Alpine Touch Screen Stereos
Car Audio on a Budget
For years the bottom rungs of the Car Audio ladder have been full of poor quality, cheap products. Not anymore! The improvements over the past couple of years have been mind boggling, the falling cost of technology and cheaper manufacturing processes have allowed this change. What was top of the range 3 years ago is now the very basic we expect. Colour screens, pre outs, memory card slots and remote controls, once reserved for the prestige units from the likes of Alpine and JVC, are now available for less than £100.
Take Beat for example, there entry level unit (Beat 175) comes with more features than a Swiss army knife and is so far ahead of its time it even comes without a CD slot. It runs purely on digital media, only a few have tried this route before and failed, however the Beat 175 has price on its side at under £40. The next step up is possibly the best head unit on the market for less than £100. The Beat 275 has features you would expect on units costing three times as much, with remote control and every slot you could imagine. The only downside is the lack of iPod connection but for the money and compared to their rivals, the Beat units cannot be outdone.
Following the Head unit trend of improvement, car audio has improved in general. From speakers to amps, cabling to terminals, quality is on the up while prices are remaining steady. The basic product lines from the likes of Fusion and Vibe are now excellent value for money. It is entirely realistic to build a full audio system for under £200 whilst still maintaining the features and quality that you would expect from a build costing twice that.
New brands are starting to appear offering greater quality products without the cost of the brand name. Products like the SNG Jatt series, although unknown to most, will blow the likes of Alpine and Kenwood out of the water. With basic builds using two 12″ Jatt series subs reaching a whopping 140dB, they really are a force to be reckoned with and the best bit? The subs are available for less than £90 each.
With technology becoming cheaper it is only a matter of time before we start to see touch screens and motorised monitors breaking the £100 barrier. The Beat 550 has a 3″ touch screen and that is available at £120. Bargain audio equipment and cheap car stereos no longer mean settling for poor quality items, shop around and you will be amazed at what is out there.
About the Author
In our experience we find that cheap car stereos are equal in value for money to the more expensive models. We feel a specific example of this is the Beat 275 . Generally speaking this is the case across the whole of car audio .
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