Need Help With Car Audio
Talesin
Our own little well of hate Join Date: 2002-11-08 Member: 7710NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators
Our own little well of hate Join Date: 2002-11-08 Member: 7710NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators
<div class="IPBDescription">Old head unit died</div> As the topic says, the head for my car stereo finally went kaput. I'd had some doubts as to how long the 'magic flap' would hold out, given that it seemed a little shoddy... in any case, after three years of service it finally spazzed and burnt out its motor mechanism. Pretty good for an Aiwa, or so I'm told.. especially the CDC-MP32.
I *know* we have at least a few audiophiles on the board, so feel free to offer expertise. My only requirements:<ul><li>Must be ~$150 USD (or less)</li><li>Must be able to play MP3s well, and by extension CDs (Radio is secondary)</li><li>At least one preamp out (Have an amp driving a pair of subs)</li><li>Prefer not to have a motorized faceplate, detachable is okay/preferred</li></ul>What I'd like in addition (but probably won't get <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->):<ul><li>A GOOD degree of antiskip. The old head used to irritate me a lot when I'd hit a bump.</li><li>50x4 watt, to mostly-drive the console pair and three-way rears</li><li>Relatively clear, crisp output. Not expecting full hi-fi quality, with the price range I've set.</li><li>Organization of MP3s by folder/album (no fun to page through 250 songs one at a time)</li><li>ID3 V2.0</li><li>OGG playback</li><li>A non-silver faceplate. Silver looks tacky. Gloss or flat black would be preferred.</li><li>Blue or red display. (Old one had the choice between the two)</li><li>Front-mount line-in jack</li></ul>Don't give a damn about a remote, and while a matrix display would be cool, it'd either be way above my pricepoint or sacrifice on the other, more important aspects. Namely, sounding good and keeping the sound going.
So far, the ones I've looked at are the Aiwa CDC-X504MP, and a couple of Pioneer models that were relatively fugly. The Pioneers got good reviews for the most part, though they seemed a little too scripted for comfort.
I'm leaning toward the Aiwa model, if the local Fry's or Circuit City has them in stock.. so if I'm making a mistake, let me know, and give me something better to work from. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
I *know* we have at least a few audiophiles on the board, so feel free to offer expertise. My only requirements:<ul><li>Must be ~$150 USD (or less)</li><li>Must be able to play MP3s well, and by extension CDs (Radio is secondary)</li><li>At least one preamp out (Have an amp driving a pair of subs)</li><li>Prefer not to have a motorized faceplate, detachable is okay/preferred</li></ul>What I'd like in addition (but probably won't get <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->):<ul><li>A GOOD degree of antiskip. The old head used to irritate me a lot when I'd hit a bump.</li><li>50x4 watt, to mostly-drive the console pair and three-way rears</li><li>Relatively clear, crisp output. Not expecting full hi-fi quality, with the price range I've set.</li><li>Organization of MP3s by folder/album (no fun to page through 250 songs one at a time)</li><li>ID3 V2.0</li><li>OGG playback</li><li>A non-silver faceplate. Silver looks tacky. Gloss or flat black would be preferred.</li><li>Blue or red display. (Old one had the choice between the two)</li><li>Front-mount line-in jack</li></ul>Don't give a damn about a remote, and while a matrix display would be cool, it'd either be way above my pricepoint or sacrifice on the other, more important aspects. Namely, sounding good and keeping the sound going.
So far, the ones I've looked at are the Aiwa CDC-X504MP, and a couple of Pioneer models that were relatively fugly. The Pioneers got good reviews for the most part, though they seemed a little too scripted for comfort.
I'm leaning toward the Aiwa model, if the local Fry's or Circuit City has them in stock.. so if I'm making a mistake, let me know, and give me something better to work from. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Comments
j/k. I'm no expert in car audio but I will suggest a way to narrow your search:
<a href='http://www.crutchfield.com/S-OLZp5BpQw9s/cgi-bin/autoinfo/autoinfo.asp?s=0&cc=01&vehicleid=0' target='_blank'>Crutchfield's What fits my car? selection tool</a>
EDIT: stupid web lingo programming shiznit