This is a new addition to my car, (or at least it will be).

It's the JVC Digifine2.1 KD-SH99, CD-MP3.

This is the first REAL audio system I am putting together so I need some suggestions on other components, (amps, speakers, sub), to go along with it.

Any assistance or tips would be appreciated.

Here are the specs on the head-unit:

4-volt front/rear preamp outputs

4-volt subwoofer outputs with selectable low-pass filter (50, 80, or 120 Hz)

power amplifier switch lets you turn off built-in power for improved sound quality when using outboard amplification.

19 watts RMS/50 peak x 4 channels

CD frequency response 5-20,000 Hz

CD signal-to-noise ratio 102 dB

FM sensitivity 11.3 dBf

Drop me an e-mail at:

mailto:bracey@port-royal.navy.milbracey@port-royal.navy.mil

Thanks in advance...

 

First off what kind of music are you going to be listening to? mostly anyway? How much do you want to spend? How elabrite do you want to be? I can give you suggestions to make your doors fall of but if I'm out of your price range or sound preference then it's all in vain. So tell me the details and I'll set you up.

 

Nice choice by the way.

 

Of course, Jaws99 jas hit the nail right on the head.

Your choice of music is going to make a huge difference in what kind of equipment that you're going to want.

Your budget is also going to make a difference, if you have $500 to spend, we can't very well recommend a $750 amplifier, can we?

Another aspect that will play an important part is how much space in your car are you willing to give up? And do you want a highlighted install or a stealth install?

It's not hard to fill up the whole back of your car, and not have any cargo room left over. If cargo room isn't important to you, then that also makes (some) of the installation work easier and cheaper, because the installer isn't going to have to find creative ways to make use of wasted space. A stealth install that leaves all (or most) of the cargo room in your car usble is much harder to do, and takes a lot of time. Component selection also gets harder, because you need something that will produce the sound that you want, but not take up much (if any) usable room.

I've done installs that are so stealth that you'd never know there was any aftermarket equipment in the car (until you turn it on) all the way up to turning a car into a drivable stereo, with no room for anything else.

So, we need more information before we can help you out.

 

As far as the kinda of music I listen to I dig just about everything from Atari Teenage Riot to Ronny Jordan (acid jazz) to Kruder & Dorfmeister (drum & bass). Mostly in MP3 format and I do burn a ton of CDs.

Hmmm... The amount of money I want to spend? Let's say $1000 not including the price of the head unit. I want a well rounded system; component speakers in the doors/dash, 6x9s in the rear and one 10" in the hatch. Oh yeah and a good amp or 2 to run it all. If $1000 is way off the mark for what I want then let me know.

As far as space, I still want room for my 3-ball bowling ball caddy and my bucket of detailing stuff.

How about giving me something from mild to wild based on price and/or sound quality.

I don't want to blow the doors off. It seems that ever since I turned 27 I am steadily turning down the volume.

Thanks for the assist.

p.s. I may lose my internet connection so drop me an e-mail: bracey@port-royal.navy.mil

[ December 06, 2001: Message edited by: Hootie ]

 

to make the installation easier, add a powered bass tube and/or infinity basslink sub-woofer to the list.

$299-$399

 

I hear you on the volume issue. I hardly ever turn my stereo up past 1/3 of the way. My system was built for clarity, not volume.

I would say that I think you are doing yourself an injustice by going with a powered tube. They're great to add a bit of bass to a factory system, but it will quickly become the weak link (no pun intended ) in a well built aftermarket system. I think you would be better off going to a good quality 10" subwoofer in a well crafted box. You will probably spend a bit more onthat than a powered sub, but I think you'd be happier with the results.

Alpine and Infinity make good 5 channel amplifiers. They're not the best, but they won't break the bank. They make installation easier by only having a single amp chassis to mount, and remove the issues of power distribution blocks etc. Get an amp with more power than you think you need. The extra goes to headroom, and will improve the quality of the sound. (Note that the Alpine and Infinity amps are not "blow the doors off" amplifiers, but they are very clean sound quality amps.

Don't spend a fortune on interconnects and wire, but don't buy too cheap, either. It amazes me what kind of crap some dealers will push on you if you let them. A $15 Phoenix Gold interconnect will make an improvement over a $3.99 Radio Shack interconnect, but a $90 triple-shielded twited pair trans-balanced oxygen free solid gold blah blah blah interconnect is probably not going to make an audible difference over the $15 one. (And I know, because I have 3 of the expensive ones, which replaced the $15 pairs. Stupid stupid stupid... smile.gif )

Speakers are really going to depend on personal choice. I have Kicker speakers in my car, with Pioneer subs, and Infinity Kappa midbass. The subs are very good for me, because they work well in small enclosures. I didn't want to give up a lot of trunk space, so that was important to me. They also sound very good. They blend into the midbass very well, and have good sonic characteristics. They're power hungry, but that's the trade-off for the small enclosures.

Any good name-brand of speakers is probably going to treat you well. My advise is to take a CD that you listen to to a shop and listend to different sets. It's not a perfect test, because they're always a bit different in the car, but it will give you an idea of what speakers sound like what.

In general, separates will sound better than coax speakers. The main exception is when there is an outboard crossover for the mid and tweeter for the coax. A crossover network will help the speakers to isolate the frequencies that the speaker can do best.

Usually, when dealing with multiple channels speakers with the same brand name for front and rear will work best together. The reason is that speakers designed with the same characteristics in mind are more likely to complement each other. This is not always the case, but it's more likely to. Make sure when you're listening in the store to have the same speaker set front and rear as you will be using in your car!

Good luck!

 

Well, for your amps for the interior speakers (high's and midbass) I would go with an Alpine V-12 to me they are the best by far for highs the produce low distortion and give you alot of bag for your buck but if you wanted to you could always go up and get the competion V-12 but that is up to you. As far as a sub amp goes I would either get an Rockford Fosgate or JL they produce mad amount of power and will give you the ability to add on or replace your sub down the road without having to replace or upgrade the amp no matter what model in the series you get they are both way underated for instance the Punch 800a2 is rated at 800 watts into 1 channel or 400x2 when it really pumps out 520x2 and 1100 x1. For your sub I would go with JL audio they take up like no space at all, very efficent and produce very good tones no matter what kind of music you listen to and again you get alot of bang for your buck. Interior speakers I would go with a set of components for the front either MB Quartz, Memphis Pro Audio or the Kenwood Exclon series they are all the best I have heard for all around sound to me infinity's are way to bright (to much high's) and not enough mid bass. For your 6x9's I would stick within the same three I recommended for the front but all in all I would go with MB Quart in the front with competion x-over's and Memphis Pro Audio for the 6x9's. For you wire make sure the power and ground cable are sheilded and large enough (gauge) to handle the amount of power draw you will have with whatever amps you go with. Your rca's should also be well sheilded with good conentors and for a set of 16 foot cable's I wouldn't spend anymore than $60-$80 a pair anymore than that you are paying for the name there really is no change in quality or sound reproduction. Also I would get a cap but that is also depending on what amps you are getting and how much power they draw. Hope all of this helps if you need anymore info let me know and sorry this is so long without periods and misspelling I am typing while feeding my son who said you can't do 2 things at once lol

 

I have the Kenwood Z828, and just a warning. If you want audiophile sound from the MP3 feature, you'll likely need to encode stuff at 320kbps. You had the Aiwa before right? My library is at 192kbps, and I end up listening to regular CDs more because they sound better. My system is complete rewire and speakers, 12" sub and 5ch amp, 1 farad cap.

 

Most of my MP3 collection and WAV format stuff is at 192kbs. Anything less sounds like a Fisher-Price radio. I thought about getting the Kenwood but it's a bit too pricey for me. Plus I dig the way the JVC looks and the silver will blend in nicely once I get the dash painted silver..