I've been preparing to put in an amp however my head unit is not playing back digital cd's too well (squawks), so I'm up for a new head unit as well. This got me thinking, is there a head unit with decent inbuilt amp out there? Something like 40W RMS? None of the Pioneers seem to have them and Alpine is worse..

Currently I have a Pioneer that outputs 4 x 22W RMS per channel. The speakers eat if for breakfast. I don't want or need a powerhouse, just want a bit more gumption and a bit less distortion. So a powerful head unit would be ideal. Any suggestions?

Noob question > is there sufficient space under the centre console to house an amp, and would the ventilation be ok there?

Thanks in advance..

PS I would take the Pioneer back however it is old (Jan 07) - although I only installed it new from it's box less than a year ago :(

umm you wont get a headunit outputting 40w rms, that is a job for an Amplifier. Also mate even though the Alpine Units max power is 42-48watt max, doesn't mean its inferior to the others. My 9887 put out the same power as my old headunit but hell the Alpine smashes my old Kenwood and Pioneer unit, because of the technology and time put into it.

Also the only way i would be putting an amp in the center console is by drilling or cutting out some breather holes opposite the heatsink.

This is where marketing can come into it.

I remember seeing a head to head review of a few headunits ranging from 16WRMS per channel up to 33WRMS per channel ( a Blaupunkt Unit ).

Funnily enough, rated at the same voltage and at the same THD, the power outputs ended up being within 2-3WRMS of each other.

Only easy fix to get around the 40WRMS you are after is to look at one of these (http://www.alpine.com.au/showItem.php?item_id=162)

Matched with one of there decent headunits ( inbuilt HPF minimum ) it could work well if you chose not to upgrade to an amp.

Personally I would get an Eclipse unit and external amp - but it is up to you.

Ooh that's looking tasty!

Are you going to be amping all your speakers ??
If you are then I would not be looking at what head unit has the most Watts but one with more Voltage on the RCA Pre-outs..

Your internal amp serves no function if you are using the RCA Pre-outs and connecting your Speakers through external amplification..

dont most of sony's headunits have 4 x 52w rms output?

dont most of sony's headunits have 4 x 52w rms output?

Unfortunately they are 52W Max.

dont most of sony's headunits have 4 x 52w rms output?

Unfortunately they are 52W Max.

Nice to see another CJ Lancer. Have you got the RPW stage 1 flash yet?