I'm looking into replacing the Bose system that is in my car now. I think eventually I might put in a Carputer, or CarPC. But even then I'd just run the audio from that into the AUX in of whatever head unit I get now. All I really care about is having a radio, and AUX in because all my music comes off my MP3 player anyway.

So I've been looking at a few decks now that have a USB input, but I could also settle for a Aux in as well

JVC KD-BT1
Kenwood Excelon KDC-X791
Blaupunkt St Louis MP56

I use Event studio monitors at home (http://www.event1.com/), so clean accurate sound is very important to me. I understand that if I replace the sub I'll have to get another amp, but I'd like to avoid having to get a new amp for the 6" speakers. So I'd like a deck with a quality, and powerful built in ampt.

I don't really care about jumping dolphin animations or lots of blinky lights. I just want a solid head unit with quality signal processing, and good built in amplifiers.



Now for the speakers. I'm a pretty handy guy but I'd like to leave my car looking as stock as possible. Mounting a separate tweeter would be ok, but I don't want to deal with pods or anything like that. Are there a certain brand/size of speaker that fit well in the doors and rear? Obviously sound quality is important as well. Is there a certain brand and or model of speaker that works well in the Z that a lot of you guys have been using with success?


Now i'd like to run the 6" speakers directly off the deck, but I understand that if I replace the sub I'd have to get a new amp. Is there anyway that I could just replace the existing amp on the factory wiring, or would I still have to run power lines back from the battery? Is the existing sub running free air? Accurate bass is more important to me then loud and boomy, so I'd prefer a sealed enclosure. If I wanted to keep the sub in the same location I would have to build some kind of box to fit in that space correct? Does anyone have any good pictures of what that area looks like with the cover off?


Eric

 

I don't care what a headunit's built in amp is "rated" at, it's not going to be very powerful, so I would take quality componentry over high (bogus) rms ratings. Obviously an outboard amp would be the best way to go, but if you are dead set on not using one, my headunit recommendation would be either the Eclipse CD5100 (link) or CD7100 (link).

As for speakers in the stock location, I think the focal polyglass have been installed with success. Someone else might have to chime in here to make a suggestion of what fits.

Dropping in a sub in the OE sub location has been discussed here many, many, many, many, many times and it is not advised - although there have been reported success stories, but most say the SQ is poo. If you must use the OE sub location, look into getting the Wicked CAS glovebox enclosure.

 

Is the driver side sub area the same and the glove box area? Would it be possible to get another glove box and mount it on the drivers side to gain some extra storage space that would be lost if I installed a sub somewhere in the hatch area?


eric

 

I'm not really dead set against a seperate amp. I just don't have a good covered and secure space to work on my car. So whatever I install I can't be spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to route to wiring, or where to mount new equipment. If I just replace the head unit then all I have to do is get a Nissan wiring harness and pop the new deck in. Is there a recommended location to mount an external amp?


Eric

 

I think you can do this with some customer fabrication. The 'problem' you will face is that the door for the glove box is part of the plastic finisher and not a separate piece. Now as I understand (I may be wrong) the USDM finisher obviously has the door on the right side of the car (as you are sitting in the car) and the JDM finisher has the door on the left. If you can acquire 1 JDM finisher, maybe you could fuse them together.

 

Many mount the amps in the stock Bose location, under the seats, on an amp rack that is part of their subwoofer enclosure in the hatch area.

 

Well I've read way to many posts on here saying that the stock location is a bad idea. So I think I'm going to use that location of the stock sub for amps(s) and possibly a carputer in the future. I like the zenclosure corner box because it's cheap and doesn't take up the entire trunk. Plus it looks like it could come out easy if I need more space. I'm also considering building something custom that sits on the right or left side of the area forward of the strut bar. It's been while since I did any of this car audio stuff. if I have a 10" sub, what's the proper way to calculate the volume I need in a sealed enclosure?


Right now I really just want to replace my head unit so I can have a real aux in rather then using a tape adapter. In the future when it's not so wet outside, or I have a garage to work in, I'm going to get more serious about replacing the speakers. For now I'm still planning things out, but I'd like to avoid having to buy a head unit twice.

Again all I really care about in the head unit is the signal quality, and having an aux in. Is one deck going to be dramatically different from another as long as it has preamp outs and isn't some $100 discount POS deck?


Eric

 

The sub specs will tell you the optimal sealed enclosure volume recommended by the manufacturer. Zenclosures should list the volume of their box. For sealed enclosures, most subs are pretty forgiving within about 20%.

As for headunits, the reason I suggested the Eclipse units above is because of the quality of the componentry, and the USB inputs that you want. I would stick with Eclipse, Alpine, Pioneer, or Kenwood to be assured a nice unit. There are other good brands, but you may have to do more research on them. These brands (Eclipse, Alpine, Pioneer, or Kenwood) are the major players in the higher end car audio market that are mainstream. Nakamichi, Denon, and McIntosh would be the top of the top for pure SQ installations.

 

Alright I think I"m leaning towards the Kenwood Excelon KDC-X791, or Excelon KDC-X891. But I'll need to compare the two in a store first.

Ok this is probably a stupid question, but what does SQ stand for?


Eric

 

SQ = sound quality.

Go with an Eclipse. Excellent audio and features, without a lot of the extra crap. If you are serious about SQ, then Eclipse is an awesome brand, much better then Kenwood IMO.

My Eclipse has a lot of awesome features that are good for high-quality sound, but it looks real plain.

 

OK I've decided that I don't want to spend a whole lot more then $1k on everything. The exhaust on my car is pretty loud, so it's not exactly the prime listening environment. So I can't justify spending $400-$700 on two speakers.

Would replacing the Bose system still be worth it if this is my price range?

I would like to keep the 5 speakers setup (rears, fronts, and a 10" sub). So now I'm trying to figure out how to best distribute the money I have to spend. I plan to spend a little over $200 on a head unit, so that leaves around $800-$1000 for speakers and amps.

Obviously the sub will need an amp, but would it be better to run the other 4 speakers off a separate amp, or spend more on the speakers and run them off the deck?

 

. ..or after reading my other post about component vs coaxial. It might make more sense to run rear coaxial off the deck, and front components off a separate amp.


Eric

 

I think what's throwing me off now is companies like Polk or Focal that sell a pair of $6.5" speakers from $250-$800 don't sell 2 channel amps for less then $400. I had thought that the speakers were the most important, but seeing that makes me think I should spend more on the amp.

So say I have $500 to spend on two 6.5" speakers and a 2 channel amp to power them. There has to be some recomended range of ratios between what I should spend on the speakers, and amp. If I spent $340 on a set of Focal Polyglass 165 V2. Would I be wasting them with a $159 Alpine MRP-F25 or would it be better to get a set of $200-$250 speakers so I could spend more on the amp?


Eric

 

seems to me you guys are doin a whole lotta talkin but aint sayin nothing. so which is the best sq speakers @ a reasonable price not no $500 speakers cuz you also need a quality amp/reciever

on a seperate note know anythin about alpine's digital egualizer. i got the iva-w200 or something like that dvd screen but shitty quality need help