Car Sound Systems Advice

epictring

My dad gave me his old Toyota Corolla and I want to replace the crappy stock sound.
I went to the local car audio shop today and the guy was trying to sell me an "entry level" system for R4200 installed

I remember some of the specs right now (I'll update tomorrow)

XTC Amplifier
JVC Head Unit
Can't remember speakers

I know almost nothing about the different price ranges and systems so I was wondering if anyone here knows something.
I don't need intense sub woofer bass, I listen to mostly folk, rock, little metal, blues etc. kind of music and no rave/dubstep. So I'm looking at something to give me good sound quality with basic volume levels, doesn't have to be insanely loud.

Everybody says an amp is compulsory for good sound quality and getting the best out of speakers, not sure of that either.

I'm looking for something a little cheaper than 4000, any advice? Or is a 4000 system really what I need?

Norman86

eish... stay away from jvc and starsound and xtc.. seriously.. they are the sanchezes of the car audio world.
youre in welkom though.. that sucks.
do you ever come to joburg?

Norman86

or... do you have a game or hi fi corp in your area?
you could look at getting some entry level pioneer stuff..
but its all about application.

if you want any sort of bass, you need at least a 6inch speaker..
if you really want better sound, you need a split system, with a 6inch woofer and a tweeter.
to make the system work to its full potential, you need an amplifier.
if you dont want a sub, a decent 2 channel amp is fine.
if you want to maybe add a sub later then rather go for a 4 channel amp.

Norman86

also, do you need a new head unit?
also factor in that youre going to need cabling for power, speakers and rca's to send the signal to the amp....

if you only have a 4k budget... a head unit could cost around 1k.
amp.. at least 1k. split system another 1k and cabling and installation another 1k.

epictring

Well I'm moving to Pretoria by the end of the month. We have a Game and Hifi-corp

The "entry level" pioneer stuff you mentioned, is it alright?

Norman86

its better than the xtc crap..
game sell not too bad alpine head units.. entry level but sounds like itll do the job with cd and usb functionality.
i recall seeing some better split systems at hi fi corp...
will check for you in a few!

Norman86

but... if youre moving this way..
rather come here and then get the stuff and have it installed..
theres a top notch place here in boksburg..
then you can have a listen to some systems too!

personally.. there are a few brands i enjoy..
jbl amps and subs but their splits not do much.
harmon kardon amps.
hertz splits subs and amps.
focal splits subs and amps.
while alpine is good on head units, i prefer clarion myself.
pioneer and sony are way below on my list but way above the starsound xtc and jvc products.

plus.. the brands i mentioned.. you could get a nice 2 channel system for 4k!

Norman86

There are actually 2 places i would recommend in Boksburg..
the one is Sounds limited, and the other is acoustic audio.

you'll get a system you're really happy with from either..
but if you want the install too, i would rather suggest to buy from Acoustic audio.. go check them out..

www.soundslimited.co.za - deal with Razeen, tell him I sent you.
www.acousticaudio.co.za - Abrie is the owner / installer. really really passionate guy.
and he has some awesome specials at the moment..
you might want to look at the hertz combo, and ask him to substitute a head unit for the sub.

These products will serve you well and last longer than the cheap crap the other guy wanted to sell you!
In car audio, a watt is not a watt. good quality amps and speakers refer to their RMS rating and dont have a pmpo or "max power" thumbsuck figure to confuse you.
the cheaper brands use the pmpo or max power as a way to fool you into thinking they're good.
one guy i knew coined it an ILS figure.. coz only If Lightning Strikes will it ever make the claimed rating on the box ?

Any other questions, just ask!

Bob-Dubery

Look at features - especially on the player. Will it play MP3s? Mine does - from disc. This means I can burn several CDs to one disc of MP3s without ridiculous levels of compression and that's a space saver in the car. More modern units may have a USB connector - just dump stuff onto a memory stick and plug that in.

I can't tell you how much all this cost - it's not a new system. The head is Pioneer and it's served me well. Prolly going to need replacing soon because in the winter when things shrink a little bit it is less keen to eject CDs. The speakers are a mixture of Hertz and Alpine. No separate amp. Tolerable.

Remember that if you go to a specialist shop they are going to charge for installation as well. If you go to Hi-Fir corp and buy components then you still have to install everything.

Bob-Dubery

http://www.hificorp.co.za/product/1039951/pioneer-c-rad-deh-1550-usb/

R999 at Hi-Fi Corp gets you a 50 watt Pioneer front-loader with USB and mini-jack inputs so you can plug in a memory stick or an mp3 player. Also AM/FM. It's newer than mine so I presume it has all the modern features. I can set mine so that if a radio station broadcasts a traffic report it stops the CD, gives me the traffic report and then starts the CD again. Not all radio stations send the correct signals to do this, but Classic FM does. Maybe others have got smarter since, but Classic works for me - I leave the radio tuned to classic and pop in a CD and the scenario I describe happens.

DaFiz

Good advice Bob. I've always liked the Pioneers and they give good value for munny. Four speakers... two 6x9s at the rear and two 4sin front.
Having USB is the answer so you can play you mp3s. 50 watts should be adequate. 8)

flatfourfan

Some good advice given here. However stay the heck away from HI-FI corp and discount stores.

Autostyle is THE place to go if you want stuff, plus they overnight the stuff to you at a VERY reasonable price. For example the radio that bob posted is R200 cheaper by them. People say Mo sells cheap/ crap stuff......but the one time that I had an issue with something missing from a radio, he sent it through to me the following day.

http://www.autostyle.co.za/car-audio-1/car-mp3-wma-cd-players/pioneer-deh-1550ub-mp3-player-with-usb.html

I was buying from them when I still had my shop and that's ages ago. Everything I have in my 2 cars and my wifes car comes from his store. I've had zero issues with regards to quality. I swear by Pioneer and I've been running them for about the last 20 years. I've had MB Quart/ Rockford in my previous show car and I'm sorry, but it's over-rated for someone just wanting a nice system to listen to in their car.

Which corolla is this going in, because going 6 x 9 means that you're going to have to cut and the older model have a steel backboard, so you have to ask how far do you want to go? My advice, when you're in Pretoria drop me a line and I can demo my system in my double cab for you, it's got JBL speakers all round running off the radio with a small JBL 8" sub out back with a clarion amp. I'm a family man so I don't want the doef doef.....I listen to everything from barbie's greatest hits thanks to my daughters, to tuks for my wife and lamb of God for myself.

My advice, decent front set of speaker, 5:1/4", co-axels up front, (4" are just too small for front stage) , not splits, and maybe 6:1/2" out back. Or 6 x 9's if you want to cut. The latter does have a bit more bass. The radio will have no problem driving a nice set of speakers.

I reckon with a budget of about R1700, you can get a nice 4 speaker set up with a nice radio from Autostyle.

Stay the heck away from starsound, JVC, total rubbish.

chris77

Nothing to add on what's been said already, just a bit of advice. Unless you're a sound enthusiast, don't get suckered into buying somthing that is aimed at loudness. Get something more aimed at decent clarity rather than ear splitting volume and ground shaking bass. You will still be able to crank it when the occasion arises, but the true value will lie in being able to properly hear and appreciate the finer details and nuances of the music you love.

Bob-Dubery

chris77 wrote: Nothing to add on what's been said already, just a bit of advice. Unless you're a sound enthusiast, don't get suckered into buying somthing that is aimed at loudness. Get something more aimed at decent clarity rather than ear splitting volume and ground shaking bass. You will still be able to crank it when the occasion arises, but the true value will lie in being able to properly hear and appreciate the finer details and nuances of the music you love.

+1

You can get systems that literally rattle the windows. I sometimes see guys with such systems behind me in the traffic. You can actually SEE the windscreen vibrating. Those systems are LOUD, but, as chris77 points out, not necessarily hi-fidelic.

Of course, if you truly want your fillings loosened....

Norman86

i would still rather suggest a good split up front than 6x9's in the back.

plus, like that, all he would have to do then is add a sub in future for some extra low end.

flatfourfan

Norman86 wrote: i would still rather suggest a good split up front than 6x9's in the back.

plus, like that, all he would have to do then is add a sub in future for some extra low end.

On a non-amplified set up, I wouldn't recommend splits up front. Unless you want to go the taxi route and have the tweeter sitting on the dash or A-Pillar.

You want the driver and the tweeter as close together as possible and that would either mean kick panels or doors which would mean some custom fabbing to get stuff to fit. I'm also a HUGE fan of a nice clean uncluttered system, that can be installed in an afternoon and that doesn't require hacking the car to get it to fit.

Norman86

exactly why i recommended a 2 channel amp along with splits.

he's not entering sound quality comps any time soon, so theres no reason the tweeter doesnt have to go on the a pillar!
Even if he did, tweeter on the a pillar brings the sound stage up, tweeter in a kick, unless done properly, brings the stage down like a co-axial will do.

sharonzaz

there is a small little shop, not too far from menlyn called http://www.boomedalive.co.za/wmenu.php, nice dude
called aldo who has been my audio installer for quite a few years now.

what ever i dont take to him i do myself, but he is THE man to talk to.
he is fair on price and very honest, for example said to me NOT to install aftermarket radio for my X5 as it may cause
electrical mess with the car computer system etc, so making money is not his only priority.

flatfourfan

Lets not lose track of what he wants...

"I don't need intense sub woofer bass, I listen to mostly folk, rock, little metal, blues etc. kind of music and no rave/dubstep. So I'm looking at something to give me good sound quality with basic volume levels, doesn't have to be insanely loud."

My advice...............go and demo a few cars before you spend anything. Any half decent shop will have a demo car that can shut off certain components so that you can hear what each one sounds like.

Norman86

co-ax's and 6x9's arent going to give good quality sound.
and why should he spend money on more speakers, when one set of quality speakers will sound better anyway?
For R4k, he can get a decent head unit with usb, aux and cd capability, a decent 2 channel amp, plus decent splits, and have it installed.

he can get Hertz ESK 165 splits for R1370 at acoustic audio. thats a seriously good price for speakers that will outshine co-ax's and 6x9's played off a head unit.
more speakers does not equal better sound.