Why does nobody have volume dials anymore?? Its really annoying tf out of me

I ended up with a Pioneer DMH-WT3800NEX in my 2015 Fiat Abarth. Perfect price/build quality for my budget, plus I love a good minimalist design on the screen since I have plenty of steering wheel buttons to choose from (killer job by iDataLink to have theeir Maestro's completely replace the dated Blue&Me unit). I do plan to do a 2016+ dash swap in the coming months to get a 2-din setup. The Pioneer's WT's give you the option of having a floating head, or a flush OEM setup. I will use that flush setup for the top din with the bottom din getting a wireless charger + magnet hold. Next month I the wife's 2016 Forester is getting the DMH-W4660NEX.

Would love to see a shoot out between headunits with higher quality DAC's and maybe a brief history of the one's that paved the way.

If you got the money, Alpine all the way for me personally 🔥🔥🔥

I just want to go back to 1996!! I had DJ Magic Mike on Pioneer cassette attached to DEQ9200 with 4 pioneer 10” subs on an Orion Red amplifier. Crammed into a 1991 Ford Ranger extended cab lowered 3 front 5 rear. Good times

WHY is Alpine so polarizing, half the people here say Alpine should be at the bottom of the list the others say Alpine is the best. Why is it at the top or at the bottom and no in between. Would love some back story on the Alpine hate. Is it one of those deals like Blizzard where they were the best and then they just coasted on being #1 until they cease to exist?

Great question! Each brand offers unique features and benefits, but ultimately the best headunit for you depends on your personal preferences and needs. Consider factors like display size, touchscreen functionality, sound quality, Bluetooth connectivity, and price point before making a decision. Happy shopping! 📱🎧 #CarAudioHeadunits #Alpine #Kenwood #JVC #Pioneer #Sony

If you don't want to screw around with an outboard DSP then Alpines are awesome for their PEQ and independent L + R tuning...but you need a fairly new phone with all updates if running Android Auto. Found this out AFTER installing my iLX-507 🙂

Kenwood, Alpine, JVC

My most important criteria upon choosing a deck is its sound capabilities so... Alpine is definitely on top but surprisingly Sony is last. I remember the company making an absolute killer system a few years back, pity.

Alpine has the best Crispy Clear sound. Pricey but you get what pay for period. Next is Kenwood. They will not sacrifice wattage & never let your Subs down!

Thank you for this valuable time saving information. Only an audio tech, working daily on different units, from different brands, can discern the difference. Now people can choose what is more important for them.🥇🏆

I have that Alpine I love it sounds great but it is not the greatest when it comes to user-friendly theEQ is the best

Hey Josh, good breakdown comparison based on what I’ve seen when I’ve done my own comparisons From different retailers, your video has helped to solidify what I was thinking. I’ve been contemplating putting some in an older model mercury and I was leaning toward Alpine , kenwood or JVC for those very reasons. Just wanted to say thank you for putting that video out the people a comprehensive but concise overview

I only use, and try to get my customers to get Kenwood Marine head units for sound quality. I think they are some of the best in the business. Using Marine stereo in your car is a great way to get good sound quality and durability as all Marine eqpt must be CEI certified and meet certain standards. Think of how a boat must handle waves and wake without a suspension.

Krnwood on my civic. Got it 4 years now 😢 ddx376bt

I think I’m sold on Sony.

I always go with the pioneer head unit.

I would buy Sony ES, Pioneer like I own, and throw the others away

I’m still waiting for a head unit with high rms wattage. I own a sound digital 400.4 that literally fits in the palm of my hand. It can’t be that hard to just attach that technology to the back of a cd player instead of giving us 10 15 watts rms with 7 volt sub pre-outs.

I would choose Alpine. I used to own a 1982 Chevy c10 truck that I had an Alpine head unit in. It was a good unit in my truck. One thing that I don't understand is that no one uses volume knobs(dials) anymore.

Thank you very much, that’s what I was looking for, a clear and simple explanation.

I'm loving this head-to-head comparison between these top car audio brands! The discussion is so informative and helpful in making my decision. Thanks for sharing your expertise! 👍 #CarAudio #HeadUnit #BestOfTheBest

I miss the volume knob and actual buttons. I have a kenwood all touch screen deck and i absolutely hate it... im ready to replace it with a jensen at this point haha

I love Alpine. I've always owned Alpine and never had a problem 👍😎

I just bought the Alpine Halo 11 head unit. Really hope I like it.

Alpine is number 1, somewhat of a toss up on Sony & Kenwood, then Pioneer (personally). I don't even recognize JVC like that. I sell and install audio. Alpine is the top of the list best sound and preamp outputs, they just need better manuals as the new models have changed their interface and it took an hour trying to locate the audio settings in the new ILX-509. Sony no problems just simple and for those who like 6 rca outs they only have 5, so one sub, not an issue (Unless you get the new ES). Personal preference is for dual sub preout. Kenwood you have to get mid to high-end as the lower models seem to have connections on par with cheap chinese radios. JVC same issue as Kenwood, but they don't have an XR line, which also now an issue as there are 2 different XR lines. Pioneer never had any real issues with them, just seem dated, not sure how the preouts stand up. I just miss the Premier line. So from my personal experience and customer installs, Alpine 4V is stronger than Kenwoods 5V. When using my DD-1, Alpine max volume no distortion, kenwood and Pioneer 1 tick below max volume. I haven't done anything more than a radio install with Sony. But as of late people are to cheap for the top five, they typically buy Jensen which has came up. Now I can't speak for the longevity of Jensen, Dual, Boss & Planet Audio, but their quality seems to be better than low end Kenwood/JVC. And if you're thinking about Nakamichi now days, please don't. They are nothing but cheap Chinese radios. And to be truthful the distributors I deal with only carry Kenwood/JVC, Pioneer, Sony, Jensen/Dual, Boss/Planet Audio (Planet Audio only), Nakamichi and some other cheap never heard of brands. So, Alpine has been coming from Crutchfield (me) and other places.

Very Unhappy with my Alpine head unit. Bluetooth audio cuts out for the first 5 minutes when more than 1 phone is paired with it. Unit won't forget old phones and has to be factory reset. I would put sound quality on par with Pioneer. Shopping for another brand than Alpine currently.

If you want a good quality music in your vehicle, it's not a great idea to eliminate CD players when it is technically difficult to simply try to replace an optical storage laser. CDs can be burned to play WAV, FLAC files. A WAV will take 1411 Kbps (16 Bits), or 2116 Kbps (24 Bits). On the opposite, an USB flash stores data as electrical charges and is highly prone to data corruption. Just check the list of unsatisfied consumers complaining about their USB flash drives not playing music. The Hi Res wireless 1600 Kbps add is only in theory because it will never run stable as long there is congestion it will drop down to 660 Kbps, 330 Kbps, or less (MP3 quality). The AUX alternative can be a good option!

We have a stand fan from Kenwood and I've seen many at bars. Those fans are very powerful and stable. That brand always gives me the impression that they do very rugged products. 💪

Which one plays KZfaq and Netflix while drivign?

So Alpine is the best do these Alpine stereos like from Walmart do they come with the flush and wiring harness or do you have to buy that separate I hope you see this cause I’m really really just curious thank you

Awesome video! I learned a ton. I have a question though. I am a bit older (59) and I don't enjoy overly complicated things and I don't need or want a super load system. I do however like modern and easy interface. I like what I see regarding Apple Car Play. I saw that you ranked Sony at the bottom of the options and that was my 1st choice ( due to simplicity). Are you saying it's a bad unit or that it just lacks features popular with most people today? I'm thinking it might be exactly what we older folks need.

Great over view. Great have 3 older trucks wanting to change out the oem units. They’ve got good bose speaker systems so just the head gotta go. It has been so long since I have done so in my 20s that am really far behind on options and just getting started at figuring out the best fit for: ‘04 Dodge Ram ‘07 Tahoe ‘07 Chev Silverado Would be nice if all were same deck. We all have iPhones to connect to them.

Kenwood Excelon

if you want no lag wireless apple car play go with sony sony seem to be the only ones that prioritize a smooth experience

Pioneer has been top dog for me, friends, and family for years and still is

Just wanna ask, can you guys tell me is there a difference between K2 Technology on JVC and Supreme on Kenwood? Cuz if there's any difference between those two i afraid the difference will affect the sound quality, thanks. P.S. can you help me decide what should i choose? The JVC KW-Z1000W or the Kenwood DMX1037S?

In terms of music, deep bass is one of the best

Hello everyone... I argued with an installer about replacing 4 speakers in the car The installer offered me straight alpine s65c Go ahead and back alpine s65 I mentioned that I don't intend to put an amplifier and if 65c which is a component will give enough power I asked why not put speakers without good components because there is no amplifier, but he still insisted that the vehicle is correct and will give value I checked the prices and together they are not cheap together The problem is not the price, but you can get quality speakers without a component for this price or even less... He claimed that alpine is still among the best today and still take the component and if I'm not satisfied put an amplifier even though I mentioned several times that I'm not interested in an amplifier In conclusion, the installer recommended component front speakers even if I don't connect an amplifier.. what do you think Thanks

I’ve been seriously looking at the Sony ax6000 for a minute now. What would alpines competitive unit be? Those are my only options cuz I’m a hard button Stan for volume. Hate capacitive touch buttons

I asked ChatGPT, and I got the exact same script.

After 9 years my Pinooer AVH-X4600BT display became faulty. after reading to what happed to Pioneer i think i'm going to go Kenwood

Sony

I really like this channel and the info. I’ve looked through the channel and maybe I missed it but I’d really like a review of Apple CarPlay units that are wireless. Other items are idatalink clarification. When a unit says it’s Maestro compatible does it mean all Maestro lines such as the SW or only the newer ones such as RR and RR2. Thanks in advance!

I'm on the hunt for the perfect car audio headunit! Help me decide between Alpine, Kenwood, JVC, Pioneer, and Sony. Any recommendations? 🚗🔊 #carheadunit #audioplayer #soundquality

Orion was badass back in the days

JVC any day of the week. But i guess i am biased as i had all others over the time until i got my first JVC. It had more sub menus, flexible look to suit car interior and a sub control that could filter the resonance out. But these days they are all good.

As Far as I Know Sony is the only one with digital amps in a small number of their higher-end models that put out more than 50 WPC RMS x 4 (100 peak power) vs 18-22 WPC (50 x 4) for other brands. If I'm wrong then please politely correct me 🙂. But they are expensive. I go with Kenwood Excelon for price, quality and features. A good balance of everything. But I'm sure I would be pretty happy with any of them.

how could sony be last when they brought so much innovation to audio from dolby to dolby atmos and not to mention alpine admits in the description to ther new hi res px products that without sony bringing LDAC to the audio industry ther wouldn't be any Hi res wireless streaming and what about the rsx-gs9 head unit which was i think the 1st in hi-res audio to the mobile audio industry sure it'd be nice to get a newer version of it these days but to be ranked last that just seemss weird considering the other brands on the list havent been pioneers in the audio industry at all they've just been another brand

that's actually one the most useful vids i've seen

Which would be the cheapest one that's best compared to the generic Android ones ?

Got an Alpine ILX-670 after years of ignoring my stock radio . Couldn't be happier though I'm still trying to figure out if I can get more bass out of the alpine speakers I put in as well along with a KTA-450 amp. With no prior experience I have no clue if the amount of bass I have is normal or not for aftermarket speakers. If im at the max then i guess Ill need subs next.

I purchased the Kenwood BT 732HD single din for my 1997 GMC 1500 4X4. There are so many settings that i have no idea what to set them to. Im running a 750 watt amp to 2 10inch subs. I listen to alot of classic rock. What would be the best audio settings for me to use? Thanks

I'll have to disagree with you far as sound quality I'll have to give it to pioneer and yes you are correct about the lower voltage on the preamps but that's usually on the lower end models the same with JVC and Kenwood and I have installed many kenwoods pioneers JVC's Alpine Sony's in the recent years I tend to lean towards pioneer seems like the sound is more vibrant for instance I took my DMH WT7600 out and replace it with an ILX f511 and that pioneer beat it out in sound quality.

going to shop around to see what fits my 2001 acura mdx.

I owned the Sony XAV-AX4000 and the Pioneer 4500NEX. Pioneer dominates the entire experience. It’s not even close. I’m looking for something that can beat the Pioneer

For just sound....#1 Kenwood ....and Pioneer and JVC would be a toss up.

It would help if you title make/model for each pro/con summary.

The best is one that fits in the opening without those cheap plastic kits

Which one would you recommend I have a work truck don't care about sound mainly wanted for Android auto and backup camera

If you listen to any radio stations then Pioneer is the best for that hands down.

Great video. Ty so very much.

Hey , i want to know which head unit is best pioneer 8550bt or sony ax6000 in terms of fast booting , lag free, better sound output , better android auto, wireless connectivity , fast charging if plug in , touch response

What units have the best DAC? Or do any have coaxial outputs?

kenwood excelon sound the best , than pioneer , alpine , sony. sony if you get the high end ! if your running a sub box. make sure the headunit have separate ports , if it have a single port like most sonys pass on it!

Which one does not have Bluetooth sound delay

I'm replacing my Pioneer HU AVH-X850BHS because Pioneer just doesn't offer firmware updates that keep the HU relevant. New apps will come out and a brand must be able to adapt. I'm not saying Pioneer is worse than other brands in that respect, but we'll see.

I'm sure outdated now. What model head unit is this? Need for a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The side view cameras for the mirrors is spiffy and resolve my wants.

Hello, I have a Pioneer MVH-130-DAB, now I have heard that I can manually set the frequency on the DAB function, how can I do this. Can you explain this to me? I would like to hear a response back:

can you guys review boot up times from starting car to music starts playing on all head units?

Old Kenwoods (flagship 2 DIN models) had 5V pre-outs too, that was in 2010s

Kenwood 10.1

what is the best head unit for spl competition?

Does any of these have a spectrum analyser like we used to n the old data

I always thought sony head units were on the bottom.

Make sure you copy the internal SD card with pioneer's They will fail eventually always good to have a back up.. Luckily I was able to copy onto a Nice SD card actually boosted the load times.. But it shouldn't fail so quickly they use very bad quality Chinese internal sd drives.. And you're talking 300+ dollars to repair it if you don't know what you're doing I replaced mine for the cost of the SD card and the backup software is on the Internet luckily,, it was a whole process to get it onto the SD card...

What about Boss?

I'm looking for single DIN with the highest 6 channels of output (watts) & best Signal/Noise ratio. (Riiight.)

I wouldn't touch a pioneer with their overheating issues and random rebooting issues of the last 2-3 years

Why do these new age head units seem so cheap and tacky compared to the the ones we had in the 90's/early 2000's?

Question I am replacing a Axxera 10" in a RV. I need GPS, would like to see rear camera anytime. or side anytime I need. I do like the auto side camera when flasher come on. Sirius XM, Do they make a 4th camera that can be used as a dash cam? would like to add some RV apps for GPS. Suggestions ???

Im literally only looking for a few things, bluetooth, 16 channel EQ and the best sound quality available. I run focal ES and focal EC and two 2x 200wrms amps and I want to be able to provide them the audio quality they deserve, all these new LCD screen double din head units sound terrible. Can anyone recommend the actual 'best' and no i do not care about a nice screen, gps or any of that garbage, just audio.

Alpine all the way

Where's the Joying, Atoto and other cheaper better value brands? Put a quality amp with one of these for 1/4 of the price

Where do I go to shop for infotainment systems online?

Which preamp voltage is better for subwoofers, 4, 2, or what??

I bought a JVC for my son's car. Terrible decision. Should have stuck with Pioneer or Kenwood.

I go for alpine...

So does any company still make quality single din units? I just started looking around again, to replace my Alpine CDA-137EBT, as the Bluetooth sound cuts out randomly for split seconds. And all I'm seeing is cheap shitty single-dins, or the over flooded touchscreen market..

Where can I get the hdmi mini to plug in my dmx709s that goes to usb c?

Nothing beats a Chinese Android car radio all these big brands are obsolete. Chinese Android car radio - Screen 2k 416 dpi - DSP - 48-band EQ, preset 20 kinds of sound effects - Qualcomm 6125 Octa Core 64bit ARM 4xA73@2.0GHz 4xA53@1.8GHz - GPU Adreno 610@950 MHz - 8GB RAM LPDDR4X - Google Assistant - DTS 5.1 - Google Play Store - Android Auto & Apple Car Play - Bluetooth 5.1 - 4G sim Card - Wifi 5 Up to 600 Mbps DL 802.1ac Wi-Fi X12 LTE modem - Optical fiber - HDMI

For a Volkswagen mk6 2017 model it's Gli in the us but a 155kw highline sport in Australia which deck would you recommend?

IMHO Alpine is always the best but you have to pay to get it. I've used Alpine since the early 90's.

What unit you know of that has DVD player but can shut off screen to play on different screen so I don't have both screens going at same time??? Please help decent brand and up are fine but not a 600 dollar one and up

Kentwood's volume level is terrible. They only go up to about 30. Not sure if it's 30 or 35.

Anything to make my bullet tweeters loud

What about JBL legend?

PIONEER

AVOID THESE BRAND NAME. I installed an ANDROID my son paid $200 for. These brand names don't come with installed apps that you don't have to use a phone to link it with. The add ons for brand names are expensive. I feel like tearing out my crap Kenwood and paying $300 for a Chinese Android 10 inch unit that comes with everything to install. BOTTOMLINE, BRAND NAMES ARE STEALING YOUR MONEY!!!!!!