Well, after doing all the wiring to get my new Alpine CDA-7894 going w/ a SWI-X for my dash controls, I'm thinking about sending them both back. Am I crazy? The delay of the dash buttons is really bugging me, especially w/ the volume. And I do love my dash volume control too much to give it up. I had the Alpine in for a day before installing the SWI-X, and adjusting the volume w/ the knob(behind the shifter) was so awkward.

So tell me this. What if I get Lucid

 

I know how you feel. I used to use the dash controls a lot with my stock stereo. But now I rarely use it because I like (or dislike the delay) to use the faceplate buttons on my Alpine. Also, it sounds so much better than stock. So now I rarely use the dash controls and look at the pretty lights on my deck.

 

Yeah, those lights are pretty. I liked being able to make the green buttons amber.

Regarding "it sounds so much better than stock," I have a few questions. Are you using an amp to power your speakers, or are you using the power in your Alpine? If your using an amp, did you use it w/ the OEM deck before switching to the Alpine, and that's when the Alpine sounded better? Basically, what was your setup before the Alpine(including speakers), compared to after the Alpine?

thanks,
gil

 

Why not ask someone in the UK to buy you an Alpine deck that has steering wheel input so you can use the S2000's KCE-865 it will avoid the delay you are facing?

Yes what you are saying is possible, with my harness you'll need only tap the harness for inputs avoiding splicing stock wiring. But you won't get as clean a signal to the amp. I would try the first option before trying this.

 

I have definitely considered the European Alpine option, Lucid. ( Heck, for a split second, I even considered the $3K F#1 Alpine!) I'm not sure what I would think about losing the radio all together, though. As crappy as it is most of the time, the radio is sometimes a nice change from the CDs that I have in my car.

It seems like trying the speaker-level input idea before the European Alpine idea might be easier, and cheaper.

Would I notice a difference in the cleanness of line level vs speaker level signals? I tend to think that, unless I could A/B them, I probably wouldn't know the difference. I could be wrong, though.

thanks,
gil

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 145
What are the cons (sound wise, not features wise) of powering a set of Focal 165K2 front speakers w/ a JL Audio amp, using the stock deck

 

Yeah, I just figured that I had two options when using a speaker-level signal: 1) speaker-level signal straight into amp's speaker-level inputs, and 2) speaker-level signal into converter, then into amp's line-level inputs. I guess I was leaving the latter option open, in case someone thought that it would be better.

BTW, thanks for the quote from the manual. The example setup diagrams at JL Audio's site showed a splice from the stock speaker wires turning into RCA cables before hitting the amp. I was a little curious about what that meant. But, I do remember having a cheap stereo as a kid, that used RCA connectors at the end of the permanently attached speaker wires.

http://www.jlaudio.com/amps/pdfs/SYS_11.pdf

thanks,
gil

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 145
[B]I have definitely considered the European Alpine option, Lucid. ( Heck, for a split second, I even considered the $3K F#1 Alpine!)

 

Well, I talked to someone at Alpine customer service, and he told me that the radio wouldn't work. I guess I'll start another post and ask our European s2ki.com-ers.

thanks,
gil

 

I have the factory radio with an Xtant amp. the Xtant has a built in balanced line converter. Take High speaker inputs, and makes them as good as RCA cables. My system looks completely stock and sounds great. And of course the controls work


Mitch