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I would like to put a great stereo in my car, but I'm having issues finding things that are of high quality that also fit. I would like to get some component separates, but unfortunately I only have 4" openings in the dash. I would like to steer clear of trying to fab up a mounting solutions for larger speakers in the front doors, but I have absolutely no issues with hacking apart the rear shelf things behind the rear seats (gently caress rear passengers, I'd never see my shoddy craftsmanship back there). I'd like to stay with a component set because I've liked every set I've installed in previous cars, but they all had bigger openings of lovely interiors that I didn't care about ruining further with my hack-jobs. Question 1: Would it sound terrible to use a three-way component set, with the tweeter and midrange in/near the stock location in the front and the woofer in the back? As stated previously, gently caress rear passengers, I don't care if all they can hear is bass. The car in question is a 1990 Audi 90 sedan, which has a rather small cabin, its not like I'd be putting the bass drivers 10 feet away, its maybe 5 feet at most from the midrange and tweeter. I was looking at this set http://www.amazon.com/Focal-Access-...=I3AIAM3QIO1OH8 Powered by http://www.amazon.com/MB-Quart-ONX4...=I1EYL967DSUPRB and a decent head unit, probably a sub later on I'd like to not have to hack up anything in the front, but it is slim pickins for a component set with a 4" midrange. Advantage to just manning up and making some door pod things for a 6.5" or 5.25" component set in the front is then I can put some coaxials in the back or maybe be extra ambitious and put an 8" or 10" sub in the rear deck thing (probably won't happen) Question 2: Is there a decent head unit (1DIN) that has iPod connectivity via USB that lets the iPod be itself? All the ones I've seen have their own obnoxious menus and controls that put the iPod into a kind of "slave-mode", I want to be able to charge the thing via USB while still letting it control itself
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Jan 8, 2013 02:29
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 01:35 |
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So I'm trying to piece together a stereo for my new (to me) car and I would like some input. I've got everything picked out, just want to know if any of these things are total crap or certain components are a massive waste of money or some suggestions for other directions to go in. CORRECT LINK COUPLE POSTS DOWN Doesn't show on the list, but X2 for the component set for front&rear Reasoning for stuff: Infinity components because I had some before and I liked the sound. Had some MB Quart components many years ago I loved loved loved, but bought some MBQ stuff for my last car a year or so ago and they were total crap so that's out. JBL amps for the same reason. Has a couple in previous cars, and they all worked very well. Double DIN stereo because this car has a huge opening and I think it looks dumb to have a tiny stereo surrounded by nothing or cubbyholes or whatever. Went Pioneer because I've had bad times with Sony and Kenwood before, never really liked the lower end Alpine stuff. All my tools are in storage also I'm lazy so I won't be building my own box for the sub Has to be through Amazon because I've got a boatload of giftcards All that stuff totals to right under $1100 which is pretty much my upper limit Car is an Audi C5 A6 sedan if it matters Also, is it worth it to figure out the steering wheel controls? I don't really use them (channel up and down, and phone button that does nothing, and volume up and down) so I won't mind if that goes away with the non-stock stereo, but would I hate myself down the road when I try to sell this thing? I guess I'm putting way too much thought into this because this is the first time I'm really doing the whole stereo at once, and this is the nicest car I've had. intheflesh fucked around with this message at 14:12 on Feb 4, 2014 |
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Feb 3, 2014 21:40
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Molten Llama posted:That link goes to the current user's wishlist (i.e. the wishlist of whoever clicks it). Either copy and paste the items here, or grab the list's URL from the "Share" link at the top right. Whoops, here you go http://amzn.com/w/1TW7XIFIJI3ZM
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Feb 3, 2014 23:40
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Panty Saluter posted:funny, that's the opposite of the normal Bose problem The majority of the Infinity range comes in 2 ohm impedance. I like super crisp highs so I love them, but I know some people are more sensitive to 'shrill' highs and don't like them as much so make sure you spend some time in a Best Buy or whatever actually listening to them before you commit. I know it's very much apples to oranges, but when I replaced the front speakers in my Audi (2000 A6 with the mid-range stereo, there was the base, partial Bose, and full Bose available), I didn't really get that much of a benefit. It took a long time to really dial in the settings, and they could have probably improved more had I spent more than a couple weeks fiddling with it. I ended up gutting the rest of the stock stereo and going Pioneer HU, Rockford Fosgate Amp, and Infinity speakers. Left the stock rears because I don't really ever have a full car and gently caress em they can have lower quality sound. Bose systems seem to be tuned to replacing either the HU or amp or speakers doesn't really do THAT much because Bose is a package deal. It looks like that year Maxima isn't that hard to replace a Head Unit on, so maybe replace the speakers now and go full system somewhere down the line if you wanted to go ala carte with the stereo or if the rest of the stock stereo doesn't jive too well with the upgraded speakers.
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May 30, 2015 16:06
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um excuse me posted:
I've heard nothing but great things about JL audio, but my personal preference is Rockford for amps. I've had the P600X4 for a little over two years now; front two channels powering some 6.5" Infinity Kappa components and the rear channels bridged to a Rockford Fosgate p2s2 15" sub, all 4 channels at 2 OHM; and it has been nothing but solid. I listen fairly loud nearly every day, typically for 20ish minutes in the morning and up to 90 minutes in afternoon traffic. Only once have I hit the "thermal warning" during a longer road trip where it got noticeably quieter for about 10 minutes, then came back. Rockford Fosgate also tends to under-rate their amps: for example, that amp is 600 watts rated, but mine came with the "birth sheet' (if it is to be believed as something more than just a marketing gimmick) stating it is at 864 watts RMS at 1%THD. If you stalk Amazon for a while, you will probably find a good deal on that amp. I paid about 265 for it, I think I've seen it as low as 230 and as high as 280, so just keep an eye out. The Prime series of Rockford Fosgate amps is a fairly large step down from the Punch series if what I've heard from people both in person and on the interwebs. The Prime series also seems to have fantastically high power numbers for the price point, at least on their sub amps, so I'm thinking they are going after the idiot teenager crowd who buy stuff based mainly on the bigger number=better principle. I'm on my 4th Rockford Amp, I think 10th overall, and I'll likely not go back unless the quality drops. I've had JBL, Rockford Fosgate, Kenwood, Sony, and MB Quart amps, and the Rockford are by far the best and more reliable. MB Quart apparently used to be amazing, but started sucking after some Chinese investment company bought them.
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Apr 7, 2016 17:18
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MonkeyFit posted:I'm just looking for ~better sound at an affordable price~ What's your definition of an affordable price? Cheap-ish option Just over $300 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BF6HYBG/ref=dp_cerb_2 Rockfrord Fosgate 4 Channel Amp 300Watts RMS https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007SNMQDQ/?coliid=I1IFBPIQAM14VS&colid=GD55CETFVH4O&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it Component Speakers for the Fronts https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-REF...T3285N8BHZ&th=1 6X9" for the rear More expensive Same brands but the next product line up $530 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BF6HZ6K/ref=psdc_2230642011_t4_B00BF6HYBG?th=1 Fosgate 4Channel 400 Watts RMS https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DH2XYSI/ref=psdc_2230642011_t3_B007SNMQDQ Infinity Components https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FPU50NW/ref=psdc_2230642011_t3_B007SNMQDQ?th=1 6X9s You could likely just replace your speakers, but you have to make sure that your car doesn't have any funky proprietary amps/speaker setups. If you can, go to a car stereo shop (not best buy/big box store) and give a listen to a couple different brands. Most speaker brands have a bit of a 'signature sound' and whatever somebody says is a good brand on the internet may not sound good to you.
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Jan 16, 2019 18:14
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MonkeyFit posted:Thanks for the advice. Both of those options are in the price range I've been looking at in my preliminary window shopping. These are all good mainstream brands. The car stereo world is much like the home audio universe, where there is crap, entry level, good stuff, then hundreds of super high end brands that are impossible to keep track of. For the speakers, try before you buy if possible. For speakers: Polk Infinity Focal Alpine For amps: Rockford Fosgate JBL Alpine JL Audio Kenwood
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Jan 17, 2019 05:48
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What's the general consensus on a decent mid-high range headunit these days??I've had a bunch of awesome stereos in all my cars but it has been about 12 years since I've build a system because I lost my automotive ADD and everything I've owned has been "good enough", aka has bluetooth and decent enough sound quality. I fully understand that I am generalizing and perhaps mis-remembering. Back in the day, Pioneer was the way to go, or you could get an Alpine unit if you hated money. Kenwood and Sony were alright, and everything else was pretty much either crap or very unit dependent. Kenwood units had some strange EQ they would overlay on their mid range units, and you had to step up to Excelion stuff to get decent quality. JVC had annoying loudness controls that either overly boosted bass or too quiet unless you cranked it. I've always liked the feature set and price point of the mid-range Pioneer stuff, but they do not sell a double din unit that has a drat volume knob. Lack of volume knob was probably my number 1 gripe about my last stereo I had in my A6 for like 10 years. It seems like the main manufacturers pared down their offerings to like 4 things each, and there is a tsunami of no name units that look like they fit the bill but I have no way of actually comparing the relative quality of these hundreds of near identical units help me look plz What I would love: Good sound quality above all else Single DIN with a display that isn't a crappy looking 8-segment LCD OR double DIN WITH A VOLUME KNOB (oldmanyellsatcloud.png) I don't really care about Apple Carplay/Android Auto 2 or 3 channel RCA output less than $400 Aside from the head unit, I'll be having: Infinity Kappa components (havent decided on two way to three way yet) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075ZG8BFT/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_1?smid=A32QR6D7S73KI&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076T2SVHQ/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_2?smid=A1M2AR6046TFJG&psc=1 Rockford Fosgate Amp(s?) Either a two channel and a mono for sub or a four channel with rear channels bridged, depends on how dumb I want to get https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BF6I0RS/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_3?smid=A3L9U1CL0L7Y4P&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BF6HZ7E/ref=emc_b_5_t A 12" Rockford Fosgate Sub (maybe two 10s? Probably just a 12) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UFHXOM/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_5?smid=AQH2A184LSYJ8&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085Z9BGGT/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_6?smid=A1FGJTEMQOV9RC&th=1 Pretty set on the speaker setup, as Infinity has always been my preferred 'signature sound' for automotive equipment. All of this is going into an 01 Sierra Extended cab
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Jun 23, 2022 01:55
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Lowclock posted:Taramps Smart 3 Bass but I'm an idiot. I completely refuse to believe that a $299 on amazon amp that claims it produces 3000 watts RMS is capable of doing so for any extended period of time or at a reasonable THD
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Jun 23, 2022 22:57
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SMD is the real OG I remember back when I was starting to care about stereos and he was building his Civic sedan with two 18s which was just absurd. I think that was on the RF forums lol I've watched a few reviews and amp dyno tests, and I guess taramps are legit. Maybe I'm just old, but it's hard to not have these kind of amps ring the alarm bells of teenagers with computers in the early 2000s overclocking the poo poo out of computers. Sure you hit 4ghz on mom's celeron, but can it play a game for more than 10 minutes? Like yeah this will do 3000 watts, but will it do that at low thd the entire 8 hour drive? I guess I'm just really wary of wandering into the realm of instagram 'stars' who build 10cuft plywood boxes in their tahoes and throw 10k watts at it to have the highest SPL number that week, only to blow up half their setup Maybe I am too old Looks like Nothing double din has a volume knob in Alpine's current lineup, maybe I'll troll craigslist
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Jun 24, 2022 03:31
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 01:35 |
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Well thanks for reminding me that BIG D exists. Love his content, but I had only ever seen him in the context of old skool stuff. I guess it is still just shocking to me how far the low end of the market has come in the past twenty years. In high school there was a pretty solid stereo scene, and there were two camps: the guys who subscribed to "buy once cry once", some with daddy's money some with their own; and the guys who would plow through 5 amps and 8 woofers every semester because they bought the low end stuff and it would die very quickly and never meet any advertised claims. Perhaps the overlap between people who: 1) buy the cheapest stuff and 2) won't buy the proper install gear in terms of wire gauge (we had a guy who used CAT5 for everything including tripling it up for power cable because that's the box of cable his dad had in the garage) and 3) never properly set gains and levels and just crank it and send it is pretty large. Aside from the WICKED SICK MONSTER ENERGY 110% ERXTREME branding, I'm feeling pretty good about Skar amps. What am I missing here, would this be stupid to run the front channels then have the rears bridged to a 12"? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FXSU756/ref=ox_sc_act_title_12?smid=A2JVCW1GQY516A&psc=1 Should I be wary of anything that claims OEN THOUS AND WATTS in the same context that one be wary of anything or anyone claiming FHAVE HUNNERT HERSEPWOWERS? intheflesh fucked around with this message at 16:07 on Jun 28, 2022 |
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Jun 28, 2022 15:59
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