[riles9262]

hey guys, to start, had a sony xplod deck (52x4) before in my car but it got stolen last month. i ended up getting a '98 kenwood (40x4) deck from my buddy for 40 bucks for a replacement, which was a steal. the problem is, when i turn it up, i get really distorted and crappy sound. i know this is to be expected with less power going to my speakers and all. i got 4 pioneer 6 1/2's that are 160watt peak.

so my question is:

i'm thinking i want a new deck anyway but which would provide the most power and best sound (mosfet, xplod, etc) and is there much difference in the brands sound wise. if you could throw out some models that would be great. as well, id like to stay under 250 can$ if possible.

thanks in advance
riles

[DriveEuro]

Did you turn down you bass to +0db? Also check the surrounds of the speakers to see if they aren't brittle. If the surrounds are rubber then you might just be pushing too much bass or just volume through them. Also, I suggest you stear clear of sony decks. You're better off with a lower ended Alpine. Since I bought my Alpine almost three years ago I'd NEVER consider sony, panasonic, kenwood, clarion, aiwa (made by sony ).... from now on it's all Alpine cuz the sound difference is just amazing. All my buddies have decent after market systems and you can just simply hear the difference in the Alpine despite the speaker brand and surround quality.

[craig588]

Does harmon kardon make car amps? If they do I would get one of theirs, IMO they are the best, followed by yamaha.

Don't go with technics or JVC, my experiance with them has been pretty bad.

[DriveEuro]

No harmon kardon doesn't. Nor does Denon, or Onkyo.
As far as amps go, the Alpine V12 line is good. Also the Rockford Fosgate amps are nice because they put out the quoted wattage. Stear clear of MTX as they have bad noise to db ratios. Audiobahn is nice if you have the money. Directed D (or something like that) have great power and quality at a great price.

[Necrosis]

Originally posted by riles9262
hey guys, to start, had a sony xplod deck (52x4) before in my car but it got stolen last month. i ended up getting a '98 kenwood (40x4) deck from my buddy for 40 bucks for a replacement, which was a steal. the problem is, when i turn it up, i get really distorted and crappy sound. i know this is to be expected with less power going to my speakers and all. i got 4 pioneer 6 1/2's that are 160watt peak.

so my question is:

i'm thinking i want a new deck anyway but which would provide the most power and best sound (mosfet, xplod, etc) and is there much difference in the brands sound wise. if you could throw out some models that would be great. as well, id like to stay under 250 can$ if possible.

thanks in advance
riles

I used to have a Kenwood deck from the same era, and it had the same issues as you mentioned here. I don't think it's a problem w/ you speakers since you simply would of noticed it before. I'm not quite sure about what is available in Canada as far as dealers, and prices go but I can recommend a few brands.

Originally posted by DriveEuro
Did you turn down you bass to +0db? Also check the surrounds of the speakers to see if they aren't brittle. If the surrounds are rubber then you might just be pushing too much bass or just volume through them. Also, I suggest you stear clear of sony decks. You're better off with a lower ended Alpine. Since I bought my Alpine almost three years ago I'd NEVER consider sony, panasonic, kenwood, clarion, aiwa (made by sony ).... from now on it's all Alpine cuz the sound difference is just amazing. All my buddies have decent after market systems and you can just simply hear the difference in the Alpine despite the speaker brand and surround quality.

Alpine definitely is the way to go, because car audio is pretty much all they do! I've never had an issue with an Alpine deck. However, you also might want to think about investing in an alarm too before you start purchasing equipment again. The honest truth is if you was hit at home it is quite likely you may get hit again! Drive, doesn't like Clarion but I've always preferred their decks over well known manufactures. However, the problem with Clarions are the odd controls, and of course normally you have to spend a bit more to get the samething you would from Alpine. I think I need to ask you a few questions before a deck can be choosen.

1. Forget about Peak wattage, how much RMS wattage do you want?

2. What capabilities do you look for in a deck? CD Changer controls, extensive radio presets, scanning, sound equalization, and of course formats...just CD's, or MP3's too?

3. Is digital radio important to you? Do you use it now, or even plan to in the future?

4. What kind of faceplate would you like...flip down, slotted, or hidden?

5. What kind of display would you like? Depending if it's night or day some displays can be easier to read than others. Just remember, what looks good in the store maybe hard to read when your driving around.

How you ever been to crutchfield.com? It will give you an idea of what can fit your car (though now-a-days this isn't normally a problem), and what features, and varieties there is between different manufactures.

[integra092]

Not bad looking???

Kenwood

and this too

amp

Thoughts??


quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by riles9262
id like to stay under 250 can$ if possible.


riles
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




So how much $$ is that? I missed that on my first pass... If I overshot the budget... whoops...


what Necrosis said is good advice too. crutchfield.com is a good place to start. save coin by doing it yourself...

[mike2h]

your deck is clipping (badly).
i have alpines in both vehicles, great sounding decks. very good electronics & d/a converters.
i absolutley do not believe in deck power unless you have no choice.
after many years of buying car audio the only amps i would use are rock/fos, alpine, soundstream, & phoenix gold. the high end sonys from a couple of years ago are really good. i have one running my diamond sub in my car. this thing is stable to 1/2 ohm with very good sound q. the fosagtes are very good all round amps (4x 75 in my pickup). make great sub amps too.
the alpine(v12) is a very good all round amp & is very clean(have 4x 35 running mids & tweets in car). the soundstreams are exceptionally clean but tend to lack a little punch in the low end. phoenix gold was very good up to a couple of years ago. i have no experiecne with them since.
best bang for buck on single amp, go for fock/fos. best buy actually has pretty good buys on them. just do not let them do install.

[toddsmack2k]

IMO a Alpine head unit and either Rockford Fosgate or Kicker amps are the only way to go. LIke Necrosis said RMS is what you want to look at.

[Roadee]

Alpine head unit of your choice......and an Alpine V12 amp of your choice. You can't go wrong if you go Alpine!!

[BWX]

I have an old Denon deck that is still solid after 3 cars and 6 years- Too bad no more Denon decks.

I bought some Phoenix gold 6 1/2" coaxials for my front doors last year and they are the best car speakers (coaxial) I've ever heard- I listened to them in direct comparison to the most expensive coaxials they had at the shop- I was impressed. They sounded better than MANY separates too. Only 100 dollars.

Anyway- I wouldn't use the "amp" in the deck at all- no matter how good it is, I never do anyway- Just use the line out and get a small 100w amp to power the front two speakers or a 4 way 200w to power all 4 interior speakers..

Make sure you have a good ground on everything, make sure you have big enough gauge wire for your amps too- Also make sure to use the X-over on the amp that powers the interior speakers to cross out the low frequency sound form the speakers- 80hz to 120hz usually works well, and remember that those crossovers usually have a gradual crossover slope- it's not like it cuts it directly off at that frequency, so keep that in mind as well. 12db per octave is probably what you are dealing w/.. You can usually tune it for the best sound/ least distortion at the loudest you need them to go by ear.

You could get a stand alone electronic X-over too- I had an MTX unit quite a few years ago that was awesome and it only cost around $60 or so.

The crossover is the most important thing for getting clean sound out of your smaller speakers- the more power you give them the more you need a crossover on them- Get a small sub w/ a small amp for your bass- otherwise, don't expect much bass out of 6 1/2" speakers without crushing them, getting bad sound, and shortening their life.

[hasher]

alpine head unit CDA-9815 is awsome also audiobahn A3851 also dvd but $900 http://www.audiobahninc.com/frameset.html spend alittle more so u can have crystal clear sound . the A3751 cost like $364 mp3 playback .

my car system im building now is alpine head unit CDA-9815 u.s.amps USA-3000 for subwoofers 2 Audiobahn 12 inch Pro Compression for fast hitting bass and high spl http://www.justaudiobahn.com/product...BR&PID=AWP312T and 2 http://www.justaudiobahn.com/product...BR&PID=AWISD12 for spl and db
Alpine MRV-F540 for highsand mids plus http://www.justaudiobahn.com/product...obahn%20ABD40X bass driver.and last the crossover http://www.justaudiobahn.com/product...obahn%20AX306X and more important heavy duty High Quality MDF Construction box for subs

plus capacitors wires and high power alternator cost roughly $5000 i do install yes im a computer repair man thats alot of on the side jobs

[BWX]

Building your own MDF box can be fun- I built my last one last year- It only weighs about 80bs. - fills up the trunk of my current car- A dumb chevy Lumina.

[Mac Daddy]

Being employed at a business that sells Pioneer, Blaupunkt and Fusion ...

I have to say My Pioneer Premier DEH-P730 is serving me well. It has an OEL display.
Two E series 6x9's and an old Pioneer amp I had kicking around.

We dropped Sony because .. well A whole years worth of amps and subs simply Xploded
Dropped Clarion because of service issues.

Take a look here for info on the Fusion line .. Were still waiting on there units to come in from overseas.
The are MP3 compatable and have a 45 second anti-ship buffer.


Fusion
(Link seems kind of funky this morning .. might be working on page)

I sat in there Porsche Boxter less than a month ago

[Judas]

Check the OHMs settings... check the speakers..the your deck to see if you can set them right.... (usually some have a switch for your front...and back).... This will cause your distortion... not having less power.... as i had 2 180 WATT Kenwood dual 6x9/3' in th back.... and 2 3' in the front.... running on a REALLY old sony 40 watt cd player..... And lets just say.... being in a 1973 Delta 88 Olds..... that sucker would pound out a sound that even the Big $3000 spenders drooled over... and it was cheap.... Because of the Ohm's settings.... if you speakers are set for 8ohm..and your cd player is to only put out 4...... then there is capability problem.... the cd player will work fine..... as for getting a new one..... JVC are consider cheaper..and work...but consider that they ARE cheaper.... pioneer are kicking ass..... so are kenwoods...... as for models...... under 250....... well.... that's a tricky one..you gotta do shopping in your area.... and take your car to a place such as Futureshop for a vichel assesment of (make it look like your willing to spend some).... this way they can tell you Specifically what would make the car sound REALLY good......

[patje]

Originally posted by Mac Daddy
Being employed at a business that sells Pioneer, Blaupunkt and Fusion ...

Well, have had any experience with those fm transmitters?? i'm looking for a fm-transmitter to hook up my mp3 player to my car radio. It has no aux so fm is the only option I think.
Do you sell those? or do you know if they work?

[BWX]

Originally posted by patje
Well, have had any experience with those fm transmitters?? i'm looking for a fm-transmitter to hook up my mp3 player to my car radio. It has no aux so fm is the only option I think.
Do you sell those? or do you know if they work?

About 5 years ago I installed a cd changer that used an FM transmitter for the interface for a good friend of mine- It surprised me how good it worked/ sounded and how easy it was to hook up. Are you talking about the kind that go in-line with the FM antenna? If so - its the easiest install there is. Sometimes you need an adapter for the new style to old style automotive Fm antanna though- the newer ones are much smaller.

[patje]

well, it doens't really mather how it works, as long as i can hook up my mp3 player in the car with a reasonable quality, if you have any other ideas...

[Logla]

They do work, but only as well as the FM reciever in the head unit. I had transmitter on a CD multichanger installed on an old Clarion head unit. The sound was pretty poor. I then upgraded the head unit to a top end Pioneer cassette head unit and the CD audio on that was absolutly fantastic. The tuner on that unit was so good that it didn't need an arial plugged into it to pick up most of the radio stations round here.

After I got bored of the pioneer unit I got myself a Kenwood unit. The reciever wasn't as strong and as such the CD player sounded a bit crappy compared to the Pioneer (it had a very dull, flat sound to it).

[mike2h]

keep in mind that your sound quality will only be as good as best fm quality. while mp3 quality is not that great it is better than fm. as to wether you will notice the difference, that is purely subjective(depends on you & your sys).

[patje]

Originally posted by mike2h
keep in mind that your sound quality will only be as good as best fm quality. while mp3 quality is not that great it is better than fm. as to wether you will notice the difference, that is purely subjective(depends on you & your sys).

good point mike, almost forgot about that !

[BWX]

Is this an I-pod we are talking about here?


I have found a bunch of wireless transmitters-
I haven't seen any of the kind that go in-line with the actual antenna of the car stereo, that was the kind I used and worked so well. The wireless ones seem to have issues w/ noise sometimes- but I've never tried them myself. I also read that some of them are only sold in US because of certain FCC laws.

I found on (about $120 depending on options) that seemed to be the best (1/8th mile range). It's probably all kinds of illegal though-- not sure, but I bet it works great.. http://www.hobbytron.net/R-FM25.html
This would probably defeat purpose, as you could buy a new head unit for not too much more!


Some other inexpensive ones.

http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/irock-review.html 30 bucks--

http://www.macwichita.com/reviews/Dr...ectionkits.htm $50

Looks like a kit---



A bunch of different ones- I bet you vould get them all cheaper somewhere though- just for reference

crazy website with a bunch of stuff like that

That Belkin one again



Another "nice" one for 80 dollars

Interesting read on the subject

------OK------

That's for the transmitters. What I was thinking of I think I found- an FM modualtorHERE -takes time to load

The disk changer came with one built in-- I guess you can get these for about 35 dollars. They actually plug into the antenna itself- it stays in the car- you just plug the MPS player headphone into it.

Quote from that forum:
<<<<<<<<Re: Which iPod FM Broadcaster? by mjm0130 on Jul 01, 2002 - 08:47 PM
Re: Which iPod FM Broadcaster? by TiGeuse on Jul 05, 2002 - 09:21 PM
FM modulator not FM Broadcaster(Score: 0)
by Nameless Lad on Jul 02, 2002 - 09:49 AM
I just installed an FM modulator in my car last night. It works pretty well. Much better than an FM broadcaster I think. The modulator is actually wired into the car so you can't take it with you, but that's OK with me. It's basically a little box that plugs into the stereo's antena port. The car's antena then plugs into the Modulator. There is a small toggle switch that has to be on in order to override the car's antena and take the iPod's signal (or anything you want to plug into the RCA inputs). In the off position the modulator doesn't interfere with normal reception. So far it works as advertised. It was $35. >>>>>>>

Another:
<<<<<<<<<<< by Nameless Lad on Jul 10, 2002 - 10:49 AM
I would go with the fm modulator inline antenna adapter. I used one for about 6 months and I loved it. It sounds great, doesn't get interference, takes all of 15 minutes to install. I had an audiovox. I had an irock and it was crap compared to this.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[patje]

thankx BWX!!

this is great stuff!

/goes of to read an search...