thereal7

Hi everyone. Go easy on me.

I will be looking to get a new deck. I am getting two 5¼", two 4" and a 10" sub, all Infinity speakers and am looking for a deck to power the 5¼" and 4" speakers. I already have an amp for the sub. My price range is roughly $450(cdn) and need a deck with sub volume and frequncy controls and a good EQ sytsem. I am currently intersted in these decks:
JVC KD-LH300
Sony CDX-M850MP
Alpine CDA-9830

I want a deck with 24bit DAC and good clean sound. Not looking for super pounding bass but a good balanced system where I can easily make out stuff in the 40-50hz range right through to the crisp high end. Does anyone here have any suggestions for guidence?

All comments much appreciated.

[ May 28, 2004, 12:45 PM: Message edited by: thereal7 ]

MR2NR

iTrader: (66)

Of the three you listed my only choice would be the Alpine, if you want to step one up again, consider the Eclipse CD3424, it is also right in your price range.

No two cd players will sound the same. An eq is in most cases a bandaid for poor speakers or poor speaker location or to try and make the crappy sounding cd player sound a little more respectable. Good sound is up to you, you hear different than all of us. 24 bit dac does not guarantee you anything, they could use a really good d/a convertor and then use a really crappy preamp right after it. Bells and whistles are useless unless you are going to ring and blow them, they have little to do with making something sound good. Take for example a detach flip over multicolor screensaver face that has a built in coffee maker, what does that have to do with how a cd player sounds, all it does is take away money from the internal workings of the cd player.

Most cd players are manufactured to hit a price point first, then have gimmicks and gadgets to make them look better than their competition (thus they get sold more), very few are built to sound good. There is a drastic difference between a cd player that is built to sound good and one that is built to hit a price point. You have a couple of good options above, have a closer look at them.

[ May 28, 2004, 12:56 PM: Message edited by: MR2NR ]

thereal7

Thanks for the tip MR2NR....I couldn't really care about all the bells and whistles...it is the sound I am after. The Eclipse stuff looks really nice. I will see If I can find a dealer in Winnipeg this weekend. From Eclipse's destriptions I can't quite tell if there is sub controls. Sorry....I am sorta new to all the new gear out there but not new to electronics.

Blinddemonz

outta the list u gave I'd go with Alpine, basically cuz i favor them n its a sweet lookin deck. I dont recall hearing any complaints about alpine decks.

timmyturtle

iTrader: (8)

hello

I've had no problems with Clarion. Perhaps you can find a new or used dxz825; it sounds good, 24 DAC, triple 4V outs, sub output and it should be fairly cheap by now...something to consider...

thereal7

Thanks...I talked to a couple dealers in Wpg and I am now deciding between a few decks. The Alpine CDA-9813(retail $549 on sale for $399), Alpine CDA-9815 (retail $699 on sale for $449), Eclipse CD3424 for $449 and the Eclipse CD3434 for $588. I guess I will see tomorrow how it goes and try and make a decision. A&B Sound carries the Eclipse stuff and for $45 will do an install and give me 3 years warranty which sounds very appealing. I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks
~Scott

hawg_hauler

iTrader: (3)

A brand new 9815 for $449, I would jump all over that, considering I just dropped $450 for mine about two months ago and that was a dealer demo.

Mullen

Best I have ever used I paid 5'n change in Feb

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mycyl

personaly i perfer the eclipse. they're clean looking and dont come with too many gimicks. they're easy to use and have a lot of power behind them. ive been running my speakers off my eclipse since i got it (no amp) and they sound awesome. ive seen some pretty nice alpine decks. cant say much about the clarions though. but outa the three id stick with the eclipse.

Lethal

Alpine CDA9831 is also a nice HU. Time correction, Media Expander, Bass engine, quick search etc.....

I run the CDA9833 and it is phenomenal. I had a small issue with overheating but remedied that. Not much room in the Yota for sufficient cooling with a rear heat sink.