Quality Level Relevance!

[2KR34]

Hi Guys,

I'm considering options for a system for a couple of cars at the moment and as part of my research I have been reading posts here and on other forums re quality systems.

Of course I know that sound quality is dependant on the music being listened to and personal preferences.

Now I consider myself as somewhat of an audiophile but doubt that a huge outlay is beneficial when ambient road and car driveline noise is taken into consideration.

I've had some fantastic systems demonstrated to me in cars whilst parked and was hugely impressed but once mobile most of the subtleties were lost to the engine and outside traffic noise.

So my question is if not looking for bragging rites and not interested in buying from boutique audio sellers why wouldn't a basic system provide a good sounding and economical system which will not invite thieves due to some way expensive gear on show.

What I consider a basic system would be something like:

Sony/Pioneer/Kenwood MP3/WMA/CD/aux in RCA out 40wRmsx4 Head unit around $250,

Sony/Pioneer/Kenwood 6.5" 3 or 4 way door & parcel shelf, around $100 per pair,

Sony/Pioneer/Kenwood 12" sub 300watt nom (100watt Rms?) around $100,

Sony/Pioneer/Kenwood 300 Watt Nom (100Watt Rms) sub amp. around $200.

I have put a few systems in such as this but with 6 x 9's in the parcel shelf and the sound has been in my opinion good for the outlay.

I know that you get what you pay for but I want to be realistic and don't consider a 5% improvement for a 150% price difference value for money.

So what do you guys think?

Edited December 31, 2007 by son's slave

[trism]

Hi Guys,

I'm considering options for a system for a couple of cars at the moment and as part of my research I have been reading posts here and on other forums re quality systems.

Of course I know that sound quality is dependant on the music being listened to and personal preferences.

Now I consider myself as somewhat of an audiophile but doubt that a huge outlay is beneficial when ambient road and car driveline noise is taken into consideration.

I've had some fantastic systems demonstrated to me in cars whilst parked and was hugely impressed but once mobile most of the subtleties were lost to the engine and outside traffic noise.

you are correct. a system that sounds amazazing while parked will not sound as good while driving. things like subbass will be drowned out, cancelled by road noise, highs will be affected due to wind, etc. these cars however all have exstensive sound deadening done to them, so these things possibly affecting the sound wont be as large as other cars. you say you want quality, but obviously if you ware worried, and reading on further in your post arent going to "boutique" audio stores, and are only looking at entry/common brands, then any issue wont matter. in your case, all you want is something to listen to. so there isnt much point taking alot of effort worrying about such issues.

So my question is if not looking for bragging rites and not interested in buying from boutique audio sellers why wouldn't a basic system provide a good sounding and economical system which will not invite thieves due to some way expensive gear on show.

a baisc system will provide basic sound. a high end system will have better sound no matter what, even when driving. once again, personal preference at what you need.

What I consider a basic system would be something like:

Sony/Pioneer/Kenwood MP3/WMA/CD/aux in RCA out 40wRmsx4 Head unit around $250,

Sony/Pioneer/Kenwood 6.5" 3 or 4 way door & parcel shelf, around $100 per pair,

Sony/Pioneer/Kenwood 12" sub 300watt nom (100watt Rms?) around $100,

Sony/Pioneer/Kenwood 300 Watt Nom (100Watt Rms) sub amp. around $200.

you need to keep in mind that when a manufacturing puts the power rating on a headunit (40 watt, 50 watt etc) these are not rms ratings. they are max ratings. a headunit will put out 15wrms if youre lucky.

when you say "6.5 inch 3 or 4 way" basically, you are stating that you want to buy a 6.5 inch speaker, with a coaxially mounted tweeter, and one or two extra peices of plastic, moulded in teh vague shape of a speaker. these extra "mini tweeters" dont do anything, except suck in teens who think that having as many speakers in one unit is the best. you are best to look at either a simple 2 way coaxial, or 2 way splits(tweeter is split from mid driver)

id like to suggest a few changes though. personally., id spend about 150-200 ont eh front speakers, and 100 on teh rear. you sit in teh front, not the back, and any passengers can just put up with the slightly, but very unnoticble difference. generally splits in teh front, coxials in the back is a good thing to do.

id also amplify the front speakers. as i said before, the headunit will put out 15wrms, tops. to help overcome road noise etc, and get decent sound, its best to amplify them. what you can do in your case is get a 4 channel amp, have the front speakers running off the first two chans, then bridge 3+4 for the sub. budget about 300 for this, to get a decent thing.

dont forget also to add the cost of a wiring kit ($50) and a sub box, prefab ($100) or make it yourself, which wil cost you the wood, and screws/glue/carpet.

[2KR34]

you are correct. a system that sounds amazazing while parked will not sound as good while driving. things like subbass will be drowned out, cancelled by road noise, highs will be affected due to wind, etc. these cars however all have exstensive sound deadening done to them, so these things possibly affecting the sound wont be as large as other cars. you say you want quality, but obviously if you ware worried, and reading on further in your post arent going to "boutique" audio stores, and are only looking at entry/common brands, then any issue wont matter. in your case, all you want is something to listen to. so there isnt much point taking alot of effort worrying about such issues.

a baisc system will provide basic sound. a high end system will have better sound no matter what, even when driving. once again, personal preference at what you need.

you need to keep in mind that when a manufacturing puts the power rating on a headunit (40 watt, 50 watt etc) these are not rms ratings. they are max ratings. a headunit will put out 15wrms if youre lucky.

when you say "6.5 inch 3 or 4 way" basically, you are stating that you want to buy a 6.5 inch speaker, with a coaxially mounted tweeter, and one or two extra peices of plastic, moulded in teh vague shape of a speaker. these extra "mini tweeters" dont do anything, except suck in teens who think that having as many speakers in one unit is the best. you are best to look at either a simple 2 way coaxial, or 2 way splits(tweeter is split from mid driver)

id like to suggest a few changes though. personally., id spend about 150-200 ont eh front speakers, and 100 on teh rear. you sit in teh front, not the back, and any passengers can just put up with the slightly, but very unnoticble difference. generally splits in teh front, coxials in the back is a good thing to do.

id also amplify the front speakers. as i said before, the headunit will put out 15wrms, tops. to help overcome road noise etc, and get decent sound, its best to amplify them. what you can do in your case is get a 4 channel amp, have the front speakers running off the first two chans, then bridge 3+4 for the sub. budget about 300 for this, to get a decent thing.

dont forget also to add the cost of a wiring kit ($50) and a sub box, prefab ($100) or make it yourself, which wil cost you the wood, and screws/glue/carpet.

Thanks for your reply Matt,

I've taken on board all you have said so my plan would be to get a pair of splits for the front, some 2 way co-ax's for the rear and a 4 Ch amp.

Due to change of one car and an additional 2nd car I am putting 2 systems together and I already have Kenwood subs in factory enclosures and two 2 ch amps. (currently used for driving the subs).

So to avoid buying 2 new amps would it be practical to use the current 2 separate amps to drive (1 front splits) and (2 the sub) and then buy another 4 Ch amp for the second car??

And would it be necessary to buy a head unit with RCA stereo plus sub out (3 outputs) or would the front splits be driven from the speaker outputs?

I've also been looking at sound deadening material and it appears quite expensive so keeping my original post in mind would it be economical and beneficial using these basic components?

Thanks.

[trism]

So to avoid buying 2 new amps would it be practical to use the current 2 separate amps to drive (1 front splits) and (2 the sub) and then buy another 4 Ch amp for the second car??

Indeed it would.

And would it be necessary to buy a head unit with RCA stereo plus sub out (3 outputs) or would the front splits be driven from the speaker outputs?

No thats correct, you would need to buy a headunit that has either 3 outputs, or, some will have only 2, but the 2nd set can be switched between either rear, or subwoofer. Keep this in mind when looking.

I've also been looking at sound deadening material and it appears quite expensive so keeping my original post in mind would it be economical and beneficial using these basic components?

Thanks.

It would provide sound that, given proper installation, would be better than stock. If you find this to be beneficial, then its perfect for your needs, without going to the next step of adding sound deadener.

[Lozza150]

Just a side note.... Mp3 will severly affect the quality of sound.

CD is best. Always will be. With a new quality set up you will notice many differences in music quality over the years. Most new (06 onwards) releases have great audio range due to the quality of EQ / Compression / expansion and Harmonising tools used in the Sound recording. Now that most music studio's have the capability of recording in HD 96K the sound is just fantastic and shows (even when scaled back to fit the standard 44.1 cd)

I laugh when people spend all this money on a (fully hectic) set up and then start playing an mp3 disc (cause it holds 300 songs bro)!!

just my 2c

Loz

[2KR34]

Thanks again for your replies guys,

Would likely be playing CD's most of the time but have a bunch of single MP3 tracks as some albums are not worth buying if there's only 1 or 2 tracks that apeal so for those I have MP3's.

Will do more research!!!!

[gtrzilla]

192 k songs minimum

preferably bitrate of 320k

all other mp3s sound sh!t

[Lil_Bobby_260]

Dont limit urself to sony/pioneer/kenwood. There are better out there, and i do NOT mean alpine eclipse etc. Try JBL as a brand. They dont do head units, pick up a decent kenwood or sony, but as far as speakers and amps and subs go, they are hard to beat for the money it looks like your willing to spend.

Wander into a store and have a listen, compared to other offerings around the same price. Guarantee youll walk away from the three brands you mentioned.

Also try MTX.