I am in the market for a very high end SQ head unit... I was just wondering what you guys thought was among the best... Budget is healthy.

Eclipse 8053?
Nakamichi ?? Which models? Are their 6 CD stackers any good?
I heard Denon was good but really hard to find...

i really love eclipse units
also top of the range kenwood and alpine.

I think nakamichi is passed its used by date,
seems to be overpriced for what it is.(and ugly)

that said, keep your eye out for the new dragster line up.

including hu and multimedia

as mentioned, the high end eclipse, clarion, alpine units as the nak cd400 and up, dennon dct-z1, mcintosh etc all have good sound quality characteristics.

if you're on a tight budget i'd be having a long hard look at the clarion 835. or if you are prepared to go second hand then any of the above.

over the last few years i have been really impressed with what clarion have had to offer

yeah, there's lots of excellent SQ HUs. probably expect to pay up to $2K, beyond which is the esoteric stuff (eg: nak CD700mkII, denon, alpine F1, etc).

in the end, you pay heaps more for only a smidgd extra SQ; it's the nature of audio! so what's 'good value' is up to you.

i agree that eclipse, nak, clarion is where it's at up to the $2K region. i'd love a new clarion DZX9255 or whatever the new release is.

of the esoteric stuff...take your pick. alpine offers the processing that some people favour (PXA-H900 RRP$6999 matched with the HU, CDA-7990 RRP$3999). the F1 HU itself is awesome.

for stackers, most brands offer them to match. clarion will offer digital out on stacker to hook up with HU. alpine offer digital out on HU/stacker to go into processor. no doubt the eclipse and nak stackers are good, and can be indash (1-DIN size).

happy hunting.

Why do you think the naks over priced for what they are?

what really impressive and everyday uselful funtions does the nak have that other top of range doesnt have.

that combined with the dated appearance is why it is overpriced.

each to their own i suppose

i've not auditioned a system with a nak HU so won't be so bold as to agree. all i will say is that they have understated looks (which i like) but have an awesome reputation for SQ. i suspect they are still good value despite being expensive, simply because they sound so good.

The dated appearance is what suits the market of these headunits.
Due to their price they can be afforded by those who fit them to BMWs, Audis, and Mercedes-Benz's. Why do you think they had amber illumination for so long? Thats what these car's instumentations are.

The owners of these marques don't want to have brushed aluminium finishes that disturb their Poplar wood interiors, rather it to integrate nicely with the interior.

And yes I've looked at your sig, but you have a wall in your BMW; you're not the average owner!

Personally I think the nakamichi CD700 is one of the best looking headunits to date. No cheap plastic buttons littering the face, no fandangled 64 colour screens with dolphins and f1 cars etc.

Style is a matter of opinion i know, and nakamichi target people with a certain level of style

As for functions. In my opinion a pure sq deck's job is simply to get the signal of the cd and to the amps.

For me timealignment, and 5 band eq's are a waste of monney. Since speaker alignment should be addressed at the installation stage, not after, and 5 band eq's will really stuggle to fix a systems shortcommings.

I prefer that the very little space that one has in a single din to be used to house a good powersupply, laser assembly and digital anlouge converter rather than the other stuff.

Hell all i want on a headunit is a slot for my cd's, next/previous tack buttons and a volume knob. And for it to look good.

More ranting. If you think Nak are behind the times look at the current trends. Most manufacturers are going back to volume knobs insted of up/down buttons. Nak has been doing this it's entire production life (with the exclusion of the odd headunit, cd250).

I admit i tend to have a liking for their japanese manufactured products over their taiwaneese ones, as i feel that is a reflection of their quality/cost ratio. Nak know their jap plant is better which is why the cd700 is still made there.

Blah bah blah end rant, it's all subjective so go for what you like.

Clarion HX-D1.......

Alpine F1.......

My thoughts exatly

I have the Pioneer P9450 - it has all the features any 'modern' HU 'has' to have including a few choices of displays etc. etc. Now, what do I use every day? the eject button, the forward button and the volume knob - thats it!

Don't get me wrong, I love this HU and the only thing that I don't like is having to press a few buttons to be able to turn up/down the sub (got to get me a remote bass knob thingy).

My choice of HUs if I was in the market for one now would be the Denon DCT Z1 (first choice) , Nakamichi CD 700, Pioneer P9R (with processor) and that black Clarion HU (forgot the model no.).

Regards,
Mo

id wait for the drz9255
looks hella sexy
from looking at the specs i guess u could say its like a deck wif the sq of the old high end clarions combined with the features of the high end alpines

If money is no object then Nak cd700....Mcintosh mx5000.....

I can tell you about my experience with the nak mb100 though

I like it very much ..... the sq is pretty good. (if you choose it, I will recommend you to replace the stock rca cable that comes with the hu, I use one made by A&T and the difference it makes to the SQ is really worthwhile).

Also, i like that ugly face because most of my friends reckon its just some old crap....so meaning it is not so eye-catching....but the face is detachable anyway.....

But on the negative side, I reckon the volume control is pretty bad.......its the button type....i'll much prefer to have a volume knob.....you must be very gentle with it as well...

And its a 6 cd changer......good if you are lazy haha....

Good luck with your purchase

Do you guys get the pioneer dex-p9r/DEQ-P9 system over there? Im very happy with mine. But i still have this thing about the alpine F#1 as i prefer a unit thats black and matches my dashboard.

Yup we do and I think the P9R plus the processor would cost abt 5 grand? The cd player alone is about 3 grand I think.

I've used a Nak CD 700MkII in a customer's vehicle before and I must say it is awesome! In fact, the customer upgraded from a CD 400 to a CD 700MkII (against my advise because I thought it would make no audible difference but boy was I wrong!). The stage was so much wider and had greater depth, vocals were stronger and the top end was both lively and warm.

I agree that on paper, you are paying a lot of money for a non detachable face, no sub control, time alignment etc.. deck but if you have the rest of the system to match to this calibre deck, then you will not regret your purchase.

Darren

I heard today from our supplier that the Clarion DRZ-9255 will only be made with tuning for the North American market.

Is this correct?

serious? i thought the jap radio setup was the same as australia. can't imagine they'd only produce a tuner suited to the US and not even japan! :shock:

these days, tuners should be adjustable to suit the market.

We're getting the 9255, don't fret...

Will we be getting the 945MP?

Caring??? I'm not buying the deck to listen to the radio!!!! :wink:

I want to know what a Eclipse CD8053 or CD8443 is worth down there for you guys, and as I'm reading your lingo, I noticed things like $150 or ONO, wtf is ONO, it sounds to me like OH NO, I bought a piece of crap and have to sell it to buy what I should have in the first place.
I've also noticed on this thread about numerous cd players being "the best" for sq, yet no one has gone into detail to explain why. Someone posted on the job of the cd player to provide a good clean signal, this person was bang on, but no description as to what makes a good sq unit. I'll comment on it after I read some more replies. Hope you guys do not mind, and it's not meant to offend anyone.

the 8053 retails for AUS$1199 here, but occasional good deals see the street price come in under $1K. we don't get the 8443 here.

ONO. oh no orange! actually: 'or nearest offer' on prices.

Thanks dude, it's a little slow here today and I have time to surf, thanks to nedgeworth for pointing me in your direction, I'll be glad to offer my services to your site. Nedgeworth found me at ww.the12volt.com site in case you are interested.
The price of the CD8053 here is $999 Canadian or about $925.00 Australian. That's quite the price difference.

plus shipping duty and gst to australia, nut much difference really

Point taken, never thought about it from your perspective, duty usually only applies to us importing from the US and GST applies to everyone.

The DRZ9255 is for America only.
The Australian equivalent is the HZD29255. Not available until July
2004. As this is a new model, RRP not available until April.


email from clarion australia

In response to shiny car, I didn't think the CD8053 was available to the Australian market... I know we have the CD8051 and CD8061, though.

That's strange!
I got an e-mail from them tonight that said that the Australasian model is the HX-D2 and will have a retail of AU$2199 and it'll be April before they arrive.

Anyone want to buy a body organ?

Heard on the grapevine Eclipse are about to launch a new line up, all from the 2004 USA/Japan range inc will be AV I'm told.
Bring it on..

I bought a second 8443 (brand new) for a friend... but willing to sell it for $800 if someone wants it first... I bought myself a second hand Eclipse 8053 with the balanced line adapter. Cant wait for it to arrive...

Yeah I don't believe the 8053 is available here either... I got their latest catalog. 8053 and 8443 are USA only but if the rumour about their new line is true then it shouldn't matter. However, I want a good head unit now and I don't wanna wait

typical

anyway

whatever the model number they give to the 9255 it will be a nice unit to get

i look forward to saving up to get one :-)

if they fianlly owrk out a model number and price it would also be good to see :-)

just hope this unit is similar to the classic 9255, which imo was avery nice headunit

Wow, that floors me that the higher end Eclipse units are not available there, the CD8443 was our best selling cd player last year. Someone also heard correct on the rumour mill, an entire new line of head units come out in our market next week, can't wait, drool. I get to go on a roadtrip to go see them. Hongcouver here I come.

I actually heard something along the lines too that the 9255 will come out as the HX-D1 or HX-D2 here too. There was quite a bit of confusion when I was trying to special order a HX-D1.

Let's just wait and see.