I just want aux-in, no headunit, no external amp, no screens, no bs!

[Wattser93 10+ year member]

Meh. Oh well. Just investing a little into the speakers made it a much more enjoyable ride for me, certainly a night and day difference. Being able to hear the music clearly is a huge plus to me. It just seems such a simple, affordable, constantly appreciated upgrade to me.

+1. I spent less than $1K on my system and it's been one of the best purchases made. I spend an hour a day in my car, so being able to enjoy the music is a big deal to me. Of all the things we spend money on in life, enjoying music for the hour a day I can is far better than suffering with a bad stock system.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

spending money isn't as important as spending time doing the installation well. i have hundreds of hours in my car - well over 400 hours by now. while the cost of my equipment is under $1500 because everything was bought used (retail is over $4k), i've tried dozens of configurations with many different products to nail down what i want. and i still have other speakers to play with, modifications to make, etc. it sounds great, and most people would be happy as-is, but i also experiment so i can answer questions and generally increase my knowledge. just last night i spent 2 hours building new tweeter spheres.

 

[jaross 10+ year member]

thats cool you guys don't have to justify your hobby to me, I can understand that. And I do respect sound quality. I was a radio DJ for a semester and I have always taken pride in my music collection. I also produce electronic music. I used to drive 8 hours one way 5 or 6 times a year, as well as going skiing which was a longer drive at times as well. Now, I drive 15 min each way, two and from work 5 days a week. Sometimes much less on the weekend, sometimes much more. I will see how this sounds to me, and if I am left wanting more, I will look into it. As it stands, I have a trip to Hawaii in which I would honestly rather spend the $100 on a few nights of drinking and having fun, I have a few repairs to do on my car because I would like the car itself to be close to perfect, and thats about it. Until I can figure I need more out of my system, if I can spend $40 and have something better then crappy battery powered "ipod speakers" then it will have to do for now.

Thanks much for all the help. May be in touch about future upgrades when the time comes

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

we aren't justifying it, just talking about it. these threads are for others reading as much as they are for you. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

i did this sound system for a friend; educated and experienced recording engineer, masters albums, does his own electronic music, etc. his car is now a mobile reference system for him to evaluate on.

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/car-audio-build-logs-cars-trucks-suvs/516096-2005-scion-tc-sq-hertz-audison-pioneer-build-log.html

have fun in Hawaii - i agree that is better than car audio. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[jaross 10+ year member]

I see, that makes sense! Looks like you really put a lot of work into your friends car, thats cool. Do you have a link to your listing of the vintage EQs you said you had for sale?

 

[jaross 10+ year member]

Anyone know if I can control my ipod's volume with this: ANT-5 HIGH QUALITY AMPLIFIED FILM TYPE DIVERSITY ANTENNA

Also, some amplified EQs I have seen do not have volume control, meaning that I would have to use the volume control on my ipod (or whatever device I plug into them). Is this a legit way of controlling volume, or is this a sure way to get a hiss through the speakers at lower volume?

Some reviews of certain eqs with boosters have said that they really are not loud enough to power a car system by themselves. Is there any way of telling? I know watts is not a realistic measurement (I once had a 2000 watt amp powering one rocford fosgate 15" rated at 1000 watts max and never had a problem...) Is there any way I can tell if an eq I am looking at will be loud enough?

Also, I wouldn't imagine it is any better then the Boss at all, but would a Pyramid 801 be okay?

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

You didn't want to be loud, which is why a booster is a reasonable solution. But the 80's boosters are as powerful as modern head units.

Avoid Boss. Older Pyramid was decent for the day, on par with the Jensen.

Most will rely on the volume control in your device. You won't have additional noise from this, but make sure the EQ is off before you connect or disconnect the 3.5mm cable. For this, a separate power switch makes sense.

I don't think your link to a volume control makes sense.

 

[Wattser93 10+ year member]

spending money isn't as important as spending time doing the installation well. i have hundreds of hours in my car - well over 400 hours by now. while the cost of my equipment is under $1500 because everything was bought used (retail is over $4k), i've tried dozens of configurations with many different products to nail down what i want. and i still have other speakers to play with, modifications to make, etc. it sounds great, and most people would be happy as-is, but i also experiment so i can answer questions and generally increase my knowledge. just last night i spent 2 hours building new tweeter spheres.

+1

I've put more sweat equity into my system than money. It doesn't take a huge budget get a good sounding system. Too many people think buying a $1000 set of comps and $800 amps will be the ticket to SQ. The reality is that 90% install and 10% equipment will sound 100% better than 10% install and 90% equipment.

I'm not happy with my system yet. I still have to seal and deaden my doors. I have to quit though after that before I spend too much money. I'm a perfectionist and can easily spend an entire weekend reading threads over on DIYMA, trying to find ways to squeeze every last bit of potential out of my equipment.

 

[jaross 10+ year member]

You didn't want to be loud, which is why a booster is a reasonable solution. But the 80's boosters are as powerful as modern head units.
Avoid Boss. Older Pyramid was decent for the day, on par with the Jensen.

Most will rely on the volume control in your device. You won't have additional noise from this, but make sure the EQ is off before you connect or disconnect the 3.5mm cable. For this, a separate power switch makes sense.

I don't think your link to a volume control makes sense.

What about new Pyramid? http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/Pyramid-801-10-band-Graphic-Equalizer-Amplifier/3374869/product.html

My link is to a cord that goes from an ipod dock connector to rca jacks, hot wire and ground. that way, you can charge your ipod and get an audio signal, without having cords coming from both ends... I know that with some of the docking speaker systems, the ipod volume cannot be controlled on the actual ipod while the ipod is docked. so to clearify, if I do not have a volume control on my equalizer, can I, using said cord, control volume directly from my ipod?

Thanks again for the help so far!

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Ah, the answer to your question is yes. That is a good cord to find.

I will look up the link.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

That 801 would work for your needs.

 

[jaross 10+ year member]

can I wire in that Ipod charging cord, as well as my radar detector, on the hot wire for the head unit along with of course, the eq/amp? I wouldn't imagine the draw is much on my radar detector or ipod charger...

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

should be fine. what is the fusing recommendation for the EQ?

you'll know if you blow the HU power wire fuse. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[jaross 10+ year member]

sent the boss back, waiting on the pyramid.

I got this:

https://ssl.zoovy.com/c=3HtsK39Htm1IrjKGIpumZCRpV/s=gooddeals18.com/product/801/Pyramid-801-10-Band-Graphic-Equalizer-Amplifier.html

But then I saw this:

https://ssl.zoovy.com/c=3HtsK39Htm1IrjKGIpumZCRpV/s=gooddeals18.com/product/808/PYRAMID-808---10-Band-Graphic-Equalizer-Amplifier.html

Whats the difference?

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

sent the boss back, waiting on the pyramid.
I got this:

https://ssl.zoovy.com/c=3HtsK39Htm1IrjKGIpumZCRpV/s=gooddeals18.com/product/808/PYRAMID-808---10-Band-Graphic-Equalizer-Amplifier.html

But then I saw this:

https://ssl.zoovy.com/c=3HtsK39Htm1IrjKGIpumZCRpV/s=gooddeals18.com/product/808/PYRAMID-808---10-Band-Graphic-Equalizer-Amplifier.html

Whats the difference?

Same links? Fail.