Which one?

[RobM]

I have had more JVC units than I care to remember, and have never once been let down by them. But by the same token, I have installed plenty of Pioneer units into other cars and havent heard of any real problems with them.

In terms of sound quality they will be about the same. If you intend on using the standard speakers you will never hear a difference between them.

They are both very even, so go for the one you prefer the look of and can get cheapest. Also look at accessories for them with a view to future upgrades. Both of them offer iPod control, but unfortunately neither off full-speed iPod control like Alpine do.

 

[LiCkWiD]

Speaking from a purely audio-performance view point, the Pioneer is by and large the best choice. They're definitely one of the best manufacturers of audio/visual equipment and that is a v. hot h/u.

I don't like JVC. Simple as that. Just a brand I often hear have faulty units.

As stated a couple of replies ago, Alpine and Pioneer are premiere audio brands. I'd advise you to steer clear of JVC if the alternative is something like a Pioneer.

On the other hand, many people report great things from their JVC.. I personally wouldn't buy one.

 

[UncleFester]

I've had alpine, pioneer, kenwood etc and the current JVC is a close match. £ for £ on features it won but my old DEH77MP had a sound quality far above its price tag

 

[RobM]

Speaking from a purely audio-performance view point, the Pioneer is by and large the best choice. They're definitely one of the best manufacturers of audio/visual equipment and that is a v. hot h/u.

I don't like JVC. Simple as that. Just a brand I often hear have faulty units.

As stated a couple of replies ago, Alpine and Pioneer are premiere audio brands. I'd advise you to steer clear of JVC if the alternative is something like a Pioneer.

On the other hand, many people report great things from their JVC.. I personally wouldn't buy one.

And I can hand on heart say you are wrong I'm afraid. Pioneer are indeed a good brand, but they are not ahead of JVC in terms of sound quality at this level. It's only Pioneers true high-end units that outshine JVC and when you get to that level, you're in the realms of Nak et el.
(edit) Pioneer have had some stand out units in the recent past though, such as the 77MP, which stood heads and shoulders above the rest of their mainstream units. And their A/V stuff is superb too.

JVC sound quality is superb. It's just a slightly different sound to the likes of Alpine. It's not as sharp or clinical, it's warmer, yet still very detailed and accurate.

Also, aside from the top end of Pioneers range (I'm talking P90, P90RS etc here) they cannot be called a 'Premiere audio brand' they are simply a good mid-to-high end brand. Premiere brands are the likes of Nakimachi, Macintosh and even the likes of Becker to a certain extent.
Pioneer fit in alongside Kenwood, Blaupunkt, Clarion etc.

 

[LiCkWiD]

I do love Nakamichi, and I'd certainly refer to them as high-end or audophile sound technology. But I'd still stick with my choice of words with regards to Pioneer.

JVC left a bad taste in my mouth when I was forever sending off units to be repaired, at an in-car audio specialist I worked at. The reading, skip prevention and loading method is the same in JVC units priced £70-£299ish and that always bothered me.

As I said though, the JVC units can shine, especially when price is taken into account.

I don't want to get into too much of a discussion here. I'm at work and my alt-tab keys are being worn to the bones.

I'd be happy to agree to differ, here. Fact is, people don't get along with some brands, but do others. My personal experiences of JVC lie along the "budget audio" lines. I've always felt £ could be better spent elsewhere.

 

[RobM]

That's totally fair enough, everybody has preferences and personal favourites with everything, ICE is no exception. At the end of the day you can only talk about and share your own experiences and those are always going to differ from one person to the next.

 

[LiCkWiD]

Hehe, let's hug

 

[RobM]

How about we don't, but say we did....?

 

[LiCkWiD]

What else can we tell them we did?

[/end_of_thread]

 

[warren_cox]

I got it from caraudiodirect - get most of my gear from there. I think at the time it was about £370 but it's now superseeded but still available - I think around the £260 mark. Problem with the JVC is that it's a FAT face plate and sticks proud of the Leon dash. Didn't and doesn't bother me but it's not to everyones taste.

Also if you have an ipod, you could consider a unit with ipod connectivity or one of the usb flash drive capable units

Noticing the track on your head unit display, is the Aquasky track from an album of theirs or just part of a compilation? I have a track of theirs called Bodyshock on a compilation called Y4K Next Level Breaks by Tayo and its absolutely fantastic (was used as a filler track on Superstars in the 2nd series). If it is an album is it any good (sorry to hijack the thread).

 

[LiCkWiD]

Cowx rushes in to save us all from the engulfing wave of man-love

Played fella.

 

[AshCupra300]

Slightly off but if you change the head unit, will the OEM CD changer still work?

Was fancying a new head unit with MP3 built in, had this in the ST220 with a 6 CD changer and single MP3 CD in the DVD/NAV unit.

Why I hear you ask, cos I Like to have my fav 6 CD's in the changer and then MP3 CD's in the dash with all sorts of mixtures

 

[LiCkWiD]

Adaption leads exist between some brands of standard CD-Changers and aftermarket h/u. What brand is the CD changer?

 

[UncleFester]

If you fit a dvd compatible unit, you've got nearly twice the capacity of a 6cd changer on one disc

 

[Jamie123]

I dont think there is any chance that the standard cd changer will work with a aftermarket headunit.
Some mixed opinions there about JVC units, i personally havent had any trouble with them and neither have my mates. Ive always heard that Pioneer is a very good name hence my last choice of headunit in my old car.
Lets face it, who else produces headunits like these with a colour screen and similar sound quality but still has a good name like pioneer or JVC? That is the way i looked at it when deciding between these two units and although this thread is two pages long now i still dont know what to go for.

 

[UncleFester]

Noticing the track on your head unit display, is the Aquasky track from an album of theirs or just part of a compilation? I have a track of theirs called Bodyshock on a compilation called Y4K Next Level Breaks by Tayo and its absolutely fantastic (was used as a filler track on Superstars in the 2nd series). If it is an album is it any good (sorry to hijack the thread).

It's a complilation from 2003/04 i think. The two folders i have are ;

Aquasky - Four 2 floor incident and Aquasky vs Mathmatics Incident.

There may well be more but i've got a bit more Dnb than I need and i often misplace stuff

 

[Jamie123]

If you fit a dvd compatible unit, you've got nearly twice the capacity of a 6cd changer on one disc

Slightly off topic here mate. I know what your saying about DVD and i know how to make MP3 cd's up but how do you actually group files on a dvd or mp3 cd into folders so you dont have to skip through every song?

BTW i use windows media player to make my MP3 cd's

 

[UncleFester]

I just create a folder with sub folders all labelled up with artist / album etc and then drop the whole lot onto the DVD. I can then choose to skip folder or file

 

[Jamie123]

Yea i know what your saying but how do you do that on windows medi player?

 

[UncleFester]

I don't .... don't use windows media player for a start. All of my Mp3 are in a seperate folder and were ripped out with winlame. Some i get from friends etc ... so the whole thing is organised by genre / artist / album / then tracks.

What you can do is organise your 'my music' folder once you've ripped the cd to mp3 using mediaplayer. All it will do is create the folder with the album and track information of the cd you rip ( as long as you're online when you do it).