My girlfriend's birthday is coming up and her 90 accord is in drastic need of a new stereo. Knowing next to nothing about stereo equipment, what would you guys recommend? Not looking for anything too flashy or fancy; just something that plays cd's and has an ipod hookup. Looking to spend under $150.
Alpine if you can get it for that price is probably your best bet at that price point.
I dunno. I have a generally positive opinion of Alpine, but I do feel that you pay a little extra for the name. I've had very good luck with Clarion stuff and feature for feature, it's cheaper than most other brands.
As far as where to buy, I'd recommend Crutchfield. I'm pretty darn cynical, and there aren't many retailers that haven't pissed me off one time or another. That said, I've been buying from Crutchfield for 20 years, and I'm always impressed with their service. The adapters and model-specific instructions you get from them are great.
I'll +1 the Crutchfield recco.
I've used them twice - once on my 911. The 911 options list had a little warning for CD players that have doors because they bind against the bottom of the dash (really nice detail to know before you try to use it). My wife's E46 wagon took literally 5 minutes to swap out the in-dash unit. The steering wheel controls even work. All the little wiring adapters and faceplates fit correctly... prices were good but not great but the details being right and saving me 50 trips to the audio store for crap made up for that easily.
I third Crutchfield. I had no issues whith them when I put the stereo in my BMW.. but I decided to go local to do the same to my Saab.. and the guys I went to (well known locally) were a bunch of asshats that first talked me into a stereo I didn't want.. then when I returned it (without opening it) traded me to a stereo that was worth half of the first one (without a refund of the difference) and then when that was returned after I discovered what they did... I got the third.. which is more or less an ok system.. just does not blend in well with my 20 year old interior very well.
Crutchfield and either a Pioneer or Alpine head unit.
Personally, I'm all about second hand stereos. I do buy my speakers brand new if possible, though.
A 1990 Accord is easy to do the stereo in. You pull the old one, mount the cage, build the harness, plug the harness in, and slide in the new stereo. IIRC, the speakers are easy to get at as well. This should be a very easy afternoon job.
In addition to getting a head unit, you will want to at least make sure the speakers in the car aren't worn out. We're talking about a 20 year old car with 20 year old speakers if they've never been replaced. The speakers in the third generation Accords were good, but they were worn out 10 years ago when I started with them.
Thanks for the ups for Crutchfield. I would give them another up, but then again, I am biased, since they are my main source of income (and how I am affording to build my Challenge car).
If you are going to replace the speakers, place priority on the fronts. I recommend the Polk dB651s. Or, if she likes highs, Infinity Reference 6032cf, which happen to be a bit less expensive, and still have decent bass.
1988RedT2 wrote: I dunno. I have a generally positive opinion of Alpine, but I do feel that you pay a little extra for the name. I've had very good luck with Clarion stuff and feature for feature, it's cheaper than most other brands.
I think that's true. I got a Panasonic- certainly not going to impress anyone, but I got a lot of features and it works great for a really reasonable price. I got lucky and found it on craigslist in the original box with all the stuff it came with new. But even a new one is sub $150. Some of them are sub $100 and still look nice.
First off, are the cars speakers up to delivering the sound quality from a moderate to high-end unit? I've heard more stereos sound like crap because of lousy speakers.
triumph5 wrote: First off, are the cars speakers up to delivering the sound quality from a moderate to high-end unit? I've heard more stereos sound like crap because of lousy speakers.
This is absolutely true. What you ultimately hear is the speakers, not the head unit. The OP should make sure that the speakers are in good shape, and/or budget for their replacement as well.
1988RedT2 wrote:triumph5 wrote: First off, are the cars speakers up to delivering the sound quality from a moderate to high-end unit? I've heard more stereos sound like crap because of lousy speakers.This is absolutely true. What you ultimately hear is the speakers, not the head unit. The OP should make sure that the speakers are in good shape, and/or budget for their replacement as well.
[homeaudiosnob]
Well.... kinda. They both definitely have a huge impact on it, though. Nice speakers + weak factory head unit = crap. As does nice headunit + factory crap speakers.
[/homeaudiosnob]
I believe the factory unit in the 1990 Accord is an Alpine. It may be a MatsuE36 M3a (Panasonic), but IIRC, they were Alpine. I have a tape deck from a 1987 Accord that works 100% perfectly fine and sounds pretty decent for a stock audio unit from 23 years ago. It was only pulled for an upgrade.
Factory DCX radios, or at least the refurbs, are Alpine. Total POFS, but then again they are built to factory specs, not AM specs.
Brian
You get a lot of bang for your buck with Eclipse head units, and I think they sound every bit as nice as the price comparable Alpines. They also made a lot of factory stuff as Fujitsu Ten back in the day.
My last two new head units were both Crutchfield Clarions, and I recommend both the stereo and vendor.
My cars all run what they came with or a unit I pulled from a car I sold. Only exception being my van. I bought an OE radio for $10 for it (still had the sticker on the display). You can pick up a decent used HU for $35, add $10 for a harness, maybe $20 for an install kit. much cheaper than $150 and you can still have a good setup.
I used Crutchfield as a "guide" when looking for the last car stereo that I bought. That is, I looked for those "little notes", like a previous poster said so that when I went out to look at Best By or HiGreg I knew what fit and what didn't. It also worked as a price guideline, so that if a store said Brand X was on sale at $ZZ.ZZ, I was able to determine if it REALLY was on sale at that price.
fast_eddie_72 wrote:1988RedT2 wrote: I dunno. I have a generally positive opinion of Alpine, but I do feel that you pay a little extra for the name. I've had very good luck with Clarion stuff and feature for feature, it's cheaper than most other brands.I think that's true. I got a Panasonic- certainly not going to impress anyone, but I got a lot of features and it works great for a really reasonable price. I got lucky and found it on craigslist in the original box with all the stuff it came with new. But even a new one is sub $150. Some of them are sub $100 and still look nice.
Panasonic, at least they used to, makes great head units.
I remember putting a DQ88 in my 300Z in highschool in '99. It was in my Monte Carlo when I traded it in April for the 350Z.
I'd say 11 years out of a car CD player is pretty good.
crutchfield is hands down the best for beginners and novices to buy head units. most of them include a ridiculously detailed blow-up of your specific car, AND the installation kit for free.
I've had good luck with Crutchfield as well.
And I'll throw in another brand - JVC. Had three of their aftermarket head units, and never a hiccup with any of them.
One thing I'd reccomend - be wary of the interface. Some of the new units look really cool, but are next to impossible to use while the car's in motion. I like an actual volume knob rather than buttons so I don't have to look down to find it. Also, some have identically sized and shaped buttons, again, making it very difficult to use without looking.
Also, if it were me, I'd avoid the "iPod-specific" line-in options. While I have an iPhone (two, actually), I also have two Zune players, laptops, friends with "X"-brand mp3 players, etc. Just get one with the 1/8 stereo input, so you don't limit your line-in options to be "iPod-only". The only positive I see to the iPod specific ones are the ability to control the player from the head unit.
barrowcadbury wrote: I've had good luck with Crutchfield as well. And I'll throw in another brand - JVC. Had three of their aftermarket head units, and never a hiccup with any of them.
Just two things- first off, I too have bought from Crutchfield and had a good experience.
Second, I don't know if this is still the case, but Technics, JVC and Panasonic used to all be MatsuE36 M3a companies. You could sometimes find the same, or very similar products in two or all three of the lines. The Panasonic was typically the least expensive.
I know MatsuE36 M3a changed their name to Panasonic Corporation, so I don't know if the above is still true or not. Anyone know?
Crutchfield rocks. I use them a LOT.
Another great site (once you've figured out your combo) is www.woofersetc.com. They have screaming deals on factory refurb, last year's closeouts, overstocks, and other cheap deals.
For Head Units, you absolutely can't go wrong with Eclipse. User interface is not quite as nice as some of the others, but once you get it set, they are rock solid, well built units with good warranties.
Pioneer Premier also has some great stuff. Skip the non-premier stuff.
For anything else, go HERE for what to buy and what to skip
curtis73 wrote: Another great site (once you've figured out your combo) is www.woofersetc.com. They have screaming deals on factory refurb, last year's closeouts, overstocks, and other cheap deals.
Um. WOW. 
Just priced out CDT 4" components, CDT 6.5" midrange drivers, baffles, CDT 6.5" grills, Crunch Power One 5-channel amp, (2) CDT 8" subs, and a dual 8" sealed enclosure for just barely over $600 shipped. HOLY CRAP.
Yeah... CDT stuff is normally crazy expensive. I bought some of their CS line three way components that had a list price of over $1400 a set and they were factory refurb for $499 with a 2-year warranty.
I go out and find factory radios when I need one, because I have had infinity-1 stereos stolen from me. I don't know how much meth you can get for a crappy cd player, but it must be enough.
curtis73 wrote: Yeah... CDT stuff is normally crazy expensive. I bought some of their CS line three way components that had a list price of over $1400 a set and they were factory refurb for $499 with a 2-year warranty.
Well, the CDT classic stuff isn't real high roller to start, but it ain't THAT cheap. Apparently it is through that site though.
I know what I'M getting for my car for xmas. 
You'll need to log in to post.
