I think I've narrowed my headunit down to one of these.

http://www.clarion.com.au/prod_source.htm

http://www.pioneeraus.com.au/car_entertain...ners/index.html

I'm leaning towards the Clarion at the moment purely for looks, although the 6.5 Volt pre-outs on the Pioneer decks look tempting also. The Clarion only has 4V pre-outs. All 3 decks have the 24Bit Burr-Brown DAC which I figure was an important criteria. I'll be mainly using this for CD's, not MP3's, so want the most natural sound possible. I'm teaming this up with an Audison SRx3 amp, Vibe Audio CBR 10 sub and a pair of Focal 165V2 splits. They're currently running off the factory Renault 182 headunit, which I've decided to replace. Which would most likely give me the better sound quality? The Clarion, or one of the Pioneers? I think the 2 Pioneer decks are basically the same, but the 9650 has a bit more bling! I dont really need bling. Just want the best sounding HU. Thanks for any advice.

I know you said that you narrowed it down to the two above decks but if you like have a look at the Blaupunkt Bremen MP74 which sells for around the $950 mark.

It has all the features that come with the other two deck and more (108 band Equaliser)

I just brought it the other day and couldn't be any more happy with it. I upgraded from the Pioneer DEH-P1Y

But if you are dead set on one of the above decks i like them both aswell, so I guess at the end it up to you! But im pretty sure you should be happy with either one...

Thanks Andrew. I have looked at the Bremen. Lots of features, and I'm sure it would be a great HU, but its a design thing. I'm not too taken with the look of it. And I can get the others for a coupla hundred cheaper than that. Thanks for the advice anyway. Appreciated.

I think I'm going to get the Pioneer 9650...

i don't like the design of the clarions.. they just went fugly for the last couple of years and i think that touch panels are inherantly evil

the 9650 is a very nice unit.. you'd be happy with that.. and the breman is dull even though i like understated design..

I actually like the Clarions, especially the HX-D2, which is outta my price range unfortunately. Would so like one of them, but cant justify it. Anyway, too late now. I just ordered a 9650! And my sub arrived last night. A piece of art in itself. Beautifully made. System is now complete. Now just need someone to install it all. And then deaden the doors...

HXD2 is fine - and i will be getting one early inthe new year, but the rest of the range is not that flash.. i have a 746 and have not been overly impressed by it.. 24 bit DAC and 4 v preouts acting basically as a transport is all good, but some of the buttons are the wrong size and the UI is a bit or a mare..

Looks like you and I both will be getting an HX-D2 eventually. I'll see how this setup goes for the next few months. I have a feeling the upgrade bug is cocconed at the moment, but ready to re-emerge again in my car very soon...

argh well - if you are planning to upgrade in the long term then start saving your pennies for a truly worthy unit:
Pioneer P9 combo

i'll take teh HXD2 over the P9 - though i have though about an iabyss or maybe a denon.. i dunno.. HXd2 seems to fit my current needs and desires..

Really? I wasn't aware that the HXD2 had individualised timealignment, EQ and Xover for each individual speaker - which surely at the amount of money we are talking about is what you are paying for!

Why would you go the clarion over the pioneer in this case?

hxd2 has TA and the way that i will be using 3x5.1 processing units, i'll have individual alignment, xover and eq on every speaker in the car.. because i basically haven't decided on what processing unit i'l go for.. i'm thinking something rather pro audio styles

i just prefer the clarion over the pioneer.. its been talked about throughly and intimately on elite car audio so i know exactly what i'm getting.. but i have never been a major fan of pioneer anyway - personal choice really, to each their own.

Sounds hardcore - you will have to give me more details about the gear that you are running (although if you don't want to hijack the thread you can PM me!)


Yeah - more than aware of some of those discussions too. The only reason I would run down the pioneer path is simply because I already have some of their gear, and as we all know - once you start messing around with proprietory cabling then you are very much locked into a specific brand!

I personally don't know why Pioneer haven't invested in providing the features of the DEQ-P9 in a similar 'out-board' styled unit for some of the "lower" end units (like my 960!!). But then again they are the brand that didn't think that MP3 stackers were a good idea, Audio on DVD was a good idea etc so I guess it is to be expected.

Having said all that - it's a pretty big gamble to spend $5K (in pioneer's case) on something which provides you with individualised TA/EQ/Xover only to find that your speaker placement and install meant such upgrades proved almost non-existant gains.

i drop hints around the place here and there..
here's one
http://www.caraudioaustralia.com/forums/in...pic=54719&st=40
and i talk constantly with the guy below my system outline.. suffice to say we have some interesting ideas and discussions regarding car audio

I think I saw a pic of your car from a CAASQ NZ thread a little while ago - were you the one that entered with the sub in the centre consol with the fibreglass still drying!

I'd love to hear your proposed setup - Blackrazor was telling me a little while ago all about the Arvus speakers and I really would like to hear them (their frequency response and THD are amazing on paper!). Too bad it would involve a plane trip I suppose!

the fibreglass was fully dry in that setup , but maybe not on the headunit.. i can't remember exactly..

i've added you to the ol' MSN.. i'll explain a bit more when i have the time