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I posted more crap about this in the Miata thread, but brief summary: I had some pieces of toothless hacksaw blades to poke with, but I couldn't for the life of me get anything to unlatch anywhere, all I managed to jiggle loose was the flip front. So since it was now even more broken beyond repair, I just destroyed the thing to get it out. With the entire plastic front bit off I could get to enough of them to pry it open. Latches look like this:  Not a kind I'm familiar with, and I probably would never have got them open without exactly the right tool (which I had no idea what it was). Some bits of bent rather thick piano wire would probably have worked though.
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Apr 5, 2018 13:26
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Is this a horrible idea? https://www.crutchfield.com/p_105KDR988B/JVC-KD-R988BTS.html
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Apr 5, 2018 14:49
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Doesn't seem like a bad idea for a basic stereo with Bluetooth.
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Apr 5, 2018 15:36
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I have the double din version of that and I am really happy with it. Lots of settings and great interface especially for USB sticks.
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Apr 6, 2018 04:46
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More just stereo bitching. My rental has a "Rockford Fosgate" stereo (guessing it was something Nissan offered on the upmarket trims? this is the Pro 4X trim) It sounds about like babby's first Beats headphones, and the navigation is straight out of 2004. This is a 2018 that I'm driving. It's also the first vehicle I've seen with heated cloth seats. The stock stereo in my 2006 Saturn sounded better than this pile of garbage. It sounds like the mids are cranked to 11, while everything else is 0. I haven't bothered trying to find an EQ in it (the UI is.... not great). I assumed that by 2018 most car makers would have figured out an easy to use UI. Can't even switch to aux mode without taking my hands off the wheel/eyes off the road - it has steering wheel controls, but cycling to aux via those just gives a "This stereo supports input from USB for Apple devices, Bluetooth A2DP, and the 3.5mm aux input jack" (not exact wording, but close enough). I have to reach over and tap aux on the head unit until it hits the Bluetooth input. This is loving 2018 guys, and this is a brand new car (2k on it) that pulls this. If you're gonna give me steering wheel controls, let me select the input I want to use with them! Up till now, I thought the 4 year old Pioneer I have in the Saturd was unintuitive (have to go through multiple layers of menus to do much beyond change inputs or radio stations)... that Pioneer looks drat nice now. The upside is the bluetooth calling on it is excellent (in call quality), miles better than my aftermarket Pioneer h/u. Guessing my Pioneer just has a really old, poorly optimized BT profile. Pioneer still wins when trying to make calls from the stereo; no touchscreen to gently caress with when scrolling through names. Pioneer also wins on call waiting - if I get another call on my Saturd's Pioneer, I just tap the phone button on the HU to switch calls. Tried that on the Nissan, the stereo completely locked up until I shut off the ignition. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 06:43 on Apr 6, 2018 |
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Apr 6, 2018 06:40
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Yu-Gi-Ho! posted:This is a 2018 that I'm driving. It's also the first vehicle I've seen with heated cloth seats. My folks' 2011 (?) Forester has them.
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Apr 6, 2018 10:35
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I'm from cold north and seat heaters aren't really an option here so they come with any and all upholstery options.
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Apr 6, 2018 11:11
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I wish that was an option when I got my car. Would have had to get leather, but the cloth had a tartan pattern that I couldn't pass up.
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Apr 6, 2018 13:12
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Literally every rental has had someone gently caress with the bass/treble/fade/etc. It's also fun to look at the names of paired phones, I only think to rename my phone to something hilarious after I paired, by then I'm too lazy.
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Apr 6, 2018 22:01
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Ok so I know basically nothing about car audio. I have a 1977 280Z build I'm just starting on and I'd like to modestly upgrade the audio. This looks like a nice option for head unit because I'm picky and I want to maintain the classic look instead of just jamming any old modern one in it: https://www.crutchfield.com/S-4dAMIRSFyoG/p_068LAGUNAC/RetroSound-Laguna-Chrome-buttons.html?tp=5684 So my question is what speakers should I be looking at to pair with it? The car has two (I think) stock that sit in the side panels just behind the seats, and I'm inclined to just replace these with something modern and not garbage. I don't care about boosting it with an external amp or adding more speakers/subs etc (unless that head unit is woefully underpowered?). I guess I need to open up those panels and measure the space as well, but I don't even have a clue where to start looking for speakers or how to distinguish between the options.
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Apr 12, 2018 05:43
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bawfuls posted:Ok so I know basically nothing about car audio. I have a 1977 280Z build I'm just starting on and I'd like to modestly upgrade the audio. This looks like a nice option for head unit because I'm picky and I want to maintain the classic look instead of just jamming any old modern one in it: https://www.crutchfield.com/S-4dAMIRSFyoG/p_068LAGUNAC/RetroSound-Laguna-Chrome-buttons.html?tp=5684 Measure the speakers and the bolt pattern. They've been pretty standard for years so you should have an easy time finding some that are an appropriate size for direct replacement. You could also just remove one fully, take it to a big box store and directly compare it to modern ones for the best fit. I'm usually that guy since it helps me visualize the rest of the build. I would recommend this since you also seem unsure of where your other speakers are and your going to need to see what you're replacing. In terms of specs, you'll be fine with anything; most mid-range stuff of today sounds incredible. Because you seem interested in not putting in more stuff like tweeters and subs, I would look for full range speakers. E: looked up your car on Crutchfield and it looks like your speakers are 5-1/4" which is a pretty small, but not uncommon size. E2: YouTube never fails. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q3YYmT9g9k Wasabi the J fucked around with this message at 14:37 on Apr 12, 2018 |
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Apr 12, 2018 14:29
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I've since verified there are only two speakers in the car, which is fine. Should I look for a 2-stage speaker? A quick perusal on Crutchfield shows lots of options for 2-stage speaker pairs under $50. I also saw that Crutchfield says they are 5.25" speakers, but I just pulled a panel off the inside and measured them myself. They are more like 4.5" which doesn't appear to be a standard size. 5.25" is about the distance across the furthest corners of the housing, from the outside of one bolt hole to the outside of the opposite one diagonally. Is this how speakers are measured? 4" is the diameter of the actual speaker cone.  Taking the old speaker into a big box store to compare the size and hole pattern directly sounds like a good plan. bawfuls fucked around with this message at 22:17 on Apr 12, 2018 |
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Apr 12, 2018 22:12
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I'm trying to mount a 16"x12" class D amp in my 93 Capri and space is at a very high premium. Is there anywhere that I definitely shouldn't put it? Do they generate a lot of heat?
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Apr 12, 2018 22:20
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bawfuls posted:I've since verified there are only two speakers in the car, which is fine. Should I look for a 2-stage speaker? A quick perusal on Crutchfield shows lots of options for 2-stage speaker pairs under $50. They use the diameter of the mounting ring for the size.
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Apr 13, 2018 20:34
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bawfuls posted:
So I have a Fry's near me and I stopped by the audio Dept on a whim. The Blaupunkt GTX401, kicker 43CSC44 and Polk DB402 all sounded excellent for 4 inch speakers. The first two were a bit more naturally bassy. The Kickers took the most volume to distort, followed by the Polk, and the Blaupunkts started rattling at mid to high volumes, due to really open tweeter wires.  My ranks would be Kicker, Polk, then Blaupunkts, but none were lacking for general upgrades to your stock classic speakers. The Blaupunkts would not be first choice unless you found a way to isolate the tweeter wires that rattled against the cone. Just a tip for your tiny speakers. Wasabi the J fucked around with this message at 21:37 on Apr 15, 2018 |
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Apr 15, 2018 21:31
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Wasabi the J posted:So I have a Fry's near me and I stopped by the audio Dept on a whim. The Blaupunkt GTX401, kicker 43CSC44 and Polk DB402 all sounded excellent for 4 inch speakers. The first two were a bit more naturally bassy. The Kickers took the most volume to distort, followed by the Polk, and the Blaupunkts started rattling at mid to high volumes, due to really open tweeter wires. Uh, I wouldn't waste a single cent on speakers with wires that come through a cone to feed a tweeter. They wear out much faster than you realize and are just a poo poo design.
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Apr 16, 2018 03:24
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EightBit posted:Uh, I wouldn't waste a single cent on speakers with wires that come through a cone to feed a tweeter. They wear out much faster than you realize and are just a poo poo design. Yeah I hadn't considered that, I was just offering first impressions. The other two were $30 more for a reason, as their cones and tweeters were Isolated. They all sounded surprisingly good though.
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Apr 17, 2018 01:25
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Thanks to the guidance earlier in this thread, I picked up a new head unit and two new 4" speakers for my project car. I removed the pigtail from the old head unit, and soldered it where appropriate to the pigtail on the new head unit, so I could just plug the new on into the old wiring in the car (since the old wiring works fine and I don't want to run new wires). (two pigtails on the left are for the new head unit, the four wire pigtail on the right is from the old one. Blue masking tape is labeling) The existing speakers in the car have a (+) and (-) on each, but the (-) for both are wired to each other and the ground for the head unit. So I ~assumed~ that's just how speakers go, and wired the (-) output for each speaker on the new head unit to common ground. Is this wrong? But when I plug it all in, the new unit produces no sound. It does have power and the controls/display are responding as they should. One of the old speakers (which still worked when I plugged the old unit in yesterday) is still in the car and wired up as normal. The second speaker is removed and I tried connected it's new replacement with alligator clips to test. Yesterday I tested the new speaker with the old head unit and it worked just fine. Not sure if this is all clear, I will draw some pictures to illustrate if it isn't. I should have tested everything with alligator clips first but welp. This was probably a stupid question and assumption considering that the head unit had a separate (-) lead for each speaker, that would imply they don't all just go to ground. Guess I'm running fresh wires tomorrow. bawfuls fucked around with this message at 03:23 on Apr 26, 2018 |
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Apr 26, 2018 01:46
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Yeah no. Speakers need both positive and negative wires to work. Speaker wire comes in pairs so you can just run one pair for the left and one pair for the right up to the headunits outputs. You could bridge the speakers together but that puts them in mono and does weird poo poo with impedence so don't do that. Wasabi the J fucked around with this message at 16:31 on Apr 28, 2018 |
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Apr 28, 2018 16:26
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Is it an upgraded stock stereo branded as Bose or something? Those do weird poo poo, have low impedences and perhaps even have power running to speakers with mini amps.
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Apr 28, 2018 17:48
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I just ran fresh wires for the speakers and everything works fine now. No idea what was up with the old wiring setup but whatever.
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Apr 29, 2018 19:14
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bawfuls posted:I just ran fresh wires for the speakers and everything works fine now. No idea what was up with the old wiring setup but whatever. Wasabi the J posted:Yeah no. Speakers need both positive and negative wires to work. Yep, it was this. Speakers don't ground to the body like most automotive electronics do.
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Apr 30, 2018 01:13
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falz posted:Is it an upgraded stock stereo branded as Bose or something? Those do weird poo poo, have low impedences and perhaps even have power running to speakers with mini amps. Goddamnit I really wish Bose would keep the gently caress away from car audio. They have to do everything in a nonsensical snowflake fashion, and it never results in a better end result than a basic set of speakers an a mid range head unit from a big box store would, with the added bonus of being a loving nightmare to upgrade.
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Apr 30, 2018 04:26
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Don Dongington posted:Goddamnit I really wish Bose would keep the gently caress away from car audio. They have to do everything in a nonsensical snowflake fashion, and it never results in a better end result than a basic set of speakers an a mid range head unit from a big box store would, with the added bonus of being a loving nightmare to upgrade. I went on a Bose sponsored PA course a couple of year back and they were trying to push some 'innovation' that's been around for 40 years. Bose have put out some decent stuff but their insistence on doing poo poo in a specifically idiotic way is super annoying.
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Apr 30, 2018 09:47
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Their little Bluetooth radios are decent I guess, but for the price you can probably get a Sonos One now, which has 10 times the utility.
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Apr 30, 2018 13:29
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The Sonos One seems like a different use case from a battery powered bluetooth speaker? Unless you're just talking about the big plug in ones, but I think the little ones are really decent and my favorite of the bluetooth speakers I've tried. Their headphone noise cancelling is also really good. Definitely do not love Bose's weird impedance stuff with car audio though.
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Apr 30, 2018 15:35
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Suffer not bose speakers to live. 
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May 1, 2018 03:45
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In the business; Buy Other Sound Equipment
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May 1, 2018 09:26
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bawfuls posted:I just ran fresh wires for the speakers and everything works fine now. No idea what was up with the old wiring setup but whatever. Back in the day,  a lot of factory radios used "common ground". Hell, a lot of aftermarket ones did too.Basically, all of the ground wires - speaker and head unit - all got connected together, as you saw. Modern head units expect individual grounds for each speaker, plus a ground for the head unit itself. You can get a common to floating ground converter, but honestly, you're better off just running new wiring.
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May 1, 2018 10:10
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That's definitely what was going on yeah. The car is small and there were only two speakers so it really wasn't much work at all to run fresh wires. I think the headunit was actually aftermarket based on the faceplate situation, which means the original owner paid extra at some point to get that sweet 8track player installed. 
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May 1, 2018 20:32
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I have a 2018 f150 and a lot of owners are disabling the factory amp and using the Alpine PowerPack mini D amp to power the factory speakers. That amp is about $200 and does 45x4 @ 4ohms. Is there another amp that has similar small dimensions that can be hidden behind the headunit and work ? It needs to have an adjustable high pass for the tweeter channel and a low pass for the doors. Fyi the ford stereos have a line-out option I'll be tapping into. Also, what's the easiest way to determine if the factory speakers are being driven too hard ? Can I use a mic and REW to measure distortion or would I be clipping the mic before the speakers distort ? Edit: went with the kicker key180.4 as it does auto EQ and time alignment. I can hide it in the dash or possibly in the glove compartment and that will power my bi-amped doors and tweets, I'm disconnecting the rear door speakers. And then for the subwoofer I have an older kicker d class 1250watt monoblock that I'll use to power a pair of sundown sd3's. Should be a good simple setup. jonathan fucked around with this message at 08:36 on May 10, 2018 |
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May 10, 2018 05:51
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Only thing I'd be concerned with is that while I've found that newer factory speakers have pretty capable low end, and can handle more power than typically provided by an OEM deck/amp, they generally don't get loud the way anyone used to aftermarket stuff is used to. Which becomes an issue when you're running a big sub setup. I have a single 12" Type R in my boot, and even in an undersized sealed box and an amp that's missing about 100w, it's too much for the factory is300 speakers. I reckon you're going to find you really won't get to turn those subs up at all without drowning out everything else.
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May 11, 2018 07:17
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Thanks. Yeah I'll be high passing the door speakers probably at 100 or 120hz which will give some extra headroom, and I'll be level matching the subwoofer +3db. Also I don't listen very loud very often, I just like that "full" sound. As soon as I get bored with the setup I'll be upgrading the door and tweaters.
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May 11, 2018 19:12
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jonathan posted:Also, what's the easiest way to determine if the factory speakers are being driven too hard ? Can I use a mic and REW to measure distortion or would I be clipping the mic before the speakers distort ? Your measurement mic should have specs for max SPL and whatnot. Mine is rated for 127db which is pretty loud.
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May 11, 2018 19:20
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jonathan posted:Thanks. Yeah I'll be high passing the door speakers probably at 100 or 120hz which will give some extra headroom, and I'll be level matching the subwoofer +3db. Also I don't listen very loud very often, I just like that "full" sound. My only concern with these mini amplifiers is that you end up doing everything again when you do get tired of stock speakers, but the 45w rms offered by that unit isn't too bad. It should be able to drive a decent set of 'SQ' oriented components to a point where they're actually efficient, unlike most head units. The built in DSP looks interesting. You should post a trip report and let us know if it actually improves the sound stage at all.
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May 11, 2018 20:01
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Yeah I'll do some frequency plots before amp, after amp and after calibration. Should be interesting to see how much correction ford does to the EQ on their own.
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May 12, 2018 08:23
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bawfuls posted:That's definitely what was going on yeah. The car is small and there were only two speakers so it really wasn't much work at all to run fresh wires. I think the headunit was actually aftermarket based on the faceplate situation, which means the original owner paid extra at some point to get that sweet 8track player installed. How does it sound?
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May 12, 2018 12:12
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I know the Sony head unit is the go to recommendation for an Android Auto unit, but anyone have experience with JVC's offerings? They are Wirecutter's runner up (https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-car-stereos-with-apple-carplay-and-android-auto/), the 740 is $50 more than the Sony on Crutchfield, and I would really appreciate the second USB port for playback off of a thumb drive. The only real downsides I see are the lack of a volume knob (I usually adjust volume with my steering wheel controls) and the larger physical body (I don't see that being a problem considering the amount of wires I currently have jammed behind my dashboard). Unrelated, I noticed some dork company makes custom USB inserts for the empty buttons in my car and I'm stupidly excited to integrate them. https://www.ecstuning.com/b-double-apex-parts/dual-port-usb-passthrough/usb01e0~dax/
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May 12, 2018 20:30
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So I am crossposting this from the Lets Import Vehicles from Japan thread to get goon input. I put in a new battery in my 1992 Nissan Skyline GTR because it was having the issue where it took an extra half second to turn over than it should. Doing that somehow killed the circa 1992 aftermarket head unit that came with random J-Pop CD that I was stuck listening on a loop to because I own no other CDs. Now I have to just put my phone speakers at full blast to barely hear it over the engine. I got a quote from a local guy who is going to do the whole thing from scratch for $4,400 This is what the quote was for: Front Speakers - Type-X 6.5" Components Rear Speakers - Type-X 6.5" Coaxials 4Ch Amp - PDR-F50 Mono Amp - PDR-M65 Sub - Type-S 10" in a sealed enclosure Deck - Pioneer 3300NEX fold out deck Alarm - CompuStar w/ Drone and solid remotes $2800 Power wire - large gauge from front to rear, and smaller between a block and the amps. Signal wire - Three sets of high quality RCA's MDF - Material for the adapter panels Sound mat. - Vibration and Transmission materials Misc. - All the little things. $300-$400 4.5 hr - Deck w/ Bluetooth + Back-up Cam 3 hr - Front Components Installation w/ mild noise control application 1 hr - Rear Coax Installation w/ light noise control app. 3 hr - Dual Amp Installation on existing structure 2.5 hr - Alarm/Keyless Installation (assuming no actuator addition needed) 1 hr - Making and installing adapters from 4x6 to 6.5 in front doors. 15hr - Top end total in this format of install. ($1200) Does this seem really off or is it a reasonable rate and cost? I told him I wanted a 7-8 out of 10 in quality and nothing too bass'y.
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May 18, 2018 20:13
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Wasabi the J posted:How does it sound? bawfuls fucked around with this message at 20:24 on May 18, 2018 |
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May 18, 2018 20:21
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