Good simple Headunit Question

[Veeps77]

Hi,

I have a cheap Sony Xploid headunit directly hooked up to two Focal speakers in the front and two Alpine speakers in the back. I was wondering if replacing the Sony headunit with a better one such as a Eclipse or Alpine headunit will dramatically improve the sound?

I talked to my friend and he said that unless i put an amp between the speakers and the headunit i will not be able to tell the difference. Any opinions?

Also the lower line of the Eclipse desks **** as the CD3432 and CD3422 have total harmonic distortion of .8 I thought Eclipse decks are suppose to be high end decks. Why is the THM so high?

thanks for the help.

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[chris229 10+ year member]

I would say he is right because no matter what HU you pick-- they don't power any speakers very well

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

Originally posted by Veeps77 Hi,

 

I talked to my friend and he said that unless i put an amp between the speakers and the headunit i will not be able to tell the difference. Any opinions?

 

He's right.

The deal is that hu's, that say 50x4! 200 watts total power! don't tend to mention that those are MAX ratings, and over-rated to boot. The typical 40-50x4 head units are 11-17 watts rms per channel.

So say you were to put a fosgate (or any other respectable brand) 50x4 amp in. You would be ~ tripling the power to your speakers, and probably tripling your SQ.

 

[splunky 10+ year member]

It is really a two fold question though isnt it? Are you looking for better sound quality or louder or both? I would suggest the eclipse cd series headunits for best sq when playing cd's and definetly an amp for dynamic headroom.

 

[MinorSkills 10+ year member]

I had a JVC HU that pushed 17 Watts RMS , it wasnt so great. I bought a Pioneer HU that improved a little to a 22 x 4 Rms which made the sound slightly better. A 4 Channel amp would definately give you the sound you are looking for, plus I think Focals dont sound so great unless they are given alot of power. If you dont get a amp and decide toget another headunit, look at the RMS RATING, RMS is the constant power the internal amp in the HU is pushing out. It can be around 15-24 get one of the higher ones and u might notice a change.

 

[Rawr-DQ 10+ year member]

Yes, I hope your Head Unit has preouts, but a component amp (don't get a cheap one, make sure it has a good rms rating, and the max power is *AROUND* your speakers max) will DRAMATICALY improve your sound quality.

A few watts difference in a Head Unit will not do very much, possibly inaudible.

Oh btw, blasting your speakers while un-powering them causing distortion is worse than over powering them some, it can cause alot more damage.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

And I'm sure it did........over TWO years ago

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[Rawr-DQ 10+ year member]

oh sh**...

I clicked on a thread at the bottom..wasn't paying attention to the date...crap....erm........sorry.

 

[Rawr-DQ 10+ year member]

I was a victim to the "similar threads" list at the bottom...I was thinking they were active threads or some crap like that.

I'm totally gonna kill myself now.

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

I was a victim to the "similar threads" list at the bottom...I was thinking they were active threads or some crap like that.
I'm totally gonna kill myself now.

Yes, that damn thing has claimed many victims over the months. But, that doesn't mean you shouldn't feel stupid....cause you should!

Hahaha

J/K //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[JL_W6_v1 10+ year member]

OMG this is too easy, Eclipse //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

that HeadUnit will definetly improve y0 $hit...

trust me, I just got an Eclipse and my speakers sound brand new..dont forget to mention, my subs sound louder big time...

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/thumbsup.gif.3287b36ca96645a13a43aff531f37f02.gif

 

[Acidburn 5,000+ posts]

OMG this is too easy, Eclipse //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif
that HeadUnit will definetly improve y0 $hit...

trust me, I just got an Eclipse and my speakers sound brand new..dont forget to mention, my subs sound louder big time...

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/thumbsup.gif.3287b36ca96645a13a43aff531f37f02.gif

you're an imbecile, did you read any of the last 4 posts?

 

[JL_W6_v1 10+ year member]

you're an imbecile, did you read any of the last 4 posts?

No did you?

if so, you replied to an old a$$ thread too, hypocrite.

 

[ANeonRider 10+ year member]

How do you breathe? Like really, I figured you would have forgotten how...

 

[JL_W6_v1 10+ year member]

How do you breathe? Like really, I figured you would have forgotten how...

How do you have the time to follow me in every single post i make and reply with a flame?

Why do you take the time to figure out how to upgrade your slow ricer neon cuz any true street racer knows neons are slow.