Clarion Vs. Alpine Vs. Pioneer

[VraiDiouf]

I'm getting my clarion put in my stock 1993 850 GLT. I hope it sounds incredible. Like Mercedes/Infiniti quality of that year, decent bass, mid and treble. I'm not looking forward to replacing all 8 speakers. If this system sounds as good or close to my cousins 2003 Toyota Camry with the CD player in, I'll be satisfied.

[R_rated]

I'm getting my clarion put in my stock 1993 850 GLT. I hope it sounds incredible. Like Mercedes/Infiniti quality of that year, decent bass, mid and treble. I'm not looking forward to replacing all 8 speakers. If this system sounds as good or close to my cousins 2003 Toyota Camry with the CD player in, I'll be satisfied.

When/if you have to replace the 8 surrounding speakers.... Alpine type R is the biggest band for the buck. Unless you are competing there will be very little, if any difference from those to a high end speaker given your choice of electronics. Nice setup for personnal enjoyment IMO. The type R's are not bad $$ but still work and sound great.

I like my headunit ALOT and even more than some for twice the money. The point is, I went all out on some areas but on others I got what I WANTED and would enjoy. I do wish I would have splurged for the auddisson amps but maybe next year I will upgrade.

[wmartinlsmith]

I have the alpine 9856 and i love it, great HU, features can be a little bit of a hassle to get used to but, i've had sony/kenwood, and they didn't come close

at least someone here will admit that alpines are abitch to use, get a pioneer, user friendly and have the least amount of quriks that make a hu, i worked for a 12 dist. com. and they still out sell pioneer 4 to over alpine, jvc, kenwood, clarion

on another note you want a crispy hu go eclipse, noice.

[VraiDiouf]

in my 1993 Volvo 850 GLT. Things sound pretty darn incredible. I still use OEM speakers, and the bass comes out like never before, plus the sound up front sounds extremely clean. I'm using a Clarion ZB545 or something like that I know it's 545 I forget the letters, it's an MP3/WMA player with magitune. It came from my van. My van once used it with infinity reference after market speakers, and in my opinion the Volvo system with the Clarion sounds better than my van with the infiniti references on the same headunit. I wouldn't say the best, not as good as some of the later Volvo Systems like in the S60 and S80, but for a 1993 comparing to my van which was a 92 with aftermarket speakers that I had purchased for a total of $180 dollars ($90 a pair). I'm impressed with Volvo, however I think the Infiniti J30 Stock Bose System is slightly better, because it covers a lower frequency range, but the Volvo OEM speakers on the clarion headunit sound very crisp, clear and clean. Honestly I don't find the need yet to upgrade, I'd rather save my money. I tested out the system with a variety of music. I put in a 3 6 mafia CD (we all know how bassy 3 6 is). That Song a$$ and ti%$es was thumping, also 504 boys "Whodi" song was thumping too. Make 'em say Uggggh by Master P sounded really nice too. I think Volvo should have placed the door speakers lower closer to our legs, like they did for the rear speakers on the door, but other than that, since the 93 Volvo GLT had no premieum sound system, I would say nice job for an OEM system. It's amazing how the speakers can handle a modern day Headunit.

[TFIVEM]

if it costs $$$ its got to be good

[CAPT_BLOTTO]

if it costs $$$ its got to be good

ha :lol:

[Guest Guest]

My suggestion in picking out an HU is to go to the store and play with their different radios. Which has the most comfortable controls and features you want is what I would pick out.

I did that and found that I like Sony for the volume knob that you tap to have it adjust bass, tap again for fader, balance, etc. Some others, you'd have to press the little green button, wiggle your left toes, press 4 and 7 at the same time, then use 2 and 3 to go up and down all while humming dixie to get it to work right.

I'm not one with brand preference, as long as it's not dual, generic, or panasonic, I'm open to try anything.

Of course my HU budget is more around $100-$120. There's differences among the brands, but the three you listed are all good so go by button size and arrangment that you like. And LEDs, make sure it has LEDs, because LEDs are fun.

[Mr Yuck]

dang...forgot to login ^that's me.

[NGB]

While I've definetly been impressed with Alpine, and view them as a very "noob-safe" product, Adam's right, as there are lots of other options out there. I still think Alpine has the lead on internal amps in their high end units - 26W RMS IIRC (which combined with good SNRs, DAC's, and general build quality across the board, makes alpine pretty "noob-safe").

Clarion I've also had lots of good firsthand experience with. Doesn't mean these are the only options by any means.

With the Pioneer, I've heard some of their models are plagued with inferior DAC's while others sound fine. From what I've read (I've never ran a pioneer myself, yet) it's more of a hit-or-miss affair, making their line less "noob friendly", as hard things like research are now involved. I have no idea how their internal amps perform. I'm personally considering an AVIC D1 or D2 for my ride now, so I definetly don't have an anti-pioneer bias.

But if Alpine were the best HU ever, noone would bother running anything else.

I would not say that Alpines are the most user-friendly at all! Their UI and slidetouch things are often extremely finicky and complex, especially for someone who just wants an upgrade from stock and is not looking to go to a USAC, and even if they were, i wouldn't necessarily recommend Alpine for a head unit.

In addition, i have no respect for Sony Xplod, in my opinion they are cheaply made and do not last very long and the price does not reflect that at all, instead you pay out the jerk for their name.

an additional point I would like to make is that the quality of cable/wire + installation quality will outweigh the difference in quality of any >walmart headunits.

I recommend KnuKonceptz for ALL your wiring needs, they make great quality, inexpensive cables that look and work awesome!

My system is going in this Friday, included in the mix is the deh-p980bt head unit by Pioneer Premier..its a sick unit and has things included that would cost you ALOT more from the other two companies..

i wasn't a fan of their stuff til i played with the HU a little bit..and they are going for under 400 on eBay..

The nice thing about the Premier line is that you get a longer warranty from Pioneer.

at least someone here will admit that alpines are abitch to use, get a pioneer, user friendly and have the least amount of quriks that make a hu, i worked for a 12 dist. com. and they still out sell pioneer 4 to over alpine, jvc, kenwood, clarion

on another note you want a crispy hu go eclipse, noice.

Exactly what i was thinking! They are a pain in the butt.

[steve s]

pioneer's ip-bus is significantly easier to daisy-chain add-ons and more expansive than alpine's ai-net

[xtc]

an additional point I would like to make is that the quality of cable/wire + installation quality will outweigh the difference in quality of any >walmart headunits.

How can I find out what quality wire the stereo shop used in the installation? They put in a Alpine 9856 for me 6 months ago. Could they have just used the Volvo wires? If so is that good?