I didn't see any thread on this topic around, but how good is the quality of a 04-05 OEM radio? I know they're made by Clarion, so it should sound better than the old Matsushita ones right? I'm trying to decide if I should either go with a 04 OEM or an 11 year old Alpine CDM-7823S. Which one sounds better?

 

Personally I would spend $200 on a new clarion or alpine before using either one of those.

IMO the factory is crapola, and the old alpine is nice, but old.

 

so its bad even though clarion made it? My friend already installed the Alpine and I only payed 50 for it. I'm just asking if the Clarion is better or not

 

It may be made by an aftermarket company but it wont perform like an aftermarket.

Usually car manufacturers want cheap and low featured....

 

Yeah both of those should go on the shelf or the trash if you don't have the shelf space

Just invest in a newer aftermarket.

 

Guys i'm just asking which one sounds better. I'm going to use one of them for now

 

How can you expect us to answer that question? Really your the one that can hear it, not us?

You tell us, which one sounds better?

 

Neither of the OEMs. Go ANYTHING but, and your better off..

 

Honestly, as Darkkight1999 stated, they are both thin options. If you must choose between the two, I would go with the OEM 04-05 one. The alpine is 11 years old. I was 11 when it came out. In areas such as technology, things become obsolete extremely fast. I do not know the output or specs on that alpine, but I have a sneaking feeling that the OEM is probably better, just because it is that much newer. It probably incorporates technology that was not even in existence 11 years ago.

Just my $.02.

John

 

I don't know how the OEM sounds. I've never heard an OEM 04 Radio. That's why I'm asking.

The Alpine puts out 30Watts Max x4. That's all I know about it.