car stereos

[gokuss4]

Can anyone recommend some good car stereo systems? speakers, subs, and in dash players?

 

[Allnatural]

Personal preference: Pioneer stereos, JBL speakers.

 

[Jaz]

Mine is a Sony, but I'd recommend an Alpine system.

And don't forget to get one with an iPod adaptor (if you have an iPod!).

 

[BlueFalcon7]

I would say bose, but the bose car systems are not as good as the lifestyle system, and they can blow. My dad has the infinity subs (not the kevlar coated) but I have never really been able to do any testing, considering all he listens to is talk radio.

 

[Cyberman]

Ok I'm going to say this from YEARS of experience (IE more than a decade).

1. Check how noisy the car is, a noisy car is NOT the place for a good stereo. Noise will make any good stereo WORTHLESS.
2. Avoid Sony, if it breaks you'll be screwed. Sony has a horrible reputation amongst people who use audio equipement professionally when they get consumer grade equipement for personal use. Don't waste your money or time with them they are a royal pain.
3. Think of what you want, MAKE a plan. Pioneer and JVC are decent for example but check out on the web where you can get what you want. Look around in other words.
4. Sometimes a cheap system is good enough for a cheap car. Noisy car + expensive system = wasted money.
5. Ignore watts, they mean nothing considering how they calculate them. It's random practically. However if you like good listening at reasonable volume, say 25W RMS be sure the system is rated for 100W RMS at < 1%thd this will make your THD MUCH lower and the sound will be quite good.
6. 1812 overture, play it from a good recording, it has a huge range of frequencies and playing it will tell you what range the stereo has and if it will work for you. Remember to overate the wattage. The 1812 overture with real cannons is a good test, it will push the sub frequencies hard and the high frequencies hard as well. Leave the equalization FLAT on the system to get a real idea of how it responds and sounds.
7. If you have blown out your ears, forget a good system, sorry you are deaf, it's probably your fault. Don't listen to loud music in a car, just because you can feel the bass doesn't mean you will be hearing it for long. If your hearing is intact don't crank the system and it should sound GREAT anyways. Proper setup of any system means you can listen to the music at a reasonable volume and not become deaf. Improper setup is begging to become deaf.
8. 25W is VERY loud in a car. Trust me that's > 95 db and can do permanent hearing damage if prolonged for more than 15 to 30 minutes.

Bottom line use your head, not how well you can hear the stereo outside the car (nothing like listening to a car whose trim is poping off with a pair of kids blowing there ears out inside it's pretty hilarious for me except when they get about 25 they'll be going EHHH like an old man seen it and man is it SAD). Pick something that matchs the car. If like my car, which had prewired speakers, then check the manufacturers specs for them. They'll ussually list the manufacturer and or specs etc.

Anyhow do research and educate yourself, so not only you don't get ripped off you can enjoy your stereo for many years instead of sware at that <censored> thing you bought.

Cyb

 

[revl8er]

I personally prefer going with kenwood stereos, they have always been reliable with me. I will agree with cyberman with not going with sony stereos because in my experience with them my stereo went out fast.

I really cant recommend any speakers for you if I dont know what kind of car you need, cause I need to know what size is needed. Now as for the car stereo you can go with this http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4M4rda...rch=Kenwood+VENDORID113&SearchDisplay=Kenwood
if you want to go with a cheaper system. If you want to go with a more expensive, and better quality system then go with this one
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4M4rda...rch=Kenwood+VENDORID113&SearchDisplay=Kenwood
which is the one that I have in my car.

Now as for subs, it depends on what kind of sound you are looking for. If you want a good bump for a cheap price you can go for two of these http://www.crutchfield.com/S-4M4rda8oFPl/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=520&I=1081242W
which I am personally using right now, and their peak power is 1200 watts.
Now if you have more to spend then go for the kicker CVR subwoofers or you can go with the Kicker solo-baric L7 subwoofers. Now dont let someone tell you that they cant fit in your trunk, because I was told that I couldnt fit 12" subs in my mustang convertable unless the box was customized but I proved them wrong with it.
Now the final thing you want is to get a decent amplifier for you subs. Now in my car I am using this http://www.zalmar.com/detail-CarElectronics-Car_Audio-XM_SD22X.htm
it can handle up to 1200 watts and is a good price.

Another thing you can use in your car is a good pair of tweeters. Now there isnt too much to buying tweeters, just about any pair would work in there.

You will also need to get a good wire kit for your amplifier. Also if you get some subs, you might want to get some dynamat to get rid of the rattling of your trunk.

 

[A.I.]

That's good advice from Cyb and Rev. Wish somebody told me that when i spent (wasted) big bucks on my stereo for my first car (A real bomb). It was a VH Holden (GM) Commodore 6cyl and suffered from bad road and wind noise, including major mechanical problems.

I put a Kenwood system in it, including a Kenwood 12' sub in a custom wooden parcial shelf which seemed like a good idea at the time to save boot space but when i cranked up the volume the whole car vibrated terribly. When i eventually sold my car 10 years later i only got $500 for it (original value: $6000, total cost:$10,000!) I updated to a newer Commodore, VR Exective (Holden fan!) took my 10 year old system out and paid some guy $400 to re-install it.

Bad move... The rear speakers were cracked from the sun and were totally fucked up. Wasn't long before they blew, followed by my front speakers, dashplayer and amp.

So i had to throw them all in the bin and buy a new system. I got a Sony Explode dash player, 4 Pioneer speakers, Pioneer amp, Clarion tweeters, and a custom made sub box with a 12' Clarion woofer which pumps nicely. I also got a 10' sub behind the seat which i don't use any more and still got one of the surving Kenwood amps from my old car which drives the Clarion sub. It's a mix mash of brands cos i couldn't afford it all in one hit.

I've had my car for four years now so my dashplayer is a little outdated
(as is my car!) It plays burnt disks but no MP3's but i do have a MP3 player connected to it so its not all bad. My dashplayer also has no sub volume output so i can't crank it all the way or else my speakers will distort but i don't care - its loud as it and i definately won't be spending any more money on it!

 

[gokuss4]

cool, thanks guys. I'll be looking into it.