Major players..well I agree most aren't doing much but some are doing awesome things
-alpine imprint (odesey)
-JBL with MS8
Pioneer would be in there to with the p99rs no doubt.

 

imprint is a waste of money and sound like junk! alot of ppl are not happy with imprint...very few ppl get good outcomes.

 

Its still innovative and probably does a good job in the right hands.
Not many other companies can get something like that to market.

 

I have never owned any of the imprint capable hu's but from what I understand it's not a matter of being in the right hands. Imprint does not allow user feedback at all, completely in contrast to the Pioneer implementation of auto eq and t/a which in my personal opinion is really well done. The pioneer implementation in the right hands can be made to sound properly as well as suit individual needs. It's more of a system that gets you on the right track and allows you to make it sound the way you like it, imprint does not.

 

The fact that odessy dosnt allow any tinkering with there "sound" is the main reason why i didnt even bother with imprint when i was looking at options. I dont know why they think there so special heck JBL desinged there own sound field for the MS-8 and they still let you totally mess with it after it does its autotune yet you cant do jack with an imprint system cause odessy is scared you will make there "sound" sound like crap and give it a bad rap to anyone who listens to it.

 

These auto tune units are marketed as plug and play, but you need to learn how to set them up properly. So for ideal results, you need to know what you are doing.

I remember reading tricks on how to maximize the imprint readings, effort and knowledge is required for best results. Most chumps using it might not be aware of all the tricks to get the unit to perform it's best.

For instance with the ms8, being very familiar with it, requires the user to match the loudness of all the drivers to the drivers seat, every speaker needs to be in phase and if you aren't using an active front stage (IE using passives) then there is a trick to get the TA to be more effective. Some people complained about not having a true center, there is a trick for that.

These systems, although easy to use, require special attention to get optimal results.

 

Although people may disagree since they've been outsourcing they're work, Alpine has some of the best head units in my opinion. Check out the Alpine 9884 or 9886 head units, which are great beginner units that work well. Kenwood also makes some decent ones, but the aesthetics don't please me as much as the Alpine models.

 

alpine made great head units in the past but i have seen the days of the 7909/7903/7904 to the persent decks. and the quality has suffered tremendously as well as user egronomics.. i have alot of trouble using all there decks now, and i work with them everyday, just not a very well thought out design or built.. thats why i use pioneer as my reference.. bulit proof, lots of features, look decent, and have some really nice easy to use sq features on almost all decks.

 

i got the 9887 i find it so easy to navigate. just gotta get used to it just like any other deck

 

back to the original question best bang for buck deck.. canadian tire" nextar".. $69.99. booyaahhh!!