Check out the new Pioneer Premier DEH-P4700MP!!
I just got em in and it's a really nice deck.
No more shuffling thru the audio menu to get to the sub control....it has a hot key now.
MP3, high and low pass adjustable crossovers, and a 3 band parametric EQ, with adjustable centre frequency and Q.
Much nicer than the 4600 of last year, and this year's 4700 leaves out the crossover and sub control.
Premiers come with 2 years warranty.
Maybe a bit over 200, but well worth every penny IMO.

 

i'm a supporter of ///ALPINE...but i will say that pioneer would be a close next choice.

i know the sub control on the alpine does have to be cranked to get the full effect but i'm okay living with that.

the alpine preouts are pretty good...

but it all comes down to the options that you want...the little extra "toy" features, whatever makes you happy, don't buy a deck without the features that you want or you'll regret it. your deck is your communication link between your system and you. if you can't control your deck the way you like it, your deck won't control your sound the way you want it...

 

If you have subs then a sub preout with level control is a must. In Pioneer this would be the new DEH-P670MP or IMO the much better Eclipse CD5415.

www.eclipse-web.com

 

would i need the sub preout even though i am going to go through an amp?? what does it do?? does it just send out a certain frequency so you dont need a crossover?? lol thanks again

 

under $200, go with pioneer or sony...lots of features for the money and good sound quality. Above 200.00 Alpine all the way.

 

The sub preout is simple. It provides a dedicated level control to the sub independent of the master volume control. Without it you can still hook up a sub BUT if you do not have enough bass or you have too much bass you must adjust it using the bass setting which affects all of the speakers in the system. This makes it easy to start blowing up speakers. The sub pre-out with it's own dedicated level control helps to eliminate this from happening by giving you the ability to adjust only the sub for more or less output relative to the main volume control. It needs to be there.

[ March 18, 2005, 02:38 PM: Message edited by: MR2NR ]

 

ok thanks for that input i didnt think it was important but i shall now purchase a deck with sub preouts. man i am lovin this site more and more

 

If you will be using the deck's built in power to drive any speakers, then a High Pass Filter is also a "must have" feature. It will prevent the bass frequencies from robbing from the measley 20 watts ( Yes I know they all say 50w x 4, but that number is only meaningful if you are driving light bulbs) that your deck puts out, and result in much higher volume, with much less distortion.

If all the speakers are driven by seperate amps, then it's not as much of an issue, but then again...if you can afford multiple amps, then you probably wouldn't be in the sub $200 range for a deck!

 

I had three decks of Pioneer. I loved all of 'em. Never had trouble with them at all. But I move to an Alpine 9835, for the reason I wanted to go away from the 'show off stuff', and wanted a clean simple good looking deck.

Never really have been a huge fan of Sony or Clarion, but to each his own is all I can say.