/ Register

New to car audio, looking for a head-unit.

Discussion in 'Car Audio Head Units' started by Terance Pickles, Sep 5, 2010.

  1. Terance Pickles

    Terance Pickles New Member

    Evening everybody,

    I am new here, a headphone addict and vinyl junkie. I've decided that as a poor college student, I need to spend more money on things I don't need.

    Car audio seemed a logical endeavor.

    I am looking for a head-unit. I have a 2000 Volvo S40 (turbo :D) and currently I have the stock HU in and the stock speakers. It has 6 speakers, 5 1/4's all the way around, two in the rear deck, front driver/passenger doors and two on the front dash.

    Admittedly don't know much about car audio, but at the moment I only want a head-unit, with speakers coming next paycheck.

    Budget is, well, not much. No problems buying used gear from people, that's how I've purchased almost all of my audio equipment. So I am thinking about $100ish on an HU?

    I want something nice, but breaking the bank is not what I'm after (I do have a huge credit line though :cool:). Down the line, the only things I want are 6 more replacement speakers. Not really interested in a sub or an amp, unless I feel that I NEED them. (will I NEED an amp for just the 6 speakers?)


    Kind of a long-winded post, but I feel like I got it all off of my chest.

    Thanks for reading everyone, anyone here from Head-Fi?

    Have a good one,

    terance
     
    Terance Pickles, Sep 5, 2010
    #1
  2. pedro quiroga

    pedro quiroga Well-Known Member

    save up more money for a decent to good head unit that will have all the features you want and need on it.

    100 won't buy you much.
     
    pedro quiroga, Sep 6, 2010
    #2
  3. Klinkster

    Klinkster Full Member

    I agree with Pedro about saving up for a decent HU. The HU is the foundation of any system and skimping on it is a waste.

    $200 is a good starting point for decent equipment IMO.

    As for the 6 speakers, if you don't amp them, I think you'll have to lose 2 of them. In my day, most HUs I have seen have 4 ohm, 4 channel internal amps. I'm not aware of it changing over the years, but maybe it has. I don't think you can safely wire 6 speakers to 4 channels on a stock amp since it would change the resistance and most internal amps can't handle 2ohm that I'm aware of.
     
    Klinkster, Sep 6, 2010
    #3
  4. Terance Pickles

    Terance Pickles New Member

    Ok, so $200 is about what I want to spend, got that.


    I know this is the head-unit forum, but what is a good price range to spend on speakers? $100-150 for a pair?

    Hoping to pick something up this weekend. Shop in the next town pays $50 for old stock head units (when you buy a head unit and 2 speakers), so that should help me out considerably.

    Thanks guys, appreciate the help and the warm welcome.


    -tp

    *edited, didn't read the amping post*
     
    Last edited: Sep 7, 2010
    Terance Pickles, Sep 7, 2010
    #4
  5. jammydoug

    jammydoug New Member

    Hi, im a spammer and am wanting someone to ban me soon for posting fake requests for something i can just google.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 4, 2010
    jammydoug, Oct 4, 2010
    #5
  6. TE5LA

    TE5LA Guest

    That car probably has an amplifier already. If you can fit a Double-DIN, I just bought a refurbished JVC KW-XR810 for only $139, which included the mounting kit and wiring harness. This thing has two USB ports, a 3.5mm input, front/rear/sub preouts, Bluetooth handsfree and music streaming in addition to independent button/display colors during night and day. You can choose from over 32,000 colors for each too. The handsfree function is excellent. You can use voice tags to dial, it downloads your phone book, mutes the radio during calls, etc. It even shows the charge state and signal strength of your phone. It has a 3-band parametric EQ, adjustable pre-out voltage, adjustable loudness, etc. It sounds as good as any Alpine, Kenwood, Sony, etc. I have nearly 30 years of professional installing experience and this thing rocks.
     
    TE5LA, Oct 9, 2010
    #6
  7. Klinkster

    Klinkster Full Member

    I almost bought that JVC and decided to spend a bit more and get a Pioneer FHP8000BT.

    I've never had a Pioneer let me down yet (knock on wood)

    $139 for that radio is a pretty sweet deal though!
     
    Klinkster, Oct 9, 2010
    #7
  8. Fbmowner

    Fbmowner Full Member

    Until you hot swap the RCA's! BEWARE!!!!
     
    Fbmowner, Oct 9, 2010
    #8
  9. TE5LA

    TE5LA Guest

    Yeah, I looked at the Pioneer. The two things that turned me off were:

    1) The display washes out badly in sunlight. The JVC has a feature few other displays have: It can be switched from negative to positive, meaning light on dark background to dark on light. This really helps a lot, especially with all the adjustable colors.

    2) The Pioneer interface is very complicated and I'm quite familiar with electronics operation. It doesn't even have direct station preset buttons, you have to go through the menu. The JVC has nice large preset buttons and the interface is very intuitive.
     
    TE5LA, Oct 9, 2010
    #9
  10. Klinkster

    Klinkster Full Member

    The lack of the preset buttons are a disappointment, but I rarely change the station anyway. :)

    The Interface does have a learning curve, but I'm starting to get the hang of it.

    As for the illumination, I dont have a problem so much at day, but its quite bright at night, but I can turn it off completely if its bothersome. When its off, it will come on for a few seconds when you use it then turn back off.
     
    Klinkster, Oct 9, 2010
    #10