I notcied lately my HU has been skipping very badly on hard bass hits. It never did this before but for the past week it has been. I'm just wondering if it's because the HU's so old and is on its last leg (4 yrs old)?

I might put in my cousins Panasonic CQ-DF602U. Would it be worth the effort, I hear the deck in his car and it doesn't sound near as loud or clear as mine did even though it had different speakers and no subs. Is it worth the hassle of changing HU's or will his sound just as bad in my car? Any help would be really helping as it'd save alot of time and aggrevation.

Maybe the laser needs to be re-aligned?

If its four years old, it could be time for an upgrade [img]smile.gif[/img]

If you are very fond of your current CD player, as mentioned above ^^, it may just require some laser work. I've had cd players repaired in the past, and IMO, they are never the same afterwards.

Good luck though [img]smile.gif[/img]

Thanks guys, I don't think I'll get it repaired, it's time for a new one anyways. Just wondering if anyone has tried both a Pioneer and Panasonic deck and could tell me how they differed from eachother.

panasonic has a lot of options no one needs/uses..pioneer is better SQ. But if you're really looking for a deck that won't skip on your hard hits, get an eclipse.

Hey, I just had a newer panasonic (972u, manufactured in Feb 2002) in my car for a long time, not mine, I borrowed it off a buddy. I didn't really like it. Seemed "cheap". Little to no eqing abilities, and the mp3 playback is seeming to be crapping out. (Having trouble uncompressing the files I guess I dunno, but the mp3s make a lot of blips and other noises that never happened on a few different units I tried, including a couple Pioneers). It also has trouble reading cd-r's sometimes (will give an error msg every so often).
I didn't like it really, and would never buy one.
Saying that, stick with Pioneer, I've always had good experiences with Pioneer decks. And the x400 line can be had for really cheap now, which is a bonus. Hope that helps [img]graemlins/beer.gif[/img]

Thanks Johnny, I'm in the same situation, I was gonna borrow the Panasonic off my cousin. I love the Pioneers and if I don't end up getting one I'm gonna be going for a DVD monitor HU. I won't bother with the Panasonic though... thanks.

Sounds good, yeah, if it's free then go for it!
Like I said that's the only reason I would try it. But I wouldn't buy one, personally.
Right now I'm using an older clarion drx9575rz, and it's awesome for a 5 year old deck.
So perhaps maybe try one of the newer Clarions if you're looking for a change? They seem to be priced really well right now.
As stated above, Eclipses are also rock solid units. But are pricey.
But yeah if you're just looking for something new, then maybe just go with anyother pioneer. You would already be familiar with the buttons, features...etc which is always good.