Are high end head units necessary?

[CarAudioNewbie9 10+ year member]

I installed a Planet Audio Line Driver today in my girls car. She is using a cheap Alpine with 2 volt preouts. It sounded as good as the 8 volt Eclipse I used to own.

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[schackel 10+ year member]

so are you uing the rca? or just the regular speaker out puts in the deck?

 

[CarAudioNewbie9 10+ year member]

so are you uing the rca? or just the regular speaker out puts in the deck?

I don't get what you are asking...lol

 

[plugitin 5,000+ posts]

the pre outs arnt that much of the matter...its the tuning ability of the hu itself. That alpine probably comes no where close to the eclipse in means of tuning

 

[schackel 10+ year member]

are you using a separate amp for the speakers?

 

[Savstyle 10+ year member]

the pre outs arnt that much of the matter...its the tuning ability of the hu itself. That alpine probably comes no where close to the eclipse in means of tuning

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[CarAudioNewbie9 10+ year member]

are you using a separate amp for the speakers?

Well considering the Eclipse I had didn't have built in amps......

 

[ahole-ic]

I installed a Planet Audio Line Driver today in my girls car. She is using a cheap Alpine with 2 volt preouts. It sounded as good as the 8 volt Eclipse I used to own.

If you're talking about SQ, the sound reproduced cannot be better than the CD or whatever source it is playing from. The advantage of high end head units is they usually have more features such as anti skip etc. They have a more sophisticated crossover etc. Most importantly, they do not manipulate the source by themselves. You have to force it to with crossovers etc. The data coming in is the data coming out. This can't always be said for lower end units. Sometimes they prematurely clip even the preouts etc.

In your case, Alpine makes solid units. They might take out this or that feature on lower-end models, but they will keep the quality up high enough that it will not prematurely alter your signal to where you would notice it. All you did with that line driver is bring the voltage up to what it would have been on a higher end unit.

Edit: Could I have used "etc" ANY more? I submit that I could not.

 

[schackel 10+ year member]

Well considering the Eclipse I had didn't have built in amps......

in your girl friends car........pretty sure that has nothing to do with an eclipse

 

[CarAudioNewbie9 10+ year member]

the pre outs arnt that much of the matter...its the tuning ability of the hu itself. That alpine probably comes no where close to the eclipse in means of tuning

I understand the whole EQ stuff. But honestly, unless you are running hardcore SQ you prolly won't need the tuning ability that expensive decks have. I use the Kenwood 693 and I would consider my setup SQL.

 

[CarAudioNewbie9 10+ year member]

in your girl friends car........pretty sure that has nothing to do with an eclipse

All I am saying is a line driver did wonders for her car. I was shocked to hear how good it sounded.

 

[CarAudioNewbie9 10+ year member]

If you're talking about SQ, the sound reproduced cannot be better than the CD or whatever source it is playing from. The advantage of high end head units is they usually have more features such as anti skip etc. They have a more sophisticated crossover etc. Most importantly, they do not manipulate the source by themselves. You have to force it to with crossovers etc. The data coming in is the data coming out. This can't always be said for lower end units. Sometimes they prematurely clip even the preouts etc. In your case, Alpine makes solid units. They might take out this or that feature on lower-end models, but they will keep the quality up high enough that it will not prematurely alter your signal to where you would notice it. All you did with that line driver is bring the voltage up to what it would have been on a higher end unit.

Edit: Could I have used "etc" ANY more? I submit that I could not.

I don't know many people that still use CDs for daily driving. Most use Ipods or USB devices. Many people use CDs for comp, but you aren't driving in a comp.

 

[Johnny Law.Lulz 5,000+ posts]

Honestly, to me, if im putting all this money into my sub and front stages, why not have the most important thing in the system be highend as well. Hell Jacob from sundown uses a cheap Sony Xplod in his testing jeep that constantly puts up 150s+ with various woofers so it really doesnt matter too much. Obviously with more money come more features but to me i want the center of the operation to be just as high end as the rest of the system. Thats why i stick with Alpine.

 

[CarAudioNewbie9 10+ year member]

Honestly, to me, if im putting all this money into my sub and front stages, why not have the most important thing in the system be highend as well. Hell Jacob from sundown uses a cheap Sony Xplod in his testing jeep that constantly puts up 150s+ with various woofers so it really doesnt matter too much. Obviously with more money come more features but to me i want the center of the operation to be just as high end as the rest of the system. Thats why i stick with Alpine.

Kenwood FTW

 

[shattered_dream 10+ year member]

Honestly, to me, if im putting all this money into my sub and front stages, why not have the most important thing in the system be highend as well. Hell Jacob from sundown uses a cheap Sony Xplod in his testing jeep that constantly puts up 150s+ with various woofers so it really doesnt matter too much. Obviously with more money come more features but to me i want the center of the operation to be just as high end as the rest of the system. Thats why i stick with Alpine.

Sorry, but SPL doesn´t have anything to do with Sound QUALITY....

You can get loud with 30 Bucks Radio but it sounds like crap...