Dual Brand Headunits

[skazzunk]

Hello,

I was checking out a nice "Dual" brand headunit in bestbuy the other day, and I was wondering if anyone knew anything about them/have tried them/know someone who has one.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1166236115381

That's the best buy link

http://www.dualav.com/receivers/xdma7715.html

And that's the actual link to their website.

I dunno, it seems like a decent unit, decent sound. That price is $160, but a guy on ebay has it for $130. They also have a unit that's a little cheaper for cheaper looks, but it's only a $10 difference from the ebay price. The unit itself is 50watts x 4 but it has an RMS of about 25w which is higher than the other mp3/cd changers in that price range. (I'm really only looking for that.. no expensive displays w/ nav or anything, just CD/mp3 player compatable type things)

Please let me know if you know anything about this unit, or have a good recommendation for another unit.

[yerrow]

Hello,

I was checking out a nice "Dual" brand headunit in bestbuy the other day, and I was wondering if anyone knew anything about them/have tried them/know someone who has one.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1166236115381

That's the best buy link

http://www.dualav.com/receivers/xdma7715.html

And that's the actual link to their website.

I dunno, it seems like a decent unit, decent sound. That price is $160, but a guy on ebay has it for $130. They also have a unit that's a little cheaper for cheaper looks, but it's only a $10 difference from the ebay price. The unit itself is 50watts x 4 but it has an RMS of about 25w which is higher than the other mp3/cd changers in that price range. (I'm really only looking for that.. no expensive displays w/ nav or anything, just CD/mp3 player compatable type things)

Please let me know if you know anything about this unit, or have a good recommendation for another unit.

i'd rather spend $150 on a used alpine, pioneer, clarion, thats 2 years old before i spent my cash on that

[xspoonx]

I don't personally have any experience with DUAL but my friends and I have always viewed it as 'cheap'. Dual is the brand that you see at Wal-Mart that they don't even bother putting in a locked case. It seems to have some cool features but you said you are just looking for a decent cd/mp3 player. For the same $150(ish) dollars you could get a pioneer, JVC, kenwood, Sony or any number of other brands with a better reputation and same features. If you do go with the DUAL hu don't get the one off ebay. You will end up spending $20-30 on shipping and you won't get a warranty.

[skazzunk]

OK, any specific suggestions on a brand? Do you think that the dual would be cheap in terms of sounds quality? There's a lot to choose from and I really am having a hard time choosing between others in the price range/category. I'm willing to spend $100-200 (I'd rather 150 or lower), and there are a lot of units in the category...

I pretty much went by looks and max/RMS wattages on the dual unit when choosing between that and others in the category, what else should I take into account? Any suggestions in this range of pretty good sound? I'm really not good at picking out sound differences in the store...

[yerrow]

then just go with a reputable brand.

[wmartinlsmith]

:tdown: dual

pioneer. its the company used by more db people than i can think. very herd to skip and full of features. that bs will be be playing hopskotch with your music, and others :cough: alpine :cough: have a shitty user interface... i.e. pain in the ass to use/setup...

these

[xspoonx]

When I went to buy my last headunit I was kind of short on funds. Looking to spend $200 or less. I was in kind of the same situation you are in now. You don't want to buy based on the head unit's watts. That doesn't really determine sound quality. What you need to do is go to a store and listen to some units. Also try to listen to them on the same or similar speakers to what you have or will be getting. You should listen to the type of music you listen to too. So you may need to find the right station or take one of your own cd's.

Although I don't really like Sony speakers some of their head units in your price range are pretty good.

[stock850glt]

Stay away from Dual and don't buy a Sony hu w/a motorized face (if they still make them anyway). Mine went out after a year or so, along with my brother in law's too.

[Owned]

You don't want to buy based on the head unit's watts. That doesn't really determine sound quality.

Actually, it does, in part with many other factors that make up a quality unit.

Also, sound booths are great, I would never try to sell without one. However, sound booth SQ and real world, in your car SQ are vastly different.

Aside from the fact that Duals are ugly, this unit is crap in terms of SQ. Here's a short list as to why:

The output voltage is only 2 volts. This is fine if you are the average everyday listener, but is actually bad because it makes for a crap signal (lots of room for noise, etc). More is better (up to 6-7 volts when using lower grade equipment), but only the best HUs can go over 4 volts. I'd say it's not a major issue for you, though.

To correct this, you would have to also buy a line driver. These can be had for $50-$200 dollars.

The next issue is even though they claim 50 watts, they label it as peak, which means it's completely imaginary and should not be considered. The actual, real CEA rating on this unit is 17 watts, much more believable. You'll be hard pressed to find a HU pushing over 22-23 real watts.

The way to fix low output wattage, which always leads to poor SQ and in extreme cases, signal clipping and speaker damage, is to purchase an external amplifier. The range on amps goes from $50 for a garbage unit to well over $8,000 for some of the best in the industry.

The signal to noise ratio on this unit is 80dBA. This is, again, a poor stat. For good CD quality, your HU should have no less than 90dBA. The only way to fix this issue, is to buy a better CD player instead of this POS.

These are all things you can find out just by a quick glance at the manual. Gauge your purchase with at least those three basic guidelines if you want something with good performance. In reality, it all comes down to how much quality you are willing to pay for. Everything you see in the store will work. How well it works it generally limited by your wallet.

Some brands to look at:

Alpine is good, but certainly not the best as some people like to claim. Clarion is good. Pioneer is good. Kenwood is OK. Eclipse is usually good.

All of those brands should have an entry, if not several, in your price range.

[POOKDIZZLE]

Actually, it does, in part with many other factors that make up a quality unit.

Also, sound booths are great, I would never try to sell without one. However, sound booth SQ and real world, in your car SQ are vastly different.

Aside from the fact that Duals are ugly, this unit is crap in terms of SQ. Here's a short list as to why:

The output voltage is only 2 volts. This is fine if you are the average everyday listener, but is actually bad because it makes for a crap signal (lots of room for noise, etc). More is better (up to 6-7 volts when using lower grade equipment), but only the best HUs can go over 4 volts. I'd say it's not a major issue for you, though.

To correct this, you would have to also buy a line driver. These can be had for $50-$200 dollars.

The next issue is even though they claim 50 watts, they label it as peak, which means it's completely imaginary and should not be considered. The actual, real CEA rating on this unit is 17 watts, much more believable. You'll be hard pressed to find a HU pushing over 22-23 real watts.

The way to fix low output wattage, which always leads to poor SQ and in extreme cases, signal clipping and speaker damage, is to purchase an external amplifier. The range on amps goes from $50 for a garbage unit to well over $8,000 for some of the best in the industry.

The signal to noise ratio on this unit is 80dBA. This is, again, a poor stat. For good CD quality, your HU should have no less than 90dBA. The only way to fix this issue, is to buy a better CD player instead of this POS.

These are all things you can find out just by a quick glance at the manual. Gauge your purchase with at least those three basic guidelines if you want something with good performance. In reality, it all comes down to how much quality you are willing to pay for. Everything you see in the store will work. How well it works it generally limited by your wallet.

Some brands to look at:

Alpine is good, but certainly not the best as some people like to claim. Clarion is good. Pioneer is good. Kenwood is OK. Eclipse is usually good.

All of those brands should have an entry, if not several, in your price range.

Lot's of good info right here, follow this and all should go well ;)

[skazzunk]

Thanks guys, especially Owned, that was all very useful.

Any tips on buying speakers to go with an HU?

I just picked up two Sony 'Xplod' speakers for the front of my car (5.25") at a trade-in shop around my area. I was looking around, and they're 160w peak with 35w rms. Sony has always been kind to me, and the speakers sounded pretty good when the guy plugged them in (Higher frequencies.. but I realized that the front speakers usually are higher frequencies than the rear). Plus, they were $25 for the pair. At retail stores, most speaker sets were either out of the price range or just pretty crappy.

Does that seem like a good buy? Again, tips on buying speakers to go with a new headunit? I want to buy at least two more new speakers (I think I might just run 4 speakers off of the new HU if they're nice quality.. maybe also a 2-channel amp and sub someday).

[NGB]

I would not own a piece of "Xplod" equipment. I have found the quality to be poor and the prices to reflect that. I also don't usually buy my audio components from 'retail stores' such as best-buy, wal-mart, circuit city...so on. Good speakers are out there for not a lot of money. If you are just looking for coaxials look into Blaupunkt (low price), Alpine, Infinity, CDT, Boston...there are a bunch, but sony is not one of them.

While this isn't a fair comparison, because the Sony's you have are coaxial and the CDT's I have are components, they are rated for 150 watts RMS, whereas the Xplods are 35...big difference. Also look at the sensitivity, higher sensitivity = more efficient, higher power handling (RMS) is good.

I'm sure Adam will chime in with some more helpful info that i'm forgetting.

[skazzunk]

Well do you at least think it's an upgrade from stock? Spending $25, I wasn't hoping to obtain some really amazing speakers, I'm just hoping to upgrade a little bit. I know 35w isn't much for RMS, but if I'm only supplementing a headunit, and no amps, I don't think it's bad.

Plus.. I'm in highschool. I have the money to put some amazing speakers in... I really could spend thousands (I have it saved), but I just want to improve everything a little bit so that I have a good senior year, but I won't be dissapointed if I don't use the car for a year or 2 in college.

So basically.. in my conditions, I think it was an OK upgrade for $25. You were right, it did reflect the price (dirt cheap), as long as it's an improvement from stock. Again, I only really want to supplement a decent headunit in my pricerange (Not thinking of amps at the moment)

but any more suggestions on other speakers/ HU's?

[skazzunk]

What do you think of Panasonic units (in general)? I saw this crutchfield site on someone else's post... very helpful.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-JGABd2OZh7y/c...&I=133C8303

[skazzunk]

OK, well I realized, I know much less about car audio than most people on these forums, I'm just getting a feel for it.

Can someone recommend audio components for me? Or should I start a new thread?

I really want to spend about $500 total maybe a bit more with a new headunit, front doors speakers, and rear deck speakers. I think I'll just leave the rest of them or take them out (rear door/front deck). I'd like the rear deck speakers to be pretty large, enough to get some nice bass out of (So I can feel it, and I don't need to buy a sub... I don't listen to music like rap that really focuses on the bass.. More like swing and rockabilly where I like to hear a prominent bass but don't need it that insanely loud). I also want good sound from the unit.. probably no more than $200 on the unit, like I said above... hopefully ipod compatable.

Also, I saw a Polk 5 1/4" component system ($99) and 6 1/2" component ($119), and the prices seemed good at Circuit City. I still don't totally understand a component system, but I don't know if the guy there does either. He said a headunit may underpower it... the best sound will come from an amp (obviously)... I won't really notice that it sounds good just off of the headunit, and underpowering it may blow it. Is this valid

Well I'd appreciate input/help. Thanks.