hi-end car stereo,vs home theater

[raverx3m 10+ year member]

i ve been reading articles about hi-end home stereo and all different theories.

it seems like they are very anal about every lil detail that stands in the way of clean sound

starting from the power supply

preamp

amp

rcas

speaker wires that have magical properties and are bigger than car audio power wires

and speakers

and in car audio everything seems to be alot simpler even though the car is alot noisier environment than home

just to be clear were not talking about WALMART hi-end sony receivers:crazy:

im talking about matching the source unit to the amplifier and matching the amplifier to the speakers

getting the right RCAs

if the speaker wire makes a difference at home why do we not pay enough attention to it in the car

i mean i ve seen some weird sht at work where a customer would have a 2-3k system and uses some scosche speaker wires

or has the top of the line indash and 600 dollar pair of speakers and runs them off the deck power with factory speaker wires that are meant to push 5 watts of power.

Click to read more...

 

[timaishu 10+ year member]

Wire is wire and RCA's are RCA's. You wont notice any difference going from some cheap radio shack copper wire to pear cable.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Wire is wire and RCA's are RCA's. You wont notice any difference going from some cheap radio shack copper wire to pear cable.

Shielding does make a difference, and not all wire is the same electrically...but I wouldn't attribute magical aspects to a cable just because it's more expensive, either.

and in car audio everything seems to be alot simpler even though the car is alot noisier environment than home

Think of the demographics we're talking about, though. Your typical car audio enthusiast is a lot younger than someone into high-end home audio or theater. So very complicated solutions aren't going to sell well with someone who's idea of a "system" is a subwoofer and an amp. There are people in car audio who run monoblocks to individual speakers, external DSPs, separating DACs from transports, etc...but then you're talking about an older crowd, usually //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

You also brought up the other big issue...the car as a listening environment. As you pointed out, it ***** - noisy, tons of reflective surfaces, irregular geometry...pretty much the worst case you could want to get a good stereo image. For a lot of people, it just isn't worth the challenge, especially when getting a good stereo image at home is comparatively easy. Or, it just doesn't fit into the way people listen to music seriously- I know for myself, listening to a great reference system is a really relaxing experience, definitely not something you want on your commute //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

^^^ Well put.

 

[CaddieJapan 10+ year member]

Wire is wire and RCA's are RCA's. You wont notice any difference going from some cheap radio shack copper wire to pear cable.

This is very far from true. Different RCAs may offer an individual characteristic that maybe very different from the next. The same goes for speaker cables on the market. Rather you decide to go radio shack is your decision, but I know in my own setup I use Signal Cable ICs for my power amps and speakers.

 

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

^^^Polk speakers, Pioneer Elite receiver (obviously), Monster 3500MKII (more than likely, +/- a generation), Sunfire amp (again, obviously) and if I'm not mistaken, those seats had an recall because of an electrical issue (That I may be mistaken on; they do look identical to a model that had a recall that I used to sell.) It's all pretty nice stuff. I've always liked the sound of those Polks. They're very "pleasing", if I can describe them as that. I haven't had too much experience with the Pioneer Elite receivers, but the few that I've had the liberty of playing with all were pretty **** good too. For high end audio, a power conditioner is a must and a Monster 3500MKII is a great power conditioner/surge protector. I bet that's a killer setup. The only thing I don't like is the projector. I'd rather see a Pioneer Kuro hanging on the wall... although that looks like a really nice projector.

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

Call me crazy, but I don't want any kind of wire that does anything other than conduct the electrical musical signal. Nothing added, nothing taken away. Just the same music on one end as the other //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

^^^Crazy. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

I have some wiring running in my car that some would consider "exotic". I am using canare wire that I got from a local pro sound store. I didn't buy it for the name or because it can instantly make my drivers come alive. I bought it cause it was .25 a foot //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[raverx3m 10+ year member]

is there a single source of real info about audio components?

i mean there are tonns of different opinions. and most of them claim that they have performed tests.

but 5000 people can test same wire and come up with different results because of different equipment and testing methods and errors.

id like to find a respectable source, a company or person that sets the standart for testing the audio equipment.

id like to read unbiased information about wires, amps, speakers and such.

because up to now i think i most of the info i found is directly opposite from the previous article.

for example

search for speaker wire quality

and you will find millions of fanboys screaming that cheap speakerwire is as good as the super expensive.

and then you search more and find that other millions of "audiophiles" are also screaming and shaking their test results at your face saying that no in fact according to my calculations the speaker wire makes a huge difference

but in a car building world.

a 2 HP gained by removing backseats might not be a great to a typical every day driver,

but when lap racing or drag racing that 2 HP will add up to another 3 and then another .5 and another mini HP and produce a notticeable power increase as an WHOLE PACKAGE

so im thinking that in audio world it would add up to same

but its more like matching the components perfectly

if you have a 1300 stereo and matching speakers and amp then chances are that scosche 18ga speakerwires and 20 dollar RCAs would be a bottleneck of your system and would need to be replaced.

THE PROBLEM is not many people posess the information in order to build a matching system.

and thats what i want to learn about.

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

Matching rated power levels and such is a waste of time, effort, and money. Match the drivers ( speakers) with the automobile they are going in through proper installation, and location. As Jimmy jam said the car is polar opposite from a good listening enviroment. Spend more time overcoming the reasons causing this, and you will be far more satisfied in the end //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[ejschultz 10+ year member]

How does taking the rear seat of a car out add 2 HP?

By the way, I had a pretty decent experience today with a Panasonic 54 inch Z1, a stereo Yamaha Natural Sound receiver, and the Martin Logan speakers that use the electrostatic transducers. The only thing that ****** was the movie. Hancock is really a terrible movie.

 

[lolwut 10+ year member]

Hancock is a pretty good movie if you ask me.

 

[Horsemanwill 10+ year member]

the only way to confirm anything is to do tests yourself. that's the ONLY way to be 100 percent sure you know what you are hearing. this brings up the old "golden ear" test by richard clark. if you don't know about him or his test google it and come back. i'm sure jim and ejschultz know wat i'm refering too.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

id like to find a respectable source, a company or person that sets the standart for testing the audio equipment.

Good luck //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

Here's a hint...just because it's fact, doesn't mean someone has to believe it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif