Originally Posted by TNGChris

i've got to say that i disagree on that.i've had two of the higher end Pioneer head units(the first year they had the superiluminescentfluorescentwhatchamacallit displays,then i had the next year also.whatever the non-Premier top model was,i forget the model number).not swapping anything other than the head unit,and adjusting amp gain to compensate for the differences in line output,my Clarion 9375 sounded noticably better...as in,i couldn't believe how much better it sounded.it was the same kind of difference i've experienced going from Sony coaxs to Boston Pros or from a California amp to a PPI for example.

i'm a die-hard Clarion guy.i've tried several top end units from various manufacturers,and i keep coming back to my 10 year old Clarion.
i'm not saying that there aren't other great sounding source units out there,but i can tell you i haven't been satisfied with Pioneer,Sony or Eclipse(and i know some people are really big on Eclipse,but i wasn't happy).i fully believe that if you want a super high-end system,Best Buy/Circuit City have nothing to offer you,other than maybe Alpine,but i have no experience with their stuff.and i think you're hurting yourself if you buy a really good front stage,sub and amp(s),then use a sub-par head unit.any one of the components will keep the system as a whole from sounding anywhere as good as it could.

chris