Stereo System Upgrade

[nascar24jd]

I know some of you are not Kenwood fans, but I happen to like their products and I came across a few great deals on Ebay recently.

I bought 4 Kenwood 6.5" speakers (KFC-1662S) and installed them last night. What a difference..!!! My 93 Firebird still had the stock speakers. The left front speaker was blown, and the other 3 were so dry rotted that they practically fell apart when I removed them.

Easy installation. Re-drilled the rear mounting holes, and that was it. The front speakers used the same mounting holes.

I also came across a great deal on a Kenwood head unit on Ebay, model KDC-MP142. It should be arriving any day now and it will replace my current JVC head unit, which I am not at all impressed with. I have a Kenwood head unit in my wife's car and it sounds great.

After I install the head unit I will post my opinion of it.

[crazytrain65]

Re: Stereo System Upgrade

kenwood seems to be a good brand. i have an alpine head unit door speakers and some older 6x9s. I have a pair of 6x9 pioneers too that sound good. My stock speakers were the same way though. Terrible. Ive have my head unit and door speakers for about 2 years now and they're doing great!

[nascar24jd]

Re: Stereo System Upgrade

What a difference..!!!

I installed the Kenwood head unit yesterday. It sounds so much better then the JVC did. More punch, more depth, much more clarity.

In addition, it has a front Aux input so I can plug in my Blackberry and play Pandora, Slacker, or any of the music stored on the device.

I am more then pleased.

[88gtman]

Re: Stereo System Upgrade

Nothin wrong with Kenwood. Not as good as they used to be, but still good.

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: Stereo System Upgrade

Nothin wrong with Kenwood. Not as good as they used to be, but still good.

Agreed. That being said, there is better bang for the buck out there.

And it's not surprising that the kenwood sounds better than JVC. JVC is not generally regarded as a good brand for car audio.

[88gtman]

Re: Stereo System Upgrade

Personally, I think when it comes to "Bang for you Buck" I would go with Panasonic. They usually have lots of good features, decent sound quality and they last a while.

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: Stereo System Upgrade

Most 'bang for your buck' arguments come down to personal preference. At which point I would say Pioneer has it hands down for head units and some speakers.

[LETZRIDE]

Re: Stereo System Upgrade

audison stuff is absolutly amazing...I have never heard a better sounding amplifier in my life...the clarity that comes from them is absolutly amazing. I had one for my sub, that pumped out nice clear base...I would love to get a 4 channel one...hell, I hooked up the mono amp to my two rear speakers and the clarity absolutly blew my mind...and thats over my alpine headunit and through alpine speakers. I have heard audison amps hooked up to focal speakers, you don't even need a subwoofer...the bass and clarity and just overall sound is unreal...

[T-Mill]

Re: Stereo System Upgrade

I've always preferred Pyle... but everyone gives me a sideways look when I say that for some reason... lol

[Bandit127]

Re: Stereo System Upgrade

I want to put Pyle in mine, I've heard great things about them.

[ssms5411]

Re: Stereo System Upgrade

I want to put Pyle in mine, I've heard great things about them.

LOL, I prefer Alpine for decks, and so far Alpine 10" type X and R subs for clear bass for all kinds of music style.

[nascar24jd]

Re: Stereo System Upgrade

I have had the following brand car stereos over the years (1989-2010):
Alpine
Audiovox
Blaupunkt
Clarion
JVC
Kenwood
Panasonic
Pioneer
Sony

I like Kenwood the best. Pioneer, Alpine, and Blaupunkt rank pretty high up there in my book as well.

[ssms5411]

Re: Stereo System Upgrade

I think I have had :
3 kenwoods
2 sonys
and this Alipne I have bought last year with USB and all the gadgets and so far I like it the best, I would say from 92'-2010, most lasted 3-5 years, Kenwood just didn't have the features or the looks anymore so I went to Sony's then finally Alpine.My friends had Pioneer's but I never really liked them.

[crazytrain65]

Re: Stereo System Upgrade

I think I have had :
3 kenwoods
2 sonys
and this Alipne I have bought last year with USB and all the gadgets and so far I like it the best, I would say from 92'-2010, most lasted 3-5 years, Kenwood just didn't have the features or the looks anymore so I went to Sony's then finally Alpine.My friends had Pioneer's but I never really liked them.

Im not a huge fan of pioneers either. Especially since every one i've seen makes a beeping noise when it turns off. lol. But i have an alpine and its not too bad. I've really only had experience with alpine and Pioneer, but my alpines about 2 and a half years old and still kickin!

[TheGr8Schlotzky]

Re: Stereo System Upgrade

Im not a huge fan of pioneers either. Especially since every one i've seen makes a beeping noise when it turns off. lol. But i have an alpine and its not too bad. I've really only had experience with alpine and Pioneer, but my alpines about 2 and a half years old and still kickin!

Lol, that's the reminder to take the faceplate off, and on all the models I have had in my car or installed in someone else's (6ish) you can turn it off easily in the menu.

So 6 Pioneer, JVC, 3 Sony, and a Clarion headunits, and I hated the JVC and the 3 Sonys (JVC caught on fire and 3/4ths of the buttons on 2 of the Sonys died randomly, the other one was just crap), and the Clarion despite having every awesome option imaginable, is still very low on my list. Playing around with the decks at the stores, I always end up going back to Pioneer for the good user interface, excellent SQ, and great bang for buck.