Which is better? Pioneer DEH-P8600MP or Alpine 9833

[Mithrandir]

I can get the Pioneer DEH-P8600MP for around 350 give or take 5-10 shipped and i can get the alpine for possibly 300 shipped, which do you think is better? I will gladly pay the extra 50 for the pioneer, because this will be the last deck i buy.

[William from NOLA]

The Pioneer will have many more little features than the Alpine. Both are very nice, though.

[lotas]

The Pioneer will have many more little features than the Alpine. Both are very nice, though. i can vouche for pioneer, i dont have as nice as that ( i have a 5500model) but they are not only some very useful features but they are nice too, personally i think pioneer is up there with alpine.

have never owned alpine though, so that's why I favor pioneer. You shouldnt be dissapointed with either of those though. And if you dont care much about features might as well get the one that is cheapest.

[Mithrandir]

Im really looking for the best i can get for that price, no more than 350 shipped.

The pioneer has a 24-bit Burr-Brown D/A converter and the alpine doesnt, i heard kiki talkin about that makin a big sq difference, plus i wont have to run a 10 gauge wire to my battery with the pioneer, it also has a 13 band eq compared to alpines 5, but the s/n ratio is 5 less than the alpine. Im trying to get the best sq i can out of this deck.

also i was takin a look at the panasonic MXE CQ-C9800U im likin the 60 watts rms, so could i get an opinion between the 3, which is the best value for over all sq, eventually ill be using an external amp anyway for my highs and mids.

[William from NOLA]

Almost all audio for home and car is recorded in 16 bit, so you don't really need 24 bit to make it sound good. Burr-Brown D/A converters are among the best for cars, but Alpines do have great and almost equal sound quality (for those without them). I can vouch for the Pioneer's sound quality. It's great. I own the deh-p9600mp.

I seriously doubt that Panasonic deck is putting out 60 rms. I wouldn't believe it. I'd say 35 rms from that at the absolute max. It's not even CEA Certified.

If you don't have an amp for your mains, then you may want to go for the Alpine if you don't plan on buying one eventually.

[Mithrandir]

i sorta have an amp for my mains but im not usin it till i get my own car, system is in my moms car lol im lame but yeah shes awesome. Im using my current main amp for my subs because my sub amp is 1200 watts, and subs are 300 each and i dont wanna blow em. :sub:

I kinda liked the pioneer because of the 13 band eq and the me not having to run a 10 gauge wire to the battery from the deck esp if i decide to put this in my moms car for the time being. SQ wise do you think they would be the same though?

[GlassWolf]

if you're not using alpine's Vdrive internal amp for the speakers you don't need that 10awg line for power. that's just for the added current draw of the head unit.
Pioneer and Alpine both make very good units. I've owned sources from both companies.. far more Alpines though.
My present units are Alpine in both the jeep and charger.
I think you'd be pleased with either brand.

[Mpbojangles]

Take a look at the Pioneer Premier DEH-P960MP. It goes for around 350-400 on eBay, I just picked one up...tons of features, looks great. Good luck.

[William from NOLA]

Adding to Mpbojangles's post:
Just make sure any amplifiers you have or might get support up to 6.5 volts on their preamp input (RCA's). The DEH-P9600MP has 4 volt preout's in case the 960mp's 6.5 is too much. There are minor differences between the two.