I have a panasonic DQ-903U and i think it is the sweetest HU i have ever seen, plus it puts out 25x4rms 50x4peak which is more than most. but a lot of people say panasonic arent that great, what makes other brands better? what is probably the best HU out there right now?
The thing is with the DF903U (compared to other headunits)is the fact that it doesn't have any type of built in crossover, and no built in equalizer other than Bass/Treble. Plus with its graphic capabilities, it should be able to load custom graphics. However,Panasonic has fixed all of those problems in their newer headunits.
Panasonic in general is a good brand headunit-wise. And their newer units with the tripath digital amplifier technology really are worth looking at.I think Panasonic is slightly underrated, honestly.
Reliability. It's not about the technology, it's a reliability issue, and that is where Panasonic tends to fall short of other units such as those from Alpine, Eclipse, Clarion, and Pioneer Premier.
Good call, Jon. I don't think i've ever had a headunit for more than six months before I swap it for a better one. Heh heh. But even if there is a difference between Panasonic and the higher end units as far as reliablity goes, it really isn't very large.
oh so whats the big deal about having built-in crossovers? do you think i would notice a difference in sq if i upgraded to a HU that does have them? one thing i like about the new panasonic HU is they have 70wx4 wow
i noticed even the newer models from some of the companies jonathan mentioned above are cheaper than my 2003 panasonic, do you think i would be better off selling what i got and buying a new "more reliable" HU. or am i safe with mine probably, cuz i love the looks.
Built in crossovers are the most practical when you are running a sub with your system. You can turn off the high sounds going to the sub (Low Pass Filter-example: cutting off any frequency above 80hz). You can also make it so that the really low sounds (that the sub is playing) don't have to be reproduced by the rest of the speakers-thus putting less stress on them(High Pass Filter-example:cutting off any frequency below 80hz).
Basically what all of this does is it makes it easier for the speakers to reproduce the frequencies they are designed to handle, creating a cleaner, more distortion free sound-especially when you turn it up.
I once had the DF903U, but I swapped it for two decks since. In my opinion, it still has one of the finest pixel layouts for the price (and the sound is still amazing!).
Since the DF903U was one of the nicer models they came out with during that year's lineup...I say keep it...unless you want customizable graphics/motorized face/mp3/etc.
It is a higher quality deck and has the potential to last for a long time.