Audio: Just got a quote... deal or no deal?

[BadBong]

Marty sounded like he knew what he was doing and I'm just waiting for his quote now.

Instead of getting everything at once (amp and sub) and spend $$$ on average components, i'm probably going to go with a good head unit, good front speakers with tweeters and making sure the doors are deadened for now.

Still tossing between whether to get a built in sat nav unit or not as it costs $1000 more to have the screen, DVD and sat nav version (not going to use a rear camera for a MX5 since we can almost touch the back of the car from inside LOL).

Burning some CDs atm and will have a listen at the shop later on to find the right front speakers but agreeing with Garry here I don't think mx5 can fully utilise a pair of front that costs $1000...

[sliq]

sat nav built in head units.. the last time i checked Pioneer's range, they were about $2-3k each

[BadBong]

He recommended the Eclipse AVN726EA as it has decent tuning capabilities - but unfortunately not as good as some of newer head units for about $500.

[Jeo]

Whoa, you've upgraded a little from you original thread I see. The AVI range is the shiz, you will not be disappointed.

Navigation is cool but I think I was in the same boat as you, is it worth the extra money? In the end I went with a cheaper screen and an external input for my phone and just run the GPS off it. But I can still defiantly appreciate the 'all in one-ness' of an integrated system.

As to whether its worth spending $1k on speakers, probably not. You could also argue at that point that it probably isn't worth throwing $1k at a set of speakers for any car. However there are two approaches you can take to this argument; its a crappy listening environment so don't bother, or its a crappy listening environment so throw everything you can at it to get what you can out of it. At the end of the day its your money and your ears that have to live with it. I built up my stereo in steps and its now at a point where I'm quite happy with it. My girlfriend has the stereo out of my last car in her Prelude at the moment and while still decent, you can certainly hear the difference. Ultimately, if you can justify spending that much then you can justify spending that much, if you can't then you can't.

I like you logic of starting with the fronts though. It normally takes a good amount of arguing to get it through to people on forums that a sub alone will not get you good sound quality.

Finally, when you say burning some CDs, you mean decent quality rips right? None of this low bitrate crap (unless that's what you plan on listening to, but at that point why the hell are you spending money on good components, just buy an iPod and be done with it ).

[Benny]

I still think you'll need a small sub.
Without it, the music will sound flat, regardless if you play heavy bass music or not.
You'd be surprised how much better a system will sound with a small sub.

Also, listening to speakers mounted on a wall in front of you is not really like listening to them mounted in a car, especially an MX-5.

Go for a set of splits.
The crossovers are circuits that filter the information going ot the speakers so that the mid range speakers only ge the mid-range information, and the tweeters only get the highs. If you try and mix them up, or don't use any crossovers, the sound will be muddy.

You need to hear the stereos in a few 5's first.
It's the only way to get a good idea of what you really want and need.

[Alex]

I would recommend starting with just a nice HU and speakers running off standard wires, if it's not enough then look at adding more.

Also the 5 is very easy for audio installs, so you might be able to do it yourself.

[philz]

Also, listening to speakers mounted on a wall in front of you is not really like listening to them mounted in a car, especially an MX-5.

Yes this is true, because in one instance, in a room, the speakers are equidistant with each other, and you being the in the centre of both speakers.

Whereas in car the right speaker is closer to you, but it is firing at the transmission tunnel, in some cases you might not even hear the right speaker that well compared to the left speaker which is more directly at your ear.

However the sound board is only good for different sounds of speakers, some are harsh, some are soft and mellow, so it really depends on your type of music.

If you like rock music, and dance/techno/trance music, you want something with hard hitting bass and highs, however if you likes your classical music, obviously slow and soft which doesn't require the need for extreme midbass.

[sliq]

like alex suggested, the first audio mod i did was change the stock head unit into one of the old top of the range pioneers. made a massive difference.

you don't have to buy everything at once, don't forget that!

[toymx5]

Agree sliq !

I have a NB which I'm sure is what BadBong has and I had a Alpine double din head unit installed on the weekend ($600 fitted) and not only does it look fabulous and almost OEM it transforms the sound ! It really brings the factory splits alive and unless you like your music rediculously loud they'll do fine but should I want to upgrade the speakers later I'll be able to get a decent set for around $250.00. In the cabin the size of a MX5 you don't need to go overboard !

The Alpine has a connection for a iPhone/ipod and a USB port as well as an aux imput, what more do you need. Oh, it has a pre-out for the doof doof lovers too !

BadBong, if you weren't so interested in the sat nav thing I'd highly recommend the Alpine.

toymx5

[philz]

which alpine did u get ?

IMO best units are Eclipse and Alpine, Alpine for ease of use.

[toymx5]

philz,

it's the Alpine CDE-W203E WMA/AAC/MP3 CD Receiver

i love it because it looks like it could be factory, fits flush, and has a central rotary controller. also it does away with the horrible cheap looking NB storage holder in the middle of the dash ! The link to it is below.

http://www.alpine.com.au/products/produ ... odelID=425

[philz]

That's a really nice unit I love simplicity and that headunit is on the money and it's fullspeed capable as well, might take a look at it.

A question: Has anyone used 6x9s in the front doors?

[BadBong]

LOL... where should I start...

Jeo - yep, those AVIs were fantastic but unless i've won the lottery (nope... just checked ), I don't exactly know how to justify their existence... especially in a mx5 cabin (if i was in a Lexus IS F... maybe a different story). I brought some original music CDs back to the shop to test-listen don't you worry ;) (most of my recent music are from iTune stores though...)

Benny - def. agree with you there and would really like to see how your system work this weekend. Marty did have a very good setup in his 'testing room' though and I was able to literally swap between 10 sets of speakers to see what i like and don't like.

As sliq and Alex has suggested, that's exactly the path i'm going down i think... this is Stage 1 of my upgrade plan:

- Eclipse AVN726EA
- Diamond D363.5 OR DLS RS6A 6.5" component speakers
- Complete deadening of both doors in and out

Given that proper installation is not cheap (rightly so), that pretty much blows my whole budget (for now).

Stage 2 will be a 4ch amp and upgrade cabling;
Stage 3 will be a sub, custom enclosure and deadening of the sections behind the seats and in the boot - just like Benny said;

The last thing I need to think of... is like what Garry said, i don't want to attract unnecessary attention so i'll need to think of a good way to 'cover' the head unit whenever it's parked... it needs to be easy to put on and remove though (maybe carpet with velcro?). I need the sat-nav cause i'm planning to go explore all sorts of places in my mx5 (I've dríven 2000kms in 2 weeks...) and the DVD will keep my better half occupired during long trips when i'm enjoying the drive.

[sliq]

badbong, just an update.. things are 90% complete. we needed custom MDF spacers as mentioned in another thread.

my amp has been installed, wired up.. the speakers are now clearer at a louder volume.

i can't wait till the speakers are installed (friday). dynamat won't be in till sunday.

my new audio guy has just advised me that he sells a sh*t load of JVC and alpine head units based on quality. alpine have less than 3% return rate. that alone says a lot about their range!

i'll speak to you on Saturday in person, hopefully, if speakers are in by then, which they should be.

[BadBong]

Thx Sliq - that actually works out quite well as i would be able to listen to your rig before and after deadening (given that the deadening costs more than the front speakers, i'm very interested to experiencing what it's like with and without them)