What makes a good Head Unit?

[Derek217]

The only solid things I've been told is that USB and a good EQ will help with SQ. Don't worry about FLAC, 3.5mm aux, and then worry/don't worry about preamp voltage. So what should I be looking for besides a name brand then? I don't see what parameters to look at past everyone's experiences hands on with head units I don't have

[MrSkippyJ]

So let's start with what you want out of the headunit, and what YOU define as SQ.

That will help us figure out how to help

[06RTCharger]

SQ is a touchy subject here lol just keep reasearching for the things ur looking for in the HU, till u find one that has most of what u want. Im pretty sure ur not gonna find one that has every thing u want especially with ur budget. But i think maybe u can get close to what u want with ur budget, by going with not so popular brands.

[Derek217]

Sounds great, I appreciate it. SQ for me is making sure my mids and highs are equal to or more audible, clear, rich and responsive than my subs. I guess faded right so mids and highs aren't too harsh or "far away/up close." Primarily though just want them to keep up with the lows so I don't hear a chorus and then nothing but overpowering bass until the bass subsides.

[DLHgn]

Well, you can do that with just about any HU and decent speakers. It'll unfortunately just be audible loud crap with a cheap HU. Some places will let you hear a HU before buying as well. May want to do that.

[MrSkippyJ]

So you can stick with most well known brands and get that. Just avoid really shitty brands and find one that has the features you want and you should be good to go.

[Derek217]

I'll see if that's an option when I go back to the shops. Ill figure it out if it's not as complicated as I thought initially

[audiofanaticz]

I've been getting mixed reviews on Jenson but on other websites their around 4.5 stars with typically lots of reviews. Maybe just for features like the GPS I'd want for $300. Otherwise every other head unit with GPS stock is like $650. They're 6v although someone said not to get tripped up on the preamp voltage. Liked pioneer but I don't like the interface on it when I played with it at a local shop. Liked JVCs better. I got a consensus for a good head unit to look for USB and high preamp voltage

Jensen is cheap for a reason, because they are a bottom of the barrel company.

Sure they may have 4.5 stars, but when of their main retailers for their product is Wal-Mart what do you expect.

These are people buying things based off what a box says. They buy a 1180 watt Sony 4 channel amp for $67.00 and actually thing its 1100 watts, when in reality its an amp that actually does 45ish watts rms per channel.

Also with a lot of cheaper brand headunits their claimed RCA ouput voltage is mislabeled to trick the customer. You say it has 6volts, I bet if you test each of the outputs you will see 1 volt per channel (front/rear/sub).

However if you add those 6 channels of 1volt each up you get 6volts.

So with how they market the product is like saying the higher end radios that offer 4volt preouts per channel would have 24volt preouts instead...

Now on to the GPS side of things. GPS on headunits and even window mount gps units has came a long long way from what it once was say 8 years ago.

Jensen's GPS is still stuck back in time. Often times they never update their maps to include new roads or roads that have had construction done and the turn lanes are completed different.

This is like when your driving on a new road and it has a bridge that goes over a lake or river and all of sudden you look at your gps and it shows you in the middle of the water not even on a road.

The majority of gps units that are in nicer radios have the ability to recalculate your route if you miss or take a wrong turn super fast (where as other units you maybe waiting 45+ seconds to be told your options).

They allow for you to search for points of interest such as restaurants, gas stations, and whatever else that may tickle your fancy.

A lot of newer higher tier radios from the past couple years are even using a 3D style GPS that will show you images and names of buildings as you pass them. Some are even displaying the road as you drive (as if you went on your computer and opened google earth/map).

The only solid things I've been told is that USB and a good EQ will help with SQ. Don't worry about FLAC, 3.5mm aux, and then worry/don't worry about preamp voltage. So what should I be looking for besides a name brand then? I don't see what parameters to look at past everyone's experiences hands on with head units I don't have

A good equalizer is only part of the equation, you also need a good crossover that will let you have highpass, lowpass, and bandpass options along with bandwidth options and adjustable slopes. You will also be wanting time alignment options too, that is if your wanting something SQ based.

Jensen does not have any this except a basic eq with limited frequency adjustments.

SQ is a touchy subject here lol just keep reasearching for the things ur looking for in the HU, till u find one that has most of what u want. Im pretty sure ur not gonna find one that has every thing u want especially with ur budget. But i think maybe u can get close to what u want with ur budget, by going with not so popular brands.

Its not that this forum is not SQ friendly, its that you over think things that don't really matter like your thread you started about soldering/heat-shrinking or using crimp style connectors. Then after several people posted with legitimate information you still disregarded and continued to look for answers. Theres only so many ways to properly connect 2 wires and neither of those ways you seemed good enough for you after what seemed like 3 weeks.

However I will agree with you on what you said about his budget.

With the goal of SQ being wanting his options are rather slime to none to the point where he can get a "feature packed" headunit that is dirt cheap flea market gear and he will most likely hate after he learns things the hard way, or settle for a radio that has a lot less of what he is wanting but is from a quality brand that is easy to navigate through the menus and will last a long time.

His best option is taking his budget and look for a Pioneer deck that is as close to his max budget and get that, or go back a year or two to their older models that some online retailer may have in stock at a heavily discounted price.

[audiofanaticz]

Also your budget will go a lot farther if you dont buy from a shop where you get stuck paying MSRP, especially if they are not willing to wheel and deal and sell product at MAP pricing (which is permitted by almost every manufacture).
The shop would be a good way to get a feel for the radio first hand, but no sense paying more for something then you need too!

[Derek217]

I apologize if it appears I disregard information given to me by y'all. I don't. I acknowledge all the information and ask another follow up question to continue understanding some aspects of what I'm inquiring about. If you think I'm over analyzing some things, your probably right in this situation. Not the first time I've been told that. The last thing I want to do is disrespect the people helping me with vast more knowledge than myself. In reference to the Jenson head unit, those specifics make sense now. Being told some head units are shitty but not why baffled me since those had lots of features until now...especially the gps that I'm trying to retract my awe from and the probable misleading pre amp voltages. Like CEA compliant stuff, it makes sense. I'm going to try and buy a head unit soon so I can quit over analyzing them. I really appreciate your in depth explanations given...provides meaning behind things mention previously. Are you aware off a website where I could get an earlier model Pioneer with GPS cheaper? I typically use sonic electronix. Crutchfield typically isn't cheaper and besides that I don't know a better place for head units to go to.