Hey everyone, I'm pretty new to this forum. I have been reading a lot, and looking at all the pics posted for mod ideas. I wondered if anyone has any suggestions for good stereo systems?

I know the stock stuff (HU and speakers) are relatively good quality, but the sound quality just bites. My car sounds like the back speakers aren't on, or like I have the sound faded to the front speakers only. I checked that they work, and maybe it's the acoustics of the car, but I'm not happy, and need to make some changes.

I bought my '10 xD in March, and wanted to get the Alpine w/ Navi at the time, but figured something after-market would be more sensible. I've been shopping around, and have found a few that I like, but wondered if anyone else has any experience with them. (1) Kenwood eXcelon DNX9960 or (2) Pioneer AVIC Z2.

I'm not familiar with sound systems and how to get the best quality sound, so any suggestions/opinions would be appreciated.

 

you can get an aftermarket HU/Navi system for much cheaper with better features

IMO i wont pay 2.5k for a stock navi

get some used avic series like d3 i had it on my tc (i have a d3 for sale with ipod cable, bluetooth and tc/xd wiring harness lol) but got the genesis 2.0t and it came with navi for free so couldnt complait

 

I don't have the dnx9960, i have the dnx 9140 (older = cheaper) i can tell you that on mine the sound quality is awesome, (but i would still do the speakers, it helps, but not enough to cover for the speakers) and the equalizer is much better than the basic and the upgraded head units that were available for the 08. and the nav is garmin so that's bullet proof. the only issue i have is that it wont do any more updates, like i burned the CD and followed all the instructions on kenwoods website and it didn't work for me. the update isn't that big of a deal, enough of an inconvenience to make me really look into it at least. i really like it.

Ipod: now on a side note, if you plan to use an ipod with it, when i had the 5th gen 80 gig regular ipod the scrolling was very fast like as if i was using the ipod itself. now i've upgraded to an ipod touch and the scrolling is very delayed. like after i click the down button it takes up to 7 seconds for it to refresh the screen. The video on the ipod is awesome, not pixelated or anything, and there is not delaying in playing the video, so it synchs up with the sound perfectly.

Blue Tooth: the hands free is awesome, in my car speakers there is no delay or echo. and people say they hear me clearly, but it does sound like they are speaking to me on speaker phone. but they tell me it's still clear and they can understand me.

Video In: i do have a dreamcast set up on my video in (av jacks with power inverter in the trunk area) and it plays the games perfectly, no lag or pixelation, even on fast moving games. now this is a dreamcast and not a 360 or PS3 so the graphic demand is very low, i wouldn't know how it holds up to the high def graphics of new systems.

DVD Playback: very good quality, once again no delays or anything, and it really looks like you're watching it on a TV at home.

overall i have no complaints and really enjoy it.

EDIT***
my vote is for the Kenwood. but that's just me.

 

Thanks man.. I'm going to look into this HU!

 

Thanks for your help.. I am definitely leaning toward this unit, but the with the price tag, and everything else I want to do, it may be a while.