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MWM · 19th December 2001, 21:40

I have to respectfully disagree with AMP's "the sound quality would be the same" comment. It really depends on what you're going for, and definitely isn't an issue until the budget of your system starts to creep north of the $2k mark, but the "head unit" can have a huge impact on sound.

I recently shopped for CD deck with which I didn't intend to use a changer. A few years back, most makers sold at least one unit that was designed by engineers, not by marketing folks, with good sound being the primary design goal. Evidently, this approach didn't sell many units; I guess your average car stereo guy wants features, not sound. So most manufacturers have dropped this type of model from their line.

Anyway, after much research I looked for an out-of-production Clarion unit (I think it's called DRX9255?) that was very homely-looking, had a simple knob for volume, and no flash or gimmicks. It did have 4 high-end D/A converters (Burr-Brown for those of you into audio) and was enclosed in copper or something to shield from the car's electromagnetic "noise." I managed to buy one used from eBay that wasn't in a car for long then sat on a shelf collecting dust.

I simply swapped the old head unit in my system (which was a very nice Denon player that was tops in its day) for this new one, and powered up the system to make sure everything was connected OK without making any adjustments. I was completely blown away. The difference made with a high-end deck whose only mission is outputting a clean signal for amplifiers was like night and day for me.

So, if you're changing stereos for better sound (part of me asks, "Why else would you go through the trouble?"

), your choice of head unit can make a big difference.

19th December 2001, 21:40	#8 (permalink)
MWM Moderator Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Vestavia Hills, AL, USA Posts: 650 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post	I have to respectfully disagree with AMP's "the sound quality would be the same" comment. It really depends on what you're going for, and definitely isn't an issue until the budget of your system starts to creep north of the $2k mark, but the "head unit" can have a huge impact on sound. I recently shopped for CD deck with which I didn't intend to use a changer. A few years back, most makers sold at least one unit that was designed by engineers, not by marketing folks, with good sound being the primary design goal. Evidently, this approach didn't sell many units; I guess your average car stereo guy wants features, not sound. So most manufacturers have dropped this type of model from their line. Anyway, after much research I looked for an out-of-production Clarion unit (I think it's called DRX9255?) that was very homely-looking, had a simple knob for volume, and no flash or gimmicks. It did have 4 high-end D/A converters (Burr-Brown for those of you into audio) and was enclosed in copper or something to shield from the car's electromagnetic "noise." I managed to buy one used from eBay that wasn't in a car for long then sat on a shelf collecting dust. I simply swapped the old head unit in my system (which was a very nice Denon player that was tops in its day) for this new one, and powered up the system to make sure everything was connected OK without making any adjustments. I was completely blown away. The difference made with a high-end deck whose only mission is outputting a clean signal for amplifiers was like night and day for me. So, if you're changing stereos for better sound (part of me asks, "Why else would you go through the trouble?" ), your choice of head unit can make a big difference.