[gunbir]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

But I do subscribe to this philosophy now, in the case of a properly tuned front + sub setup.

Welcome to the Dark Side!

[anujmishra]

Its simple: The HU for which price is more is called High End Head Unit. So there is no limit to High End Unit and its all depends upon how much you are willing to spend.

So, amount you spend more is directly proportional to features and quality of HUs (Am I correct ?)

Blaupunkt has some high end unit and to my surprise in team-bhp no audio gurus recommend BlauPunkt. Surprise!

[low_bass_makker]

Originally Posted by Bass&Trouble

I could end up arguing forever with you on that.

I am with you on this nothing can match a good time align setup everything comes up like this...



May the force be with you !!!!

[Bass&Trouble]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

I do subscribe to this philosophy now, in the case of a properly tuned front + sub setup.

In which case I am indeed very happy for you. From all the praise you shower, I'm sure your installer is a very able guy. I'm sure he has done a splendid job. All the best! cheers:

[navin]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

With good equipment and tuning, the need for TA is much less..

..but TA still makes things better right?

TA is not a need (if it were every HU would have it) TA is a want. *see Rolling Stones song for definitions of need and want*

[theEnd]

Originally Posted by gunbir

Sir, all the above compared and tested by JB and I, along with the Alpine 7998, Kenwood K-CD01, Panasonic Tube CQ-TX5500. We did this shootout about a year ago, spread over a few days. HUs were tested in home and in car. Results were very interesting.

May do another one when we get the time. This time we'll throw in a 9887, a P880 and an Eclipse in the mix.

I'm sorry to brink it up again but it would be great to hear how that shootout went down. Maybe just a brief summary (since its probably not fresh in your memory anymore).

[gunbir]

Originally Posted by theEnd

I'm sorry to brink it up again but it would be great to hear how that shootout went down. Maybe just a brief summary (since its probably not fresh in your memory anymore).

Briefly, here goes...

Nakamichi CD700mkII - Overall a very balanced, very old school sound, kinda analogue... if you know what I mean. Great natural sounding midbass, warm mids and highs. Lows are tight and defined and while highs lack detail at the top end, its still very pleasant sounding. No processing, simple tone controls, and a simple interface. Soundstage was The transport is a bit scary though as the mechanism is a bit complex and thus prone to issues if not maintained well.

Panasonic CQ-TX5500 - A surprise package, the Panny Bottlehead has a very warm yet lively representation of music. It sounds natural and has a overall lush feel to it. A a very laid back feel if you will. It plays MP3 so thats a bonus, though it only does upto 256K VBR I think. Its a bit fussy with some CD-R media but original CDs work just fine. This is the kinda source that lets you play almost anything and makes it sound good. Again, no processing apart from basic tone controls. Soundstage is reasonably wide and centered very well. The gold Jap Hi-Fi look and the tube glow are something one either likes or doesn't. Either ways, a great HU.

Kenwood K-CD01 - This Kenny was again a surprise. Using the same DACs as other more expensive HUs, this one has the most basic build quality in this group. No copper chassis, normal pigtail RCAs. Only the front faceplate is brushed aluminum and the knobs, buttons are of nice quality. The Kenwood has a more tighter sound than the above two. Its more controlled, detailed and upfront. Highs are detailed and open. Again, no processing etc but puts out a great soundstage thats both high and wide. For the price this one is a no brainer. Probably the cheapest serious SQ unit you can buy.

Alpine 7998 - We were expecting a lot from this unit and it didnt let us down completely. Excellent build quality and features. Copper Chassis, VFD display, 3way active crossover, TA etc. That said, it was against some very tough competition and in the sheer SQ front, it didnt do so well. Even the Kenny was a ahead with a fair margin. Bass was a bit muddy and exaggerated, while mids and highs were anylytical and a bit cold. Soundstage was nicely centered and reasonably high, though nowhere near the best we heard in this test. This one didnt really impress us as much as we thought it would.

Clarion HX-D2 - This was one of the units we had the most experience with. For the test we ran it in DIRECT mode which switches off the processing. The soundstage was among the best in this test. Mids and Highs were again the best in this test, even if they do sound a bit Digital. Low Bass is one area where the unit has less than stellar performace. Sub bass almost always sounds a bit "delayed". It also has a tendency to be cold and analytical at times, and will make bad recordings sound just as bad as they are. Not very forgiving that way.One fix is to use one of the other preouts for sub as that sounds much better. The transport and lens also deserve a special mention as they are the most robust we have seen. We have seen this unit play CDs that no other would. The unit can do 4way active with TA, GEQ/PEQ and a lot more. This is the best built unit in this group and by far the most flexible (processing wise).

Pioneer 9400MP - A japanese built Pioneer, this one again used to be fairly expensive in its time (2002/3 I think). This unit actually performed better than the Alpine 7998 on most counts. But was bettered by the Kenny overall. A nice HU overall with a pleasant presentation and nice transport. The built quality was great (by today's standards).

This is how we would rate the best in this group:

Best Overall SQ HU: Clarion HX-D2
Best VFM SQ HU: Kenwood K-CD01
Best SQ HU: Panasonic CQ-5500TX

Disclaimer:
- I dont represent any brand mentioned above.
- Tests were done over few days, weeks.
- A very wide variety of music was heard.
- All HUs were level matched.
- Listening tests were done in home, and again in car.

Hope this helps...

Cheers!

[theEnd]

Thanks Gunbir! Much appreciated.

[s0uljah]

Originally Posted by gunbir

This is how we would rate the best in this group:

Best Overall SQ HU: Clarion HX-D2
Best VFM SQ HU: Kenwood K-CD01
Best SQ HU: Panasonic CQ-5500TX

Disclaimer:
- A very wide variety of music was heard.
- All HUs were level matched.

Hope this helps...

Nice one! The level matching is something overlooked many a timebut I guess is a very very important factor for a comparison

Whats the price range of the HU's ?(I assume they are available only against order locally.)

Nakamichi CD700mkII - Overall a ......No processing, simple tone controls, and a simple interface. Soundstage was The transport is

Something missing?

[hydrashok]

Nice review, Gunbir! Do review an Eclipse 7200 MkII if one comes your way!

[sk456]

Where does the McIntosh MX5000 stand in the list? I think you forgot that.

[gunbir]

Originally Posted by sk456

Where does the McIntosh MX5000 stand in the list? I think you forgot that.

Most of our extensive listening on the MX5000 was with the MDA5000 External DAC. I thought it would be an unfair comparison, hence the omission. For us, no doubt about it... money no object, this is the SQ combo to buy! But such performance comes at a cost.

[low_bass_makker]

For the McIntosh MX5000, Pioneer P9 and Alpine F1 status will be the correct contender.

[butcherSS]

Sorry if this is the wrong thread , but here goes.

Want to get my car 'to be'...ICE'd .
Phase I
Looking at a good HU and 6k+ comps for front .

Phase II
Rear comps/ovals and Amp

So I decided since this a long term thing I wanted a mid to high end HU.
I was looking at the CDA 9886 but am now thinking of downgrading to the next level maybe the CDA 9884E . What I want to know is how big of a difference it will make to my overall setup without this IMPRINT for the 9886.

Also I know I am supposed to search my guts out but I couldnt find updates price lists for Alpine HU. So if some of you guys could help me out would appreciate it.

[hydrashok]

@butcherSS, the price details will be here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/produc...-units-23.html

From what I've heard, the 9886 sounds better than the 9884. I haven't listened to the 9884, but the 9886 sounded quite nice.

IMPRINT has been getting pretty mixed reviews, with recent reviews I've read making me feel IMPRINTing the HUs is not worth the extra money. Apparently there is quite a bit of loss of flexibility in bass, and a lot of jugaad adjustments are needed at the amp level (level adjustments) before the IMPRINT session before getting things right enough. But then if you are buying an IMPRINT kit, you can play around with it as many times as you want till things get just right. The question is whether IMPRINT is worth the extra green