Sorry about that.....that is what I meant....watt instead of volt. I just look at the numbers, and not necessarily the units of measurement, as they should all be the same (I look for 1/1 instead of 2.83/1). The Blaupunkts are definitely NOT a set of GREAT speakers, but they were good at the price.

Please let me know if I am wrong on this, but I thought the 2.83/1 measurement was how sensitive they would be if they were amplified.....as the wattage would probably be at least double what the OEM HU offers. This was just what I gathered from logic. Either way, they should all report uniformly in order to be compared.

I thought the Infinity Reference series were better for HU power, as the Kappa's require quite a bit of power to get them singing (or so I have heard). They should also be a bit more inexpensive as well.

As far as the Double DIN goes, no it will not fit in the stock location. I am going to end up cutting the dash and fabricating some sort of bezel for it. I am probably going to try to put some sort of DVD changer / modified PS2 in the stock location. This is all WAY down the road, though. Just starting to pick out components, start pricing around, and then come up with a budget figure that I will adhere to.

John

 

Bob, i think you're probably correct in your points.... of course, without digging through all kinds of spec sheets, we'd never know for sure.


however, i think i can fairly say that John got this particular bit of advice from me...

generally most car speaker companies are fudging. i think that's probably a safe assumption. sad, but safe.
so, we've generally put the 'higher sensitivity the better' argument out there on the table to help people choose speakers for lower power applications... it helps them get the most bang for buck and it helps give them some guidelines to start with...

*shrug*


i've generally pointed out the Infinity Reference, Polk db, Focal Access, and a few others -- they are usually less expensive speakers that are pretty clearly designed for the HU or smaller amp market. generally, they also have a higher sensitivity rating than their counterparts.



------

John -- WOW. i like that new Alpine HU. since i've put the system into the Odyssey, i've been wishing i had some sort of up front monitor. that thing definitely looks like it could fit the bill. i'd probably have to get a CD changer in order to support multi-zone, but.... wow! (or does it not even support multi-zone? no big loss, i've used it maybe 1 or 2 times.)

WHOA!! what about THIS option???
[QUOTE]KCA-620M
USB Adapter for MP3 Price:
U.S. $160.00
CDN. $(TBD)

Want to play music from your USB thumb drive or portable MP3 player? For playback of all your MP3's, connect your MP3 player to the KCA-620M USB adapter, and control your music right from your Alpine Ai-NET head unit. Use Quick Search

 

^ Phil, I think the 9857 DOES have a PEQ / x-over....I think John looked up the specs (as he is trying to become an alpine dealer), and the info he had said it still had the Bass Engine capability (which I think is their name for the sub PEQ).

I will see if I can find some more info on it....

Yeah....that unit is AWESOME! I have never been a big fan of the flip-up monitors. Not very clean looking (most of the time). I was waiting on Alpine to come out with one while I was still on my Protege5, but it never came. Now that it has.....I have a stupid wedding to save for .

John

 

well, i checked their site and it was listed as having Bass Engine. the 5 band PEQ and the crossovers that i have in my 9833 are the Bass Engine Pro. if it has the Pro version, i'd be VERY inclined to upgrade.

for example from the 9857:
[QUOTE][B]Bass Engine

 

AH! The 9857 has the same thing my 9851 has......just a Q control, center control, and overall level control. For $1100+, I would assume the IVA-W200 would have the best of what Alpine puts in their HU's. I do like the full-speed iPod connection, though, as I will have one of those by next year.

As far as the wedding goes, being an accountant, I ran some budget figures last night, and its probably going to be between $10,000-$18,000 (honeymoon included). We are probably going to have ~$20,000 saved up / contributed by family members. And that is not including any wedding gifts of $. I think we will be in the clear. And right after the wedding, my salary will be going up, so there will be $ for the stook, just not until NEXT July. I figure I can do some fairly LOW cost mods to keep myself from getting bored. This is why I am researching how to relight the cluster, as LED's and circuit boards are relatively inexpensive, and soldering is free.....just takes a lot of time, of which I have plenty!

John