I am looking to buy a new headunit for my truck I im stuck between the sony GT450U and the pioneer DEH-4300UB. I have a pretty simple system in my truck. Sony 3-way 6x9 in the rear, sony 2-ways in the door, and I replaced the tweeters in the dash with pioneer 4x6. Ive never had a sony head unit so im just curious which one you guys think I should get. If it helps I mainly listen to heavy rock. Thanks.

Sony:

General features:

-CD receiver with AM/FM tuner
-built-in amplifier (17 watts RMS CEA-2006/52 peak x 4 channels)
-plays CDs, CD-Rs, and CD-RW discs, including discs loaded with MP3, WMA, and AAC music files
-detachable face with white text on a black LCD display (face case not included)
-built-in RDS (Radio Data System)
-remote control

Audio features:
-EQ7 equalizer (seven preset tone curves and a 7-band equalizer)
-DM+ sound restoration
-Rear Bass Enhancer
-Listener Position settings
-adjustable high- and low-pass filters

Expandability:
-inputs: front auxiliary input, front USB input (for USB devices only, no iPod connection)
-outputs: 4-channel preamp outputs (front, rear/sub)



Pioneer:

General features:

-CD receiver with AM/FM tuner
-built-in MOSFET amplifier (14 watts RMS CEA-2006/50 peak x 4 channels)
-plays CDs, CD-Rs, and CD-RWs, including discs loaded with MP3 and WMA files (except rights-protected files)
-detachable face with multiple color display — 30 preset colors and custom color setting
-wireless remote control

Audio features:
-Advanced Sound Retriever (ASR) for improved sound quality from compressed music files
-Easy EQ 3-band graphic equalizer with six preset tone settings
-3-level loudness
-low-pass filter on preamp outputs
-subwoofer level control

Expandability:
-built in iPod control
-front panel auxiliary and USB inputs
-outputs: 4-channel preamp outputs (2-volt front, rear/subwoofer)

 

I've had good luck with both brands, but I prefer Pioneer personally. You mention you've replaced the speakers with Sony's, what RMS are they?

 

I had a couple of Sony HU's and they pretty much turned my opinion on Sony HU's to the negative. They had the worst properties as far as their audio controls, the new ones may be better but I'm personally not going to buy one to find out. I would recommend the Pioneer as well for that and other reasons but be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN you do not connect/disconnect the RCA wires for an amp while it's powered up. Pioneer HU's use a fuse to protect the low output section of the HU and they're very easily blown. When they blow they leave the low output's with a horrible buzz that is annoying beyond belief. Most people simply ground the outside of the RCA connections to the case and it eliminates the noise, but it's still a PITA. I had a very nice $700 Pioneer that did it and the repair worked, but I decided not to go with Pioneer again in the future. I would like to recommend Kenwood as a good brand, my KDC-X492 and KDC-X991 HU's have been some of the nicest one's I've owned yet and the new model KDC-X395 has great features and is very close in price to the Pioneer and Sony in price.

 

If I had to chose between those 2, I would go with the Pioneer.

If you're open to suggestions, I've got this one in my truck and love it.

JVC-KDR520

 

Im definetly open to all suggestions. I was just sheltered as a kid because my dad swore by pioneer radios haha.

As for the speakers:

The xplod 6x9 3 ways are 2-100 watts rms with 400 watt peak

The xplod 6 1/2 2 ways are 2-40 watts rms with 190 watt peak

The pioneer 4x6 2 ways are 2-20 watts rms with 100 watt peak

 

Pioneer puts better processors in their HUs so you get better audio.

 

This is very funny. Can you substantiate this opinion with any real evidence?

The processor you speak of is basically just software that manipulates the audio signal before it is converted through the D/A converter to an analog signal that is either amplified through the built in amp or sent out through the low outputs to an external amplifier. How different do you think Pioneer's really is than anyone else's when you compare apples to apples? It's not, and even the Burr-Brown D/A they use is bettered by some units from other manufacturers such as National Semiconductor.

I'd love to see a blind comparison between similarly priced HU's done. One where the speakers and amplifier do not change and the settings on all the HU's are set the same and the volume levels are perfectly matched. While it would be nearly impossible to set this up, I am sure that no one could really tell any difference.

To come back and say well I used brand "X" HU and it sucked cuz my speakers distorted all the time and sounded like crap and when I switched to Pioneer it was completely better is NOT any justification either as that had NOTHING to do with the processing in the HU.

I know I'm sounding like an arsehole here, but I'm really trying to get folks to realize that opinions like this one aren't helping anyone at all.

 

iv been very happy with the pioneers iv ran over the years-