jali-p5
March 22nd, 2003, 03:34 PM
thought I would post this up to see what people think about the various companies that make car audio equipment, especially with the rise of In-Car Entertainment units such as LCD/DVD Players, MP3, Satelite audio, etc...
From what I spoke with a few people about, the feeling has been that if you want really top notch equipment, you go with Alpine cause they are the leaders in car audio. A few people have told me that Clarion makes some good equipment, but their service is somewhat on the poor side as they tend to be hard to get a hold of. Pioneer seems to be your higher end mid-market type of audio makers from what i gathered.
Here's a few LCD/DVD/VCD/CD/MP3/AM/FM units that I have been doing some looking into.
Alpine IVA-D900 (http://ecominet2.alpine-usa.com/pls/admn/item_info?p_item_name=IVA-D900&p_category=10&p_subcategory=50&p_main=10) (MSRP = $2300USD / $3450CAD, offered $3000CAD + tax estimate)
http://ecominet2.alpine-usa.com/img/asb/iva-d900.gif
Clarion VRX935VD (http://www.shopdome.com/clarion2/product.asp?l=&dept%5Fid=200&sku=VRX935VD&shoppercurrency=CDN) (MSRP = $2799.95CAD, offered $2350.00CAD + tax - includes install)
http://www.shopdome.com/clarion2/assets/product_images/VeRX935VD.JPG
These ones are LCD/DVD/VCD/CD/AM/FM units w/o MP3
Pioneer AVX-P7300DVD (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PioneerCanadaEng/CDA/CarProducts/POC_Eng_CarProductDetails/0,1825,2234,00.html) (MSRP = $2799.00CAD, FutureShop (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10012986&catid=12038&logon=&langid=EN&dept=9&WLBS=fsweb10) = $1599.97)
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pioneer/Files/CarProduct/AVX-P7300DVD.jpg
Kenwood KVT-911DVD (http://www.kenwoodusa.com/product/product.jsp?productTypeId=37&sortBy=price&productId=2375) (MSRP = $2800USD)
http://www.kenwoodusa.com/content/product/image/large/KVT-911DVD.jpg
Panasonic CY-VMD9000 (http://www.panasonic.ca/english/car/caraudio/cy-vmd9000.asp) (MSRP = $3399.95CAD, offered about $2700CAD taxes in)
http://www.panasonic.ca/images/English/car/Caraudio/CYVMD9000open.jpg
So far, i think the Clarion has the best bang for the buck.
From what I spoke with a few people about, the feeling has been that if you want really top notch equipment, you go with Alpine cause they are the leaders in car audio. A few people have told me that Clarion makes some good equipment, but their service is somewhat on the poor side as they tend to be hard to get a hold of. Pioneer seems to be your higher end mid-market type of audio makers from what i gathered.
Here's a few LCD/DVD/VCD/CD/MP3/AM/FM units that I have been doing some looking into.
Alpine IVA-D900 (http://ecominet2.alpine-usa.com/pls/admn/item_info?p_item_name=IVA-D900&p_category=10&p_subcategory=50&p_main=10) (MSRP = $2300USD / $3450CAD, offered $3000CAD + tax estimate)
http://ecominet2.alpine-usa.com/img/asb/iva-d900.gif
Clarion VRX935VD (http://www.shopdome.com/clarion2/product.asp?l=&dept%5Fid=200&sku=VRX935VD&shoppercurrency=CDN) (MSRP = $2799.95CAD, offered $2350.00CAD + tax - includes install)
http://www.shopdome.com/clarion2/assets/product_images/VeRX935VD.JPG
These ones are LCD/DVD/VCD/CD/AM/FM units w/o MP3
Pioneer AVX-P7300DVD (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PioneerCanadaEng/CDA/CarProducts/POC_Eng_CarProductDetails/0,1825,2234,00.html) (MSRP = $2799.00CAD, FutureShop (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10012986&catid=12038&logon=&langid=EN&dept=9&WLBS=fsweb10) = $1599.97)
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pioneer/Files/CarProduct/AVX-P7300DVD.jpg
Kenwood KVT-911DVD (http://www.kenwoodusa.com/product/product.jsp?productTypeId=37&sortBy=price&productId=2375) (MSRP = $2800USD)
http://www.kenwoodusa.com/content/product/image/large/KVT-911DVD.jpg
Panasonic CY-VMD9000 (http://www.panasonic.ca/english/car/caraudio/cy-vmd9000.asp) (MSRP = $3399.95CAD, offered about $2700CAD taxes in)
http://www.panasonic.ca/images/English/car/Caraudio/CYVMD9000open.jpg
So far, i think the Clarion has the best bang for the buck.