Warpig

If you are serious about sound quality you would want a CD Changer because CD music quality is WAY better with a CD than what most MP3's are ripped at. If you don't care or cant tell then so be it. I can tell the difference between MP3's and CD's easily, of course the better the stereo system is the easier it is to tell the difference also. A good system really makes it obvious. I can alse hear the difference between CD's and my XM radio. I still have the XM because of content, the same reason most people have MP3's. High content not quality.



Nick

alexl911

A CD changer does not necessarily mean better sound nor does MP3 automatically mean worse sound. If you want to maintain the original quality of your CD's you should rip them using something like AIFF, FLAC or Exact audio copy codecs. This will give you a 1-to-1 copy (bit-for-bit) but the files will take up the same amount of space as a CD (approx. 500MB per disc). This is what I do. If want more compression (to hold more music) you can use AAC (which is Apples proprietary lossless compression). Frankly a 160GB ipod loaded with AIFF files make spining ANY CD in the car useless and redundant. But it does not stop there. The 2nd MOST important link in the chain (the original file/CD quality being the MOST important) is the quality of the DAC in your head unit. The best solution today is to use an iPod but with a headunit that pulls the original digital signal off the iPod and bypasses the the iPod's internal opamps and DAC. The newer Alpine 'digital receivers' do this and do all the digital to analogue conversion in the head unit using much more sophisticated chips. Lastly, in a car environment, digital signal correction and time alignment is crucial for the simple fact that you're sitting much close to one set of speakers. A few years ago all this would have cost a fortune and was state-of-the-art but today most top head units have these features. Personally I use the Pioneer P88RSII Here: http://www.pioneer.co.uk/uk/products...-II/index.html

pcarhombre

Many thanks for the feedback gents! Premium sound in the pcar is not really my goal. I have a very nice setup at home for that type of enjoyment. What I really like about the Parrot is the bluetooth phone setup where the phone interrupts the music and the music resumes when the call is complete. If the dual mics are effective, and there is enough wire to run them unobtrusively, and it doesn't take an electronic wiz to hook it up, it might just be the unit for me.
The hands -free function is almost mandatory now in this area b/c it is against the law to be on a hand-held while driving. Currently, the OEM unit doesn't even have a mute button or pause, for that matter. I find that annoying to say the least. I mean come on! Even Fords have voice activated systems and I wouldn't put Ford in my pcar trunk as a spare. No offense to Ford owners; I'm just sayin'
So, I'm waiting with baited breath to see what those of you who have pulled the trigger have to report.
Regards

24FPS

ola' b-line ~

fwiw (what i have in tha' 993 w/ all focal speakers & amp)
was advised against nak & kenwood...
i'm very happy. btw: the 710 allows you to hide iPhone/Pod in glovebox but i use my for for Nav so i did the 610 w/ external usb...

bol



will snap a pic later "on" & "off"... oh & looks very low profile (no screen ****) & i dig the remote & bluetooth phone features.

fabbroni

Did you finally end up buying the Becker Grand Prix? How did it go? My CDR 220's faceplate has failing leds and I would like to replace/upgrade the head unit instead of the faceplate.

Analog Theory

Can I ask how the Parrot is working out...specifically bluetooth hands free sound quality when driving?

EckFe1

Hello Jordan,
I had my Parrot installed sometime in October or November last year. Here's my findings sofar.
https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...-finished.html
It's a bit to read but it also explains the problems I faced during the install, with pics.

red95993

Hasn't anyone heard about the Kenwood 993? Great deck, great features, sound is clean and looks....OK. Better than any new deck out there.

Nuff

I have the KDAVX77 installed in my 993. The bluetooth works great and I haven't had anyone say that they couldn't hear me. iPhone integration is good, too. I'm not a fan of the JVC iPhone interface, but you can set the head unit so that you can control your iPhone through either the head unit or the iPhone itself. I have mine set for iPhone controls.

Video is surprisingly good to watch. My biggest complaint is that as most 993 owners can attest, there is a lot of glare on the head unit due to its location. Since the entire face of the JVC is a video screen, the glare can make it unviewable at times. You can tilt the screen up but you cannot tilt the screen down. I usually have it set at the first tilt setting which eliminates some of the glare.

Here are some pictures:

Unit off


Bluetooth Microphone:


Note the glare. It gets worse.


Great movie.

bstrutton

Concur with Jainbaby on the JVC line..

Been running JVC's (much) older KD-AVX2 model in the 993 for about 4 years. Great unit but was a bit slow scrolling through massive itunes. Had a chance to get hands on with my ipod & the KD-AVX77 at Fry's while visiting home (Tx) over Christmas. VERY fast nav through my ipod which has, among other things, Billboard top 100 1960-ish through 2007.

Gonna upgrade when I take the car out in late March..

MrBonus

I went with the Pioneer DEH-3200UB. It doesn't have Bluetooth but it's compatible with the iPod and other MP3 players. Thus far, I'm happy with it and the green illumination matches the fog light, spoiler, and sunroof switches.

J.B.H.

Went with a kenwood excelon kdc-x993...luv it

Macca

old skool. Burr Brown 1 bit DAC. Gold outputs. Bypass circuit. No IPOD etc. Sounds really nice....

shu

Same HU as Nuff. Other than being slow with scrolling thru the iPod menu's, no complaints. I recently got HD Radio. Its nice to be able to expand in the future. I feel this was one of the cleanest looking decks on the market with all the updated features.

Mike J

Thanks to Shu's recommendations, I have the JVC unit as well...unfortunately its in a box under my desk, I am looking to get enough time to actually install it (with a bunch of other mods too). Hopefully in the next few weeks..

Cheers,

Mike