Hey guys, I'm getting ready to replace my factory cd/cassette in my 04 F150. The last aftermarket HU I had was in my civic (good riddance) which was a Panasonic....well I forgot which model it was, but was MP3 and had a automatic fold-down face.

Sound quality was ok but, I didn't really care for the Panasonic for the following reasons.
1. Only able to display Time OR Title OR Album on the display. I got the fold down face so the whole screen could be utilized. Instead I had to fumble around just to check the time.
2. Took 5-10 seconds to tell me the song title, after the song changed. If I don't know the songs on the disc this can be very frustrating.
3. Could not see the display in sunlight....at all!
4. Motorized FDF would auto-close after 15 short seconds, sometimes it takes me a min to find the CD im looking for.
5. CDs with a fingerprint on them had a hard time playing, much less ones with any scratches.

What I need in a HU:
1. MP3/WMA playback - preferably one that could remember the last few MP3 disc played, so it could load faster. My TDK portable CD/MP3 play did this, and it kicked ***.
2. Easy to read (green) display that reads the Title (MP3) AND the time just like how the stock unit displays the Track # (CD) AND the time.
3. 3-Sets of Pre-outs.
4. Fold down face, motorized is ok as long as it closes when I want it to..

I apologize for the long post but I don't want to fork over another $200.00 for a HU that isn't any better then my buddy's $60.00 one.

 

i just ordered the pioneer 7800 mp from crutchfield, normally 419.99 onsale for 319.99, from what you said ti can do everything you want and more.

 

Alpine...

 

Try the Pioneer 6800MP, I got one a couple of months ago and on real compaints with it at all. It plays MP3/WMA/AAC, don't know about remembering previous discs though. It does load pretty quickly, and browsing files/folders is easy. The display is blue, but it will display 2 lines of text and the time (time is across the top of the display, underneath you can have artist on one line and song title on the 2nd line). It has 3 sets of pre-outs, and motorized face (no idea how long it stays open though, but I am sure its more than 15 seconds).

It's very expandable, you can add XM/Sirius, CD changer, DVD/TV control, has a front input for an MP3 player (other than iPod, connection is on the bottom so its kinda hidden when not in use) iPod control etc etc.

You can find it for about $175 if you shop around (http://www.pricegrabber.com/p__Pione.../search=6800MP)

The only problem I have found with it is that the display can sometimes be hard to see under bright sunlight.

 

I have heard that all the new Alpine's are pretty poor feature/quality wise, it's the main reason I went with the Pioneer.

Used to have an Alpine and wish I had never sold it. If it were not for the constant poor reviews of the Alpine's I would have bought another one. I miss time alignment!!!

The CDA-9856 I think is around the $200 mark, but has half the features of the Pioneer 6800MP.

 

I'll have to look into that pioneer. I was seriously looking into the 9856.

How is it on vibration resistance? I really dont feel like having to mass load my dash to do 150 + dB runs or have my music cut in the middle of a bass race run.

 

No pause...ahhhhh!

 

are u kidding me? i am running 146 db right now and my friends have much more than me. never skipps, never nothing. I also off road alot and when i get air and land my cd player doesnt even skip... best ive seen.

my $.02

Matt

 

Pause is the most important thing to me. It's why I am getting rid of my deck.

What mic is 146 on? There is a big difference in vibration between 146 and say 152 on term lab (4 times the energy). Between 146 on the AC and 152 on term lab there is an even bigger difference (10+ times the energy). Plus my dash moves like a beast (close to 1" doing 145 on term lab).

 

yea, i couldnt get over 146 db in the contest... remember im using 2 10 inch audiobahns running 800 watts.... so i was totally impressed. i had alot of people who were in the higher classes looking at my truck going, holy crap... i want to see those subs pulled and checked out

Matt

 

146 is very impressive for two 10's, even on a properly calibrated AC. You didnt say what mic so I'm assuming you dont know the difference (I may be wrong).

AC (audio controll) is a stick connected to a box that has a read out made up of a bunch of red LED's.

Term Lab is a box connected by Cat5 of USB cable to a computer and the initial read out is on the computer screen, and you can buy red display boards which are usually used at competitions. With TermLab you have a little asian voice that says "ready, set, GO!" and then counts down the 30sec in dB Drag competition.

IASCA is the biggest oranization still using AC. Scott Owens recently broke 180dB on AC, shortly after his truck burned down from a terminal to terminal short in his battery rack.

dB Drag (obviously, wayne harris wrote the term lab software), MECA, and SLAP (i think) all use Term Lab.

What audiobahn woofers do you have? I'm assumeing higher end. Alum series maybe?

 

Not sure on the vibration resistance, it has never skipped on me. But I have never played 150 dB through the truck.

A few reviews I have read complain about the lack of a pause button, the pause function is there but it's in a menu (which is a bit crap). I had a look on the remote thinking there was a pause button on there, but does not look like it. There is a mute button, but no pause.

If you can get by without the pause then check it out. It's a good cheap deck.

 

Pioneer suck...go Xplod.

 

 

I beg to differ... Pioneer makes pretty good decks. I've used several of them, as have my friends. I'm not saying Sony's decks are bad... but there are certainly better options. And as far as price vs. performance, Pioneer is hard to beat.