stock fd stereo vs. aftermarkets, which is better
10-03-10, 05:05 AM
#1
stock fd stereo vs. aftermarkets, which is better
anyone notice that the aftermarket headunit sounds worse than the original clarion from 1992/1993? the fd system sounds great from the factory.
i'm thinking of replacing my original stereo since i broke the tuner somehow, but i don't want to end up with a inferior sounding system.
so what new stereos has everyone installed? and was it an improvement?
p.s. and whats the deal with the center speaker? anyone have a definitive method/writeup so it will still be powered/usable.
i'm thinking of replacing my original stereo since i broke the tuner somehow, but i don't want to end up with a inferior sounding system.
so what new stereos has everyone installed? and was it an improvement?
p.s. and whats the deal with the center speaker? anyone have a definitive method/writeup so it will still be powered/usable.
10-03-10, 03:28 PM
#3
It depends on how far you want to go. When I bought my FD the stereo didn't work at all, so it was either replace it or sing to myself. Since I can't carry a tune in a bucket with a lid, I went with option 1.
I installed an Alpine head-unit, with iPod interface, 1200 watts of Alpine power, Focal speakers front and rear and 1 Kicker 10" L7 in the cargo area. It sounded great for a while, but eventually I found it was lacking in the mid-bass region. In the process of increasing the mid-bass I let myself get talked into adding a 2nd Kicker. Then I ran across a screamin deal on a 2000w Alpine amp, so now I'm in the process of replacing the 800w Alpine amp. I also dynamatted the complete interior. Dynamat is awesome! I also relocated the battery to the storage bin behind the drivers seat and had my alternator rebuilt for 140A output.
The bad thing, for some, is the size and weight of the system. The subwoofer weighs around 80 lbs, maybe another 25 lbs for the dynamat. With 2400w though I'm thinking I may have to add a 2nd battery, so that's even more weight. Some people would never go to this length for a good sound system, but I've always been into stereos and it's what I want.
I installed an Alpine head-unit, with iPod interface, 1200 watts of Alpine power, Focal speakers front and rear and 1 Kicker 10" L7 in the cargo area. It sounded great for a while, but eventually I found it was lacking in the mid-bass region. In the process of increasing the mid-bass I let myself get talked into adding a 2nd Kicker. Then I ran across a screamin deal on a 2000w Alpine amp, so now I'm in the process of replacing the 800w Alpine amp. I also dynamatted the complete interior. Dynamat is awesome! I also relocated the battery to the storage bin behind the drivers seat and had my alternator rebuilt for 140A output.
The bad thing, for some, is the size and weight of the system. The subwoofer weighs around 80 lbs, maybe another 25 lbs for the dynamat. With 2400w though I'm thinking I may have to add a 2nd battery, so that's even more weight. Some people would never go to this length for a good sound system, but I've always been into stereos and it's what I want.
10-03-10, 08:19 PM
#5
It's really hard to beat the factory Bose set-up when it comes to sound quality. The only things about the bose I didn't like was the factory sub seamed a little too weak. Sometimes you couldn't tell if the bose sub was on or not. I also don't like not having audio from the rear. My 91 Vert has those headrest speakers and it can really spoil you. I just recently built a sealed sub box with three 8" subs. It's powered with a mono 1000w Kenwood amp. I just simply used the signal wiring from the bose and ran to the amp. The signal from the factory wiring is very weak so I had to really raise the gain. The bass response is very clean and can be felt without being over powering. To make up for the lack of rear audio, I just adjusted my crossover to a higher frequency to get more full sound out of the subs and it sounds perfect. I like it so much, it's really gonna be hard for me to replace the speakers and head unit now.
To add, I do know that a good quality head unit will make even the most plain speakers sound better. For my home theatre I just recently had to replace my aging JVC amp that burnt up. My speakers are also aging (or so I thought) Polk audio 5 piece bookshelf set-up. I was never fully happy with the sound quality of these speakers. Thats was until the JVC amp failed and I replaced it with a new Pioneer. OMG I can't believe how much better my speakers sound now (and there nearly 8yrs old). I'm hearing things come out of the speakers that I have never heard before. It has some nice tech built-in to recover lost data from compressed audio formats (like with mp3 players and such) and brings it back to nearly original. I've been finding myself just re-listening to all my music just for the enjoyment of it. Now that I know this kind of tech exist, I know what to look for in my next head unit replacement. I think Pioneer was this feature in most of their car line up.
To add, I do know that a good quality head unit will make even the most plain speakers sound better. For my home theatre I just recently had to replace my aging JVC amp that burnt up. My speakers are also aging (or so I thought) Polk audio 5 piece bookshelf set-up. I was never fully happy with the sound quality of these speakers. Thats was until the JVC amp failed and I replaced it with a new Pioneer. OMG I can't believe how much better my speakers sound now (and there nearly 8yrs old). I'm hearing things come out of the speakers that I have never heard before. It has some nice tech built-in to recover lost data from compressed audio formats (like with mp3 players and such) and brings it back to nearly original. I've been finding myself just re-listening to all my music just for the enjoyment of it. Now that I know this kind of tech exist, I know what to look for in my next head unit replacement. I think Pioneer was this feature in most of their car line up.
10-04-10, 01:45 AM
#7
With my Bose deck having a CD player that spits out all discs..... i have no option but to replace the deck to an in-dash double din Pioneer GPS unit i've had my eye on.
$150-200 to repair the Bose CD player is too much for me.... but an $800 do it all deck with GPS and bluetooth is right up my alley
$150-200 to repair the Bose CD player is too much for me.... but an $800 do it all deck with GPS and bluetooth is right up my alley
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10-04-10, 02:30 PM
#8
Dont remember brand models, but the first was one of those $350ish dollar ones with the LCD's on it that had racing, dolphins, etc etc.
The 2nd one, after that went died eventually was a ~$200 pioneer one. I figured after having a more expensive one and it sounding not too good Id go cheap the 2nd time. Sounds about the same, just no fancy LCD movies playing now.
The 2nd one, after that went died eventually was a ~$200 pioneer one. I figured after having a more expensive one and it sounding not too good Id go cheap the 2nd time. Sounds about the same, just no fancy LCD movies playing now.
10-04-10, 05:19 PM
#10
, sounds like you had a kenwood excelon. i've seen dolphins running rampant on those.
Originally Posted by turboIIrotary
its all about tuning your deck/sub box/amp i know nothing about audio and just read up on how to tune everything and it sounds way better.
10-08-10, 11:51 AM
#11
I love the stock bose... but many people mistake the bose sub as a small boom box. It is merely there to add a "quality low bass" not "quantity" per say. The rx-7 bose system had a particular target audience in mind. Think back in 1992 (that's when the FD came out as a 93 model) price tag $35-40K not cheap by any means. Target audience was middle aged men with disposable income. More likely to listen to smooth jazz rather than two live crew.
Another reason why I believe that many are disapointed with the bose is because a 100% stock FD is an angel in the quiet department, where in the cabin you can really appreciate the melody from all of the speakers. Believe it or not the center channel speaker makes a difference! Now add an exhaust and you can forget about being able to pickup on the quality anymore and thus the system seems lacking.
Just my $0.02
10-12-10, 07:06 PM
#12
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It has some nice tech built-in to recover lost data from compressed audio formats (like with mp3 players and such) and brings it back to nearly original. I've been finding myself just re-listening to all my music just for the enjoyment of it. Now that I know this kind of tech exist, I know what to look for in my next head unit replacement. I think Pioneer was this feature in most of their car line up.
10-13-10, 12:08 AM
#13
I love the stock bose... but many people mistake the bose sub as a small boom box. It is merely there to add a "quality low bass" not "quantity" per say. The rx-7 bose system had a particular target audience in mind. Think back in 1992 (that's when the FD came out as a 93 model) price tag $35-40K not cheap by any means. Target audience was middle aged men with disposable income. More likely to listen to smooth jazz rather than two live crew.
Another reason why I believe that many are disapointed with the bose is because a 100% stock FD is an angel in the quiet department, where in the cabin you can really appreciate the melody from all of the speakers. Believe it or not the center channel speaker makes a difference! Now add an exhaust and you can forget about being able to pickup on the quality anymore and thus the system seems lacking.
Just my $0.02
Another reason why I believe that many are disapointed with the bose is because a 100% stock FD is an angel in the quiet department, where in the cabin you can really appreciate the melody from all of the speakers. Believe it or not the center channel speaker makes a difference! Now add an exhaust and you can forget about being able to pickup on the quality anymore and thus the system seems lacking.
Just my $0.02
You are 100% right. For me though, I Fd had the stock cat and cat back so my car was really quiet. I did and was able to appreciate the overall audio quality. Seriously even today there really aren't many factory audio systems that sound as good as the Bose. The bass I'm getting now is perfect. No Boom Boom at all.
Plus it takes up way less space. Pure win for me!
