I have $120 to spend on a deck, looking to get a system in my 03 eclipse FINALLY. could spend more if it was necessary. I have 1 15" sub enclosed or 2 12" subs in a sealed box I could use. Should I just go the futureshop/bestbuy route or is it worth trying off eBay for car decks? How many pre-outs wil I want? And USB/iPod control would be nice to integrate with my iPhone?. In the $80-120 range there's so many decks at fs/bb of all the decent brands (Sony/jvc/pioneer). Are they all basically the same where something as little as LED color could make the difference in which one to get or does one stand out? Any tips, pointers, any advice would be great. Thanks for any input.

 

Without doing any research I think you might want to think about the used market with a price range like that. You would probably be happy with either of these and they should have enough features for you.

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/va...243990189.html

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/va...289287577.html

 

get the one with the most features you need...they will all sound good...truth is there isn't a lot of difference in the sound quality between entry level and mid level decks (not sure too many people can hear any difference in upper level either, but that's another story)...it's usually all the extra features and processing power you pay for. Look for number of pre outs and voltage level (generally the higher the better), sub out, any processing would be great (x over, eq, etc...) and usb input would be great and is becoming more common place. Alpine's cde 100 or 122 looks pretty good except for only 1 pre out, but has usb, ipod, and aux input....the 100 is $80.00 at 2001 audio video...here's a link:

http://www.alpine-usa.com/product/view/cde-122/

 

You can model the response of the sub(s):

http://www.carstereo.com/help/Articles.cfm?id=30

Would the 15" be ported or sealed?

If they're the right subs I would go with 2 sealed 12's with a good amount of power over 1 ported 15 with not as much power.

 

BTW you can find decent used decks for $20 in the trader lol.