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Car Stereo reception comparison.

J

JerseyShor

A comparison of 5 diffrent car radios, compiled over 3 years at the Jersey Shore.

A rating of "5" is BEST, a rating of "1" is WORST.

Sensitivity - ability to pick up weak signals
Selectivity - ability to pick up 1st adjacents clearly (ie: hearing 98.3 near a local 98.5)
Front-End Overload - ability to reject overloading by strong local signals (ie: reception within 1,000 feet of a 50,000 watt station)

<pre>
Make Model Tuner Sensitivity Selectivity Front-End Overload
Ford Stock N/A 4 3 3
Hyundai Stock N/A 3 3 3
Pioneer DEH-P4600MP SuperTuner3D 4.5 5 2.5
Sony XR-C5300X SSIR-EXA 5 4.5 3.5
Alpine CDA-9847 MaxTune 4 4 4
</pre>

The Jersey Shore Radio Guide<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by JerseyShor on 06/24/05 02:33 AM.</FONT></P>
 
Nice Jason!

I have lived in TR all my life, and owned NOTHING but Pioneer car head units. I have been impressed, and would not consider getting another brand. How did the Sony do in these situations (if you remember):

1. WXRK on Route 9 by WOBM tower
2. WCAA in North Toms River/Brick Twp.
3. WHTZ in North Toms RIver/Brick Twp.<P ID="signature">______________
Dave from Toms River</P>
 
As best I can remember with the Sony:

> 1. WXRK on Route 9 by WOBM tower

I've done this one many times. WXRK was uneffected except when the whole dial was overloaded by WOBM-FM and that was only really, really close the tower.

> 2. WCAA in North Toms River/Brick Twp.

I had this radio mostly before WCHR-FM signed on.

> 3. WHTZ in North Toms RIver/Brick Twp.

When WPLY was in Media PA I could pull in WHTZ&WPLY on Rt. 37 with minimal splatter from WJRZ. The Pioneer did do better on this,
 
Most aftermarket car radio tuners are total crap, and have been that way for years, no matter what kind of cheesy marketing names the manufacturer comes up with (like Alpine's "Multipath Hunter").

Generally there are two types of car radio tuners, at least in terms of FM performance: ones that sound great but have lousy reception, or ones that have great reception but cut the sound down to muffled mono if you're not within walking distance of the station's tower.

I've even found some car radios which have a fake Stereo indicator -- the "ST" remains constantly lit when you have ANYTHING tuned in, even a station transmitting in mono, or just a blank channel with only noise and static!

<P ID="signature">______________
noiboc.jpg
</P>
 
Here is a more detailed look. I have had one of each make/model in one of my two vehicles over the past 2 years. It's amazing how bad they are. Only the Eclipse would I recommend

Scale: 1=Poor // 5=Excellent

FM Sens= Ability to pick up weak stations
FM Selectivity= Ability to pick up 1st adjacents on a crowded dial
FM O/L= How well the unit performs in high RF areas
FM Sound= How clean the radio sounds, ie, does it add any distortion of its own
FM Hi Blend= How noticeable the blend circuit is (5= NO BLEND)

* Rating WWITH ADAPTIVE DIGITAL FRONT END (which adds distortion). With the Blau, the two factors that are affected by the digital front end are shown with the digital front end on/off.

Brand FM Sens//FM Select// FM OvrL //FM Sound//FM Hi Blend


BLAU 3.5 // 3.5/5* // 3.5 // 3.5/2* // 5 (hi blend defeated)
CLARION 4.5 // 4 // 4.5 // 4.5 // 4.5
SONY 4 // 3.5// 4// 4// 3
PIONEER 4// 5*// 4// 2// 2
ALPINE 4// 4// 4// 3.5// 4
JVC 4.5// 4.5// 4// 4// 4.5
PANASONIC 5// 4.5 // 4// 3.5// 4.5
KENWOOD 3// 3// 4// 4// 3.5
ECLIPSE 5// 4.5 // 4.5// 4// 5
SANYO 4// 4.5// 4// 3// 3.5
KIA STOCK 4 // 3// 4// 4// 4
DODGE 4 // 3// 4.5// 3.5// 3.5

AM Sens= Ability to pick up weak stations
AM Selectivity= Ability to DX 1st adjacents
AM Overload= Ability to pick up weak stations in high RF areas
AM Sound Quality= Noise floor, bandwidth and any added distortion.

Brand AM Sens//AM Sele// AM Overload//AM Sound Quality

BLAU 4.5// 4.5// 4.5// 3.5
CLARION 3.5// 4// 3// 3.5 (clippy bass)
SONY 3// 3.5// 2.5// 3
PIONEER 4// 4// 4.5// 3 (muddy audio)
ALPINE 4// 4// 3// 3 (clippy audio)
JVC 2.5// 2.5// 3.5// 4.5 (nice sound, poor reception)
PANASONIC 5// 2// 2// 2.5 (good sensitivity, poor sound)
KENWOOD 4// 4.5// 3// 3
ECLIPSE 4.5// 4.5// 5// 3.5 (narrowband, but clean)
SANYO 3// 4// 2.5// 4.5 (see JVC)
KIA STOCK 3.5// 3.5// 5// 4
DODGE 4// 3// 4.5// 5 (wideband AM!)
 
> Nice Jason!
>
> I have lived in TR all my life, and owned NOTHING but
> Pioneer car head units. I have been impressed, and would
> not consider getting another brand. How did the Sony do in
> these situations (if you remember):
>
> 1. WXRK on Route 9 by WOBM tower
> 2. WCAA in North Toms River/Brick Twp.
> 3. WHTZ in North Toms RIver/Brick Twp.
>

Pioneers have great selectivity at the expense of a horribly distorted FM section and poor blend circuits. So, while the audio is there, it is quite annoying to listen to. As a broadcast professional and an engineer, would not recommend Pioneer to anyone who is serious about radio listening in the car.
 
> Here is a more detailed look. I have had one of each
> make/model in one of my two vehicles over the past 2 years.
> It's amazing how bad they are. Only the Eclipse would I
> recommend

To make things more readable, here are your tables in monospaced form (using HTML "<PRE>" tags):

<PRE>
Scale: 1=Poor // 5=Excellent

Brand FM Sens FM Select FM OvrL FM Sound FM Hi Blend

BLAU 3.5 3.5/5* 3.5 3.5/2* 5 (hi blend defeated)
CLARION 4.5 4 4.5 4.5 4.5
SONY 4 3.5 4 4 3
PIONEER 4 5* 4 2 2
ALPINE 4 4 4 3.5 4
JVC 4.5 4.5 4 4 4.5
PANASONIC 5 4.5 4 3.5 4.5
KENWOOD 3 3 4 4 3.5
ECLIPSE 5 4.5 4.5 4 5
SANYO 4 4.5 4 3 3.5
KIA STOCK 4 3 4 4 4
DODGE 4 3 4.5 3.5 3.5


Brand AM Sens AM Sele AM Overload AM Sound Quality

BLAU 4.5 4.5 4.5 3.5
CLARION 3.5 4 3 3.5 (clippy bass)
SONY 3 3.5 2.5 3
PIONEER 4 4 4.5 3 (muddy audio)
ALPINE 4 4 3 3 (clippy audio)
JVC 2.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 (nice sound, poor reception)
PANASONIC 5 2 2 2.5 (good sensitivity, poor sound)
KENWOOD 4 4.5 3 3
ECLIPSE 4.5 4.5 5 3.5 (narrowband, but clean)
SANYO 3 4 2.5 4.5 (see JVC)
KIA STOCK 3.5 3.5 5 4
DODGE 4 3 4.5 5 (wideband AM!)
</PRE>
<P ID="signature">______________
noiboc.jpg
</P>
 
Many thanks

>
> To make things more readable, here are your tables in
> monospaced form (using HTML "" tags):
>
>
> Scale: 1=Poor // 5=Excellent
>
> Brand FM Sens FM Select FM OvrL FM Sound FM Hi
> Blend
>
> BLAU 3.5 3.5/5* 3.5 3.5/2* 5 (hi
> blend defeated)
> CLARION 4.5 4 4.5 4.5 4.5
> SONY 4 3.5 4 4 3
> PIONEER 4 5* 4 2 2
> ALPINE 4 4 4 3.5 4
> JVC 4.5 4.5 4 4 4.5
> PANASONIC 5 4.5 4 3.5 4.5
> KENWOOD 3 3 4 4 3.5
> ECLIPSE 5 4.5 4.5 4 5
> SANYO 4 4.5 4 3 3.5
> KIA STOCK 4 3 4 4 4
> DODGE 4 3 4.5 3.5 3.5
>
>
> Brand AM Sens AM Sele AM Overload AM Sound Quality
>
> BLAU 4.5 4.5 4.5 3.5
> CLARION 3.5 4 3 3.5 (clippy bass)
>
> SONY 3 3.5 2.5 3
> PIONEER 4 4 4.5 3 (muddy audio)
>
> ALPINE 4 4 3 3 (clippy
> audio)
> JVC 2.5 2.5 3.5 4.5 (nice sound,
> poor reception)
> PANASONIC 5 2 2 2.5 (good
> sensitivity, poor sound)
> KENWOOD 4 4.5 3 3
> ECLIPSE 4.5 4.5 5 3.5 (narrowband,
> but clean)
> SANYO 3 4 2.5 4.5 (see JVC)
> KIA STOCK 3.5 3.5 5 4
> DODGE 4 3 4.5 5 (wideband
> AM!)
>
 
> A comparison of 5 diffrent car radios, compiled over 3 years
> at the Jersey Shore.
>
> A rating of "5" is BEST, a rating of "1" is WORST.
>
> Sensitivity - ability to pick up weak signals
> Selectivity - ability to pick up 1st adjacents clearly (ie:
> hearing 98.3 near a local 98.5)
> Front-End Overload - ability to reject overloading by strong
> local signals (ie: reception within 1,000 feet of a 50,000
> watt station)
>
>
> Make Model Tuner Sensitivity Selectivity
> Front-End Overload
> Ford Stock N/A 4 3
> 3
> Hyundai Stock N/A 3 3
> 3
> Pioneer DEH-P4600MP SuperTuner3D 4.5 5
> 2.5
> Sony XR-C5300X SSIR-EXA 5 4.5
> 3.5
> Alpine CDA-9847 MaxTune 4 4
> 4
>
>
> The Jersey Shore Radio Guide
>
My dad always said Pioneer was good and I guess he was correct.
 
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