I've got my choices down to the DEH-P700BT (or 7000BT, see my question below) or the [new] Alpine IDA-X305. I'm mainly looking for features/convenience but don't want to completely discount SQ (though, if I'm really +listening+ , I'll do it at home).

I was pretty set on the Alpine until I read the comments about the sound harshness. I've been in some well setup rides with Alpine HU's and when everything was tuned, I felt the sound was pretty warm [?]

The 305 has going for it:

Fantastic IPOD and USB integration
Great display
Fast UI


The 700 has:

~$50 cheaper street price (though neither are too expensive)
Standard BT (vs. $100+ module on the Alpine).


I for one don't really need anything disk based in the car. Do either of these units install easier? It looks like a Wired DCI is available for both (which was also a requirement).

My question about the 700 vs. 7000:

It appears the 700BT is the premier version (sold through specific premier dealers), and the 7000 is the regular retail version. Other than the premier having a 2-year warranty when purchased through an authorized dealer, is there any other differences? (I found them for basically the same price).

Thanks!

 

Unless I'm mistaken, the IDA series only allows radio and Ipod inputs. If you're looking for SQ, I'd go for something that at least offers a cd player...

 

[QUOTE=Neutered Sputniks,Mar 13 2009, 08:52 AM] Unless I'm mistaken, the IDA series only allows radio and Ipod inputs.

 

I think you'd be surprised how much of a difference it can make in a car/boat. I will admit that I use mp3's - for 2 things: 1) a lot of my music is hard to find on CD (live blues/rock) and 2) long LONG trips when I don't want to swap CD's every 45mins - 1hr (plan to install a CD changer eventually).

I'm not sure about the differences between Pioneer lines, but I'd venture to guess that the Premier line has better internal components.

If I were you, I'd step up one more HU from the 700 and pick up the 800PRS. It will allow you to step up to an active x-over system, which will dramatically increase the sound quality, either right now or at a later date - whenever you decide to pick up an appropriately sized 4-chan amp.

 

Thanks, I'll research and consider it - your posts regarding active vs. passive were extremely educational!

 

One of the benefits of going active is that you can pick and choose your speakers instead of buying the pre-canned automotive component sets.

For example, my truck install uses a set of SEAS 7" woofers and tweeters designed for home theater use. The woofers have a deeper mounting depth (3" vs 2.25" for most components), so I needed spacers but the tweeters dropped pretty much right in. The speakers sound phenomenal - and only cost $240. I pretty much guarantee there are no $240 passive component sets that sound as clear. Even tacking on an extra $100 towards a 4-chan amp instead of a 2-chan (100x4 instead of 150x2) gives you an equivalent of a $350 component set (and these still will sound better given the tunability of the active setup) with passive x-overs.

 

[DT] - not everyone finds Alpine HUs to sound harsh. If you intend to use primarily your ipod, sending a digital signal through the USB connection to the IDA's D/A converter will mostly likely sound better than the analog output hooked to any other HU. And as you already mentioned, the interface is as good as it gets. You may well be happy enough with 320kbs, but given the low cost for storage these days, you might want to consider burning your CDs in apple lossless.

Picking individual drivers and running an active setup can yield better results, but you have to decide how much time you want to spend tuning the crossover points and slopes, etc. I think you can find quite satisfactory sound, especially in an S2000, via a good set of pre-matched components with passive crossovers.

And speaking of active/passive, looking at the high end home audio market, I am hardpressed to come up with a line other than Linn that even offers an active option.

 

Just because it's not mainstream doesn't mean it's not better...

There are something like 4 HUs on the market that offer Active x-overs for car audio - McIntosh/Clarion 9255, Eclipse CD7200mkII, Pioneer 800-PRS, and Alpine 9887. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of other HU's on the market that don't offer active.

Phil, have you heard an active setup?

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/member...-crossover.html

http://sound.westhost.com/biamp-vs-passive.htm

 

I've burned some of my more "fidelity sensitive" music to FLAC, as I generally hate Apple proprietary formats (I don't even use iTunes with our 80GB), but most HU's don't have a resident CODEC for FLAC.

I have an ample amount of storage (24U rack in my closet ) so I might rethink doing everything in lossless.

I don't really want to lug CD/DVD's in my car, so I'm leaning very heavily towards the superior UI/IPOD solution (which at this moment appears to be the X305). I had a nice setup in my Supra (Eclipse/Xtant/MBQ) that I spent a good amount of money on (and was tuned by some folks who really knew what they were doing), but at the end of the day, the SQ wasn't as much of a difference as we get in our T4R with the factory upgraded JBL (with loud tires, BOV, booming exhaust, etc.)

Thanks everyone for the input. It's my birthday, so the Wifey

 

i've got an alpine 9887. love it.