Eclipse, Pioneer Premiere, or Alpine? All I need now is a head unit

[MonkeyBizIU1859 10+ year member]

Okay, so I've narrowed down my system to exactly what I'm going to buy. Except, I can't decide on a head unit. Here's what I'm thinking about:

Eclipse CD5444

Pioneer Premiere DEH-P960MP or DEH-P860MP (I've heard bad things about the motors in the 960 breaking, so I'm a little wary)

Alpine CDA9827 (God only knows it's the only decent looking HU in the bunch... When will they realize that flourescent green looks like carp?)

Any thoughts? And if you have another suggestion, keep it reasonable along with the prices on these.

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[3.5Max6spd 10+ year member]

i favor the 5v Eclipse......a true 5v unit and it packs all the features the 8v line does

and the most important- preamp ouputs have low 55ohm impedance- sets this unit apart from all others you mentioned- very clean ,musical HU

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

IMO the Alpine 9827 isn't in the same league as the other HU's you mentioned.....if you did want to go Alpine, you would probably need to jump up to the 9831-35 models.

Also, I had a Pioneer Premier DEH-P840MP, which is almost exactly the same cosmetically as the new P960 (with the fold-down silver face and hidden OEL display), and I have never had one problem with the faceplate breaking/jamming. It has given me ~2.5yrs of solid service without one hitch.

I would go with the DEH-P960 personally also.

 

[denim 5,000+ posts]

this is a close one for me, but I am going to give to Eclipse

 

[denim 5,000+ posts]

moving to HU

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

I've owned all three companies.....and well, my vote definitely goes to the eclipse. Much better potential...great HU...also if installed by professional it's a 3 year warranty. peace

NG

 

[NoiseViolator]

I purchased the panasonic cq-c9800u off crutchfield and if u dont go with eclipse and have a lot of money to put into your system then this head unit is pretty much the best one to get.It has virtually no distortion .01 thd . its 60 x 4 rms which is unheard of.it uses digital am/fm and changes frequency so u get no interference from other channels.moving images on the face plate which is nice for passengers.9 band equalizer.use low pass filter to make rears a subwoofer.This unit is awesome and it sounds crystal clear even on my stock speakers.I'll be upgrading to 6 3/4 or 6 x 9 speakers for my rear deck probably polks with 2 way crossovers.

If you live at home or make a lot of money i recommend the 9800u.

 

[BIG_SUPERMAN72 10+ year member]

buy a 4 yr warranty with the PIONEER. Took my deck 10 days to get fixed. Cuz the output thing went all gay. But now im bumpin again.

 

[6spdcoupe 5,000+ posts]

Hands down..Eclipse. I wouldnt even compare. The memory stick feature also makes it alot easier for the general person to adjust settings. No need to examine a small screen.....

Adding on to the comment of the three year warranty..dont forget the 1yr theft replacement too. =)

--Don

 

[BIG_SUPERMAN72 10+ year member]

eclipse is ulgy ass ****. looks cheap as JVC.

 

[6spdcoupe 5,000+ posts]

eclipse is ulgy ass ****. looks cheap as JVC.

O well that settles it I guess...It looks ugly to YOU, so it must not be a good choice....

 

[BIG_SUPERMAN72 10+ year member]

**** yes. u queer. Looks like a CHEAP POS. *****es dont like CHEAP.

 

[Randy Savage 5,000+ posts]

They should make people like superman get parental consent before conducting any online activity.

 

[BIG_SUPERMAN72 10+ year member]

yea u wanna be my daddy? u ****ing dick head.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

yea u wanna be my daddy? u ****ing dick head.

wtf is ur problem douche bag?!?!?! please don't talk anymore...i'm sorry i ever helped ur ass...

NG