going to college this fall and will probably start dl'ing music or ripping cd's from friends (only a little bit ). i want to make sure i can play these cd's.

also, how do you transfer mp3s directly to the head unit? do you have to use a cd for this or can you use an mp3 player and a cord?

[finese1]

yeah some players don't play burned disc. It has to be able to play cd-r and cd-rw.

[SmokingTires]

Best Buy and Ultimate Electronics rip you off(but free install is still nice). I picked up my Kenwood for $265. Both of them retailed it at $450.

http://thewholesalematrix.zoovy.com/ - Best site I have ever seen. All name brand. Check it out.



You cant transfer them directly to the head unit. You have to get a storage unit. Kenwood sells a Music Keg. Their pretty expensive. In your price range, you can't aford it. Cause you will also need a deck that can handle it. And they don't have any set up for it that are under $200. And the Keg runs around $300.

[JaJay721]

Originally posted by andyman61
also, how do you transfer mp3s directly to the head unit? do you have to use a cd for this or can you use an mp3 player and a cord?

To play MP3s on your head unit it has to be MP3 capable. You then burn them to a CD (you can even use folders to sort them). Your head unit will be able to read and play the mp3s and navigate the folders for you. If you have MP3s you can convert them to a regular CD playback, but they will still be MP3 quality and take up a lot more room on the disk.

The harddrive and Music Keg units aren't really worth the money yet in my opinion. Unless you're rich and the idea of a CD changer or changing CDs really bothers you.

[Stealth]

Almost all current cd players can play cd-r/rw you need not be concered about that. Definately get MP3 compatibility. I would get satallite radio if I couldnt have MP3 playback because 20ish songs per disc is just not enough.

[finese1]

the hell you gonna do wit 200 You ever had you ever tried looking for a song on a 20 track cd try on a 200.

[JaJay721]

Originally posted by finese1
the hell you gonna do wit 200 You ever had you ever tried looking for a song on a 20 track cd try on a 200.

It's not too bad if you sort it by artist alphabetically and then by album. I don't understand people who just burn random songs they like onto a blank disc with no formatting. That would drive me insane.

[Stealth]

its pretty much like having a cd changer... if you care a lot about your music mp3 is definately the way to go... if you dont care so much and just like a certain genre of music then satalite might do you well

[rawdawg]

I have several discs in the .mp3 format. They are categorized by genre of music. Pop on disc 1, Classical on disc 2, Blues on disc 3, etc... all in alphabetical order. My passengers love skimming through the disc and finding a song they haven't heard in years.

If I add any songs to my playlist, it only takes a couple of minutes to burn a new .mp3 encoded disc.

[SmokingTires]

200 tracks are noth. My CD book in my car has 208 CDs in it. So multiply that by an average of 20 songs per CD.

Music Kegs are expensive. But I saw one a few months ago at Best Buy for $125. So I don't know.

I say, get a basic deck. Any brand will do for your price range.