off topic-----> car audio (1 Viewer)

[Brian Womble]

What cd head units are best, 4 speakers?
Any specific bands the are better than others? (sony, panasonic, alpine, JVC, kenwood, many others) I have about $250.00. i want a simple low cost setup that sounds good and clean. i will be sdding a sub later so i need 1 set of pre outs.

 

[John Garcia]

My last Sony ES CD head unit was 7 years old, never skipped or had any problems. I can give the ES line a strong recommendation, and $250 should get you into that range with ease - look around online. I have some experience with the lower line of Sony, and it was not as positive.
I also had the Infinity Basslink sub, and I was extremely impressed with it (got it for $200).
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All progress is based upon a universal, innate desire on the part of every organism,
to live beyond it's income.
ITRCA ** Link Removed (sorry, car guy)

 

[Kendal Kirk]

I currently have a Panasonic and have had no problems with it. I have had Kenwood before and like it also. Kenwood and Alpine were some of the leaders that started the craze in the early days and either produce a great product.

 

[John Garcia]

Alpine has great sound, but also has been notorious for quality issues. Not always worth the $$ either, unless you get a good price. I had a farily expensive one for a while, and I was so unimpressed with it, I swapped it out for the above mentioned Sony.
The best unit I've ever owned is Eclipse.
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All progress is based upon a universal, innate desire on the part of every organism,
to live beyond it's income.
ITRCA ** Link Removed (sorry, car guy)

 

[Brian Womble]

Thanks for your responces, What about speakers?

 

[Richard Travale]

My Denon head unit has been a workhorse and sounds great with the Kenwood amp running my Blaupunkt 6 1/2 coax speakers.
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Rich
"A) You can never go too far and B) If I'm going to get busted it is NOT going to be by a guy like DAT."
My Website

 

[John Garcia]

What price for speakers? Infinity has some pretty good deals lately, and they have always had great tweeters. Polk is good also. I've owned Blaupunkt separates and I regret selling them with one of my previous cars. They are exellent speakers.
MB Quart is my top choice, but they are a bit pricey.

 

[jeff lam]

Eclipse head unit. Mine is running on 5 years now without a skip/flaw in it. Alpine is good too I guess but I never owned one. I had a Pioneer in High school and was happy with it.
For speakers, I would say MB quart or The old Lanzar's. I'm not sure if you can find lanzar anymore, I think they were bought out or something.
I have given up on car audio, but I am running an eclipse deck, kenwood EQ, PPI 4-ch Amp, MB quart 6-1/2" seperates up front, Boston 6X9's in the back, Audiobahn 12" sub.
I'm happy with my system but won't be spending a lot of money on car audio now that I can spend it on H/T. Besides, my car has been broken into already and half my gear was stolen, JL sub, Audiocontrol EQ/X-over, MA amp. Luckily my deck was bolted solid, my PPI was bolted solid under the seat, and they didn't bother taking the Speakers because it would have taken too long.
Anyway, sorry for ranting.

 

[BrianKM]

I did a lot of research in this area when I was really intent on replacing the Bose system in my car. From my research, Clarion, Alpine, Blaupunkt, and Pioneer make good to really good consumer level head units. Nakamichi and Eclipse offer even higher sound quality at a higher price. Alpine seems to be the best combination of sound quality, reliability, and value for a lot of people.
On the speaker end, MB Quart, Infinity, and the more upscale Focals are all highly regarded.
Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

[Kevin-L]

well for car audio you have many options as far as only having 250 to spend for a deck hmm id look at the JVC Digifine series they come with alot more features than your low line alpine deck.. As far as speakers and subs etc the choices are endless.. Theres tons of higher end companys like Focal, Rainbow, Image Dynamics, Morel, A/D/S but you really need to amp them.. If you just want a really nice coaxial speaker that will basically crap on any of the speakers that people have listed above in a coaxial form id check out the Image Dynamics CTX series.. i install car audio on a daily basis

 

[John Morris]

When I did this kind of stuff, my car was Eclipse, MBQ, AudioControl, JL Audio and ESX Quantum. So, naturally, they are who I'd recommend although I doubt you can find ESX Quantum amps anymore...
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[jeff lam]

John, That's exactly what I had except I used PPI Amps intead of ESX. That is until half that stuff got ripped off.

 

[John Garcia]

My stuff got ripped off too...that's why I went low budget after that. I'm not paying for someone ELSE to enjoy my stuff anymore.

 

[Clinton McClure]

A good entry-level Alpine or Kenwood should work well for your needs. As for speakers, all I can say is to stay away from Rockford Fosgate because they are too quick to go sour on you (except for their higher-end subs).
I wish almost every day I hadn't left my Alpine DD-Drive separates in my Cavalier when I sold it.

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My DVD Collection Casa del Clint

 

[Chris_Campbell]

I highly recommend Clarion head units. They have a great feel to them (intuitive controls), look great, and have tons of features, not to mention sound quality. If you look around on Ebay or some of the car audio forums (Link Removed , www.soundillusions.net , etc) you can probably find a DXZ715 for about $250. My roommate has one in his car, very nice.
For sound that can't be beat, and the absolute best in aesthetics (IMHO), go with Eclipse. Unfortunately they don't sell online at all, meaning the price you pay is almost always gonna be retail. Read: much more expensive.
For a great deal on speakers, I would check out the studio component set from DEI. They have silk dome tweets, and plenty of nice mid-bass, and can be had for around $175 a set. My personal favorite car audio speakers are MB Quarts though, but as mentioned above, they'll cost you.
I hope this has been helpful. Good luck

 

[Dalton]

Lets not forget Kicker and Orion. Kicker makes some great subs(solo-baric especially) and their separates have good tweeters and midrange. Orion makes some good sepates and good amps, Kicker makes good amps also. If you do use separate amps, the Alpine 7949(they may have a newer version by now) is a great head unit. PPI makes excellent stuff also.

 

[John Geelan]

My car presently has Boston Acoustic speakers (great!), Phoenix Gold amp, Kicker sub and amp, SONY ES headunit with a Sony 10 cd changer and a Pioneer eq.
Nice sound.
JohnG
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[Bryan Acevedo]

Back when I was into car audio I had a Kenwood CD player, Infinity Kappa Amps, and Infinity Reference seperates front and rear, with an Infinity Reference 10" sub. Sounded clean and tight!
I remember a company called Oz Audio, that made killer speakers - very high end and accurate. They may not be around anymore, and may not be as high end as I thought, but I remember one of the show cars with their equipment was the first car ever to get a perfect score on sound quality. I think I remember that right.
But like others, now that I have my own home, all the budget goes into Home Theater. I have stock equipment in my Passat (however it is upgraded to the Monsoon system which actually sounds pretty good), and Durango (again the premium system). I also got tired of ripping my car apart every few months to add something. In Home Theater I just add it to the rack, plug it in, and don't have to worry about engine whine and heat dissipation!
Bryan

 

[KrisM]

I am using JL Audio speakers in my Explorer and am very happy with them. They make a great sub enclosure that fits behind the moulding in the cargo area. There is NO WAY anybody would go through the trouble of stealing it. As far as a head unit, I am using a Sony ES unit, but the price was so low that I think Sony was being a little too quick to brand some of their units ES. It is an OK unit but far from a great one.
Regards
KrisM

 

[Glenn]

Hi Kris,
>>I am using JL Audio speakers in my Explorer and am very happy with them. They make a great sub enclosure that fits behind the moulding in the cargo area. There is NO WAY anybody would go through the trouble of stealing it. As far as a head unit, I am using a Sony ES unit, but the price was so low that I think Sony was being a little too quick to brand some of their units ES. It is an OK unit but far from a great one.
What year Explorer do you have and what model Sony did you get? I might be looking for a head unit for my 99 Explorer soon.
Send me an e-mail if you can answer a couple of Explorer/stereo related questions.
Thanks,
Glenn
[email protected]