Car audio question

[Elie]

I need a CD deck for my car...what manufacturer should I buy?
Option that I have are...

Sony
Pioneer
Panasinic
JVC

I have two JBL 6x9 3way speakers and an Alpine Amp.

I want to spend aprox $350 CND at most.

The pioneer I was looking at (and the one I perfer) is the DEH-P7600MP


Thanks,
Elie

[The PIT]

Too be honest I wouldn't spend too much on a car audio as it isn't the best listening enviroment anyway.

If you're Bass only luddite that changes things though.

[Elie]

true but I spend alot of time traveling, it takes me at least an hour to get to work and another hour to get back, so I think car audio for me is a bit important, heck beats the heck out of my Tape deck

Cheers,
Elie

[The PIT]

Well if you're Bass ludite by the cheapest as you won't notice the differance.

Like this car I heard the other week. I could hear the distortion 300 ft away. Basically the woofers had blown and the car was also vibrating but the dumb £$%^ thought it was cool. Had he ever heard loud undistorted music before????

[gt40]

Personally, I'd avoid Sony and JVC.
I was never impressed on how either of these sounded. The Sonys seem a liitle overpriced and I've found the highs muted.
Apart from a tuner Yamaha did a while back (yes they had car decks) the Pioneers have one of the best tuner sections available.
Of course I haven't really paid alot of attention in the last few years, so I could be wrong
KvH should have some words to say.

[Elie]

Thanks guys, I'l probably get the Pioneer then, in terms of base... I don't like the hard pounding type base you get from an 8 inch or 10 inch sub.
I prefer the softer base, like listening to a tube amp or something and I'll only get that from a 12 inch sub

[TransformX]

Get a Blaupunkt MP3 deck maybe ?

http://www.blaupunktusa.com/BlaupunktUSA/Products/ReceiversChangers/

[Mcollector]

Buy the minimum. Having decent audio in a car is only an invitation to get it ripped.

And I personally believe they should issue hunting licenses with a no bag limit on ANY atomic powered car stereo, and the car's occupants. My area is filled with a lot of these types with IQs in the 2 digit range. I think they think having an atomic powered car stereo makes their dicks longer.

[Elie]

LOL, I'm 37 and way past that stage

And I hear ya regarding getting it ripped, the model I'll get is the one with the removable face plate, at least who ever rips my deck will end up paying top dolalr from the dealer just for the face.

Cheers,
Elie

[KvHagedorn]

Re: Car audio question

Originally posted by Elie
I need a CD deck for my car...what manufacturer should I buy?
Option that I have are...

Sony
Pioneer
Panasinic
JVC

Why are these supposedly your only options? Check out Eclipse by Fujisu Ten.

[schmosef]

When I was a teenager I worked in the "Sight and Sound" department at Crappy Tire ("Canadian Tire" for all you non-Canucks).

We had this really crappy subwoofer; it was all distortion, no bass!

We had one set up as a demo unit. Every sensible person I showed it to thought it sounded terrible. I must have sold a dozen of them to wiggers. They just didn't know any better!

Normally, I was very honest and ethical in my dealings with customers. I built a very stable base of parents who would come in and buy video games for their kids based on my recommendations.

I just couldn't respect these kids (many of them older than me) who would come in wearing thick gold chains, bulls caps on sideways, jerseys that were 5 sizes too big, all with the tags still attached.

I would play up to their insecurities and it would guarantee a sale.

I remember this one kid was a little wary. He could tell that the sound was bad but didn't want to admit it to himself. I placated him by reminding him that our sales policy allowed him to return it.

A week later I saw him in the store again and thought he was there to bring it back. It turns out he was bringing his friend to get one.

I used to wish I made commission...

edit: spelling (I swear Word has made me a worse speller!)

[Elie]

I know what you're saying, alot of sound systems I heard did sound like cr@p and don't think these kiddies even care, I once heard a car's body just rattle so bad it looked like it was going to fall apart!

in my case I am an audiophile, and I know that car audio or after market stuff cannot compare to factory, but at least I can try to make it sound good, by adding the right hardware.

Oh and the reason why I did not choose Eclipse is because they generally don't come with a removable face and no XM radio etc.
It's a very simply deck, which may be good but I heard good stuff about the Pioneer.

Thanks guys!!

Cheers,
Elie

[areia]

Elie, I had to take a similar decision a few weeks ago. I also drive a couple of hours a day to work and the car is my only possible listening environment. Also posted and read a lot on foruns; from that and my personal experience with car audio I must tell you that the hardest part is to have a decent set of speakers, well positioned and amplified. A subwoofer is a must because small speakers can't produce low and mid frequencies with flat equalization; also, their location on the doors produce a lot of undesired vibrations. However, speakers in the front is also better because you are sitted on the front when driving and presence is better. Get a cd-tuner like sony, that gives you an electronic crossover through the outputs: if you connect a sub to the preamplified output you have the option of turning on a high-pass filter that affects the amplified output(s), taking the bass load from the front speakers and avoiding vibrations and overlapped frequencies. I don't like the sound of Sony but I must recognize they have some very usefull features like this one.

[Elie]

Thanks Areia for your awesome input.

I will definetly take note and purchase the right stuff.

Perhaps this week or next I'll buy and install everything, I will post my experiences when all is done.

Cheers

[xortam]

I want to upgrade the music in our old Benz wagon. The current head unit is simply a radio/tape receiver (Blaupunkt). I didn't want to rip up the carpets when it was new so I had an Alpine six pack CD changer installed in the back (in the spare tire) and it RF modulated its signal for reception through the radio antenna. Needless to say this approach greatly reduces your dynamic range and frequency response but it was quite acceptable for most music in a car environment (just got to skip past when Miles blares his trumpet a bit too much). The changer has been flaky for years and I really need to set my wife up with something better than the radio. We use the wagon for road trips also so I like to be able to listen to CDs then. I'm thinking about finally digging in and replacing the head unit myself with an MP3 capable unit (with line in). I think I see where they have some pretty capable receivers now so you don't need to install a separate amp. I still don't want to rip up any carpet but I think I can manage to replace the head unit (done it on a couple Japanese cars) if I can find a capable unit that will blend with the interior. I'm rarely in the wagon myself so I keep forgetting the changer isn't working so this problem has been going on for years.