Hi guys,

Extremely new to the mobile audio scene. I absolutely know nothing about it except from what I read from Z forums and carstereo.com and caraudioforum.com. I sit in my bimmer, then I sit in my Z, and I literally shake my head as I turn my volume anywhere up near 18. I usually like the volume around 22+ when I'm just in the music mood.

Here's what I wanted to have:

1) Navi
2) Be able to play DVD while driving
3) Be able to hook up my iPod
4) Rear view camera
5) Clean sound foremost, and then decently loud. (I play mostly jazz/classical/alternative rock/rock)

What I've came up with was Pioneer N2. The installer can bypass it for the gyro sensor. He'll be installing it with the rear camera for $1700 double din. (Is this a decent price?) I'll purchase Pioneer CD-IB 100 and have that installed as well so I can hook up my iPod. With this installtion, 1) through 4) should be taken cared of.

I was hoping to spend $2500 max on complete audio system. I was looking into the JL Audio Stealth Box. I'm not sure how much those runs since I couldn't find any pricing on websites. Does anyone have any recommendations on a pretty complete set up lets say if I've $800-$1200 left? Installation included?

Please help me out. I'm having the Pioneer installed in 2 days, but was looking to install the other audio setups within 1-2 weeks. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Have a look at some of the reviews on the Pioneer's iPod interface

I listen to mine in the random play mode. I drive the car on public roads and searching for a song isn't worth an accident. The iPod sits in the console and I've taken a Griffin iPod adapter apart and run the wires through the console and into the AVIC N2's brain.

$1700 installed with the back-up camera is good as there's a bunch of labor involved.

I replaced all the speakers with top-of-the-line Infinity Kappa front components and rear sub-woofers in a Zenclosure box for the twin 10" drivers.

The Infinity amplifiers were the exact size to fit into where I wanted them and were the cheapest per watt. I have the gains all the way down on the subwoofer and nearly the same on the other four speakers. I put on a set of 32 dB ear muffs, turned the volume control to 45 and adjusted the bass until the car was vibrating. I then adjusted the midrange/highs to match the amplitude of the woofers.

I love the sound of the Kappa components ... goose bumps with a well mixed song.

I also bought the matching 6-disc player and mounted it into the small map pockets behind the seats saving the big luggage cubby and using the stock sub-woofer area for the amplifiers.

My saga

 

Thanks for the information Paul. I read more into it, and seems alot of people praises the Infinity line more than other ones. Here's what I got going in my mind as of right now.

Front - Infinity Reference 6010cs
Back- Infinity Reference 6010cs
Sub- 1x Infinity BassLink 10" 200 Watt built in trunk
Amp- JL Audio 300/4 for the CS

I'm not going to be going around booming my car for the whole neighbor to hear, rather just for my own enjoyment without damaging my ears. Do I need 2 sets of 6010cs or can the fronts be swapped out with 5010cs and still be very decent?

Also, I think the BassLink is self amplified? Do I need another amp to power it for decent sound?

If I go with the exact setup I listed, it's already at around $800 labor excluded. This seems to fit my budget just right.

Any suggestions are welcome.

 

I just finished installing the AVIC-D1 in my car yesterday.(Merry Christmas To Me!) I have XM Nav Traffic, an External DVD player and I had them Run an IP-Bus RCA adaptor in the Aux output. I read about alot of complaints about the IPod Adapter so I decided an RCA to Stereo would work fine. The back-up camera wasn't in stock so I have to wait till tuesday to get it. So far I'm toatlly impressed with the system. I love the navigation and how it doesn't tell you you missed your turn like some navigations do. I'm thinking of adding a TV Tuner just for SH*Ts and Giggles. I haven't changed the speakers yet. But the radio woke them up for now until I finish paying off the Radio and components. I paid $1400 for the radio, $250 for the XM Brain, $100 for the Boss DVD Player and $40 for the RCA Adaptor, plus $150 install. Oh, yeah I forgot. They had a rebate for the radio of $300 and $100 for the XM Brain. So over price after rebates was $1540. I think. So Overall not a rape and I can enjoy my head unit. Speakers are next on my list.