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Bought a new head unit - does it make other upgrades worthwhile?
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<blockquote data-quote="Navegador" data-source="post: 8671621" data-attributes="member: 676784"><p>Hi folks. This is my very first post here so please be gentle if I'm asking an incredibly stupid question. In my defence I've read a few FAQs and am aware of a few basic audio gear principles. Also please be aware I'm infamous for long-winded first posts. ;-)</p><p></p><p>I recently upgraded my car stereo with a <a href="https://www.pioneer-car.eu/eur/products/sph-10bt" target="_blank">Pioneer SPH-10BT</a> head unit. My car (a <a href="https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/new/up" target="_blank">VW Up</a> if it matters) came with a very basic factory radio that actually *annoyed* me on long trips, and I make 500-mile round trips every couple of weeks to see my elderly parents. The factory setup sounded, I don't know, it managed to sound both muffled and tinny at the same time if you know what I mean (and you probably don't). Well, let's leave it at: it was really annoying and tiresome.</p><p></p><p>I reckoned a decent sound system would really enhance the experience, so I headed to the local car stereo place with half a mind to replace the speakers and came out with a new head unit. Shop guy said the speakers were fine (4x JBL Selenium 6TR6A 3-way coaxials on the doors, dealer upgrades) and on being asked about reasonably priced replacement head units he pointed me to the Pioneer display and I selected that SPH10BT unit.</p><p></p><p>My requirements were simple: something that sounds nice <em>without being too loud or boomy</em> and that plays nice with my iPhone on bluetooth - for Spotify music (downloaded / highest quality setting ) and podcasts. I'm playing for definition rather than power here. The car lets a lot of road noise into the cabin (it's a cheap VW) and has a thrummy 3-cylinder turbo engine so maybe I was chasing unicorns anyway, but the thing is, I'm still not satisfied with the sound. It's still kinda muffled but now has some bass and some highs. I've been messing with the stereo's eq - both Pioneer presets and DIY - but I still don't like '/ haven't found <em>the sound</em>.</p><p></p><p>QUESTION TIME, THEN: Is that Pioneer unit a decent buiding block for a better setup or is it just a cheap-a** little radio? Is it worth upgrading the speakers with that head unit? Adding a not-too-expensive amp or something?</p><p></p><p>I feel I'm already going down a bunch or Google rabbit holes that could potentially cost hundreds of dollars here (<a href="http://intl.jlaudio.com/c2-650x-car-audio-speakers-c2-coaxial-systems-99618" target="_blank">JL Audio</a> anyone? I like the reviews and these within my budget). But I don't want to waste money on speakers or amps or whatever only to find that the HU is way out of step with the rest of the stuff.</p><p></p><p>Thoughts?</p><p></p><p>(sorry about the long post)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Navegador, post: 8671621, member: 676784"] Hi folks. This is my very first post here so please be gentle if I'm asking an incredibly stupid question. In my defence I've read a few FAQs and am aware of a few basic audio gear principles. Also please be aware I'm infamous for long-winded first posts. ;-) I recently upgraded my car stereo with a [URL="https://www.pioneer-car.eu/eur/products/sph-10bt"]Pioneer SPH-10BT[/URL] head unit. My car (a [URL="https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/new/up"]VW Up[/URL] if it matters) came with a very basic factory radio that actually *annoyed* me on long trips, and I make 500-mile round trips every couple of weeks to see my elderly parents. The factory setup sounded, I don't know, it managed to sound both muffled and tinny at the same time if you know what I mean (and you probably don't). Well, let's leave it at: it was really annoying and tiresome. I reckoned a decent sound system would really enhance the experience, so I headed to the local car stereo place with half a mind to replace the speakers and came out with a new head unit. Shop guy said the speakers were fine (4x JBL Selenium 6TR6A 3-way coaxials on the doors, dealer upgrades) and on being asked about reasonably priced replacement head units he pointed me to the Pioneer display and I selected that SPH10BT unit. My requirements were simple: something that sounds nice [I]without being too loud or boomy[/I] and that plays nice with my iPhone on bluetooth - for Spotify music (downloaded / highest quality setting ) and podcasts. I'm playing for definition rather than power here. The car lets a lot of road noise into the cabin (it's a cheap VW) and has a thrummy 3-cylinder turbo engine so maybe I was chasing unicorns anyway, but the thing is, I'm still not satisfied with the sound. It's still kinda muffled but now has some bass and some highs. I've been messing with the stereo's eq - both Pioneer presets and DIY - but I still don't like '/ haven't found [I]the sound[/I]. QUESTION TIME, THEN: Is that Pioneer unit a decent buiding block for a better setup or is it just a cheap-a** little radio? Is it worth upgrading the speakers with that head unit? Adding a not-too-expensive amp or something? I feel I'm already going down a bunch or Google rabbit holes that could potentially cost hundreds of dollars here ([URL="http://intl.jlaudio.com/c2-650x-car-audio-speakers-c2-coaxial-systems-99618"]JL Audio[/URL] anyone? I like the reviews and these within my budget). But I don't want to waste money on speakers or amps or whatever only to find that the HU is way out of step with the rest of the stuff. Thoughts? (sorry about the long post) [/QUOTE]
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