Need Help With Choosing Stereo Poll

Hello, my Brother wants to buy a new stereo for his truck and is looking to spend about $100 to $150. He has these picked out, which one would be the best? Any other suggestions? Thanks for the help.

 

In the past, I've found the lower end (priced) Kenwoods to have remarkably high price-to-value ratios, and Alpine following suit. But for me that was 8yrs ago....

They all appear to have an AUX in and USB ports, and for the most part their looks seem pretty straight forward, except for the Sony. I'm not gonna take the time to look up all the specs for each one - you get to do that on your own - but if I were choosing these for myself, I'd say:

1st - Alpine, looks clean, simple
2nd - Kenwood, same as above, but has remote (who needs a remote in a car - steering wheel controls are one thing, but a wireless one?)
3rd - JVC
4th - Sony, IMO, be wary of anything that does (or used to) say Xplode on it

 

I clicked other because I have a Kenwood KDCX395. It's all the headunit most people will ever need and I love mine. It's going on about 3 years of daily use and still works like new, I didn't buy it for the Ipod button but it's become one of my favorite things about it. Overall it's an amazing HU for only $120. IMO you can't go wrong with just about anything Kenwood or Alpine.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_113KDCX395/Kenwood-Excelon-KDC-X395.html?tp=5684

 

FWIW Gabe I used the remote in my Tacoma from the day that I put it in the truck. I'm 6'1" so it's a little bit of a reach to the radio so it just makes it that much easier to use it, and if you have guest who don't know how to operate your HU then just hand them the remote because mine has a 'next' and 'previous' on the which makes it easier for someone unfamiliar with them

 

I've probably purchased 6 or 7 different Alpine units for a couple of my cars as well as family member gifts. Every single one has been extremely high quality and never had a single issue.

I also bought a cheap JVC unit for my weekend rig that ended up being a gift for my GF's car. She uses it daily and it works very well too.

I would say you'll be safe with Alpine OR JVC. I've never liked Sony's car audio equipment. Too cute, not enough real features.

 

Back in the day, I used mine as well, and actually had several variations of - my old Kenwood KDC-x995 from circa 2002 came with a remote which I kept around my center console in my GAGT, and also invested in Kenwood's steering wheel remote control since the GA didn't have steering wheel controls.

Fast forward to today - the

$46 SWI-JACK Steering Wheel Control Module Designed for Clarion, Kenwood, Alpine, JVC and Blaupunkt

SWI-JACK that I got when I bought my Alpine IDA-X305s cost me less than $30 off ebay with shipping, took 10 mins to install and program, and the controls for it are right on the steering wheel, right where my hand is ALWAYS at - no reaching, no searching for a remote, or reaching for the radio.

I've also learned that if I can't do what I need to do with those 5 SW buttons, I'd best wait until I come to a stop or get whomever my passenger is to do what I need to do. I'm just glad that my dog has learned to use the center knob on the Alpine from the back seat lol

and FWIW, I'm a hair under 6' as well

 

I'm in the market as well and was looking at the Kenwood decks. I saw both the Kenwood and Alpine decks you have mentioned above and liked the Kenwood better.

I had a Kenwood in my old 4runner and it made the stock speakers sound good. I was looking at the Kenwood 348U or the 528, but I may have to look into the 395. Any difference between the 528 and the 395, besides HD radio? Is HD radio worth it?

 

I like kenwood and alpine as far as the kenwood I have another model kenwood and if you like to tailgate and use your stereo then a remote is very nice feature

 

I was just throwing that out there. I'd love steering wheel controls but 1st gens don't have them.

 

You can upgrade the 395 to HD with whatever module/controller thing that they give you. I don't have it so I couldn't tell you if it's any better or worse.

 

http://www.alpine-usa.com/product/view/mc20

See above

Or better yet.... Retrofit an 05+ onto your 1st Gen, and add write-up on DIY for the rest of you Gen 1-ers