Help me?
 

Hey everyone, going to come out and say it.. I know next to nothing. I read the suggested sites and they're great. However, I want to know what makes a head unit good? Sounds funny, but for good sound quality what do I look for in the tech-specs of one to determine this? This is the deck I'm buying from my buddy, Sony Xplod CDX-GT620U. Along with the HU, what in speakers, amps and subs are the determining factors to good quality? Or is this stuff so complicated that what I'm looking for doesn't exist? Help me?
Any help is appreciated :)

Thanks,
-Nick

Hey Nick, 1st thing to look for in sound quality is to stay away from any thing that says Sony Explod. Basically glorified flea market crap. Anything from Alpine, Kenwood, Pioneer etc will be good. I am free Tuesday and Saturday if you want to get together. My entire system is less than $1500 and will blow most $5-6k systems away. What you are looking for exists, do you need to know it to get a good sounding system? Not really, as you will never listen to the tech specs. Go to a few local shops and ask them to demo some gear for you. Take your favorite CD with you and play a track you know very well. Play the same thing everytime and let your ears tell you what sounds better.
Nick

You can't hear a spec sheet. and spec sheets lie and can be highly misleading. Your best tool is your ears and the motivation to get off your butt and go visit a few different shops and really take time to test everything. Take what the sales guys tell you with some caution. Use your own ears to find out what's best for you. and before purchasing feel free to make a post here about what your considering and we can help guide you a bit more from there....OR add MR2NR to MSN and he'll set you up pretty good.

Remember when you were told not to piss into the wind, don't eat yellow snow, say to fat chicks.... add this one to that list..... friends don't let friends buy Sony....

Alright thanks. So basically go to shops, find whatever is in my price range and test them all out for the sound I'm looking for. I'm guessing I should start with a simple setup to get comfortable with everything and expand from there? Another thing, my brother bought some speakers that he never used... MTX Thunder Dome-Axials 5202. MTX as a brand, good reputation or...? Thanks again

add me to msn if you can and we can talk way easier that way.

MTX is a great brand.....but I'm not so fond of their coaxial speakers. Since you already have access to them, give them a listen - you just might like them.