[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Car Audio gurus (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 8/25/2006 7:14:00 PM EDT
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I'm considering a new CD Player for my truck. I want to upgrade to a Sony MEX 1GP. Anyone have any advice, experience, or other radios I should consider. I don't have an IPOD and don't plan on getting one, so I'm not interested in any radios that have the IPOD ports. I really like that it has 1 GB of memory in the faceplate. www.crutchfield.com/S-1ap7tlO2eBb/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=300&I=158MEX1GP TIA |
I don't know of any other company that is making one. I've had e a Sony Xplod MP30 in my truck for about 4 years and love it. The only complaints are that there is a 2-3 second pause while shuffling songs on MP3 CDs, and the name of the song only scrolls once at the beginning of the song. Other than that, it works as perfectly as when I first bought it. |
Cool, that doesn't sound bad, the last sony car product I had was an older deck, maybe I'll look into them again... |
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If the ability to store MP3's IN the radio is important to you, the one you're looking at is at. While a few people such as yourself find it ideal, the vast majority will find it to be a useless feature (due to the low cost and ready availability of iPods and other portable players). Most manufacturers generally just enable the use of MP3 discs in the CD player and Some decks (like higher end Alpine units) will even play MP3 DVD's. As for brand, from my 10 years in car audio, I generally advise folks to stay away from Sony's mobile electronics. They have a tendancy to be finicky (and easy to damage if not installed properly) and have shorter useful lives compared to similarly priced units. To get the most bang for your buck I would suggest Alpine which is only marginally more expensive than other brands, but SIGNIFICANTLY higher quality and definately mor reliable (i've seen Alpine decks over 15 years old still running like champs). Other brands that are uniformly safe purchases are Pioneer and Kenwood. The ones to avoid are JVC (cd mech fails FAST), Aiwa (whole unit poops in about a month), Jensen (complete trash), Dual (jensen's retarded little cousin), and any brand sold in a store that also sells lettuce (I,E Rampage, Soundforce, or any other generic crap). Hope that helps ya. Remember.... You get what you pay for!!! |
| Alpine, nothing but. Some may consider me a kool-aid drinker but I try to always buy the best quality I can afford, and Alpine always comes number one in fit, quality, features, looks and overall satisfaction in everything except componet speakers. I highly recommend the CDA-9847, having had one in my car old car and putting one in my girlfriends car, both units have performed flawlessly. I've since upgraded to a slightly more high end version (the number escapes me), but they load Mp3s quickly, have never skipped, are extremely customizable and very easy to add amps, subs, componets, whatever you want. Plus, several of my friends have had trouble with Sony audio equipment, and I hate that little bell noise they make when you cut the car off. But, like the above poster said, if the 1GB memory is important, go with it, as I don't know of any other manufactures with that option. |
I was an alpine fan until i got into high end competition stuff. My alpine deck would skip whenever my bass hit, switched to pioneer, never had another skip. I'm 100% behind pioneer, until I find something better 
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I assume you're doing SPL and not SQ? An Alpine should have MUCH (i mean WAY much) more skip protection than any Pioneer product.... you might have had some other issues at play. I would ditch the Pio and go with something with higher voltage preouts like a Clarion, Alpine or Eclipse. But only CERTAIN models from each. Not all models are created the same  . When I was doing SPL i used a Clarion DRX9575rZ and that thing would not skip E-V-E-R. Period. I hit a deer carcass on the freeway and the car got about a foot of air and CD didn't skip!! And a setup that blew a windshield out and actually gave me a nosebleed once, no skip. Can't beat that!! Pio's are reliable but not really great for competition setups (SPL or SQ).
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My setup was designed primarily with SPL with a SQ secondary, it would get loud, but could easily be configured to give awesome clean sound as well. Here's a basic list: Pioneer DE-HP8000 head 2 PPI 2350 amps 4 1 farad caps (various manufacturers) 6 JL Audio 12w3 (originals, not the v2's they have now) JL mids and highs, little amp pushing them 2 Optima yellow top batteries This was a long time ago, as far as sound technology goes anyways, I built that system in 1999, truck went away in 2001.
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if they want help, they'll ask. My store. |
I had an Eclipse deck stolen in '98 or '99. I had the ESN activated and the deck was registered. I got a police report, sent it to Eclipse and they overnighted a new deck to me... kudos to them. Then about 3 weeks later my truck was broken into again in a place 50 miles from the first one, didn't take the deck as the alarm must have scared them off. Ya that ESN shit really works  
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Here's my store: Mainstreet Audio/Video Website blows (owner is a cheapass and ironically, a technophobe )Here's a few of our recent installs:  4,344 watts. We threw this together to be a demo car at a car show we were repping at.  One of our customers who wanted something "quick and cheap" the next two are my old daily driver. Notice the PS2 in the glove box  
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I worked as a Sales Engineer for Sony for about 3 years... and WAY back in the day, I worked for a shop in Arlington, TX that built to Sound-off national champs. I have, actually, gone a bit of a different route than this Sony.... because I looked at it. What I did, was get a Kenword with the “system-E" crossover because it is ingenious. I have a powered subwoofer that I bought at a pawn-shop for $75, and added a pair of $25 tweeters from parts express. I used the existing 4 factory speakers and power those, in addition to the 2 tweeters by the Kenwood which offers something REALLY amazing, and that is an internal high-pass crossover which allows the Kenwood’s internal amp to drive the factory speakers louder than you may imagine possible (because they aren’t trying to produce any bass). Then, the powered sub fills in…. adding reality and depth to the music. I can FEEL the music now. And, since the Kenwood was under $200, I have money left over to buy an iPod shuffle that I use at the gym, offering more flexibility to the Sony solution. I challenge anyone interested in Austin to bring their iPod with a good bit-rate quality rip and I’ll make them a believer… I promise. Here is the radio I used: www.crutchfield.com/S-jPPLHQA8epd/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=system+e&i=113MP5032 And, considering an iPod shuffle is less than $100 now, you should buy this over the Sony! What really blows peoples minds is that my ENTIRE car stereo system costs less than $400, installed, and some of my friends have spent near $2000. |
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+1 to that Eclipse, Clarion Pro, and Alpine are all good stuff, depending on what your needs are. If you just want to a modest system, and drive a pair of factory, or maybe upgraded speakers... look no further than the kenwood. The sad part is, none of he car stereo shops that I went to knew about this feature, I guess that Kenwood has done a poor job training thier salespeople, I knew the old marketing guys back in the day, and they told me it was comming otherwise I would not have known. |
I agree, I hate Sony. If this was Alpine or Clarion i would say get it. Sony has always sucked for me. |
What feature would this be? |
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Also considering a CD unit for my 95 Chev 1500 pickup. Alpine CDE 9852 What's a fair price for installation and parts for installation? I think the unit's fair price would be around (Crutchfield tax and shipping incl) $179 I was figuring around $80 for install, including parts, and no, I don't want to do it myself, even though I have done mediocre jobs of it in the past. |
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Since everyone else is whoring out their shops, I might as well GO Autosound We have been too busy to devote time to the website. |
Hint: I'm too busy to devote time to my car stereo. That's why I pay people to make it cool for me.
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The system-E cross-over, it allows you to drive the shit out of your mids/highs from the CD reciever itself becuase no bass (which requires about 90% of the power) is being sent to them. No other manufacturer does this, as I am aware of. |
It looks to be nothing more than an internal high-pass/low-pass filter. Nearly EVERY deck over $150 has them. But it's a more-or-less useless feature, because the x-overs on the amp are generally going to do a better job. the ONLY time you would ever want to use a head units built in x-over is if you're not using amplifiers and wan't to cut some of the bass frequencies away from your door speakers to prvent them from distorting (in which case you should just CHANGE the speakers to something with a more respectable frequency range). |
I don’t know if most CD players have the internal x-over for the internal amplifier or not? My Kenwood can drive the factory mids/highs (and additional silk-dome tweeters) INCREDIBLY loud, because as you point out… they aren’t trying to produce any bass. It’s really a great feature because the smaller amplifer, when high-pass filtered to 120hz for the front, and 180hz for the rear works great. Also, it has a 4 band parametric EQ and a non-fading low-level outputs which have selectable low-pass x-over freqs and phase control. (Show me another CD receiver that does this?) I challenge anyone in Austin to take a listen too my set-up, and form their own opinion considering I spent exactly $487.96 including head-unit, installation parts, powered subwoofer, and upgraded tweeters from parts express.
I agree, howevever Nak is not what it used to be. I had their older CD760 back in the day when I was a pro-installer, competing with it. I liked Clarion however the shop I worked for was an Eclipse dealer, and the big rival was a Clarion dealer. The good thing was, that they pimped out Alpine more than Clarion pro, which was a good thing, because we also sold Alpine. I think Eclipse had some of the nicest sounding separates, back in the day also… to bad they were never fully marked, or appreciated. I had them custom make a 3-way set for a pro-class SHO and in 5 sound-offs, we took a 1st, 2 seconds, a 4rth place, and something else, think it was best of show, not sure I remember correctly. |
Considering how much time most people spend in their cars, and the fact that most people have a love for music, it's not that surprising how many people WOULD be into it, if they heard a nice set-up. Speaking of, the new BMW logic-7 system is not too shabby for a factory ride, I was blown away. |
Oh, I know. I just figured most AR15'ers were like totally dense and wouldnt have a clue about stereo systems.  I miss my stereo.  
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You can install it your self. Just get the dash mount kit, the wiring adapters for the factory harness. Also an antenna adapter. Take the Dash trim piece off. Then your... NM just saw that you don't want to do it. Do you guys have anyplace that does $1 dollar installs? Ebay has the decks for around $150.00 shipped. |
Any Pioneer above the base model, same for Kenwood, all Alpines, etc, etc, etc,,, Built in E.Q.s (at least 3 band) are pretty much a standard feature these days. |
So your deck was stolen, you get a new one for free and then you bitch??
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Older Naks are some badass shit for sure. I also agree, not what they used to be. Damn shame too. I'd like to try one of those Denon decks, but damn they cost a pretty penny..... |
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Frankly I'm surprised that this many Arfcomr's are into car audio. My setup for now: Kenwood MP3332 Deck Kenwood Graphical EQ with 3 sets of outputs (Forgot the model number) CDT Audio CL-61A 6.5" Components (Front) CDT Audio 6x9 Mids for rear fill 2 JL 12W0's soon to be replaced with 2 AA Assasin 12"s sealed Directed 600D mono amp (For now) I'm sounddeading the hell out of the car and I need to find a decent 4 channel amp suggestions? Jason |
You are not understanding my point... unless I'm completely off base here. What the Kenwood does, is cut all low-bass frequenceies from the INTERNAL CD reciever. My kenwood drives the factory mids and upgraded highs harder than most shitty little 4x amps do, and it cost $187. |
Your best bet is to compare the specs on several different head units in your price range. Crutchfield is good for this (you already know  ), as they have easy to read charts, that do all the work for you. I have a Kenwood Excelon unit that's damn near ten years old. It has been the foundation for several different systems over the years. Clarion Pro is also good, but very pricey. For the money, you can't beat the Excelon. My current system consists of: Kenwood Excelon KDC PS-907 head unit Precision Power FRX-322 crossover Precision Power 5075dx amp with built-in digital crossover Rockford Fosgate Punch 200dsm amp 4 MB Quart 5 1/4" mids 4 Infinity Kappa Emit N ribbon tweeters 1 Infinity Kappa Perfect 12" sub in a sealed box I've been designing and installing car audio systems for almost 15 years, and I've never sacrificed quality just to have the "newest and greatest" gadgets. |
Plus 1 on the Cerwin Vegas... |
So what you are saying is only the mids and highs are going to the speakers that are wired directly to the DECK. Then only the lows are going to the AMP that is running the subs? |
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I understand your point, and yes, that's what I'm saying. Most decks have 3 band EQ's (and just about ALL of them have the "one-touch" EQ's i.e. Pop, Rock, Jazz, Flat, etc...) that affect the internal amp only. Most mid-level and higher decks will have adjustable SUBWOOFER x-overs on the non-fading pre-outs. Since you're running a subwoofer it's not that big of a deal, but in my opinion using x-overs to enable more volume out of small drivers is merely a band-aid fix in comparison to an ACTUAL remedy such as using drivers capable of a wider frequency range. Basically what I'm saying is that x-overs should be used for fine-tuning the cumulative frequency response of the complete system and not for achieving higher listening levels. Naturally, as in all things electronic, it's just a case of "how much are you willing to spend to achieve the desired result?". |
It IS surprising who you find on ARFCOM! We have actual Nuclear-Physicists, Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers, NASA employees, etc... i remember a thread some time ago where the person asked what kind of degrees peeps had and there were ALOT of big money career folks present. I, myself, am working on a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering. I've been doing electronics repairs and installations for 10 years now and just took on an instructional position at the local High School's Electronics program. Edited for spelling....I'm tired. |
Yup, and on top of that you can adjust the center Q frequencies as well, not too mention adjust the low pass filter, and db/octave slope, phase, and pre-amp voltage, all for under $200. I can drive my factory speakers louder than you would believe. The added tweeters and hand-made x-over’s give it imaging and staging, and the pawn-shop powered sub give it the bottom end *umph*. |
You still don’t get it... the Kenwood 'System E' x-over system is the only one of its kind that I know of. It turns the CD receiver into a high-pass only 4 channel amplifier. Forget x-over for the external pre-amp outs, I'm talking about internally for the amplifier. This is my point entirely... Kenwood has FAILED MISERABLY in marketing this. I make believers out of my car stereo on a monthly basis, most just can't comprehend that you can have a high-quality system for $500 bucks. |
Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.
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Ok...ONE MORE TIME. Re-read the part I highlighted in RED. ALL, I repeat ALL newer decks have the adjustable EQ for the INTERNAL AMP!!!!!!!!!! Most won't have the adjustable Q like yours does (that is a nice feature!), but they will have at least 3 bands FOR THE INTERNAL AMP. The x-over for the SUB PRE-OUT is a SEPERATE feature. |
You STILL don’t get it do you? You think I'm talking about an EQ; when in fact I’m talking about being able to adequately drive your mids and highs from the deck alone, and then only needing a powered subwoofer. BECAUSE THE INTERNAL AMPLIFIER INSIDE THE CD RECEIEVER ONLY PLAYS SELECTABLE 100/120/180HZ AND HIGHER WHEN THE SYSTEM-E CROSS OVER IS TURNED ON!!! It is a very nice, albeit unusual; feature that if most people actually heard they would be surprised by. And, only Kenwood does this that I am aware of. I leave my challenge open for anyone who has doubts to listen to mine. I have shocked many who can’t believe that I’m not using an amplifier to drive my mids and highs, yet powering them from the head unit alone. Apparently, I lack the communication skills necessary to relay this information too you - apologies. I put the blame, ultimately, on Kenwood as they have done such a poor job educating people about this feature. |
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Thanks guys for all the input. Feel free to Hijack away! I'm learning a bit from all of the posts and I really miss having a nice setup in my car. I used to have a decent set up with 4 10" Cerwin Vegas, but that was about 10 years ago and I lost everything in a car wreck. I'm been thinking about getting something set up in my Dodge truck and this thread is giving me ideas. ETA: I'm going to hold off on the Sony for now and look around a bit further. |
Give me the make/model of your truck, the type of music that you listen too, and your budget and I'll wager a steak dinner against anyone here that I can design a better system for less money. I think the thing to do, is to have everyone interested in 'participating' IM you w/thier email addresses, and you replying w/those details. Then take your results to all the car audio shops in your area and let them tell you which they agree is the best for the money. Too participate, pay an entry fee equivalent to the steak dinner, divided by the # of participants. Let’s say 10 ARFCOM’rs want to play along... and my average night out to steak house costs $175, then each who wants to enter a system will wager $17.50. Forget about who can come up with the most elaborate ‘bling’ system, I'm talking about the best SOUNDING and most USEFULL, but again... per dollar spent. Based on a quotient of merely sound-quality/$ spent, I am confident I will do well... so this is what I offer. |
Ok, I think the miscommunication is solved. I'm saying "EQ" and you're saying "X-over". Basically the same thing on a typical car audio head unit. Take a 3 band EQ and cut the bass back... What have you done? You've essentially set a high-pass filter (read CROSSOVER) at about 100 hZ, which is what your Kenwood is doing with a tad more control and customization. Either way, it equates to a band-aid fix to having speakers incapable of decent frequency response. Hope that clarifies what i've been trying to say. |
I would rephrase that to say "RESPECTABLE car audio shops". Unfortunatly, simply working at a car audio shop doesn't necessarilly make someone knowledgable in the subject. There are three Car Audio shops in my town, including mine. One is a $1 dash fire special mass-merchant (a large portion of my pay comes from correcting their horrendous and often unbelievable mistakes), the other one is fairly knowledgable but his installs look atrocious, and hell, there are even a couple guys roaming OUR sales floor that have NO business answering questions or making suggestions about ANYTHING (one is new, the other is just a lost cause "boss's pet"). Info is only as reliable as it's source!!
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