Headunit shopping... recommendations?
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Originally Posted by candymanjl,Feb 6 2009, 09:31 AM
I have a JVC 5000N and I love that thing. it's got tons of features, fits into the S2000 HU space without any modifications, dvd, hard drive based navi, optional ipod connection, lots of stuff 
it also sounds great, I'm in the live sound and recording business and I couldn't live with a HU sounded like doodie even if it has tons of features.
is it the best possible option, sound wise? probably not, I'm sure there's some crazy CD only option that sounds better and costs twice as much. does it sound very good and give you tons of other features? yes it does.
http://support.jvc.com/consumer/product.js...elId=MODL027893
it also sounds great, I'm in the live sound and recording business and I couldn't live with a HU sounded like doodie even if it has tons of features.is it the best possible option, sound wise? probably not, I'm sure there's some crazy CD only option that sounds better and costs twice as much. does it sound very good and give you tons of other features? yes it does.
http://support.jvc.com/consumer/product.js...elId=MODL027893
Joined: Jan 2009
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From: Tigard, Oregon
I'm looking at the Eclipse CD5030 myself. Its on pre order at crutchfield 300 retail.
Looks to have everything I need.
just hope the new design was better than the previous eclipse. Like the knob hitting the radio door cover.
Looks to have everything I need.
just hope the new design was better than the previous eclipse. Like the knob hitting the radio door cover.
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^^If you don't want CD quality sound.
Anyone thinking about using an Ipod should definitely check this article out (I've copied the first bit that really starts to explain why you can't use MP3s for HI-FI systems).
http://www.tweakheadz.com/16_vs_24_bit_audio.htm
So, as you can see, an mp3 file has 1/10 the sound data that a CD recording has. And that is indeed noticeable on any reasonably quality install.
Anyone thinking about using an Ipod should definitely check this article out (I've copied the first bit that really starts to explain why you can't use MP3s for HI-FI systems).
http://www.tweakheadz.com/16_vs_24_bit_audio.htm
Bit Depth refers to the number of bits you have to capture audio. The easiest way to envision this is as a series of levels, that audio energy can be sliced at any given moment in time. With 16 bit audio, there are 65,536 possible levels. With every bit of greater resolution, the number of levels double. By the time we get to 24 bit, we actually have 16,777,216 levels. Remember we are talking about a slice of audio frozen in a single moment of time.
Now lets add our friend Time into the picture. That's where we get into the Sample Rate.
The sample rate is the number of times your audio is measured (sampled) per second. So at the red book standard for CDs, the sample rate is 44.1 kHz or 44,100 slices every second. So what is the 96khz sample rate? You guessed it. It's 96,000 slices of audio sampled each second.
So lets put it all together now. This brings us to the Bit Rate, or how much data per second is required to transmit the file, which can then be translated into how big the file is. Your CD is 16bit, 44.1 so that is 44,100 slices, each having 65,536 levels. A new Audio interface may record 96,000 slices a second at nearly 17 million levels for every slice. If you think that is a lot of data, well, you are right, it certainly is. The Bit Rate is usually expressed in Mbit/sec. But you don't need to do all this math. I'm going to do it for you. This is not an important area in the recording process to get sidetracked on. What is important for you is how this translates to your hard drive storage.
16bit 44,100kHz 1.35 Mbit/sec
16bit 48,000kHz 1.46 Mbit/sec
24bit 96,000kHz 4.39 Mbit/sec
mp3 file 128 k/bit rate 0.13 Mbit/Sec
Now lets add our friend Time into the picture. That's where we get into the Sample Rate.
The sample rate is the number of times your audio is measured (sampled) per second. So at the red book standard for CDs, the sample rate is 44.1 kHz or 44,100 slices every second. So what is the 96khz sample rate? You guessed it. It's 96,000 slices of audio sampled each second.
So lets put it all together now. This brings us to the Bit Rate, or how much data per second is required to transmit the file, which can then be translated into how big the file is. Your CD is 16bit, 44.1 so that is 44,100 slices, each having 65,536 levels. A new Audio interface may record 96,000 slices a second at nearly 17 million levels for every slice. If you think that is a lot of data, well, you are right, it certainly is. The Bit Rate is usually expressed in Mbit/sec. But you don't need to do all this math. I'm going to do it for you. This is not an important area in the recording process to get sidetracked on. What is important for you is how this translates to your hard drive storage.
16bit 44,100kHz 1.35 Mbit/sec
16bit 48,000kHz 1.46 Mbit/sec
24bit 96,000kHz 4.39 Mbit/sec
mp3 file 128 k/bit rate 0.13 Mbit/Sec
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From: Ft. Lauderdale
exactly, if your source is a compressed MP3 (ipod) for all of your music then don't bother getting too picky.
I compress my stuff for the ipod to 320 k/bit and you have to switch between that and the real CD on a good system to hear the difference. it's pretty subtle and worth the convenience of not messing with CD's.
if I was competing in IASCA then I'd only use CD's but in reality CD's are a pain in the ass in a car between storing them and switching through them. 128 k/bit is a noticably crappy bit rate but I haven't used that bit rate since napster when I was downloading on a 56k modem use a good program to convert your CD's to MP3's at 320 k/bit and it's going to be hard to notice the difference. especially in the S when it's not exactly a quiet car between the lack of insulation and the soft top, you're not going to notice the subtle differences.
I compress my stuff for the ipod to 320 k/bit and you have to switch between that and the real CD on a good system to hear the difference. it's pretty subtle and worth the convenience of not messing with CD's.
if I was competing in IASCA then I'd only use CD's but in reality CD's are a pain in the ass in a car between storing them and switching through them. 128 k/bit is a noticably crappy bit rate but I haven't used that bit rate since napster when I was downloading on a 56k modem
use a good program to convert your CD's to MP3's at 320 k/bit and it's going to be hard to notice the difference. especially in the S when it's not exactly a quiet car between the lack of insulation and the soft top, you're not going to notice the subtle differences.
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^^I disagree. It depends on what music you listen to and the quality of your build. The higher the quality of your build, the more important the source becomes.
Trust me, even at WoT with the top down, I can tell the difference between a CD and a 320kbps mp3.
Trust me, even at WoT with the top down, I can tell the difference between a CD and a 320kbps mp3.
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Passive is the usual component set you buy.
I.e. 2 channel amp (1 channel for each pair of speakers/door)
Active is a 4 channel setup.
1 channel for each individual speaker. The tweeter and woofer for each door each have a channel (2 channels per door, 4 channels total)
To do an active setup, you MUST have an amplifier or HU capable of a bandpass xover and a high pass xover. There are no passive crossovers (like what comes with component sets) to protect your speakers and ensure they're only being pushed the frequencies they're capable of.
Bandpass - 75Hz to 2.5kHz (woofers)
Highpass - 2.5kHz+
I.e. 2 channel amp (1 channel for each pair of speakers/door)
Active is a 4 channel setup.
1 channel for each individual speaker. The tweeter and woofer for each door each have a channel (2 channels per door, 4 channels total)
To do an active setup, you MUST have an amplifier or HU capable of a bandpass xover and a high pass xover. There are no passive crossovers (like what comes with component sets) to protect your speakers and ensure they're only being pushed the frequencies they're capable of.
Bandpass - 75Hz to 2.5kHz (woofers)
Highpass - 2.5kHz+
Joined: Oct 2002
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From: South Florida
ok, its what i thoguht it was. the mb quarts i have allow for this with there crossovers. u use the same xover freqs but apply power for each driver seperately. i will get picture of it. pretty cool setup. might have to do it to get some more clean power to them