I've got a home theater system and I listen to my music CDs in Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound. It sound freaking amazing. I hear stuff I've never heard in the music before. Is there a way to duplicate this in my car? Now for the hard part... for a couple hundred bucks?

 

The only processor that has Dolby Pro Logic II is the new Alpine PXA-H700 that is supposed to come out sometime between now and May. It has a retail price of $850, so that may kind of blow the budget.

 

I know the Z has 6 speakers... and 7 if you count the sub on the Bose system... but... does it have a center speaker(s)?

If not, where you planning to put the center speaker?

 

I think you can do without the center speaker. I'm not looking for something high tech. Even half assed surround sound will be awesome, that's why I'm willing to go the cheap route. My system at home has a panorama feature, this allows me to spread the center channel all the way left and right so no sound comes from the center speaker and it still sounds pretty damn good to me. Not ideal for movies, but great for music. I want to make do with the current speaker setup so all that I will have to change is the head unit.

 

hum.. I got an idea, sound cheesy though..
If you have an old or extra DTS/Dolby Digital/PLII decoder lying around your house, you could get yourself a DC/AC converter and hook them up to your deck, assuming you are running after market HU and amps of course. It is much cheaper than getting a $800 HU, probably better sound too.

 

I just had a conversation with an engineer yesterday about this. There really is no place to put a "quality" center channel speaker in the Z. He is currently working on one for the G35 right now, but the cost will be in the thousands as they have to fabric materials, modify the entire dashboard, etc. Alpine has a self contained one (Alpine SBS-0515), but according to him, it is not worth the money (it's only ~$200) and would end up being useless. I had also mentioned losing the sunglasses holder, but again he said it would be sub par for a good system. He has spoken to Alpine and verified a center channel can easily be "created", if desired, without a compromise in sonic quality, however my system will be setup to operate in the "phantom" mode as described by afr0puff.

 

That's a good point, it's not like we are watching movies while driving...

Thanks guys.

 

ARRRGGH!!! You got my creative juices flowing now! I know I'm going to end up screwing up my car. Ghetto and cheesy is my style Plus it doesn't help that I don't know the first thing about car audio. I only have my knowledge of home audio going for me in this endeavor.

Is there a really good car audio forum anyone knows off hand?

 

You might try one of these:

Car Audio Forum
Car Sound
Elite Car Audio
Sound Illusions
12 Volt

 

By the way, Alpine is not the only one with a Dolby Pro Logic II processor. Clarion's DVH920 has Dolby Pro Logic II as well as Dolby Digital and DTS decoding. Has been available for over a year now. Also, Clarion's DXZ935 AM/FM CD player has Dolby Pro Logic II built-in.
Clarion also has a new center channel speaker that is 1/2DIN size. This will fit in the lower opening of the Metra mounting kit for the Z with room to spare if you mount a 1 DIN sized radio in the upper DIN opening. Has a 25W RMS amp, and is ready to install. It will blend in with most speaker systems, as it has a 180Hz-20kHz frequency response.
You can get more info on these products at www.clarion.com.

 

I stand corrected. I was just going by the January 15th press releases that mentioned it was the first. In looking at the Clarion DVH920 processor it appears to be a pretty good deal at $324.95 for Dolby Pro Logic II processing.

 

Keep in mind that the source (CD) would have to be recorded in Dolby Pro Logic in order for it to actually sound surround. 99.9% of CDs are not. The Dolby recording is for movies.

 

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that that's the advantage of
Pro Logic II, in that it enhances all sources of music.

From the link above: Pro Logic II brings all of your old audio software into the 21st century, giving you many of the benefits of Dolby Digital from ordinary stereo software. With its elegantly simple circuitry and the smoothest steering logic ever, it's a very rare processor indeed—the kind you'll want to leave on all the time, so you can always enjoy surround sound, no matter what the source.

Coooool

 

Ahh...that is cool. I should have read!

 

I've got Dolby Pro Logic II around my home desk system. It is truly fantastic, and has made me see all my favourites in a new light.

I don't know how the hell they do it, but the live CD's I have most of the crowd noise comes from the 2 behind speakers, so you really feel right in the middle of it all.

Jot

 

Granted, it doesn't compare to material recorded in 5.1, but it freaking amazes me with what it does to regular stereo 2 channel recordings. I haven't listed to live CDs yet, but New Wave/Electronic music is pure bliss in surround sound.

 

This is a little off topic (OK way off topic) but what's your connection to "Anythingbox"? I love "Peace" and was actually just playing it this weekend. I initially thought about the link for a second, but didn't put it together until you mentioned New Wave/Electronic music.

 

anythingbox.COM is their official web site. You should stop by and say hello on their forum.

anythingbox.NET is the official Fansite I run. It's in need of a major overhaul, but I've been too lazy to work on it. I'm a huge fan of theirs and they've given me a shout out at one of their concerts in CA while I was in NJ, and I may get a "Thank You" credit in their upcoming album.

The Clarion DVH920 requires an additional control unit DVC920 if you plan to use the factory unit. That is $90. This way, I won't have to change the nice look of the console. I can keep the control unit hidden away. If I can't install this myself, how much do you guys think installation will run me? I'm going to head over to several dealers this week to see how it sounds.

 

BUMP!

It took well over a year, but I finally did it. It would have been done sooner, but I'm very proud of the fact that I did everything myself. Initial tests show this to be very promising. Distinct separation was discernible from the drivers seat. I haven't had a chance to fine tune the system. I want to break in the speakers first before I set my amp gain and crossover frequency. A million thanks to all that helped me here. The heads up on the clarion processor was invaluable. Instead of the dvh920, I went for the DVH940, since the 920 was no longer available by the time I had money and knowledge to put this together.

Front Left and Right speakers are Infinity coaxials w/ the stock bose tweeters still in play.

Rear Left and Right speakers are Infinity coaxials (6x9s).

These are being powered by an Alpine MRV-F540

Center channel speaker is the Clarion srk5 which is a 1/2 din setup with its own amp.



The sub is a 10" Eclipse 8700 powered by an Alpine MRD-m300.

Head Unit is the Clarion DXZ745MP. That feeds directly into the DVH940 5.1 processor. Right now its an analog connection, but I will have a true digital SPDIF connection in a couple of weeks.