THE Audio System Thread

[RM1SepEx]

Why have a head unit? Can you say... sports, news etc...

I'm old school and having a radio sometimes is good. The majority of the time its MP3, 4 files etc... Its nice to have more than 1 source

As far as headrest speakers, you use them to fill in the holes caused by wind noise... its easy to balance the f/r speakers to make them a nice subtle filler in the music\

I'm pretty sure my kenwood will be powerful enough, I have 3 in Miatas with the same wind noise issues

besides I'm 54 & I don't crank it like I used to... No need to spend more than $400 or so to get a pretty good sounding setup. Besides a bunch of time will be spent with it off to hear the engine!

[wleehendrick]

Why have a head unit? Can you say... sports, news etc...

I'm old school and having a radio sometimes is good. The majority of the time its MP3, 4 files etc... Its nice to have more than 1 source

Agreed, that's why I want a head unit. If you don't need a large screen or disc player, you can get a lot of functionality pretty cheap from an 'entry level' headunit.

As far as headrest speakers, you use them to fill in the holes caused by wind noise... its easy to balance the f/r speakers to make them a nice subtle filler in the music\

For the reason's I've mentioned, two good speakers up front with more power is my preferred solution, but if you have good experience with headrest speakers, go for it! (as long as they're stereo speakers in each headrest, not one behind each seat, ugh).

No need to spend more than $400 or so to get a pretty good sounding setup.

I'm targeting around $400 (before a sub-woofer); that should be plenty for a good sounding 2-channel system.

Besides a bunch of time will be spent with it off to hear the engine!

Yup... no music sounds as sweet as a perfectly executed heel-and-toe downshift!

[Xusia]

I too am in the 2 good, well powered speakers up front camp. I think that will be plenty and sound good. I also want a sub, which is going to mean a total cost of more than $400. I'm kind of a power whore too, so there's a good chance I'll spend $400 on just the amp.

Does anyone make a really simple audio system that consists of a plug for a USB/stero jack and something to drive some speakers? That's all I really want. I don't use CD's much and would run everything from my phone.

As was stated, a cheap head unit (a.k.a. a stereo) is what does that function. I've seen them for less than $50.

. . . . geez, is there any reason I shouldn't just make a mount for an Ipad? It would do anything an expensive car audio unit does if wired up to in-car speakers, wouldn't it? And, I could make the mount removable so I could take the Ipad with me into a restaurant to check email, etc. Stupid idea? What am I missing here?
Pete

IMO, not a stupid idea at all. This is my plan. I would only go with a traditional stereo if the sound quality isn't good enough (NOTE: I'm a bit of an audio snob, so what doesn't pass muster for me, might be perfectly fine for others! LOL). The main issue is converting the headphone output to amplifier input (using a preamp). Regardless of what I win up doing in this area, it WILL be posted in my build thread.

Also for people talking about a tablet for the headunit and using it for navigation, wont that require another data plan through a carrier?

Not at all. None of my tablets have data plans and they all work just fine! I would make it removable, but for normal updates I can get wi-fi in the driveway. I can also remove the SD Card and update the music. If I wanted to listen to youtube or Pandora on the road, I can use my phone as a hot spot. Google maps can cache data, so no worries there either. Also, for those that don't know, Android tablets and phone have FM radio capability as well. It really does do all the things I'd need, it's big (navigation), touchscreen, etc. What more is there to want, really?

Why use a head unit in 2013? Everyone now just use there phones or ipods as music sources. You need to look into a signal processor such as a Rockford Fosgate 3sixty.3. This rids any head unit in your dash or other locations. With this device you run all your amps to it and then have two options for music sources. These options are you can stream music from a device through Bluetooth or you can hook a iPod dock or other device dock.

The 3sixty.3 is useful for multiple physical sources or you really don't want something in your dash. But I just can't see too many people really needing that. It's expensive too. For half the price you can get a decent head unit. For the full price you can get a double-din head unit with nav. All with multi-source capability, bluetooth streaming, iPod connectors, etc.

Why have a head unit? Can you say... sports, news etc...

See above. Tablets can do all those things. Well, not Ipads (sorry Apple fans...), but any decent tablet (Ha! <-- JOKE people!). AM radio or cassette tape is about all they can't do. I mean, of course they can't play a physical CD, but who can't or doesn't rip their music to an electronic device these days anyway?


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WHEW! That was a LOT of responses!