New sound system

[oversize]

Geoff I need your advice!  I'm told I might be getting for Christmas a new head unit for Red Bull and I was wondering what's better in your opinion?

Alpine CDE-136BT,

Pioneer DEH-8450BT,

Kenwood KDC-U5049DAB,

JVC KD-DB56 (is this the best in their range with DAB+?).

I'm looking for DAB+, good connectivity with an iPhone (user friendly), optional steering wheel remote and CD changer, plus good expandability to splits and a sub.  I'm looking for quality sound that'll be reliable and up-to-date.  I'm showing my age, but I'd love a graphic equalizer, or spectrum analyser as well!!

I'm leaning towards the Alpine with its easy-to-access preset buttons, but the pre-outs are only 2V (does that really matter?).  But it lacks the front USB of the Kenwood and JVC.  The Pioneer doesn't seem to have DAB+, but it' does have the option for black n white display only and with the chrome finish it looks pretty cool.

Anything else you could recommend?  I've never been a fan of Sony or Kenwood, but things keep changing; I used to love Pioneer, but I've heard their quality isn't what it used to be.  I'd heard the Clarion HX-D2 was a brilliant unit but probably well out of our price range (no amps?) and I'm not sure if it's even still available.  Probably a bit old too and therefore missing some more modern features.  And although I'm pretty fussy with my sound, I'm not sure if I'll hear any quality difference in a W116....

[oversize]

Oh and is satellite car radio available yet?  What's the advantage apart from heaps of stations?

[TJ 450]

I'm not sure about the Pioneers, but I know that the decent Alpine head units have all the features you could possibly want, including electronic time alignment and so on.

I'm going to get the CDE-137BT for the 280 in a few week's time, I have already decided on it after a lot of research and I went and checked it out a few weeks ago. I was toying with the idea of a McIntosh system, but decided that was a little over the top for a noisy 280, besides I would rather and did spend the bucks on home Hi-Fi for maximum enjoyment.

I await Geoff's opinion.

I didn't think the HX-D2 was still available? If it is I want one LOL!

Tim

[motec6.9]

Hi Mark go with Alpine i have used them in sound off competition cars . CDE-136BT has the most important thing for a car HiFi 3 Pre outs fitted . It means you can control 3 amps individually 1 front 1 rear 1 Subs http://www.alpine.com.au/showItem.php?item_id=280  http://www.alpine.com.au/showItem.php?item_id=280  http://www.alpine.com.au/showItem.php?item_id=280  And Tim the Clarion HX-D2 is still available to order http://clarion.com/au/en/products/2011/audio/source_unit/1din/HX-D2/au-en-product-pf_1259520778738.html  if sound Quality is everything this matches the noise floor of the best Hi Fi home cd players . As stated my car has Alpine DDrive speakers  1505 V12 amp for subs and 505 V12 amp for front and rears total output 1200Watts RMS .The head unit in my car is Nakamichi tape with cd stacker control for music bank cd player cost about $3000 for those 2 items when new. My ultimate system for a car would be Clarion HX-D2 head unit http://clarion.com/au/en/products/2011/audio/source_unit/1din/HX-D2/au-en-product-pf_1259520778738.html  Focal Utopia splits about $4500 a pair http://www.focal.com/en/car-audio-sound/haut-parleurs/3-way-kit/utopia-be-kit-n-7-n-7-active.php  Utopia subs http://www.focal.com/en/car-audio-sound/caissons-basse/subwoofers/utopia-be-33-wx.php  And Butler Tube amps yummy http://www.butleraudio.com/car.php . Geoff

[motec6.9]

Nah just changed my mind about amps i forgot about the German Brax amps http://www.braxhifi.com/products/product_details.asp?item_id=142177# .Geoff

[motec6.9]

Plus this http://www.braxhifi.com/products/product_details.asp?item_id=142173#   

[TJ 450]

I shall have to look into that, Motec. Regarding the Focals, I'm sure the Utopias are great with the Beryllium tweeters, but I'm not quite sure about the Tioxid tweeter. I just couldn't get my ears around that one, as there was a terrible resonance peak that annoyed me greatly. Possibly just my particular setup though.

I'll have another listen.

Anyhow I'd best not be hijacking the thread any further.

Tim

[TJ 450]

Well,

I ended up getting the Alpine CDE-136BT, and installed it in the 280S last evening. It has the three band parametric EQ which is all you really need for shaping the sound, but I'm using the defeat function.

Don't laugh, the speakers I'm using are the old Eurovox 4" paper/mylar dual cone full range units from the early '80s, and the sound is quite detailed and accurate all things considered. There's plenty of grunt too, from the head unit's power IC(s), and what's more, even serious bass down into the 30Hz region didn't worry the speakers at all, and it was fairly weighty. This was with no loudness curve, and this is where a lot of HUs sound thin and crappy. Absolutely minimal issues here.

Later on I'll look into other options for speakers and power amplifiers.

I have hooked up my iPod via the USB port, and that is quite a useful feature. Blutooth is something I'll set up this evening. I just need to find a suitable location to place the microphone.

It has a DAB+ tuner, although one needs a specific antenna for this. I'll look into that soon. I have found the analogue tuner to be extremely sensitive, which is a bonus.

I would recommend this one if you're happy with the looks, Mark.

Tim

[Tony66_au]

Im still wrapping my head around the whole iPod dock thing for car audio and to save myself the hassle I bought a cheap and cheerful SD card/tuner combo and set about loading a mix of high and low sample rate music onto the SD card.

Im using an 8 gig card and so far im struggling to put 3 gig worth of tunes on the thing but the 320 bit rate stuff sounds phenomenal!

Im using a small set of 2 way Sony 4 inch speakers in the rear door armrests and a set of 6 inch 3 way JBL's in the dash and once I got the balance right its a great result from a cheap setup.

the system I used before was via a cassette adapter via a 3.5 inch plug to my LG Android phone and although it worked the sound was a bit flat.

In comparison the good sample rate files on SD card really kick arse

[TJ 450]

Indeed, high bit rate MP3s and the like still sound very good, and solid state devices are ideal for the automotive environment.

I find it's nice to be able to spin those discs in the car though, every now and then, but by no means absolutely necessary. Even on my home Hi-Fi, iTunes is what I use for casual listening. Only for serious listening do I get out the CD/SACDs LOL.

Anyhow, the USB port on this device can be used with any type of USB mass storage device, so that's a bonus. I'm sure that's the case with the others too.

And certainly, you can get good to very good sound quality with cheap stuff, it's all what you get and how you use it.

Tim

[oversize]

Well,

I ended up getting the Alpine CDE-136BT, and installed it in the 280S last evening. It has the three band parametric EQ which is all you really need for shaping the sound, but I'm using the defeat function.

Don't laugh, the speakers I'm using are the old Eurovox 4" paper/mylar dual cone full range units from the early '80s, and the sound is quite detailed and accurate all things considered. There's plenty of grunt too, from the head unit's power IC(s), and what's more, even serious bass down into the 30Hz region didn't worry the speakers at all, and it was fairly weighty. This was with no loudness curve, and this is where a lot of HUs sound thin and crappy. Absolutely minimal issues here.

Later on I'll look into other options for speakers and power amplifiers.

I have hooked up my iPod via the USB port, and that is quite a useful feature. Blutooth is something I'll set up this evening. I just need to find a suitable location to place the microphone.

It has a DAB+ tuner, although one needs a specific antenna for this. I'll look into that soon. I have found the analogue tuner to be extremely sensitive, which is a bonus.

I would recommend this one if you're happy with the looks, Mark.

Tim

Apparently that's exactly what's headed my way!  But I have to wait until the big day to unwrap it!!!   *Twitch*   

[Tony66_au]

Indeed, high bit rate MP3s and the like still sound very good, and solid state devices are ideal for the automotive environment.

I find it's nice to be able to spin those discs in the car though, every now and then, but by no means absolutely necessary. Even on my home Hi-Fi, iTunes is what I use for casual listening. Only for serious listening do I get out the CD/SACDs LOL.

Anyhow, the USB port on this device can be used with any type of USB mass storage device, so that's a bonus. I'm sure that's the case with the others too.

And certainly, you can get good to very good sound quality with cheap stuff, it's all what you get and how you use it.

Tim

Very true, Simple things like getting the polarity correct on speaker wire and using good cable and terminals can make a huge difference.

o2 free cable rocks, gold plated connections are not just for show and checking your cable runs with an ohm meter for impedence issues all make a difference.

Then there is speaker tech 101 and basic stuff like airspace, Good bases for speaker mounting and even using dynomat behind speakers.

Pods are also fairly cheap and cheerful these days and can make a huge improvement.

That said car interiors are far from acoustically "Good" so thats an art form in itself, Something I found years ago fitting a CD Stacker and Sony component double din system to my K100 Kenny which for those of you not familliar with trucks is plastered in quilt pattern vinyl and 8 feet wide x 10 feet deep x 6 foot high and basically a huge sinkhole for sound lol

Granted I only ever played Kevin Bloody Wilson, Col Elliot and Johnny Cash/Waylon/Kris but it still took a lot of tweaking to get right.

Might be an idea to start a thread on basic componentry to make life easier as well as non invasive mounting techniques because I for one hate chopping holes in car trim to fit stuff.

Tony

[Tony66_au]

Apparently that's exactly what's headed my way!  But I have to wait until the big day to unwrap it!!!   *Twitch*   

You must have been good this year, Im on St Nicks bad list so I get spanked for christmas.........

[oversize]

Apparently that's exactly what's headed my way!  But I have to wait until the big day to unwrap it!!!   *Twitch*   

You must have been good this year, Im on St Nicks bad list so I get spanked for christmas.........

Nah I'm just good at keeping secrets!!!     A link to the unit:

http://www.alpine.com.au/showItem.php?item_id=280

[Tony66_au]

Nice looking unit Mark!

I think I will wait for the model with the Latte Machine though, surely it cant be far away lol