Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Audio What is the best car deck ?

A recent theft has made me diligent again. My wife had the face off, but left it in the glove compartment.

You might as well ask a group of interior decorators what the best color is. You'll probably get as many different answers.

My preference? JVC

As an IASCA Sound Quality Judge, I have heard many systems with many different brands of head units. I can tell you based on that experience that what happens to the signal after it leaves the deck has a much greater potential to degrade the sound than selecting one brand name over another. However, all else being equal the specs I personally look for are a signal-to-noise ratio greater than 100dB and a Dynamic range of greater than 95dB. I look at these mostly because the audio chain is only as good as its weakest link, and performance at this level will keep the CD player on par with most better-quality amps and processors.

Beyond that it is all personal preference on features and appearance.

In case you're wondering, the JVC Digifine 2.1 series has a S/N of 102dB and Dynamic Range of 98dB.

I get a new HU every year and always end up with an Alpine HU. The 7876 is the best deck I've yet had, and there's no reason to ever change brands. The green also matches the car's interior nicely to boot!

For those interested in very high performance with out the starship control aesthetics:

CD700 - $1200

CD45Z - $500

And for you lotto winners...

I read something a while back about an Alpine F#1 status HU that had no internal amp(like a Nakamichi)and they built it with all of the highest quality materials. They said they built it to be the best of the best, and to achieve the best CD playback. At $4000, it was not cheap, I don't know if they even released it.

This is the F1 deck. This one is $3000 US. If you live in Canada, you can sell your Contour and put a down payment on it. Very nice deck (It can change color to green, just like mine can be red or green. Very high tech sh!t.