THE Car Audio and Video Review Thread

talontsiawd

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2006
Posts
4,380
Reaction score
23
Location
East Bay, CA
avic-f900bt_left_300dpi_5in.jpg

Brand & model: Pioneer F900BT
Price paid and from where: $1000-Local audio shop
Pros: Flash EVERYTHING-No need for any CD's. Constantly updateable OS, maps, etc. Music/movies can be played from cd/dvd, SD cards or USB. Bluetooth and IPod support
Cons: BUGGY. This was released too early and still has some unacceptable bugs. Boot time is a bit long too.
Final verdict: This stereo sounds better than my $300 alpine which suprised me, is a very good stereo, good navigation, with tons of flexibility. However, the bugs make it something i would recommend holding off on for now. By the next update, i am confident this will work as it should, then only get better from then. Hold off if you don't need it now but if you can put up with some minor issues, it's great.
 

Wildman

Read the rules
Joined
Sep 5, 2005
Posts
5,135
Reaction score
26
Location
Alexandria, VA
Brand & model: Image Dynamics IDMax 12" (v3)
Price paid and from where: $340 from Sounddomain
Pros: SQL, great transient response, doesn't take much power to get it going, good looking sub as well
Cons: Availability of both subs & parts if you mess yours up. Tight tolerances so not noob friendly. Just the slightest hint of overhang on some songs.
Final verdict: Never regretted buying this sub. Got fairly loud while sounding great. Easily comparable to subs that cost much more. Mine was mounted in a 1.1cuft sealed box with polyfill in a front-firing install.

Brand & model: Elemental Designs Nine.1 Amp
Price paid and from where: $250 shipped from edesignaudio.com when first on sale
Pros: Affordable, reliable, good looking, remote bass knob included. Cooling fan.
Cons: Power efficiency is a little subpar for a class D amp.
Final verdict: $250 for 1200+ amps of reliable power was a great deal, and while they've gone up a bit I still think that for the money, they are one of the better amps you'll find. Been on for almost 15 hours at a time on roadtrips with pretty much no ventilation/air circulation and still going strong after over 3 years.

Brand & Model: Elemental Designs Edead v3 Sound deadening liquid
Price Paid and from where: Clearance price, Edesignaudio.com
Pros: Dirt cheap, does what its supposed to
Cons: Clearance price was only on the baby blue color, so its kinda ugly with the door panel off lol
Final Verdict: Paid 1/3 of what I should of for something that does exactly what its supposed to. The v3 itself isn't anything amazing but I've got no complaints.

Brand & model: Elemental Designs Edead v1 Sound deadening mat
Price paid and from where: $1/sqft Edesignaudio.com
Pros: Price, easy to apply
Cons: Long-term adhesion is mediocre
Final verdict: Just tore a bunch of this out of my car from an old install, and some of it came out easier than it should have. A few scraps here and there were even hanging loose. It was installed during the summer, with the surfaces cleaned, so I was surprised that it wasn't harder to get off. I would not recommend this.

Brand & model: Pioneer 7800MP Head Unit
Price paid and from where: $200 something from Crutchfield
Pros: Display, controls are easy to use, remote for people who use them, lots of features for the money (16 band eq, time alignment, etc)
Cons: No mute or pause button on the faceplate, there is a mute button on the remote but I don't like using remotes. AM radio reception also got pretty crappy after installing
Final verdict: Been happy with this HU. It was my second Pioneer deck and I will most likely end up buying Pioneer in the future again when I'm in the market for another head unit.

Brand & model: Boston FS60 6.5" Components
Price paid and from where: $130 from a forum member on another site
Pros: Sound good for the money, tweeter - mid transition is pretty smooth
Cons: Tweeters are too bright, if you don't have something to EQ with the highs could be harsh. Woofers are just a bit too deep to be a drop-in replacement and require some rings/baffles for mounting.
Final verdict: For the money they are pretty damn good. The 50-75hz range is a little weaker than I would prefer, but I am not docking the set for that because they are only being powered by the head unit. With a seperate amplifier that may not be an issue. If you're considering some Bostons though I think you'd be pretty happy with the results.

Brand & model: XM Radio / Audiovox XpressRC
Price paid and from where: Xmas gift, think my mom got it on sale for about $40 from xmradio.com
Pros: Lots of display options, ticker for tracking your sports teams (or stocks), remote buttons are actually well laid out so it is intuitive to use rather than annoying. Easy to read for the most part (see cons). Quite a few presets which you can set
Cons: When its cold, the display is slower to change which gives the ticker more of a trailing effect and makes it kind of hard to read while driving.
Final verdict: Cool little receiver. Display is easy to read when its above 50 degrees or so and its got a lot of different ways to set it up. I definitely also like that I can tell it a bunch of different sports teams to track games of and will even tell you if a game is playing on another channel
 
Last edited:

accord_luv

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2008
Posts
153
Reaction score
0
Location
port st lucie
Brand & model: Kicker Solar barix L7 12" sub
Price paid and from where: $180. circuit city accamodations
Pros: Packs a huge punch when matched with the right amp.
Cons: Nothing bad about these monsters
Final verdict: i love it and for the price i got it for you cant complain. i would reccomend it to everyone. i big upgrade compared to my alpine type s

Brand & model: Kicker Amp zx750.1
Price paid and from where: $160 circuit city accomadations
Pros: matches perfectly with the L7 12" sub
Cons: none yet
Final verdict: i guess i could have gotten a more powerful amp but its plenty of power for me. RMS watt is 750 and RMS for the L7 is 750
 

botang47

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2009
Posts
98
Reaction score
0
Location
savannah, ga
infinity-reference-6022i.jpg

Brand & model: Infinity Reference 6022i
Price paid and from where: $59 from sonic electronix on ebay
Pros: very bright speakers with solid punchy bass
Cons: none, but i've only had them for a few weeks
Final verdict: i would recommend these to anybody looking for good entry level speakers. they sound excellent paired with a good amp

P250_2_1_m.jpg

Brand & mode: Rockford Fosgate P250.2
Price paid and from where: came with 2 12" p1's and a box for $250 from a friend
Pros: good clean sound and i love the simplistic look.
Cons: it does get a bit warm, but nothing to be worried about
Final verdict: a very versatile amp. sounded good powering my subs and just as good powering my speakers. i highly recommend it
 
Last edited:

jaz

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2008
Posts
797
Reaction score
3
Location
South Florida
Brand & model: jvc kd-r600
Price paid and from where: $70, swap shop in miami.. retail is like $150 i think
Pros: soo sick haha
Cons: lags sometimes when using ipod through the actual headunit
Final verdict: highly recommend
KD-R600_.jpg

0417091926-00.jpg


Brand & model: jvc components (ill edit with model)
Price paid and from where: $90 from swap shop
Pros: nice as hell bumps w/o sub
Cons: none so far
Final verdict: highly recommend



Brand & model: Audiofonics 12" HIGH POWER SUBWOOFER
Price paid and from where: $60, swap shop in miami.. retail is like $150 i think
Pros: bumps hard, good with metal music too
Cons: none so far
Final verdict: highly recommend
ADF-210.jpg





Brand & model:AMERICAN PRO MACH-5231 1,000 WATT 4 CHANNEL BRIDGEABLE CAR AMPLIFIER WITH DUAL VU OUTPUT LEVEL METERS
Price paid and from where: $50, swap shop in miami
Pros: puts out very good looks nice
Cons: none so far
Final verdict: highly recommend
image.php
 
Last edited:

bdim

Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2009
Posts
8
Reaction score
0
Location
Pennsylvania
Brand & model: Kenwood Excelon KDC-X693
Price paid and from where: $200 from Crutchfield
Pros: Clean design, easy menu navigation (similar to iPod click wheel), rear iPod/iPhone usb hook-up, awesome graphics, completely customizable color (two wheels and outer borders), Bluetooth/Satellite Radio Ready
Cons: Display is a little bit hard to see in the daytime
Final verdict: For 200 dollars this head unit was totally worth it, came with all the install parts needed and has been good to me so far.
 

BoyBlue

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2008
Posts
161
Reaction score
0
Location
Vicksburg, Michigan
Pioneer AVH-P4000DVD
$300 Form electrawarehouse.com
Pro: Clean picuture, enhances sound, fits 95% perfect with a kit. Alot of add-ons
Con: backgrounds suck, can't play many video formats.
FV: I love this thing. The sounds coming out of my stock speakers is amazing. I have had friends ask me what kind of sub am I running. The picuture is very clean. It's like watching SD on a HD TV (not HD quality but close to it). The back grounds do suck but I'm not looking at the screen when I drive so it's not much of a con. I do wish it played mor video formats then just Divix and DVD. It does play video from an iPod but I don't have one and don't care to get one. I would recomend this to anyone (if the con's I have bother you then just go for the AVH-P4100DVD. Same thing with a bigger screen and it takes care of the cons I posted).
 

Lxcord

Banned
Joined
Apr 25, 2007
Posts
943
Reaction score
3
Location
america
Brand & model: Pioneer DEH-P5100UB
Price paid and from where: $130 from Amazon
Pros: Outstanding features, a usb port on the front and a port for your ipod in the back. Sound retriever software brings the quality back to mp3 songs, OEL display is a soothing blue. Looks expensive and fits the car's dash well, does not have ugly buttons that stick out like the other radios.
Cons: The detachable button is a little fragile, other than that I love this thing.
Final verdict: Even though I miss my previous pioneer AVH-P4000 DVD unit, I like this better, more features like sub amp control, two usb ports, better sound processor. Pioneer is my only choice when it comes to car audio :)

picture.php
 

russiansohcf23

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2009
Posts
487
Reaction score
2
Location
Lake Worth, FL
Brand & model: Alpine CDA-9886
Price paid and from where: 260ish with Best Buy reward card zone coupons, originally 300 bucks.
Pros: Great sound quality. Easy to use. Bio-lite.
Cons: I wish it came with bluetooth for its price, ipod menu can be alittle laggy.
Final verdict: Its a really good HU for the people who arent looking for a double-din. Pretty much has it all except bluetooth. I highly recommend it to anyone. Alpine blows away everyone else.
t0p0tl.jpg

t70ry9.jpg


Brand & model: Rockford Fosgate P1l-110 Enclosure and Rockford Fosgate R150-2 Amp.
Price paid and from where: I paid 300 for the Sub, Amp and installation.
Pros: Excellent sound, deep bass.
Cons: Nothing really.
Final verdict: Its a great combo for the people who are wanting to add some extra bass to their music. License plate can rattle alittle.
h575P1L110-fp.jpg

r1502_30_detail.jpg
 

2000BlackCoupe

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2010
Posts
6,505
Reaction score
122
Location
where
Brand and Model: 12" Alpine Type R 1242d (2 of them)
Price paid and from where: $270 for both subs, amp, AND box...installed myself
Pros: LOUD bass, clean sounding if tuned right in the right box and powered right, look nice, i love the rigid surround, KEVLAR CONE...bulletproof'd ftmfw
Cons: Doesnt play the higher bass notes too well, lower notes are great. My trunk and spoiler shake so much, it sounds HORRIBLE on the outside
Final Verdict: I have never regretted buying these, my friends love them, they like the back massage. Constantly get complimented.

Brand and model: Hifonics BXI 1606d 1600 watts RMS @1 ohm
Price paid and from where: $175 shipped from ebay
Pros: BIG output, cool blue hifonics logo lights up when on, runs extremely cool, doesn't even get warm and won't hesitate to play loud for a 4 hour trip, low price
Cons: Supposedly these amps are a tad over rated, but even with that it powers the Type R's perfectly.
Final verdict: big power for an exceptionally low price

Brand and model: Unknown prefab dual slot ported 4 cubic foot
Price paid and from where: about $98 from a local auction in the arena in my area
Pros: so much better than my old, small sealed box
Cons: Didn't get any specs on it (port length, what its tuned to, or the actual volume (4 is a guesstimate)
Final verdict: for $100, I can't complain

Brand and model: Wal-Mart Brand VR3 Head Unit
Price paid and from where: $96 from Wal-Mart
Pros: Nice blue go, that i matched my LED's to, Auxillary hook up, USB port, SD card slot, AM/FM/CD/MP3CD capable
Cons: CD player shat out on me a few months ago, but I just use my iPod, Cheaply made, lots of show, but not too much go. (RICER cd player haha)
Final Verdict: Ive had this for over 2 years, bought for my original first car, and then my actual first car, and has only let me down once when the CD player stopped working, but it comes back every once in a while.

SUBS AMP AND BOX FOR SALE. PM for price and such, sorry to say they are for sale here, but hey why not
 
Back
Top