Help choosing a new deck

[dementia]

As the title states I need help finding a new HU. I'm a little picky so bear with me.
*First and fore most the lighting from it must match the stock red interior lighting from the Trans Am.

*Next, good quality (sound and build). Preferably 50w X 4 or better (not sure on the rms output).

*It should also look/feel nice. Ive seen some cheaply built units that I wouldnt even consider putting in my car.

*My price range is also kind of limiting, I'd like to keep it under $300 because I'll probably end up spending more on the ipod interface

I'll be buying an Ipod interface for it so cd antiskip isnt terribly important but if it came with it, then great. Ive seen some really nice looking Clarion units that I would love to put in my car but then I read up on the Ipod interface and it appears as if its severely limited in function. You cant browse by artist or album. Can only have 6 playlists, the first of which plays all of the songs on your ipod in the order they were burned onto it. The remaining 5 are renamed versions of the first 5 playlists on your ipod. Pretty lame imo so Clarions arent an option (unless someone knows of a better ipod interface for them).

Aside from that I've been looking at the Panasonic CQ-C7413U. Its not the greatest looking thing out there but it really isnt all that bad either. Plus it has the capability to adjust the buttons AND screen colors to over 9000+ color combos so all red shouldnt be a problem. Heres a link to its stats http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=96341&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702&surfModel=CQ-C7413U&catGroupId=25028&surfCategory=CD%20Receivers&displayTab=S.
I posted this over at another forum and the people over there dont seem to fond of it because its a Panasonic and they said it has absolutely NO antiskip protection on it. This isnt a terribly big deal but got me 2nd guessing the product.

Sorry for the long post, just hoping to get some more options and ideas before I finally dish out the cash. Does anyone know of any other units that meet my criteria? Does anyone have any experience with the Panasonic CQ-C7413U?

[Goodwrench3011]

How about a Kenwood mp-782 and its about $280.00

[dementia]

having troubles finding that unit on the web. got a link?

[myk02k]

get a double din product from kenwood! im looking at all the different radios and kenwood has perfect-fit Aftermarket h-u's that wont look ridiculously small! im in love

[Goodwrench3011]

they have changed the models sorry about that
the newer one
http://www.kenwoodusa.com/products/ListProduct.aspx?k1=2&k2=46&k3=172&pr=2358

[rotwiler]

I have the Kenwood x790, it is a great hu. I paid $206 shipped off ebay. Has red buttons and you can change the screen text to red if wanted.. Sound quality is great, plently of options, 5 volt outs, downloadable screen stuff, the faceplate is motorized and can tilt, has rds to display radio text, even sets the clock using radio signals if you select the option. mp3 compatability is perfect, even disc that didn't play in my old Kenwood mp3 hu play in this one. Even has a G tech type horsepower calculator built in. Well worth the $ the only thing blue would be the 2 knobs on the front, everything can be changed to RED.
Even has the plug in on the back for steering wheel controls, you all you need is a PAC-swi-ALP and hook up the + and - and plug it in, program and done. No eye to hide and cause issues.
here is a link to the post I did on it here.
http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17474&highlight=x790

[graphicsgod]

Unfortunatly the only company that sells the din and a half is Pioneer. I can't find any other company that does that. Only Double din for the others :(. So I'll wait till another company makes one, or I'll just install one of those GPS touch screens :D!

I like this one (mainly since it's "Sat. ready" and has USB).

http://kenwoodusa.ims.hr/grafika/products/car/velike/dpx701_k.jpg

Rob

[Zboner]

a good one i have the camelion(sp) it matches the interior lights perfect, has great controls for bass and treb. the face is not detachable but when u turn it off i folds in its self and looks like nothing is there and is just black. it was right at $300 when i bought it 2 years ago.

i can get pictures of it if you would like me to?
i think JVC makes them i cant remember i can check for that also, it is a very nice unit. and think u would be happy with it. seems to fit what u want

[myk02k]

yea, send pics! so double-din is too big and 1 din would look tiny...so in order to perfectly fit you need 1 1/2 din?

[dementia]

Thanks for the replies guys. Yea the stock radio is 1.5 din so if you want to fill it perfectly then you would need to get another replacement thats 1.5 din. If you go with 1 din though, theres a company out there, humount, that makes killer plastic and aluminum mounting plates. The nice thing about these is the radio usually sits flush witht the face of the plate so it almost looks as if it came like that stock. They can do custom engravings as well and have "Trans Am" or "Camaro" lighting options. IMO a single din with one of these looks great.

Looked for the cameleon and couldnt find it but I did find another nice JVC unit. The KD-G820 has a variable color display, the buttons light up red and its 200watts (50x4) and 20 watts rms. The only catch is that theres a ring around the volume knob that would always light up blue. I wonder if it would be feasable to order a 2nd faceplate through JVC and have an electronics shop attempt to swap out the blue leds with red ones.

[rotwiler]

The Kameleon I think JVC stopped making them a few years ago. I had one in a car back in the late 90's. 1.5 din is best, but there are no 1.5din headunits worth a damn out there. The 2 pioneer models that are way outdated and swap meet brands, so that really isn't a great option. My wife has all red on her dash and is tough to find a all red setup, either a couple of knobs are blue or the buttons are red and the display is blue...or the entire display and everything is blue and looks funny(like the variable display units).

[Zboner]

well did you like your kameleon unit??? i know mine is pretty old but i love it, i could not honestly ask for any more from it

[Zboner]

sorry it took so long to get pics up man but here they are to the best i could get em

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/8/web/2084000-2084999/2084495_231_full.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/8/web/2084000-2084999/2084495_230_full.jpg

[Zboner]

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/8/web/2084000-2084999/2084495_232_full.jpg

[rotwiler]

I liked mine when I had it, but the BBE sounded like doo when you used it. I did notice a huge difference going from the Kameleon to a top of the line Pioneer and hit in the wallet too.

[Zboner]

my BBE sounds amazing, i get complements on it all the time