headunit advice

welshboy

welshboy

welshboy

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Im after a headunit, budget of around £100.

ideally i want to put some 6x9's in my parcel shelf and then maybe upgrade the door componants later, id also like to put a sub/amp in the boot eventually aswell.

any recommendations? I quite like the idea of having a usb bit aswell but id prefer it in my glovebox not at the front, but not fussy if it has to be at the front.

cheers
 
welshboy said:
Im after a headunit, budget of around £100.

ideally i want to put some 6x9's in my parcel shelf and then maybe upgrade the door componants later, id also like to put a sub/amp in the boot eventually aswell.

any recommendations? I quite like the idea of having a usb bit aswell but id prefer it in my glovebox not at the front, but not fussy if it has to be at the front.

cheers
Click to expand...

Recommendations...

Do some reading on the soundstage within a car, realise that 6x9's are awful (even moreso when combined with a sub), and then go for sound quality and not volume/bass.
 
paradigm said:
Recommendations...

Do some reading on the soundstage within a car, realise that 6x9's are awful (even moreso when combined with a sub), and then go for sound quality and not volume/bass.
Click to expand...

You'll get this a lot in here. So brace yourself :)

The benefit of 6x9s is volume, and as a budget, all in one solution they will 'do'. However, they will often bottom out too early to provide any low-down oomph whatsoever, and too late to intergrate well with a good sub setup. Used with a crossover, they make excellent sound fillers at volume though :)

I recommend you upgrade the front components first (this'll offer better volume levels and sound quality). However, you should bear in mind that any headunit at that price range and will power them poorly. They'd be best amplified.

A good solution would be the headunit and front components initially. Followed by a multichannel amplifier and a sub (run the amp with two channels in stereo for components, and two bridged for sub).

You'll need to check your dash, but running USB into the glovebox will probably invlolve a little drilling, did in my 'scort. Though not in a suzuki I did for someone.

Running an amp isn't as simple as whacking it in. You need to run live from the battery, through the car, to the boot, and fuse it near the battery. You then need to ground the amp (WELL) in the boot, usually on one of the bolts of the suspension strut. Then you need to run a pair of RCA leads down the other side of the car from the back of the HU to the boot for every pair of speakers / sub you'll be running.

If you want to go the 6x9 route, my JBLs didn't do me too bad, you'll be able to use the standard wiring (as long as the car has rear speakers) with a little modification. My advice is spend money on the head unit, I've got a alpine 9880r, and the amplification is so good on it I can barely tell the difference between the HU and the Orion-2400 amp I use driving my components.

Can't help with brands at that price range though. For speakers, go Rainbow or Hertz, for subs, JBL used to be the daddy when it came to budget equipment.

If you want setup help give me a shout :)

Ant :cool:
 
WantoN said:
I can barely tell the difference between the HU and the Orion-2400 amp I use driving my components.
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You sure you got it setup properly then? As i know when i have my comps amped it sounds much much better than when it is running off my headunit...


And the reason why he will get the comment about the 6x9s and the soundstage in here is because it is true
 
Vigoro said:
You sure you got it setup properly then? As i know when i have my comps amped it sounds much much better than when it is running off my headunit...


And the reason why he will get the comment about the 6x9s and the soundstage in here is because it is true
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I didn't dispute it's truth. I just toted the positives.

My system is set up properly :) What HU / amp are you running?

Ant :cool:
 
6x9's are normally okay for rear fill. The Manta has just one speaker in the front and 2 tiny speakers in the back, so volume is a real issue. This means I have to compromise on quality.

I currently have 2 12" subs and now need to replace the rear speakers as they are original, miniscule, and crackly. I'm building a new shelf for the rear and can't decide if I should use JBL 6x9's or JBL 8" speakers. The stats on both are nigh on identical as is the price so currently I have no idea what to go for!
 
Lopéz said:
6x9's are normally okay for rear fill. The Manta has just one speaker in the front and 2 tiny speakers in the back, so volume is a real issue. This means I have to compromise on quality.

I currently have 2 12" subs and now need to replace the rear speakers as they are original, miniscule, and crackly. I'm building a new shelf for the rear and can't decide if I should use JBL 6x9's or JBL 8" speakers. The stats on both are nigh on identical as is the price so currently I have no idea what to go for!
Click to expand...

Coaxials will probably handle mids and trebs better, you don't need any low down punch with two 12" organ busters in the back :p

Are you going to enclose the speakers?

Will you finish this project :p

Ant :cool:
 
WantoN said:
I didn't dispute it's truth. I just toted the positives.

My system is set up properly :) What HU / amp are you running?

Ant :cool:
Click to expand...

Got a Pioneer DEH6000UB as the headunit and i dont have a clue what my current amp is, as i got it for free and i couldnt care less, did have a crappy Mutant 480WSP or whatever the name was, something like that
 
WantoN said:
Coaxials will probably handle mids and trebs better, you don't need any low down punch with two 12" organ busters in the back :p

Are you going to enclose the speakers?

Will you finish this project :p

Ant :cool:
Click to expand...
It's not a project :p Well, a mini-project :D
 
6x9s are fine in providing a bit of low down oomph if you don't need\want a sub, I've used them in the past and they've been fine at what they do.
 
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