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So, I'm looking to upgrade the deck in my car. It came with a jenson aftermarket deck, but the cd player is very picky about what it plays and the radio reception is terrible. I've taked some people and they've told me that aftermarket radios usually have junk tuners in them.

I'm not concerned about speakers or subs or anything like that. (not at the moment anyway.) But are some brands or models better than other when it comes to radio receptions? And does anyone have any recommendations?

with a decent brand (jensen is not), you will have no problems. Even the entry level Pioneers, Alpines, Eclipse decks will have suburb sound quality compared to oem.

Hans wrote:with a decent brand (jensen is not), you will have no problems. Even the entry level Pioneers, Alpines, Eclipse decks will have suburb sound quality compared to oem.

Is there any that really stand out though as far as radio reception goes though? Are there any that can really lock onto a distant station and pull it in? It's sort of been my experience (albeit limited experience but it jives with what other have told me) that the factory deck does a better job at pulling in far away radio stations. It's been a few years since I've actually bothered to install in CD deck in my car, (and back then I didn't care about radio, I guess I'm getting old,) and I'm just wonder if there are any brands that do a better job than others.

i like alpine and clarion...

i have the alpine 9886 in my jeep now...
love it.. has usb input on the back so i put music on thumb drive and im good to go....
radio is great when im in the city... but i live between 2 major cities out in BFE
so for being so far out it still comes in good...

its840 wrote:i like alpine and clarion...

i have the alpine 9886 in my jeep now...
love it.. has usb input on the back so i put music on thumb drive and im good to go....
radio is great when im in the city... but i live between 2 major cities out in BFE
so for being so far out it still comes in good...

Thanks. I'll check those out.

One quick question. If the thumb drive plugs into the back, how do you get to it?

run a usb extension cable to somewhere in the cabin - like inside the console

grandprix104 wrote:run a usb extension cable to somewhere in the cabin - like inside the console

what he said... i have a 6 in extension... the end of it comes out right below the panel by the shifter...

ill snap a pic later to show ya what i mean...

quick question, and i may be completely wrong here, but if he wants better reception, couldn't he just upgrade to a better antenna? it'd be cheaper that way...

psburtis wrote:quick question, and i may be completely wrong here, but if he wants better reception, couldn't he just upgrade to a better antenna? it'd be cheaper that way...

I'm planning on getting a new deck anyway.

But a new antenna to go along with it is interesting. How would I know I'm getting a "better" antenna and not just the same one I already have?

nomorejunkyards wrote:

psburtis wrote:quick question, and i may be completely wrong here, but if he wants better reception, couldn't he just upgrade to a better antenna? it'd be cheaper that way...

I'm planning on getting a new deck anyway.

But a new antenna to go along with it is interesting. How would I know I'm getting a "better" antenna and not just the same one I already have?

X2

its840 wrote:

grandprix104 wrote:run a usb extension cable to somewhere in the cabin - like inside the console

what he said... i have a 6 in extension... the end of it comes out right below the panel by the shifter...

ill snap a pic later to show ya what i mean...

I'd be interested in this too!

nomorejunkyards wrote:

psburtis wrote:quick question, and i may be completely wrong here, but if he wants better reception, couldn't he just upgrade to a better antenna? it'd be cheaper that way...

I'm planning on getting a new deck anyway.

But a new antenna to go along with it is interesting. How would I know I'm getting a "better" antenna and not just the same one I already have?

i'd say just look around. i'm sure some places sell something in the area of "enhanced range" antenna's, or some kind with proven better reception. although, i wouldn't be the one to ask, having absolutely no experience in this field...