Maybe in the distant future I will upgrade my head unit. I was thinking of getting it right this time and going pure SQ, maybe an Eclipse or Nak or something. But the only eclipse and nak I like the looks of are the top of the range, out of my range.

Anyway alot of people have Alpine and say they are great for SQ, features and of course looks .. Now my question is :

Is there a noticable difference between a $1k Nak/Eclipse/Alpine etc. ?

I'd rather have 'some' looks and handy features like time alignment as well as good SQ than just plain hu with SQ

when you start spending 1k+ the diffrences in HU's becomes pretty small. Pure sq decks will usualt have 24bit dac's, however some companys are sticking with the 1bit system with good results. For time alignment/features you cant look past the new alpine range. Or if your looking at a pure SQ deck with TA, mabey try and pick up last years CDA-7969R. 6channel TA, 24db crossovers, 7band parametric eq, all the sq goodies.

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CDA7969R XTR800.4 RSD216 XTR15S HCW8
C A A . S A . C O M M I T T E E . M E M B E R

Indeedy, the differences get small and the Alpine range is a good place to look. 7894RB at rrp $999 (street price low $900s?) is a class HU at those $, with TA. And yeah, a 7969 if you can track one down now.

The Eclipse and Naks are excellent but IMO for the marginal SQ improvement the extra money will buy more results elsewhere in the system.

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Mazda SP20 - NOT yellow,Dynamat Extreme and G Spot in front doors
HU - Alpine CDA-7876RB
Audison VRx 2.150EX front stage amp
JL Audio 500/1 Class D monoblock sub amp
Front Stage - Morel HCW 6.5 woofers, Morel MT2 tweeters, Morel MX2.2 x-overs.
Rear fill - stockies with power from HU (not that they get any)
Sub - Kicker S12L72 in 75 litre 30Hz slot-ported display box.
Stinger cables and connectors etc
TEAM AUDISON SQ WITH ATTITUDE

Wasn't there a 7998 for sale for $1000 not long ago? Might be worth checking that out if its still there...

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System Includes:
Pioneer DLS HERTZ XTANT Phoenix Gold

www.members.sounddomain.com/bodyjar

1st Place, Drag Combat 2002, 1 Woofer class

Email me at QLD_CAA_Rep@caraudioaustralia.org

also consider Clarion's top of the range headunits w/ 24-bit DAC and 4v preouts if you are chasing SQ, eg, 715, 9697z.

the difference between these units, and cheaper ones, is remarkable, and the clarions serve up the eye-candy features too if thats important (colour screens etc). i have the 9675z and the dual-zone parametric EQ is a real treat in tuning my system up, though it doesnt have time alignment (though teh new model does i believe).

so yeah, my benchtesting and in-car experience can testify to the sweet, accurate and resolute sound of these source units - check em out

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Custom SQ System

Source: Clarion DRX-9675z - Front Stage: Boston Acoustics Pro 6.5's - Centre Channel: Boston Acoustics FS50 Midrange - Ambient Satellites: Boston Acoustics 3/4" Kortec Tweeters - Processors: Audiocontrol EQT's - Subwoofers: Earthquake BR12's - Amplifiers: Kicker IX404's - Power: Stinger 1 Farad HPM Capacitor
Sounding sweet and taking it to the street

IMO, the alpine's are excellent HUs, and very hard to go passed in terms of VFM, including features and SQ.

for your $1K, i presume you'd be looking at an eclipse CD5441. this is definitely and excellent SQ deck, and worth considering. but if you could afford the extra few hundred (in reality), the CD8051 would be worth it (RRP$1199 when i last checked).

i also agree the topline clarion's are also exceptional, so worth inspecting too.

good luck

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/////ALPINE audison DYNAUDIO polkaudio OPTIMA Stinger LIGHTNINGAUDIO

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