So i have aftermarkey speakers in my Z... but a stock headunit


I noticed that once I got past 26 volume they sound pretty damn bad. Aka the bass sucks, and you cant hear anything. (Bass is at 0)


Now would an aftermarket headunit allow me to go to a higher volume and keep the quality?

How about an aftermarket Hu, and an amplifier?

I pretty much dont know anythig about car audio. I just want my music loud so when i drive with the windows down I can hear my music =P

 

There is usually an amp within headunits, except certain ones. The amp is generally rated with a max wattage and an rms wattage rating. The rms rating is basically the wattage that the amp can handle for hours on end. As you reach closer to the peak wattage often the sound will become distorted. Through the volume control you are controlling how many watts are being sent to the speakers.

I don't know if the stock HU or stock BOSE HU has an internal amp(I think the bose has an external one for the sub.. not sure if its also for the speakers). Though nissan really skimped on the audio department in the Z so its pretty crappy. When upgrading to a better HU they will generally say something like 50 watts x 4. The 50watts is max, and the rms is usually half that(depending on brand and quality). Often the manufacturer will state the continous or rms rating in their specs.

I think the nissan amps are pretty crappy and probably only have something like 10rms, so upgrading the HU would probably let you turn it much higher without distortion.

Buying an external amp is generally the best with some aftermarket speakers to match the wattage rating. Speakers need to be matched to the watts being fed to it. Speakers will generally say what their max wattage is, and what their rms rating is. Again concentrate on the rms rating. You don't always need to match it perfectly, but try not to send more watts than the speaker can handle as you can potentially blow the speaker if you turn it up too loud.

Distortion will also blow a speaker... well not distortion itself but... well thats for a later discussion. I used to be really into car audio 3 years ago until my civic was stolen and gutted, so I don't remember everything.

To everyone, no it was not one of those trunk rattling overpowering bass crapmobiles. I have always prefered a SQ approach, which is highly lacking in the 350z

 

thanks man!


yea my speakers are RMS: 110W and Max: 250W


THe headunit im planning on getting is 27RMS and 60watts


The pioneer P80MP.... its really nice


I just want to turn my music up


So if i dont need an amp then the better for me =)

 

And beware that you can blow those 110 watt speakers with a 40 watt amplifier just as easy as you can with a 400 watt amplifier. Clipping is what kills speakers - that rough ragged sound is clipping.

 

technically, thats not true

idont want to go through it but this guy here pretty much says it:

http://www.clubknowledge.com/mr_b/8.htm

this last line pretty much sums it up:

"The reason most stores and alleged gurus tell you that clipping kills speakers is because most people coincide speaker value and attaining the maximum heat or excursion capabilities of the speakers. That's what the Rane publication shows. "


meaning most of the times, when distortion kills your spekaer, it cause you are running say around 50 real world watts at a 50 real world watts handling speaker and then adding distortion..

if you still believe distortion alone kills speakers, simply try this, hook your headunit up to a 12w7, and let it go to full clip, lets see how long before it blows

b

 

I know this is been talked about before, but since this post is here, I figured I'd add on to it.
Can you keep the stock HU, but install new speakers and have them amped? I know that some amps allow you to use speaker wires to transmit the signal vs using RCA cables, but I don't know how well this works (no personal experience). I just don't want things to look different than stock... not where I work.

Thanks ~Eric

 

Sure. Adding an amp to a stock HU is done all the time and is very easy. I have my stock Bose HU in my G35 with a JL Audio 250/1 powering a 10" sub and a JL Audio 300/4 powering my CDT Audio front components and stock rear speakers.

You can use a Line Output Converter (LOC) that takes a speaker lead and turns it into a RCA output that goes into the amp. Other amps, like the JL Audio 'slash' series amps, can accepts balanced inputs from my G35's Bose HU and run it straight to the amp without a LOC. Some people on g35driver have tested the stock HU's and apparently they put out a clean signal. I know my system sounds very clean even at high volumes. Hope this helps.

 

So an amp will also help me achieve a higher volume?

 

Yes, an amp with more clean power will make it louder and play much cleaner at higher volume levels.

 

thanks man thats all I needed


As for this... which amp would anyone reccomend for me? I dont need something amazing and to showoff. My speakers are like I said RMS 110W and MAX 250W. Im gonna get a 27RMS Headunit that gives 60Watts max.


Im looking somethin for not that expensive and I want all my speakers amplified (if thats the term to use.. so i think it would be a 4 way amp?)