I have been talking to a lot of shops and I keep getting different answers. Maybe if I ask on here, ill get a more honest answer. Some shops were just trying to sell me the products that they have.

For my price range. I can get the alpine iva w205, pioneer p4100dvd/p3100dvd, or the kenwood ddx514.


I tried out the alpine, i like it but its basically a blue screen. So i really dont like the looks on it, but a friend of mine said that I would like the sound that comes out of it.

I read reviews online and it seems to me the P3100dvd have better ratings than the p4100dvd. I was told that pioneer have some mechanical defects to them unless I get the premier series. I personally like pioneers. I tried out the premier series and i like it, but it seems to lag in response time.

Now the Kenwood ddx514. i tried it out, I dont have any complains. I even found a place that told me that they will sell and install it for $500 + $25 for parts/harnesses. I think it is a good deal.



I know there are some shops and people that know a lot about car audio on this forum so I want to hear your opinions. If you recommend something else, let me know.

 

Honestly, with the DDINS that you are comparing, they are all good choices and it really comes down to customer preference. We sell many of each of the units you mentioned (except for the Kenwoods now since they changed their sales strategy-still a good product though). I could basically give you 10 customers all of whom have bought different units, and they will all tell you why the one they purchased was "the best" in their opinion.

I will however suggest to you, that you don't always follow what you read on the internet (maybe including this?!?). There are some heavy biases there and allot of "my buddy bought one and he said this". You can't always tell who is on the other end of the opinion and what things may have formed it. Really, it just comes down to how you personally feel about a certain model and how it's features look and feel to you.

 

Thanks for the help,

I will check out the shop tomorrow for sure

 

MCOR is right on, so many people have varying opinions it's going to be different each person you ask. To me the Kenwood is by far the best unit in quality of sound, features, and reliability. But each has advantages and downfalls in themselves. Personally I would say the Pioneer is the worst option of the group for all the same reasons i like the kenwood the best.

 

i would go with the kenwood model, they have really stepped up there quality, it uses garmins gps.

 

do it like this.. find your possible choices after testing out.. pick the top few you like on interface and sound.. then search for problems bugs etc for them and see what you can and can't live with.. go from there

 

i cant stand slow responses, thats why i hate the pioneer premier. I have my top 2 now. its either the Kenwood or the JVC. I tried the kenwood ddx514 and i really like it. the JVC i tried out in my friend's car but I dont know the model.

Dont care too much about Navi.

And all of you are right about personal perferences. I still appreciate the opinions though.