[nitrous]

As a user of this Clarion, I say you guys are making a big deal out of this.
I think its not worth over 10k even if sold in India. The 9887 feels like it was intended for humans compared to this 785 which was perhaps intended for aliens to control using Extra-Sensory Perception, I guess.
I would have jumped at the Pioneer Premier player if not for it costing more than twice as much as this clarion does.

[abhinav.gupta88]

The Clarion truely does not compared to the Alpine / Pioneer P80RS.
But the VFM factor is what is attracting everyone.

[shreyasma]

Originally Posted by abhinav.gupta88

The Clarion truely does not compared to the Alpine / Pioneer P80RS.
But the VFM factor is what is attracting everyone.

Absolutely spot on! TA, 6v preout, 2 way/ 3way, 24 bit DA. all this in about 8k is surely the factor making people buy this HU. That being said, its definetly not worth the investment at above 9k.

[Technocrat]

Could you tell me one HU which has these many features below 12k?

[shreyasma]

There isn't any. But keeping the drawbacks in mind I feel its not worth above 9k. But thats my feeling

But whatever, I am enoying the music with the 785 than my 5090

[Invinsible]

Well my friends, I don't see what other features that are missing in Clarion compared to 9887 or P80RS where sound reproduction is concerned. When I started this thread I compared the main features of all 4 headunit mentioned in the beginning, that would help in better sound reproduction. 9887 was the one was considering to buy along P80RS. But important functions like 24bit dac, output volt, 3 way active compatable, TA, with EQ/P.EQ, along with over how it sounded overall were the main features concerned to me. Now irrespective of the price all the 4 Headunit mentioned have their pros and cons. Having heard the Alpine and Pioneer I still went against buying either of them and trying out the Clarion, a complete sleeper here. Going by the reviews on it over the net, and by some of the members here I made up mind to try it. I knew for the fact they made great HU but wasn't sure if it would stand against the mighty Alpine. One has to decide what's important criteria whether it SQ, looks, add on features, TA, USB or anyother. For me it was the Sound quality factor that helped me decide in favour of 785.
When I heard the 785 I knew it had a warm sound to the mids and sweeter on bass line and highs. It had a more natural sounding compared to the Alpine and Pioneer here.

I wouldn't say it can't be compared to Alpine just coz one retails at 350$ and the other 150$. In 2008 785 was retailing around 300$ and it din't do well coz of it's conventional looks. To go by its looks it doesn't give the feeling of owning a 300$ HU where company like JVC is even offering a LCD in a single din at that price. That's where the Clarion lost. Pioneer was too on my list but have always found Pioneer as bit attenuated towards the highs or may be it's just my ears. Going by the looks on Pioneer they look more expensive, sound good but some I feel now that I made a wise decision. Even if the Clarion was retailing around what Alpine does, it would have been a tough call but someone would have landed up buying the 785 mainly for Sound Quality Factor.
The only other HU I would consider above the 785 and Alpine would be Clarion HXD2, Pioneer P99RS, Alpine F1 status.

In the end I would say if one is looking for SQ irrespective of the looks than 785 has all going for it.

[santosh.s]

My take on this- I would have definitely gone for it if I was to spend less than 10 grands, in spite of known disadvantages. If it was more than that, say up to 14-15K, I would have carefully compared contenders, and with a good chance still ended up with 785. Beyond that, I would pick something else over it, almost for sure!

BTW, isn't USB (and that too with direct Ipod support) one of the key features as well? or has it become commonplace even in lower range HUs?

I have probably asked this before, it also claims support for "USB digital media streaming". To me it seems like some protocol that possibly enables playing lossless files from a compatible portable player. Does anybody has a better idea?
(I believe we can play lossless using direct Ipod connection as well)

One more thing: How many HU's below 10-12K have telephone mute support (I have no idea)? This one has it, and I have already made use of it to interface a 3rd party bluetooth kit to extend its features to include seamless telephone and wireless music streaming.

[shreyasma]

was my statement so offensive?? It was just my opinion.

Chill guys! I love my 785 as mentioned earlier. Till date I never regret for the investment.

[Technocrat]

No, not offensive but we were just wondering what made you say this

That being said, its definetly not worth the investment at above 9k.

[nishantgandhi]

Originally Posted by nitrous

As a user of this Clarion, I say you guys are making a big deal out of this.
I think its not worth over 10k even if sold in India. The 9887 feels like it was intended for humans compared to this 785 which was perhaps intended for aliens to control using Extra-Sensory Perception, I guess.
I would have jumped at the Pioneer Premier player if not for it costing more than twice as much as this clarion does.

?? Could you please explain whats so alien like in the 785 UI? AFAIC, its damn simple to use.

Originally Posted by abhinav.gupta88

The Clarion truely does not compared to the Alpine / Pioneer P80RS.
But the VFM factor is what is attracting everyone.

Isnt it usually the case? What if I offer you 9887 in a clearance sale at 10-12k? Would there be a similar thread of people jumping to buy it? Thats exactly what happened with Clarion. From a MSRP of $300+ it came to a clearance sale price of $125-150. Thats what made people sit up and take notice. Features are damn good at that price.

Originally Posted by shreyasma

Absolutely spot on! TA, 6v preout, 2 way/ 3way, 24 bit DA. all this in about 8k is surely the factor making people buy this HU. That being said, its definetly not worth the investment at above 9k.

+ straight out of the box USB/iPod comtability, vis-a-vis expensive adapters/cables required in case of Pio/Alpine. What more do you want?

However, I am still not sure how you arrived at the price point of 9k? Maybe thats your cut off for VFM. Because anybody who got it via KMD, or gotten it shipped to India directly in the last 1-2 months has definitely paid more than 9k.

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Could you tell me one HU which has these many features below 12k?

None that I came across. Eclipse 3100 was the closest but then TA tilted the scales in favour of the 785.

[shreyasma]

Everyone doesnt have some one to carry the HU from US. They may have to wait, pay shipping and duty, so finally ending up at aroud 11 or 12k.

For some people, the draw backs about the FM, folder listing, user interface only make them feel uncomfortable with the HU. People whom i showed the HU hated it even before listening. (most of them addicted to the pio interface)

As Nishant said, thats the cut-off I have in mind for VFM. It was just my feeling that I expressed. Again, No offense was meant.

Anyways, I am out of the debate now. Going out for a drink and lunch. Downloaded some songs that I want to enjoy in the car.

[Invinsible]

Originally Posted by santosh.s

BTW, isn't USB (and that too with direct Ipod support) one of the key features as well? or has it become commonplace even in lower range HUs?

USB could be one of the features but apart from what USB can play or not, what still matter how it sounds when played over USB.
I have noticed that MP3's encoded in low bit format doesn't sound that good as compared to playing an audio CD. For instance I recorded "Dire Straits - Money is for nothing" at different bit rates on to a CD with 128, 192, 320 along with some WMA formats. I played each one of them over and over again the closest was obviously Mp3 at 320 bit rate sounded close to CD. 192 is what sound good had a decent balance of highs and bass line not breaking up. but the 128 bit rate was bad, sounded as tough the gains were too high and as though the sound was distorting, there was no presence of high freq. felt here. All this was played at keeping the volume to 23. With 128 I had to lower the volume to 22-21. But where this head unit really shines is while playing the Audio CD, at the end of the exercise when I played the Audio CD, first of all I could take the volume all the way up to 25-26, that's where my system reaches its limit, and yet sounding clean the bass line was much higher the vocals were really shining, highs was crystal cleaning.

There are lot of factors in determining how the head unit can sound. Recordings at it's best is one of those key factors. I see lot people deciding how a system sound carrying a compressed music file format in hand. I fail to understand how can one determine how good a system sound with it. What also matter is what type of format we listen to, Clarion can really show what recording means, WAV files can be played extremely clean and low bit rate mp3 can sound bad. Playing Audio CDs can help understand what this head unit was designed for, to give natural sound at it's best of ability.

Nishant@ What if I offer you 9887 in a clearance sale at 10-12k? Would there be a similar thread of people jumping to buy it? Thats exactly what happened with Clarion. From a MSRP of $300+ it came to a clearance sale price of $125-150. Thats what made people sit up and take notice.

Completely agree. I know for the fact no one would have bothered to pick this one up if it was retailing at 300$ mainly going by the looks. But for the price of around 150$ one tends to compare with the other availability at that price that where clarion wins hands down with it's additional features and its pure SQ gem.

[santosh.s]

Originally Posted by shreyasma

was my statement so offensive?? It was just my opinion.

Originally Posted by shreyasma

As Nishant said, thats the cut-off I have in mind for VFM. It was just my feeling that I expressed. Again, No offense was meant.

Anyways, I am out of the debate now. Going out for a drink and lunch. Downloaded some songs that I want to enjoy in the car.

Come on, there was hardly anything offensive as such, either in your post or in responses. Hope you enjoyed your drink, and songs too.

This has become a popular thread and I think we should maintain correct information here by putting facts straight. (That's what everybody tried to do, I suppose!)

[santosh.s]

Originally Posted by Invinsible

USB could be one of the features but apart from what USB can play or not, what still matter how it sounds when played over USB.
I have noticed that MP3's encoded in low bit format doesn't sound that good as compared to playing an audio CD. For instance.......

I am not sure whether I got your point, are you saying it will have better SQ through USB as compared to other similarly priced USB HUs -OR- you meant to say it does not play USB source so well as compared the same thing from a CD?? (pardon my ignorance!)

[Invinsible]

Originally Posted by santosh.s

I am not sure whether I got your point, are you saying it will have better SQ through USB as compared to other similarly priced USB HUs -OR- you meant to say it does not play USB source so well as compared the same thing from a CD?? (pardon my ignorance!)

Well I only tried to point out that irrespective of whether it can play Songs in Mp3 format from USB or CD, Audio Cd, HDD, or from any other source what matters first how well it reproduces the sound. Compared to Alpine and Pioneer I preferred the sound reproduction of Clarion. Playing Mp3 song via USB or CD would sound the same, if it's encoded at low bit rate one might feel Clarion is not playing at its best where on the contrary its the low bit format which is the culprit. I don't know if its only me who is feeling this or may be it's my setup / drivers that have the ability to deliver natural sound. Sound Restorer may be of some help here a bit.

I played the same track "Money is for nothing" on 9887 couple of months back when I wanted a demo of 9887 in my car just to see how it sounded with my setup. It definitely sounded very clean but I found the Bass line a bit attenuated and the mids wasn't being produced as per my taste. The day I installed the Clarion in sounded well balanced with the setup compared to what Alpine was sounding.
What you get with 785 is not just 24bit, TA, USB or other features but also pure SQ which is very rare at this price range.
Now How many HU under 20K price band are available with all the other features or more mentioned that comes with 785 along with great SQ reproduction ?