[CrackedHead]

Yes, I was referring to Frank's HU. Didn't know it was already taken.

Why not build a Car PC? It fits perfectly in the 15-20 K budget and offers more than any HU will. You should be able to find everything you need to build one in New Delhi.

[abhibh]

Originally Posted by makanaka

ok friends so it is either p80rsII or the 8016 , will try and listen to both and will buy whichever i feel sounds better, abhibh one last question , have u heard the kenwood hu with the rainbow speakers, any input? and if i find both of them available should i go for kenwood because it offers front usb slot and i would prefer to have a usb pendrive rather than a cd , in such a case would i loose on the sound quality of a p80 or are they equivalent?

Audition both and see which one suits better for your listening taste.

It might come to you as a surprise but i have tried almost all the Kenwood HU's from a bare basic 5039 to SQ monster 8533. And yes i have tried 7016 (friends HU) for almost a week in my car. As you are going to audition both i leave it to you to decide which one is better.

Kenwood 8016 offers rear USB input instead of front one. If the source file (MP3 Song) is same both in CD and Pen drive there wont be any issue with sound quality. Even if we say both P80 and 8016 have similar sound below is a small comparison list.

8016 over P80:
- Inbuilt Bluetooth
- Inbuilt USB support
- Inbuilt iPod Support

P80 over 8016:
- Active capability

Both HU's have TA, nice display & looks and a lot of tuning options.

[ampere]

Folks,

Is there a HU 101 crash course (read TBHP post) that explains wher the HU makers stand with respect to price, features and amp quality?

Today according to me there is Blaupunkt, Sony, Pioneer, Kenwood and Panasonic. (I dont know about others). All these guys do provide basic features like IPOD conenction/ USB/ Aux/ IPHONE/ BT etc etc.

So how does one decide in looking for his HU.

Obiviously the next question is budget. So there my point would be :

1. If there is a differentiating feature, available one should be willing to pay.
2. The basic USB/AUX HUs start from 6K onwards. So, if one pays 15K for the same feature, but for a significantly better sound quality, is it worth it?
3. Those are the kind of questions that come to me.


Please Note: I am not looking for buy one, but wanted to understand.


Sorry if I have confused you all.

[makanaka]

hey guys,
thanks for putting things in perspective for me, il let my ears be the judge from hereon, crackedhead i dont have the time , patience or will to build myself a pc or buy one, noway i am going that way, ampere i didnt got your first query, as far as second goes , yes it is totally worth it, to each his own, people might manage to commute in a much cheaper car but they buy the laura's or the bmw's etc etc because first they can and second they think that its worth it, and thats what matters, indulgence or hobbies cannot be justified in terms of logic, people buy foreign sport bikes when they can very well manage with a 100cc indian bike why? we dont even have roads or after sales service and they are expensive like anything but the thing is that beauty lies in the eyes of beholder, if u will ask the owner he will tell u that whenever he rides his possession he feels that its totally worth it! i hope i am making myself clear without being offensive, i have seen many a times here in various posts people commenting about spending so much time, money or energy on ice but then they dont get it, ask someone like frank or lbm or numerous people inhere how they feel when they hear a new upgraded hu for the first time in their car or how did they felt when they upgraded their woofer, their enthusiasm at those juncture seems overwhelming , so its totally worth it for them, anyway we all indulge in stuff, for some its food, for some wine, for some cars even u might have some indulgence, anyway i hope i could convey the idea and yeah thanks all of the bhpians for helping me out again. ciao

[bhatmaster]

I'm also looking for a new HU for my Zen and got a refurbished P80 at 100 USD. Is it a good deal, should I go for the refurbished product?

I'm aiming over for P80 simply because of the higher driving power ( 27 Watts RMS , I guess) which I couldn't find in any of the other HU.

But, my question is , do we actually need equalizer , x-bass etc in HU at all? All we hear is in the 'direct' mode to get the unaltered sound from the CD, isn't it? This is basic and primary rule for any correct audio listening, so far my little knowledge goes, isn't it.

Is there any good HU in the market which offer decent amplification and power supply without any added features? I don't need USB, bluetooth, Aux, any fancy display ( Only power on and track number should be alright), equalizer option etc etc. It should play CD ( Mayyyy be Mp3 also, but not mandatory) and can have a FM ( though optional). But all it matters is the sound quality and power supply.

Gurus, which HU is recommended here?

[abhibh]

Originally Posted by bhatmaster

I'm also looking for a new HU for my Zen and got a refurbished P80 at 100 USD. Is it a good deal, should I go for the refurbished product?

I'm aiming over for P80 simply because of the higher driving power ( 27 Watts RMS , I guess) which I couldn't find in any of the other HU.

But, my question is , do we actually need equalizer , x-bass etc in HU at all? All we hear is in the 'direct' mode to get the unaltered sound from the CD, isn't it? This is basic and primary rule for any correct audio listening, so far my little knowledge goes, isn't it.

Is there any good HU in the market which offer decent amplification and power supply without any added features? I don't need USB, bluetooth, Aux, any fancy display ( Only power on and track number should be alright), equalizer option etc etc. It should play CD ( Mayyyy be Mp3 also, but not mandatory) and can have a FM ( though optional). But all it matters is the sound quality and power supply.

Gurus, which HU is recommended here?

Those 27W RMS wont matter if you are going to use an amplifier.Clarion HXD2 might be there with some audiophiles. Go for P80 don't use the added features.

[bhatmaster]

Originally Posted by abhibh

Those 27W RMS wont matter if you are going to use an amplifier.Clarion HXD2 might be there with some audiophiles. Go for P80 don't use the added features.

Actually I was looking for a solution without an Amp preferably. Problem with the amp is, sometimes my driver drives the car and he has a habit of listening to songs during the idle hours ( that is acceptable as sometimes he used to spend long hours in my office). This already caused the battery to ran down before as current consumption by the amplifier is much more than normal HU and hence it is no recommended to run with the engine switched off.

As I'll not listen in a loud volume to attract others attention, I was thinking if any HU can suffice with the built in power and high on SQ.

However, looking at the websites, I could not find clarion HDX2. Is it still available?

[bhatmaster]

Has anybody experienced with Nakamichi CD-300, is it good enough to drive independently or always needs an amplifier? Also, howz the sound quality of it, close to audiophile?

[navin]

Originally Posted by bhatmaster

Has anybody experienced with Nakamichi CD-300, is it good enough to drive independently or always needs an amplifier? Also, howz the sound quality of it, close to audiophile?

The CD300 is capable of driving efficient car audio speakers. it puts out about 8W rms from the speaker terminals and has one set of preouts that can be used for a subwoofer.

here is more information on it
CD-300

[nitrous]

Bhat, Why are you against using an amplifier?

[abhibh]

Originally Posted by bhatmaster

Problem with the amp is, sometimes my driver drives the car and he has a habit of listening to songs during the idle hours ( that is acceptable as sometimes he used to spend long hours in my office). This already caused the battery to ran down before as current consumption by the amplifier is much more than normal HU and hence it is no recommended to run with the engine switched off.

As I'll not listen in a loud volume to attract others attention, I was thinking if any HU can suffice with the built in power and high on SQ.

Originally Posted by nitrous

Bhat, Why are you against using an amplifier?

The answer is in BOLD!

[CrackedHead]

Originally Posted by bhatmaster

Actually I was looking for a solution without an Amp preferably. Problem with the amp is, sometimes my driver drives the car and he has a habit of listening to songs during the idle hours ( that is acceptable as sometimes he used to spend long hours in my office). This already caused the battery to ran down before as current consumption by the amplifier is much more than normal HU and hence it is no recommended to run with the engine switched off.

Don't you think you are solving the wrong problem! Gift your driver a radio or a phone with a radio or a music player and tell him to use that instead of draining the car's battery.

[navin]

Originally Posted by abhibh

The answer is in BOLD!

An alternate solution is a speaker turnover switch that allows the speakers to be connected to either the amp or the HU. My nephew has this in his car.

[CrackedHead]

@ Navin - good idea. But where does one find a suitable switch?

Would one need two "single pole changeover" type switches per speaker (one each for +ve and -ve) or is there a simpler way?

Alternatively, one could have the rear speakers running off the HU and the front ones of an external amp. A simple switch on the remote turn on lead would be enough to disable the external amp.

[navin]

Originally Posted by CrackedHead

@ Navin - good idea. But where does one find a suitable switch?

it is available in most electronic shops that cater to audio components. in my nephew's case I sent him to B&T and B&T did the rest.