Car Stereo's :?:

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 8:35 pm

My buddy told me Alpine and Sony are the way to go.

I'm not looking for blood pooring out of my ears type of thing. A good deck (cd and mp3), 4 speakers (2 in front 2 inn rear). not sure if I need an amp or not and I don't want a sdub in trunk.

What would you get?

Tetrad · Post by **Tetrad** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 8:42 pm

I like my Alpine.

Fusion pimp · Post by **Fusion pimp** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 9:10 pm

Depends on what you're looking for. Both Sony and Alpine are pretty good lower-to-mid quality stuff. If I had to chose between the two, I would go with Alpine. If you're looking for upper end equipment go Nakamichi. It costs quite a bit more, but you will not be sorry.

http://www.nakamichiusa.com/auto/cdplayers/cd_700.htm

They're a bit over a grand, I think somewhere around 1200.00. I purchased my 700 in '96 and it's still going strong with not a single hiccup. A few people I know laughed when they heard I paid that much, but they're on they're 3rd or 4th unit @ 250 to 300/ unit. Doesn't sound like they saved any money to me.

The sound is as rich as it gets.

Genghis · Post by **Genghis** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 9:13 pm

I've had 2 Sony ES in-dash CD players, and both of them have been sketchy and finnicky playing burned CD's. These models are about 6 and 4 years old; I don't know about their current models.

kurupt · Post by **kurupt** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 9:30 pm

quality? nakamichi hands down. loud booming ricer bull★■◆●, sony or pioneer.

as barry said, nakamichi is your daddy. indeed it is. yep.

Hostile · Post by **Hostile** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 9:34 pm

I have had great luck with Alpine products. I don't use a lot of burned cds though so I don't know if they are good in that area.

CDN_Merlin · Post by **CDN_Merlin** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 10:27 pm

I guess you didn't read my post. I don't want an ear popping stereo. my buddy paid 3000$ for his car stereo, 7 speakers plus sub and alpine deck. I don't want that. I'm looking for something that will allow me to have loud music (not to loud) and good sound, no scratching all for about 1000 CDN or less including install.

kurupt · Post by **kurupt** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 10:40 pm

we gave you the best brand for what you want. nakamichi. get the cd400. its not quite as slick as the 700 but they can be had for a few hundred bucks.

Fusion pimp · Post by **Fusion pimp** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 10:47 pm

Merlin,
I read your post, but you didn't make yourself clear. I have no idea what your limit is and you asked for a "good deck", so I suggested a good deck.

Nakamichi isn't ghetto gear, it's quality equipment that produces unbelievable sound. Don't equate price/quality with loudness. Because it costs a bit doesn't mean it's loud.

Sound is individualized and you'll have to listen to your options in order to be happy with your purchase, esp. with speakers. Good sound depends on who you're talking to.
I would go to the shop of your choice, tell them how much you have to spend and what you expect for your money, and then listen to whatever fits your budget. A good rule of thumb is, the louder you want it, the more power you'll need for clean sound. Clean power is the key. I've seen 1200 watt amps that can't drive a 200 watt speaker... I've seen 200 watt amps that can drive 400 watt speakers well. Clean is the key.

Sorry for the long post.

Fusion pimp · Post by **Fusion pimp** » Wed Nov 10, 2004 10:49 pm

Yep, the CD-400 will fit the bill. If you're cheap like, K.

Kidding!

The 400 is a great deck with an awesome track record. I really don't hear a difference between the 400 and the 700.

Jagger · Post by **Jagger** » Thu Nov 11, 2004 1:10 am

Sony = meh in my experience.

Alpine is pretty good, and I'm running a JVC Kameleon myself. I'd say it's up between Alpine, JVC and Pioneer.

kurupt · Post by **kurupt** » Thu Nov 11, 2004 3:31 am

Jagger wrote:Alpine is pretty good, and I'm running a JVC Kameleon myself. I'd say it's up between Alpine, JVC and Pioneer. (if you want the best of the crap)

Jagger · Post by **Jagger** » Thu Nov 11, 2004 11:30 am

kurupt wrote:
Jagger wrote:Alpine is pretty good, and I'm running a JVC Kameleon myself. I'd say it's up between Alpine, JVC and Pioneer. (if you want the best of the crap)

Yeah... that's about right.

It's allll relative.

EDIT: THIS is Alpine.

http://www.alpine.co.jp/alpine/products ... 300jn.html

If only we got that here in the States and it wasn't $4000...

rush · Post by **rush** » Thu Nov 11, 2004 12:25 pm

I have been really happy with my Alpine deck...although I will admit that on some burned cd's it takes a while to recognize..As for speakers, I have been impressed with my new Infinity Reference Series speakers...

All can be had for around $500 US.

Keep in mind I am only using two 6'1/2 in. round up front and 6x9 in the back...for another couple of hundred I will be set up with some subs and an amp/crossover. I am not into loud sound perse, but into the all around experience and I hadn't heard crisper sound in a long time until I changed speakers.

For decks...mid/low cost...Alpine seems to be the consensus. For speakers...you can find Infinity products at a reasonable price for really good quality.

/my $.02

SolidAir · Post by **SolidAir** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 12:40 am

I have a Pioneer Premier 760MP. It's not ricer bull**** at all, Pioneer Premier is up to par with Alpine give or take a few features on BOTH companies.

I'm on www.caraudioforum.com and have learned PLENTY about great car audio products... there are a lot of good products out there.

Merlin to answer your question, you said you wanted 2 in the front and 2 in the rear. It has been stated quite a few times that it is better to just have two front speakers and ditch the rears. There are several reasons why this is a good idea, and it is what I'm doing to my car (I've already done it to my car, here):

a) Music should come from in front of you, not behind.

Imagine you are at a concert... all of the sound is coming from in front of you.

b) Imaging/phasing problems.

Rear speakers will destroy any possibility of imaging (the perception in your mind that the music is coming from the area between the speakers, not from the speakers).

Also, the introduction of more sound waves from the rear will cause phasing problems due to the interior shape of the car. If you're not sure what phasing is, it's when two identical sound waves are played but not in the same phase. When they are not in the same phase, this will cause cancellation issues which will hurt the audible signal.

A person I know (who I paid to have my subwoofer box built) has written a great paper on imaging and phasing issues. I would definitely look into it! Here is the link:

http://www.teamcaf.org/geolemon/Phasing/Phasing.htm

c) By not buying rear speakers, you have that much more money on higher quality front speakers. Likewise for your amplifier (which will be needed to sufficiently power your speakers). Instead of buying a 4 channel amp, you can buy a higher quality 2 channel amp.

There are two types of speakers... coaxial and component speakers. Coaxial speakers have a tweeter built in while component speakers have a seperate tweeter that you are able to mount anywhere (door, A-pillar, dash). This really helps your imaging by being able to place the tweeter where it sounds best as a tweeter should be on axis with you and not off axis.

It's best to assume then that component speakers are higher quality, and they need sufficient power to sound great. Aftermarket CD decks will boast about 50wx4, but that is max. Aftermarket CD decks will, generally, put out ~20w RMS. A lot of component speakers have a RMS rating of 75-150w.

There are some great component speakers out there, and I will list them.

CDT CL-61s
http://www.cdtaudio.com/classic2000MidDriv.htm

Image Dynamics Chameleons
http://www.imagedynamicsusa.com/website ... eleon.html

Adire Audio Koda 6.1s
http://www.adireaudio.com/TextPages/Kod ... meText.htm

Resonant Engineering XXX components
http://www.reaudio.com

Some great amplifier brands include:

Cadence
USAmps
Phoenix Gold
Brax
Arc Audio

Those are quite expensive though. There are some cheaper, budget brands that do the job:

Hifonics
MTX Audio

If you want rear speakers, you can pick up some 6x9s. I haven't done my research on 6x9s since I'm not going to use them, but I heard that Alpine is a good choice.

I agree that Alpine has great products all around, but honestly I couldn't recomment Sony for any car audio products.

If you have any more questions... feel free to ask. Oh, and here is what I'm putting in my car.

Front: dire Audio Koda 6.1 components
Rear: no rear fill
Sub: Adire Audio Brahma 12"

Amp for comps: Cadence Q3000 (100 watts per channel)
Amp for sub: Cadence Z9000 (800 watts)

I'm going strictly for an SQ (sound quality setup) and do not want SPL (sound pressure levels) i.e. blare bass up and down your street and around the neighborhood...

Matt

[]V[]essenjah · Post by **[]V[]essenjah** » Fri Nov 12, 2004 2:21 am

I like my Alpine CDA-7893.

It's really nice. You can set the time correction ratio as well on it.

Pun · Post by **Pun** » Sat Nov 13, 2004 11:12 am

I love my Alpine CDA-9815. I'm driving two 7" Vifa Woofs with big old monstrous Vifa tweets (that go way low for tweets) through a Tru Technology T-4.65 My Arc Audio 10" Subs are driven with an Xtant A6001 Class D Monoblock. My system isnt ghetto loud, but it's tight and the imaging and SQ are killer. Keep in mind, a lot of it is in the tweaking, as well. Pairing up speakers that cover the proper frequency ranges, getting your rig crossed over properly and the amps set up properly have a lot to do with it, as well. I've heard systems that are amazingly expensive and yet sound sh!tty because they're not set up right.

JMEaT · Post by **JMEaT** » Sat Nov 13, 2004 11:16 am

I'm going to have to go with the stock system that came with my car. Because, you know, it came with the car.

Anyways it's some kinda JBL 6 speaker system that is supposed to be premium. It sounds fine and I'm happy with it so meh.

kurupt · Post by **kurupt** » Sat Nov 13, 2004 12:04 pm

i run a nakamichi cd400 with the preamp switched off, a phoenix gold tantrum t400.4 running my infinity reference 9603i and my infinity perfect 5.25" components. running my 3 12" kove kld series II subs i have one kicker kx600.1 and i've yet to hear a better SQ system around here. i want a kicker kx1200.1 but just don't wanna shell out the money for it.

ah well, what can ya do?

i tweaked the hell out of it too. thats crucial. alot of stuff sounds like total ass at its stock settings.

you'll get good sound out of a higher end alpine but alpines tend to have ear slaughtering highs at higher volumes. thats was my only qualm with mine. i had a 9815.

if you want the best SQ, go for something higher than an alpine or a pioneer. personally i reccomend a nakamichi, but there are other things out there in the same league.