Is any aftermarket HU better than stock?

**GottaHaveLS1** · 12-04-2006, 12:24 PM

I heard that the distortion caused by the stock HU and amp is enough to blow aftermarket speakers eventually. I have an aftermarket HU, its made by Dual and it's a year or so old, but it's in another car. Would it be worth replacing the stock HU for this purpose?

**rotwiler** · 12-04-2006, 04:32 PM

I feel a nice aftermarket hu makes a difference.... I never owned a dual, so have no idea on how they sound.. I noticed a difference when I added a Kenwood, but it had adjustments for cutoff points on the stock speakers and that improved sound since I could stop the really low signals from causing the stock speakers to distort, plus being able to use the EQ etc...

**Wesman** · 12-05-2006, 02:06 PM

My car came with an aftermarket Alpine headunit when I bought it, so I don't know how the stock one sounds. The Alpine was old as hell and couldn't play burned CDs though, so I replaced it with a Dual CD770 for $149.

It has a motorized face, blue illumination, iPod hookup, it plays MP3 and WMA CDs, and it has all the usual adjustments for bass, treble, balance, sound mode, effects, ect. It also has a big rubberized volume knob in the center, which I like, because I hate the units that have the tiny buttons that are hard to find and even harder to use.

As for sound quality, I think it sounds very good and its plenty loud when you crank it up. Never heard any distortion either, regardless of volume. I still have the stock Monsoon system speakers, but the rear speakers run off a JBL amp, so they have enough juice.