CD Player - Best sounding?

Can anyone post me to some linkies of the best CD Player I can expect to get for below £200? I would prefer Pioneer to an Alpine tbh
 
paradigm said:
Yes, without a doubt.
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Really though? I find it hard to believe that two headunits at a similar price level sound so much different to each other. /Possibly/ they do if played through proper audio equipment in a decent room, but through a questionable set up in what is essentially a tin box?

You have all been banging on about how road noise and speaker positioning will distort the sound (which will clearly reduce audio quality significantly and highly likely mask any differences in pre-amp), yet when it comes to brand name choice none of this seems to matter.

What difference in audio characteristics are discernable between Sony and other brands then?
 
I vote for an Alpine unit :)

YEARS ago i had a sony headunit, thinking i couldnt really go wrong with sony! Then i got an amazing deal on an Alpine headunit, and the difference was like night and day :D
 
Pioneer units are the pron. Had mine since I turned 17, which was 7 years ago....Damn that's a long time.
 
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Never seen any problems with sony units TBH.

I've used JVC, Alpine and blaupunkt in the past and the Sony certainly sounded better than that competition.

I currently use the CDX-M9900 in my fiesta and it sounds nice to me. It's running 4x Sony 6x9's so a sub isn't really needed either. :)

Just have a shop around - find a unit you like at somewhere like Halfords then see if you can get it cheaper online. Fitting is easy peasy.

gt
 
gt_junkie said:
Never seen any problems with sony units TBH.

I've used JVC, Alpine and blaupunkt in the past and the Sony certainly sounded better than that competition.

I currently use the CDX-M9900 in my fiesta and it sounds nice to me. It's running 4x Sony 6x9's so a sub isn't really needed either. :)

Just have a shop around - find a unit you like at somewhere like Halfords then see if you can get it cheaper online. Fitting is easy peasy.

gt
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Agreed - a head unit should be chosen on build quality and features, not brand snobbery :). Personally I wouldn't have a problem with having any of the mentioned brands in my car as long as they were built well and did what I wanted.
 
I must admit, looking at the link to the Pioneer unit it looks very tasty indeed, and its at the right sort of price for me as well, looks like its just been released too
 
I think it is new, as i have one from around december 08 and it looks nothing like the ones in stock now so must be new ones coming through :)
 
I think I saw another forum and the posts back in April suggested it was on a Pre-Order basis and not available. If people have this unit themselves I would be interested to hear what they think about it before I press the buy button
 
danceMB - That was one of the HUs on my shortlist when I was speccing up my audio system. The only reason I went for the Alpine over it was the iPod interface, being much more usable on the Alpine due to the big colour screen.

If you won't be using an iPod, or are not as anal as me when it comes to things like usability then I would go for it, it is a very nice looking unit :).
 
I think I might just go for it. I managed to find 1 review by someone elsewhere and they said it was good quality, so with good quality sound and looks, I cant really lose ;)
 
The best one probably ALpine F1 series with their DSP but their price so unbelievable :eek:

Try get Alpine if you can as they are good and you won't regret it.

Used to have Pioneer myself and then changed to Alpine, what a difference. Sounds more natural and also you can hear high, mid, and vocal really clear and seems you are in the middle of the concert :D but you need to pair with good 3-way components/2-way components, amp and also good sub with correct enclosure.

Alpine interface not as good/fancy as Pioneer interface.

It all depends what kind of music you listen to :)
 
I have no idea whether it's because the Mini's ride is er, not the smoothest, or whether it is the cd player itself, but my sony unit keeps knackering discs. Boo.
 
I like the look of the Pioneer stereo linked, looks really flash, and if the sound is as good as people say it is, then it should be a very worthwhile investment. Looks like the site linked has next day delivery, which might help as I will need the CD Player delivered by saturday morning at the very latest
 
Another vote for Alpine here! Always tended to stay away from Sony personally, a few mates had full Sony systems and they sounded terrible so I've stuck with Alpine in my car :)

Also, get joined up on www.ukfiestanetwork.com it'll have loads of information and guides and it's not that bad of a forum tbh.
 
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