Gish

I just spent $3300 for a new system for my performance Z with Navigation. I just put in Boston Z6 speakers ($800) on 2 Zapco amps with its super-clear symbalink technology. I also had a custom box molded to the back with a Boston Pro 10" woofer put in (pics later). Needless to say I went all out for a high-quality system and it still doesn't sound like one due to the HU. It has 0 controls as far as EQ goes. You can adjust the "treble" or the "bass" but just doesn't handle a high end system. It doesn't sound as near as capable as the components. The imaging sucks. The sound is lacking. Nizl had this same problem.

I have the navigation system which complicates a new HU. I know some have added an extra center speaker, but has anybody wired the navigation to an aftermarket HU?

I want a HU that matches the dash (preferably), sounds clear as hell, and has time-alignment and a good EQ for imaging. Is the Alpine 7894 the answer for me or should I go with a Pioneer Premier even though it is blue? Anybody have ANY suggestions???
I am extremely frustrated......


Gish

roberto350z

IMO, the 7894 is the ONLY way to go, hands down. As far as nav, I would do a search, cuz I think only one person figured out to get around this...

I just got christmas money, and Im getting a 7894 IMMEDIATELY. Oh BTW... http://www.ikesound.com/1024.htm

7894 for $310!!!

Gish

Roberto- How are the EQ settings in the headunit? Doesn't it only have like 3 settings? Does the amber color match the dash? Thanks man

Gish

Omega350Z

I dont know what to say to help you, but every car ive ever replaced stereo systems in, we ALWAYS started with the headuint, and half the time never needed to replace the factory speakers, we jsut added an amp and either 1 or a pair of decent 10's for the lows, using the headunit to cut out teh low band from the stock speakers. My last car (2001 civic ex) I installed a pioneer premier 740mp and the stock pioneer speakers took on a whole different personality even befor eadjusting the audio to my personal taste. cutting out the low end and letting the stock speakers handle all the mids and highs, and piping the lows straight to a pair of 10's thru a 600 watt rms amp (i know, overkill but at least i had room to move up instead of buying a new amp, besides, the box was in my TRUNK....) and i had one KILLER sound system simply by adding a new hu, amp, and 2 subs. I dont know how the clarion will work, maybe buying a new clarion hu with the same features as pioneer premiers do, and using the stock clarion (bose) speakers in the same fasihon i did with my last car might do something to help rather then spending a few thousand on components when the real problem was with hu iteslf. I would also probably suggest that one upgraded sealed or ported 10" or 12" in the stock location would be more than enough to rattle loose the welds holding the Z together (and give you one hell of a massage on your way to work) I dont really care too much for clarion amps, personally i would go with a pioneer premier amp and sd or rd sub for the lows but im partial to pioneer, theyve never led me wrong................

Gish

Omega- Read my initial post. I have ALREADY put in a new system. I just have it hooked up to the stock head-unit.

MikesChromeZ

I would go with the Pioneer DVH-P7000 DVD Receiver

robl45

you want a 7990 from alpine if you want the best sound, otherwise, just throw any piece of crap in there, any good head unit is gonna cost at least a grand if you really want clear sound. you could also get an old 7909 alpine, don't know how many are still around.

Anyone2u

iTrader: (1)

I think Roberto350z hit it on the head with the Alpine 7894 if you need digital time correction ($287.77 plus shipping at HypAudio.com). And since chances are you'll be using the Metra dash kit to put the stereo in, just add an Alpine ERE-G180 equalizer $189.95 (includes shipping) in the lower "pocket" of the Metra kit. That will give you 11 bands of equalization, sub control, BBE processing and a couple of other "goodies" (see description). Actually I think someone did a similar setup but I couldn't find the thread. Good luck.

Troy9

iTrader: (2)

While the alpine 7990 is an excellent head unit, it wouldn't perform to it's max potential without the $4000 processor that goes with it. You might want to look in to the alpine cda-7998 which has a 1.5 din flip out face, 5 band parametric eq, digital crossover, time correction etc...Retails for around $799 but you can probably get it for $500 or so online..

robl45

you can buy all the features in you want in a headunit but it isn't going to do anything unless the d/a converter is good. the 7990 has a good d/a converter, the 7909 had a good d/a converter. forget the fancy gismos and get a good clean headunit.

Stone Z

For those that have an Alpine with V-Drive (CDA-7893/4) , did you do as follows?

"Important Note: The powerful output of Alpine's V-Drive internal amplifier requires a direct fused connection to your vehicle's battery! We recommend that you purchase a 10-gauge amp wiring kit with this receiver "

Troy9

iTrader: (2)

if all you are looking for is a clean cd player with no added gizmo look into these:

clarion drx-9255
Sony cdx-c90
nakamichi cd-700
nakamichi mb-100
denon r1
denon z1
alpine 7909
alpine 7990
eclipse 8061

Gish

Thanks for all of the input so far guys. Which brands other than Pioneer Premier and Alpine have Digital Time Alignment/correction?? I think that is probably key in getting the system to sound very good.

robl45

sony cdx c910 has a good d/a section, pioneer premier dex m88 was a good head unit too. again, time alignment and all this digital crap isn't going to do anything unless you want a great muffled front stage. If you want it crystal clear, look for a good d/a converter

Anyone2u

iTrader: (1)

That's interesting as I actually have the Sony CDX C910 in my Passat and curse the day I bought it (~$700 new). Unfortunately I found out that being impressed with stats and being impressed with sound don't necessarily go together. I will never ever even consider buying a Sony again, and this was an ES model!!! I'm getting ready to sell the car and am planning to put the factory radio back in, as the Sony would bring down the value of the car. Fortunately I believe they stopped making that model a couple of years ago.

As far as "digital crap" here's an interesting article that Raceboy posted a couple of months ago on Digital Time Correction on Caraudioforum.com. People actually using it seemed to be pretty happy with it. Embrace technology, don't curse it!

robl45

There is nothing wrong with technology, but if the sound isn't clean to begin with, there is no way to clear it up. truthfully, I doubt there is a head unit around even to this day that will beat the 7909, the head unit cost so much to make that alpine called it quits. The cdxc910 is a decent head unit, although the rotary **** sticks which is annoying.

Gish

I think I already have a muffled front-stage with the stock head-unit!! My Zapco amps and Boston Z6 need a good clean head-unit, yes. Do I want to spend another $3000 on a head-unit? No. There are alot of head-units out there, but few with built-in time-alignment. Think about having all the speakers phased in the car to meet your ear at all the right time. That is the problem our car presents us now. You don't notice it until you put in a high end system. I can't hear the right speakers unless I put the "balance" setting on Right-2. The 350z's internal acoustic enviroment is horrible for imaging. That is why I was looking at time-alignment and have heard nothing but praise for it. A good clean sound is one thing, but accurate imaging is the other 50% IMO. In home theater you don't need TA b/c the speakers are right in front of you.

robl45

well I'm not saying that digital alignment is bad or time correction or whatever, but if you can't get imaging right without using that, you need a new installer, I've owne many different cars and have never messed with that crap and get incredible imaging and I've never used a center channel. But you don't need a 3000 dollar head unit, you can get one of the other ones mentioned. clarion's head unit is nice that someone mentioned. basically look for something with a 24bit d/a converter.

Anyone2u

iTrader: (1)

First, please pardon my ignorance (sincerely) but as Gish had pointed out, in a perfect environment like a home stereo system you can sit equidistant from each speaker (assume it's just a stereo signal from a CD and not surround sound from a DVD) and the sound will arrive at each ear at the same time, which is actually pretty important as fas as imaging is concerned. Unfortunately, in a car, someone decided to move the steering wheel to the left side (and then someone else in England or Japan decided to move it to the right... ) and screw up the whole "center" thing! How do you (or the installer) achieve "incredible imaging" when you have one speaker (the left, assuming we're in the US) right beside you and the other half of the music sitting ~6 feet away? I won't even bring into the equation the rear speakers or a subwoofer. With digital time delay you can assign a delay (ms) to each speaker(s) so that BOTH signals arrive at your ears at the same time. I have got to believe that individual speaker Digital Time Delay is a huge step forward, not backward.and the angle of the faceplate decides to change by itself, and the CD gets stuck, and the face gets washed out with the least amount of light visible to the human eye, and the AM reception (got to hear the Red Sox) is horrible, and the faceplate falls off and the sound is not 2-3 times as good as one that costs 2-3 times less and...

robl45

well as I said, I'm not saying digital time delay is a bad thing, what I was trying to say is that it is not going to fix a bad head unit no matter what is done. But as you mentioned in a car that is driving with road noise, not to mention the design of a car, you will never get close to a home system. assume you get great imaging with the time delay, what happens when you open the window?? But one other thing I'd like to point out, in most cars, as you mentioned, you have one speaker right next to you and one speaker on the other side of the car, if you are the only one in the car, the right speaker assuming USA of course will be unblocked while chances are the left speaker will be blocked by your knee equalizing out the fact that they are not the same distance. Bottom line, time delay can be great for competiton, but unless you have a clean clear headunit, its not going to do anything great, I'd much rather have a sound state that is not perfectly centered and a clear sound then have a muffled sound a perfect soundstage.