Head Units

[iantosca]

I'm gonna swap the factory HU out of my 1998 328i. Anyone have any recommendations on what kind of HU I should go with? Anyone have particular success on a certain brand?

Also, links to where I can buy thes products would be helpful.

Sorry I posted this in the tech section ... ill get it right next time. DOH!

[bitcore]

post in audio next time please k thanks. :P

Just about any head unit with reputable specs on it will work just fine. I'd stay away from sony in my opinion, their car audio equipment is more of a cheep marketing ploy to earn some money based on their name than to produce a decent product. (take a look at their amps, disgusting)
Alpine, & clarion make amazing head units. If I was going for the best, I'd choose one of those brands. Great stuff comes with a large price tag though. Kenwood, JVC, Pioneer, Panasonic are all great for their prices, just get the one with the specs that you like (EG: wither it plays mp3's, radio sensitivity, amplifier power vs. clarity, etc) and you should be just fine. Dual seems to be the underdog of the head unit family, I haven’t had much experience with them so I can't say much about them, but I do think i was in a car with a dual head unit and it sounded just fine.
Sony's will work, but I recommend you go with an alternative due to their marketing decisions, specs, and because they simply look weird

Crutchfield has a nice assortment of head units to choose from. I got the alpine CDA 7995 for around 400$ when it retails for around 600 when they were getting rid of them for the new CDA-7998 replacement of that model. I also got an alpine 6 disc CD changer from crutchfield. Great experience shopping with them.

[buuhh99]

crutchfield is sweet go there i like panasonic or sony cheap but good audibahns got some okay ones have no expiernce with them though

[iantosca]

Thanks guys. I've never seen such an active and helpful forum before in my entire life. KEEP IT UP!!!

[sean]

i have a rockford fosgate head unit in my car and it works great,
definitly look at crutchfield, i have bought all sorts of car audio stuff from them with no problems

[Furious]

probably the best on the market for the price range are alpine. i actually am thinking of dumping my pioneer premier deck which i love for one in the future. (near future)

moving to audio forum

[Andrewsd1985]

If you like music go with an MP3 one. I have a Panasonic Mp3 one and its great, i can get like 215 songs a cd.

[El Presidente]

Alpine 7894.

Best HU in my opinion.

It will be cheap if you can find it becuase they are discontinued. MP3, amber illumination, and 60W/channel. Nuff said.

[iantosca]

Thing is, I don't know much about installing one. So I am definatly going to have a professional do it. Definatly an .mp3 one. Thanks for all of the help.

[woobiee]

agreed...alpine 7894 is the best..its mp3 too..

a good second is the alpine 7998...but very pricey

[Calcartman]

Alpines are nice, but ive always been partial to clarion. thezeb.com has the dxz835mp (the deck i have) for 220$ shipped. Mp3, 52x4, 4v preouts, and the LCD screen and the buttons change colors (something like 728 possible shades).

[mike6786]

would a 7894 fit my 1995 318i 4 dr?

[El Presidente]

yes.

[jllphan]

Alpine makes a great head unit, and most people naturally envision a German car with such. However, I have installed head units by Nakamichi in my last two Bimmers due to their outstanding sound quality, and durability. The illumination and button labels match the BMW amber perfectly. They are a tad finicky about playing CDR's and the MP# format is almost a nonoption (until you get up there in price), but after owning several Alpines, I'm convinced Nak makes some of the best sounding decks in the world!! Check Nakamichi out

[Scarface]

I would recommend Eclipse units....I sell them and seldom ever have a problem with them...If installed by an authorized dealer you get a 3 year warranty(yes I said 3 year), 1 year theft guarantee(if someone steals it within 1 year, Eclipse will replace it, wow free insurance on your investment), and they have ESN(Electronic security network), where you can program a disc of choice into the unit, so if it is stolen, when the unit loses constant power, it locks up, and you must have that disc to unlock the unit...Eclipse is very tight on security, and if someone stole the unit from you, they would have to call Eclipse, give them all your info, mothers maiden name(filled out on warranty card at time of purchase), and the store it was bought from in order to get the unit unlocked...When they ask for the serial number and it comes up stolen, Eclipse automatically says that the unit will need to be sent in to be unlocked and agrees to unlock the unit free of charge, and gets all the theifs info, and when they receive the unit, they contact local authorities and WHAM! they get busted! Who else does that? Those are just a few of the cool features they offer besides awesome sound quality and very clean and simple looks...I just installed the AVX 2404 double din touch screen dvd am fm cd mp3 unit in my 00 4 runner and love it!

If you absolutely do not like Eclipse, I would recommend Alpine or Nakamichi....Get the best the first time and you will not be disappointed!



David