Need advice on system configuration
Comments
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Would you like to purchase a bag of ice?
I agree with everything in the last post. I guess I just come off as generalizing the entire industry. One thing I didn't really go into is my electronic curse. I typically have major problems and disappointments with purchases and it's probably because I have critical eyes and ears. I guess I should have mentioned that my attitude was kind of a "keep it simple" reaction designed to find what works, and not necessarily what's the best. It's because I have a critical ear myself that I'm surprised most of the time that I like a lot of factory systems. I'm just angry with myself for the most part. I know I should introduce less complications in my life as far as electronics go, fascinating as they may be, I just plain have bad luck. This fiasco makes perfect sense to me in a metaphysical sense-ie. who or what wants me to have a bad experience with buying stuff.
You're absolutely right about aftermarket car audio equipment being lightyears beyond the factory in quality of components, I just see the end result.
By the way I didn't mean to imply anything about anyone's anatomy, there's implications in everything anyone says.:rolleyes:
Trust me folks, I'm on your side. I quite literally agree with everything you all say, I'm just a bitter **** most of the time.
I'm all about love, so lets change the subject to puppies or bunnies or something joyous.:) -
I wasn't making comments about anatomy as a defensive response. I was just saying that I don't feel a need to justify myself by getting the biggest and baddest stuff out there. Although some people accuse me of it due to the vehicle I have. It's still not true and not the reason I have the truck or any of the stereo equipment. I like it and think its fun and that's why I do it. It's more of an anddiction than anything.Expert Moron Extraordinaire
You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you! -
LMFAO @ "would u like a bag of ice" --- hahahahahaha
Jstas Posts:
I'm not interested in bells, whisltes and doodads and gizmos that do everything from futzing with the signal to allowing me to copy 6 tapes, 10 CD's, 5 minidiscs and conjure evil spirits on the 3rd full moon of every other solstice.
what's a minidisc? (i know what one is -- but you see my point -- should have never been invented -- damned little things -- i agree, too many useless options is ridiculous).
and i wish i could conjure evil spirits during the winter solstice so as to have them pick up shovels and plow-eth the road-eth in front-eth of me.
I can empathize with the **** sound system in the late 90's subaru's... it's a Clarion double din unit with speakers that look about as thin as transparently sliced deli-meat. i stomped on them -- pulled em out and did a hat dance on the fronts --- the backs i damaged in removing them -- it seems that the two 10" subs i had in the trunk where blowing the living hell out of the rear factory speakers (which were non-functional since i pulled the plug on them) and pretty much obliterated them.
i actually have the factory subaru tape deck if anybody wants it - teh cd din unit is busted and in the trash, but if u want this "wonderful example of factory greatness" -- its yours for "twenny-naaaaine, niiiineeeyy niine."
my favorite factory system was in a chrysler sebring. ... under my playing habits, it lasted just about long enough to get me through doing the work i had to do on it.... about 30 minutes of playing .... then it "hummed" and "fizzled" - that is admittedly my own fault. it sounded really nice... i won't even say nice for a factory system - just nice up against anything. like what i'd expect to get out of say a 500 - 700 dollar aftermarket basic replacement system. but i played it too loud, and i guess i musta hurt it.
personally i will say, and this is nothin against Jstas, but ford has the worst audio systems (mustang being the exception) that i've heard. GM and Chrylser are just as bad, dont get me wrong, but the frequency with which AM/FM radio's without even tape decks kept showing up in ford pickups was frightening. they'd have that damn "tone" button instead of a separate bass and trebble.
the honda civic audio system is allright at low volumes, then u turn it up to "listenable" and it all goes to hell. its that peak and valley deal mentioned earlier by Jstas -- you dont tend to get an even frequency response in factory stuff -- its very "dippy" and "peaky" which makes most stuff sound poor.
when you say you can only make a cd sound so good -- i'll grant you that, but given a near perfect quality recording, and given my audio system, i do believe that "so good" will take on a new definition to just about anybody who hears it. i think something like sarah mclaughlan is where the lines get drawn between factory and aftermarket -- and aftermarket and GOOD aftermarket.
the piano, bass and vocals in her music tend to bring out either the best or the worst in a sound system, and really bleeds out the true colors.
i've got a 'dirty' install in some regards, but for SQ, i'm really immensely pleased with it -- and i'm never pleased with anything. i'm more in the $5,500 range -- add like a grand if I had it installed by a 'pro' ... now if i can just get the woman's subaru to sound right i'll piss myself with joy... The Artist formerly known as PoweredByDodge -
This is part of a list i've been compiling for my insurance company -- if you think you have problems with an amp and 4 speakers... think about how much stuff went wrong for me with this...
quantity -- item...
2 Energizer 1000CA / 900 CCA battery
1 Mopar psgr. Side battery tray
2 Streetwires battery terminator
1 Streetwires dual post battery terminator
1 Rockford Fosgate dual post battery terminator
35 Rockford Fosgate 0/1 awg power cable (1 foot)
25 Streetwires 2 awg power cable (1 foot)
?? Streetwires 0/1 awg ring terminal (pr)
?? Rockford Fosgate 2 awg ring terminal (pr)
1 Streetwires 2 awg waterproof fuse holder
1 Rockford Fosgate 150A ANL fuse
3 Stinger ANL fuse holder
3 Stinger 150A ANL fuse
1 Streetwires 1 farad Capacitor
1 Lightning Audio 1 farad Capacitor
1 Lightning Audio 1 farad Capacitor
2 Streetwires Zero Noise 5.0 6 ft patch cable
1 Streetwires Zero Noise 5.0 3 ft patch cable
1 Harrison Labs F-mod 12db/octave @ 100Hz crossover (pr)
1 Harrison Labs F-mod 12db/octave @ 70Hz crossovers (pr)
2 Streetwires Zero Noise 5.0 patch cables (6 ft)
1 Streetwires Zero Noise 5.0 patch cables (3 ft)
60 Monster Cable XP 15/16 awg speaker cable (1 foot)
12 Monster Cable 12 awg dual jacket speaker cable (1 foot)
15 Streetwires remote turn on wire (1 foot)
1 Metra 1999 Dodge Ram fitted dashboard din-kit
1 Dual female end RCA connector (pair)
2 Gold plated 1-male to 2-female Y-splitter
2 Basic 1-male to 2-male Y-splitter
2 Gold plated 1-female to 2-male Y-splitter
3 Streetwires 4 awg power wire (1 foot)
2 Single 4 in - Quad 8 out power distribution block
8 Streetwires 8 awg power cable (1 foot)
1 MTX 81000D 1,500 watt mono subwoofer amplifier
1 MTX 81000D 1,500 watt mono subwoofer amplifier
1 MTX Blue Thunder Pro 754 4 channel 560 watt amplifier
1 MTX Blue Thunder Pro 502 2 channel 200 watt amplifier
1 Alpine CDA 7863 swingface cd headunit
1 Carpeted pre-fabricated 6x9" speaker enclosures (pr)
1 Polk DX9 6x9" loudspeakers (pr)
1 Polk DX3065 6.5" component loudspeaker set (pr)
1 Scosche 6x9" to 6.5"speaker adaptor plates (pr)
2 Image Dynamics ID-max Dual 4ohm coil V.2 Transducer
1 Streetwires 4 awg ring terminal (pr)
1 Kenwood Sirius Satellite Radio Tuner
1 Kenwood Sirius Satellite Radio Antenna
1 Kenwood FM Modulator
1 Kenwood 10 Disc CD Changer
3 Ichibahn Strobe Lights
8 Auto trunk and interior carpeting (1 roll = 9 ft x 3 ft)
for apolstering door panels as well as rear portion of cab
1 Door lock post (pr)
6 Dynamat Sonic Deadener (1 box = 12 sq feet)
50 General Electric Basic Acrylic Caulking Compound (tube)
Drywall screws (box)
2 8 ft x 4 ft sheet 3/4" Medium Density Fiberboard
1 for construction of new interior walls in rear portion
of vehicle
1 for construction of vehicle specific speaker cabinets
for transducers.
1 Crimestopper Vehicle Alarm System with LCD 2,000 ft
range transceiver.
1 Repair parts for MTX Blue Thunder Pro 754
1 Repair parts for MTX Blue Thunder Pro 502
i think i forgot some stuff too...
i need a new truck -- empty -- less **** to take care of.The Artist formerly known as PoweredByDodge -
what do you use the 3 and 6ft patch cables for?
i need like at least a 10-12 ft cable to reach my amps
-Cody -
You want to see the difference between a quality aftermarket stereo and even teh best factory stock stereo, grab a good recording of your favorite classical music.
Then you'll see.Expert Moron Extraordinaire
You're just jealous 'cause the voices don't talk to you! -
Please, my heart simply cannot take anyone bad-mouthing minidiscs.:( Oh Lord, this could be it for my general coronary health...
Please consider what the minidisc is, think about if it could have entirely replaced audio tapes. The sound quality is fantastic, I've never heard there be a difference between them and the source CD. I'm not talking about MDLP or whatever NetMD mode people record in these days to simulate an MP3 experience or what have you. I'm talking about strict CD copies. Mini Discs are in a cartridge so they can't get scratched, but that doesn't matter anyway because all minidisc players have anti-shock memory built in. They format (effectively erase) instantaneously, you can move around tracks, add and delete text, and they're smaller than CDs. You can theoretically record over them a million times with no loss of fidelity, give or take a hundred thousand. Minidiscs are big in Japan, I love Japan.
I think I'm beginning to notice some more differences between me and the audiophile, most notably being the fact that I don't listen to music all that loud. I'll turn it up occasionally but as far as blaring, I don't do that at all. The comment about the Honda Civic stereo is absolutely correct. They sound great, you just can't turn them up at all, not that there would be all that much distortion, depending on what you're listening to, but the stereo simply won't let you reach a certain volume. I love that stereo, it's more than fine for someone like me, although I can see how it would be extremely irritating to an audiophile who can't resist comparisons to their own equipment.
As far as five thousand plus dollars?... There's no way I would commit that much money to a car stereo. I think I've been over this-so I'll shut up on that one.
We all like to spend money on what's important to us, and I'm starting to realize that I'm inhabiting a specified internet forum that I don't specifically specialize in. Newbies/Pros, I suppose it's all relative.
My favorite Sarah McLachlan song is 'elsewhere'. If you don't have 'Rarities, B-sides, and Other Stuff' by Sarah, it's worth a listen-there's a big bee on the cover, and so is the Mirrorball DVD, I believe it has nine more songs than the CD.
Alright bye... -
cody -->
the two 6 foot lines run from behind the dash down to the floor, along the floor straight back to about 2 inches past the back of the front seats... for the first line, i then tied in the 3 inch long inline crossover and then the 6 inch long Y-splitter, tapped it to the first amp, and then jumped the other end of the Y to the 2nd amp for highs.
the other six foot line ends right about there too but it is then split in half with one channel going to the left, one to the right, a double female end splicer is used to tie in the 3 foot cable that i cut down the middle -- the 3 foot line then runs to each respective sub amp. along the bottom of each sub box.
seachange 44 -->
i thought a minidisc was just like a CD only with less time ??
i am probably mixing up a "mini-CD" with a "minidisc" but when you go into OfficeMax or whatever and buy a pack of CD-R's to throw in your burner, you can get normal CD sized ones that are like 70 or 80 minutes, or you can get the little minidisc size ones that are like 35 minutes...
are those jsut mini-cd's or actual minidiscs???????
as when i stated minidiscs were worthless i was referring to the 35 minute version of a 70 minute cd as stated above. i didn't know you could burn and burn and burn over a minidisc like that...
i think i may have been un-informed of a whole type of musical media.
and japan -- lol -- japan is allright till you go to have a kid. If you have a son, great, if you have a daughter, she'll end up in the local dumpster... there was a big scandal about that -- due to the government limiting families to one child to control population growth, some fathers who couldn't deal with "ending hte family name" would toss their daughters into dumpsters and pretend they weren't born. ...but they make decent electronics... lmfao.
anywho -- did they get your stuff fixed yet, or are they still twiddlin their thumbs?The Artist formerly known as PoweredByDodge -
Alright, lets clarify some subject matter here.:D
I'm not talking about 3" CDs here, those are just plain 3" CD's, mainly developed for use in things like Sony's mavica camera that burns photos directly to the CD so you don't have to hook the camera up to your computer. There's also an MP3 player that only plays 3" CDs. What I'm talking about is actually even smaller than a 3" CD. Mini Discs were invented by Sony and then other companies began making players as well. You can buy them with 74 or 80 minute recording times. They have absolutely nothing to do with CDs other than they can digitally be recorded from them. Go to Google.com and type in minidisc and you'll be able to see what one looks like. It looks like I got all fired up for nothing.
:rolleyes:
Secondly, China is the country that vehemently dislikes the birth of female babies. Japan is the high tech center of the world. The difference between China and Japan is night and day. Japan is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. :eek: -
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I forgot to answer the last part-I have an appointment for Monday to mess around with grounding or whatever might stop the noise. If we can't fix it, hopefully I can send the head unit back and figure something else out.
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You guys probably aren't going to believe this, but my installers insisted on trying the noise filters first and they apparently worked.:eek: There isn't even a clue that there was once an engine noise problem. I was informed that since the filters are doing their thing, the problem isn't going to come back. So whatever. I can finally move on with my life now. The only issue I'm having now is the riduculously complicated EQ on my head unit. It's going to take me quite a while to get the sound just right. So, it looks like this chapter in my life is over, hopefully. I started school again this semester and it seems pretty enjoyable so far. I can't have any more drama:rolleyes:
So we can either let this post slip into oblivion or keep talking about silly, random things. Either way, thank you all for the support-it was crucial.
Bye for now...
