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Uthor posted: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. Grumble grumble. I did a bunch of research on the 730, but Crutchfield didn't have it in stock, so I bought the 740. I got it today and see that they removed the dual USB ports between the two versions.
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May 23, 2018 22:50
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 19:55 |
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If I high pass my mid and tweeters up higher, like 100hz, with I get more headroom from them before distortion ? I don't know what their power handling is, but they're OEM components bi-amped with an aftermarket amp.
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Jun 3, 2018 19:49
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jonathan posted:If I high pass my mid and tweeters up higher, like 100hz, with I get more headroom from them before distortion ? Yes because they're doing less work. Low frequencies require a driver to work harder to produce them. When you add bass eq to a driver that can't produce it as a fundamental, you run out of xmax far quicker and it sounds like trash.
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Jun 3, 2018 20:57
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Thanks. I knew in theory it would offer more headroom but that's not always the case in real life. This kicker key180.4 is kind of odd. I think it's actually 2 seperate amps in one package. Which means the power not used running the tweeters on 2 of the channels won't be available for the other 2 channels running the component 6x9's. I'll likely run out of xmax before wattage anyways with the OEM speakers.
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Jun 4, 2018 07:44
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edit: none of what I posted really applies to that amp (just found the manual for it), so nevermind. Pretty neat amp. And the manual confirms it's 2 separate amps in one housing, as you suspect. randomidiot fucked around with this message at 07:54 on Jun 4, 2018 |
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Jun 4, 2018 07:46
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After too much trouble, I finally got a JVC KW-M730BT. It includes a GPS antenna in the box, but, as far as I can tell, does not have a GPS/maps function. Is this necessary for Android Auto or Car Play? I would assume the phone would just supply the GPS. (I just don't want to route and mount an antenna if I don't need to.)
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Jun 6, 2018 12:00
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I just bought and installed the Sony AXV-AX100, and it was way easier than expected. I did end up paying for Crutchfield's harness making service for my 2008 Impala so I didn't have to muck around with wiring anything, but that's $25 well spent IMO for saving a bunch of frustration and getting it done well. Anyway, just wanted to drop in and say thanks for the thread. I probably wouldn't have attempted it if the OP hadn't made it sound so easy. I also just want to say I'm moderately disappointed that these car-phone solutions are all wired. It was kind of a surprise when I couldn't just wirelessly connect to AA. I would have figured it'd all be wireless by now. But the wireless units seem to have just started hitting the market, at a price point you'd expect for new tech.
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Jun 6, 2018 12:59
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I want to replace the head unit and door speakers in my '95 Nissan hardbody. For speakers I have only a pair of 4" door-mounted, so I was thinking maybe the Kicker 43CSC44. Their frequency response is better on the low end (60 Hz) compared to others that I saw, and since these are my only two speakers I figure that's important. For the head unit I'm looking at a single DIN Bluetooth head unit that will work well with my iPhone SE playing Spotify. Crutchfield has several options from JVC, Pioneer, et al. Are there any brands that work particularly seamlessly with this combination (Spotify over Bluetooth with an iPhone), or do they pretty much all do it well? JVC KD-X350BTS Pioneer MVH-S501BS Any advice before I pull the trigger would be appreciated. This is going to be a huge step up in quality and convenience.
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Jun 6, 2018 15:20
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STR posted:edit: none of what I posted really applies to that amp (just found the manual for it), so nevermind. I just wish they had a 5 channel amp with the same functionality. It would be nice to EQ the entire frequency range.
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Jun 6, 2018 21:49
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Easychair Bootson posted:I want to replace the head unit and door speakers in my '95 Nissan hardbody. Look for the Q-Logic kickpanel replacements - they'll hold a 5.25" or 6.5" speaker, and if you want, they'll also hold a tweeter up to 1". They're a bit hard to find now, and run a hell of a lot more than what I remember. Alternatively, a local car audio shop can probably fab something similar for you, or enlarge the existing door openings.
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Jun 7, 2018 08:11
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I knocked out the very simple installation of the JVC receiver and Kicker 4" speakers mentioned a few posts above, but I think I should have done a bit more digging, similar to what STR mentioned. After removing the door panels in the truck, it appears that the stock cutout is for a 5.25" speaker, and what was in there was a 4" speaker on a mounting plate. I did not measure to be sure, but does that sound right? The original speakers were in surprisingly good condition for a 23 year old truck. And they're name-brand (Clarion), which surprised me. Anyway, the new sound is good but still lacking low end, which isn't too surprising. Moving to a larger door speaker would no doubt help, but I'm looking at adding a powered subwoofer such as the Alpine PWE-S8 to be mounted either under or behind the seat (standard cab Nissan hardbody). Is this a reasonable course of action?
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Jun 12, 2018 14:20
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I mean you're still going to have a hole - typically your crossover will need to filter 4" speakers off around 100hz or higher, and most subs want to be crossed over at about 80hz but you can fudge it if volume isn't desirable I guess. Rule of thumb should always be to get the largest mid bass speaker you can fit in the space, but there's sealing and deadening to do if you actually want to take advantage of it, and you'll probably get it just right the week before you sell your car so ehhhh.
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Jun 12, 2018 15:01
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Do I understand correctly that it's better to filter the 4" speakers at a higher-than-rated frequency so they're not being overworked when the volume is turned up? These 4" Kickers are rated down to 60 Hz... could I filter them at like 70-75 Hz and then the sub at 80 Hz to have a bit of overlap? I realize that I'm somewhat unrealistically wanting a good audio solution while still keeping installation plug-and-play.
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Jun 12, 2018 15:26
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I would be shocked if those 4" woofers played with any authority down to 60hz. Maybe if it was a desktop speaker in a box but there's no way it's doing much that low in a car door. Easy enough to check though in case they're miracle woofers. I'd cross it around 100-120hz like dogington said. The little Alpine sub you posted should work OK up that high—main issue is that once your sub is playing that high you can localize it better. Might not matter so much in car audio though.
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Jun 12, 2018 15:37
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Speaker ratings and what they'll actually do are often hilariously different. You'll get a driver which states it'll do 40hz or less at -10db from the rest of the frequency plot. That -10db might as well be 'off' as it's perceived by your brain as half as loud as anything else the speaker is outputting and low end stuff needs to be louder than everything else as human hearing isn't as sensitive to low frequencies. As for crossover level, what does the sub or headunit actually offer in terms of a curve to do that? There's a whole stack of them and they all do things differently. This is a set of Linkwitz-Riley slopes;  The crossover point is in the centre, sub output on the left, mids/tops on the right. As you can see there's still a stack of audio information making it to the sub and the other speakers either side of it... The perfect speaker would play all frequencies at the same levels and you'd have no need for a crossover, sadly physics is a thing so you have to deal crossovers. Low frequencies are generally agreed to be omnidirectional at 100hz and under, meaning no matter where the sub is you shouldn't be able to locate it directionally using your ears. If this isn't a thing for you then raise the crossover point as little drivers can't do low end as well as a sub designed to do that one specific task.
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Jun 12, 2018 15:49
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powderific posted:I would be shocked if those 4" woofers played with any authority down to 60hz. Maybe if it was a desktop speaker in a box but there's no way it's doing much that low in a car door. Easy enough to check though in case they're miracle woofers. Olympic Mathlete posted:Speaker ratings and what they'll actually do are often hilariously different. You'll get a driver which states it'll do 40hz or less at -10db from the rest of the frequency plot. That -10db might as well be 'off' as it's perceived by your brain as half as loud as anything else the speaker is outputting and low end stuff needs to be louder than everything else as human hearing isn't as sensitive to low frequencies. This is definitely over my head, but I see what you're getting at. Here's what the head unit has to say about available settings. It's probably not ideal, but it should work, yes?  Finally, in terms of wiring up that Alpine, I had this kit in mind. I'm all about ease-of-installation, so please let me know if I'm loving up. Wondering if I should spring for this one instead. This will likely be the final phase of this project, so I don't need any room to grow, but I want to have quality components that will last. Thanks again for putting up with my dumb "I want sound in my truck" posts.
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Jun 12, 2018 16:27
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Easychair Bootson posted:How can you check? By using a low-pass filter and increasing the frequency range until you get sound? I'm sure this is terribly oversimplified. I would just get a free tone generator app for you phone, or even play a youtube video with a tone sweep. Something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqfPx8peqNI It's not amazingly accurate but it'll give you a ballpark idea of where things start to drop off. And your headunit looks to have basically every crossover option a person could want so that part shouldn't be an issue.
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Jun 12, 2018 16:38
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I went ahead and ordered that Alpine powered sub. Thanks for enabling me, goons. 
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Jun 12, 2018 20:28
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Yeah it looks like your head unit has a plethora of options in terms of crossover which is awesome. ...but also means you can spend all day finding what works best!powderific posted:I would just get a free tone generator app for you phone, or even play a youtube video with a tone sweep. Something like this: You can also make your own tones and put them on a USB/CD/whatever. Audacity is free to download on your computer and has a 'generate' option in the tool bar. Click 'tone' and a box pops up. Waveform: Sine Frequency: whatever you waaaaaaaaaaaaaant. Make a few at the various crossover points you've got as options. Amplitude: defaults to 0.8 which is more than enough but I have a habit of using 1. Duration: how long do you want it to be?? Longer is obviously better for playing about with settings and not having to start the track over again. Click OK and soon enough you'll have your own test tone. File, Export Audio either as a wav or mp3 (for mp3 you'll need to install the lame file for it) and there you go. Name it appropriately.
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Jun 13, 2018 10:33
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You will definitely start to hear bass coming from the direction of your sub at 120hz, but it's not necessarily a deal breaker, especially if it's below you. I've also found that different types of music might sound better at different crossover points - this wouldn't be the case if the woofers had perfect overlap down to 60hz, but between phase issues from less than ideal enclosures (aka doors), less than ideal accoustic space (aka your car), it's not a perfect environment, and has the potential to make even the best speakers sound off. Cross those 4"s off at 100hz then move your sub around between 80 and 120hz, and pick which value sounds best for the music you're listening to, at the volume you're going to be listening to it at.
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Jun 13, 2018 14:20
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Easychair Bootson posted:The original speakers were in surprisingly good condition for a 23 year old truck. And they're name-brand (Clarion), which surprised me. Clarion was the OEM for Nissan stereos for a long time (still may be their OEM). The stock stereo in my 99 Altima was also Clarion, with Clarion speakers, and frankly it sounded pretty decent once I got the original speakers out (they were paper, and falling apart). Clarion's primarily involved in marine and OEM stuff now - they haven't updated their (US) retail stuff since 2016ish. I think they're still reasonably well known in Australia, maybe? I'm guessing the 4" speaker in a 5.25" plate was maybe a transition thing during that model year, or maybe something where they'd install 5.25's in a higher optioned model? Nissan's always been a bit funky with their speakers (see: the 4x6 door speakers used in the 1st gen Altima).
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Jun 14, 2018 07:23
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STR posted:Clarion was the OEM for Nissan stereos for a long time (still may be their OEM). The stock stereo in my 99 Altima was also Clarion, with Clarion speakers, and frankly it sounded pretty decent once I got the original speakers out (they were paper, and falling apart). Clarion's primarily involved in marine and OEM stuff now - they haven't updated their (US) retail stuff since 2016ish. I think they're still reasonably well known in Australia, maybe? Yeah Clarion is pretty well respected here. Up there with Alpine and above Pioneer/Sony for speakers at least. They haven't released a head unit out here for a while though, and the entry level ones were a bit cheap and nasty. Also I had those 4x6 loving holes in my S13 and goddamn them to hell. Also if you have a hole that fits a 5.25" driver, you can potentially use an MDF adaptor to get a 6" or even 6.5" mounted in there, if you have clearance behind the door cards. That's a LOT more cone area, if you ever decide you want some more midbass.
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Jun 14, 2018 14:18
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Yeah apparently a 6.5” can fit with no mods other than new mounting holes and perhaps a small spacer. I know I said a day or to ago that I’m done with this project after the sub, but...
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Jun 14, 2018 18:51
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YOU'RE NEVER DONE. YOU'RE NEVER DONE WITH THE PROJECT.
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Jun 15, 2018 15:00
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I initially picked up a 4 AWG amp wiring kit but after doing some research that seems like major overkill for a single 120 watt amp/sub combo. I decided to go with a 10 AWG kit with OFC wire instead. I received that Alpine PWE-S8 and the form factor should work great. I'm going to be mounting it behind the passenger seat where this guy has his amp mounted:  Since I'll be mounting it to bare metal, do I want any kind of sound damping between the amp and the metal to reduce vibration? Or is this not important?
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Jun 18, 2018 02:06
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So I used forscan software to select variable line out from my stock headunit, and flatten the EQ. I then used a Parrott Bluetooth harness and spliced into it, ran from the harness to the amp, then from the amp back into the harness to the stock speaker wires. As mentioned earlier, the amp is the new Kicker key180.4 So I set it all up, the. Ran the auto EQ and time alignment. The factory EQ was kinda lovely and muddy. The microphone calibrated EQ and time alignment is much better. I use Prison Sex as my go to demo song, paying attention to the high hat work, and the bass guitar string sounds and decay. Everything sounded tight, accurate and detailed. So for an easy install and a dumby proof calibration, I'd say the new key180.4 is a good buy. It's small enough to fit behind the headunit of my 2018 F150 with 8" touch screen, doesn't cut out when the auto engine start/stop does it's thing. However I wasn't able to get a clean install behind the headunit. Everything has to get jammed in there and I don't like it. So I'm going to pull it out and extend the harness and power to the back of the cab and build a small amp board. I'll also install the kicker sx1250.1 amp at the same time and then start drawing up a subwoofer enclosure.
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Jun 18, 2018 05:39
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Just wanted to say that I installed some Sound Rings on my door speakers and it blew me away how much of a difference it made. the factory speakers did have some minimal foam ring around them which I lost when upgrading the speakers, and even though the door cards speaker grill has a plastic tube that gets reasonably close to the speaker, the foam rings + the damping pad behind them made a huge difference. I was actually considering going back to the cheap rear end paper cone OEM speakers because they actually had more bass feel to them, but now my after market speakers sound measurably better. money well spent. EDIT: to the guy putting a sub beneath the seat, thats what I did. its under the drivers seat and there is a difference in bass tone depending on if you are driver/passenger, primarily because you feel the bass a lot more in the drivers seat. it sounds a bit boomy to passengers but my GF doesnt give a gently caress and I rarely ride shotgun in my own car, so I can deal with it. I got a Cerwin Vega CPS210 I think its called, as it fit perfectly under the seat without encroaching on foot space for rear passengers. its not as good as my boxed 12" in my old car, but it is drat good enough considering I lost zero usable space. Laserface fucked around with this message at 07:21 on Jun 18, 2018 |
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Jun 18, 2018 07:17
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I'm trying to search google for sound rings but only get results for wedding bands and Saturn. Is it a product or a DIY thing ?
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Jun 19, 2018 06:11
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Guessing it's something like this. Or maybe this. I've used the latter before, they did help a bit.
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Jun 19, 2018 06:41
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STR posted:Guessing it's something like this. The first one. I used a different brand that was available locally, although a different material and pre cut to about 1" tall.
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Jun 19, 2018 10:04
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Just buy a roll of closed cell foam tape. it'll run you like $10 max. I use it for mounting drivers in speaker cabinets to seal any possible air gaps and it's good poo poo.
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Jun 19, 2018 10:30
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While I'm waiting for the amp wiring to arrive I figured I'd get some prep work done and test fit the sub. It fits nicely in a spot under the driver's seat, but I need to check for vertical clearance with the seat installed. Even if it does technically fit under the seat, I'm wondering if behind the seats on the rear firewall is a better location. No clearance issues and more accessible. Are there any inherent acoustic benefits for one versus the other? I did go ahead and order some sound deadening material and also some fabric Tesa tape to help control vibrations of wires/harnesses and mounting clips. The scope of the project continues to grow.
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Jun 19, 2018 16:40
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Sub frequencies are omnidirectional so at least as far as placement goes for locating a sub with your ears that doesn't matter. Considering it's going in a sealed metal box you're going to get a nice wedge of cabin gain too (this is why you can put a bunch of subs in a car and have them hit high SPL). Cars are also too small to really suffer from nulls, the wavelengths coming through are just too long for it to matter. Howeverrrrrrr I'd always wire it up and play with placement first if you've got a choice in it. You may prefer it in one position over another.
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Jun 19, 2018 16:52
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Polk DB 652 6.5" speakers and some speaker gasket tape have been ordered for Friday delivery
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Jun 19, 2018 21:11
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Polk is drat good for the money, and I swear by them. IIRC the DB is a small step below DXi, which is what I have. But the DXi (non-subs anyway) are now marketed at marine applications anyway. AFAIK the only difference is the tweeter. I have DXi651 coaxials up front, stock (and turned way the hell down) in the back, and I have a DXI 124 sub (12", 4 ohm single voice coil) in a ported box with a lovely Crunch amp waiting to go back in. The sub is ancient; it was a $30 Best Buy open box almost a decade ago.
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Jun 20, 2018 07:57
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Yeah, I'm excited about those Polks. More woofer, better tweeter, higher sensitivity, and shallow mounting depth. The weather resistance is a nice benefit, too. Last night I did more test fitting of the sub+amp and the bench seat does not clear it, so it's going to need to go behind the seats. My issue is that the rear firewall has a lot of contours, and I need to find a mounting location where all of the screws for the brackets can get into the sheet metal. I want to mount it horizontally for ease of wiring and access to the controls, so I'm looking at this for a location:  I'm doing my best to get the brackets (the four ears on the cardboard) to line up with those humps in the firewall, but even then the brackets aren't completely flush with the metal. Should I use some standoffs between the bracket and firewall to account for the differences? Or mount it to a piece of MDF and mount that to the firewall?
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Jun 20, 2018 14:34
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If you've got room for MDF that seems like a good move since it might help with any vibration issues too. edit: I don't know anything though this is total conjecture.
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Jun 20, 2018 16:40
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Just bought 20' of 0 guage. What's some decent shallow mount 10 or 12" drivers that'll do 1 ohm total ?
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Jun 21, 2018 00:58
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edit: wrong thread
Zero VGS fucked around with this message at 00:24 on Jun 22, 2018 |
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Jun 21, 2018 04:43
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A) probably wrong thread but B) why so high?
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Jun 21, 2018 04:53
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