HiFi Car Audio

[RWebb]

several home audio threads, but not much on quality car audio systems

to make it more specific, let's consider a car audio system in something slow, where you you will be forced to spend time listening to the stereo system, and will not want to hear the engine

in other words... a Volkswagon Vanagon...

[porsche4life]

Sound deadening will be your friend.....

[rusnak]

Oiy. Another car. You'd spend more than the value of the vehicle on gear alone to get that thing to sound nice. Unless you are just talking the driver's seat only.

[1990C4S]

Subscribed. I have several cars with terrible sound....perhaps even horrendous...

[RWebb]

Let's talk about whether there is any decent sounding "sub" woofer that can be used.

And what head unit gives good control options of an ipod while using its own Quality D to A ...

Obviously, no car will ever sound as good as an audiophile home system - but that isn't the point.

[GH85Carrera]

As you know the ambient noise in the vehicle is the biggest problem for hifi. A lot of it will depend on the type of music you want to hear. Close enough for rock & roll is accurate for a live Stones album.

[scottmandue]

I am extremely happy with crutchfield.com

I used them back in the pre-Internet days when they were just a catalog.

You can now go to their website, punch in the make, model, year of you vehicle, and it will give you a list of what head units will fit in the dash (more difficult than you may think.) Also if you order from them they will include the adapter plate to fit the dash and adapter plug to attach from your OEM wiring loom to the plug on the new head unit.

They also have a tool free tech support number.

I installed a JVC HD radio and CD player in a few hours that was a big improvement over the stock unit.

[tangerine911S]

For something as large and slab-sided as a Vanagon, sound deadening is a must to mitigate panel resonance which keeps outside noise out and inside noise in.

With the huge amount of space behind the driver, for hifi sound you would not want any rear speakers at all. The time delay of the rear speakers would affect the sound quality and imaging. Since music is normally recorded in stereo anyway, rear speakers are many times left out even in smaller cars when SQL (sound quality) is the goal. Some keep them for personal preference, if you often have rear passengers, if watching movies with 5.1 sound, or if SPL (sound pressure) is the goal. For a 2.1 setup, these speakers should have a high RMS wattage rating. Brands to consider are Focal, Dynaudio, DLS, Rainbow...

A subwoofer would actually do quite well in a Vanagon. The limiting factor in making a sub sound great in automobiles is most often space. The amount of space available in a camper would allow for a really well designed sub box (transmission line, band pass, large ported..). Also, the shape of the camper could allow for good SP levels as the shape could let the sub be corner loaded.

There are many choices for head units but get one with a good Ipod interface and a higher pre-out voltage for the best quality sound.

Amps should ideally be separate for stereo channels and sub channel. One with low floor noise and plenty of head room for the speakers of choice should be selected to avoid signal clipping at high volumes.

Additional equipment to consider would include a parametric equalizer and omnidirectional microphone and program to tune to a flat response or to taste.

[willtel]

A lot of the newer subs have plenty of output even in small enclosures. I'm putting one these JBLs in the back of my BMW wagon. I'm using a sealed box, I like the tight fast bass they produce.


I'll also be using a JBL MS-8 signal processor. It does time alignment and EQ based on measurements made from microphones placed where the drivers head usually is. I can't wait to get it all installed.

Here is my Porsche install thread, it is relatively simple as I just needed something I could hear over the engine.
911 SQ stereo install with custom sub enclosure

[tangerine911S]

More important than output in a subwoofer is response. Small enclosures roll off quickly which can leave the bottom end pretty weak. If bass is important to you, this is a deal breaker as the lowest notes can often have the biggest (musical) impact. For many however, you're right, a small sub in a small enclosure will do a nice job.

But we are talking about real hifi here...

[techweenie]

Can't testify to sub boxes but the head unit should have the ability to display iPod information and interface to choose playlists and play order (artist, album, song title, etc.). I am impressed with HD Radio as well. You can get all of that for around $180. As Brian says, the higher the preamp-out voltage, the better.