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the spyder
Feb 18, 2011

kimbo305 posted:

Maybe it'll just be easier to fish out the Pioneer to see how bad things are? I don't have any specific tools, any tips, since you know a bit about FCs?

All you should need is a philips head and the little remover tools from pioneer. (Two $1 picks or small screw drivers will do the same thing.) Remove the shift boot, remove the ash try, carefully remove the vents. Remove the two screws under the vents and two screws under the ash tray. This removes the bezel. From here you can see if they used a mounting kit or just shoved it in. All wiring should be visible.

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Molten Llama
Sep 20, 2006

LloydDobler posted:

If your tapes are so drat special that they don't exist anywhere except for your tapes, get a small player, patch it in to your pc, and rip the audio to digital files. Rip them as a big wav and you can fully edit and eq the sound, level the volume, and then break the tracks up. Also you will then have them at your fingertips and can back them up for all eternity.

Or if your head's got an aux in and you don't want to rip them, get yourself a Walkman and hook that bad boy into your stereo. It'll be like the 90s never ended! Except with portable tape players instead of portable CD players.

powderific
May 13, 2004

Grimey Drawer
Anyone have suggestions for how to set the high and low pass filters for the sub? Right now I have mine set at 24db per octave at either 70 or 80 hz.

let it mellow
Jun 1, 2000

Dinosaur Gum
gently caress me, I feel like an idiot. Please help!

Here's the stuff I bought

And I started the install yesterday. The power pack, HU, and new speakers are all awesome. The KSC-SW10, on the other hand, is getting no power. Here's how I drew up the wiring.



What the gently caress did I do wrong????

E: Oh, I moved the blue/white from the sub to the blue/white coming from the harness also, same problem.

E2: I am using a 10A fuse tap for the power to the sub.

E3: Oops, I fixed the power antenna issue, blue from HJ goes to B/W on the power pack now too, sorry.

let it mellow fucked around with this message at 06:47 on Dec 29, 2012

randomidiot
May 12, 2006

by Fluffdaddy

(and can't post for 11 years!)

Well, I've discovered that the Bluetooth in my Pioneer head unit doesn't play nice with my nice shiny new Nexus 4. Specifically, if I keep phone audio enabled, the phone locks up every 3rd or 4th time I shut off the car. This is a nasty issue for me, since I'm in and out of the car a good 20-50 times a day (pizza delivery).

The N4 doesn't play nice with anything that doesn't follow the Bluetooth standards to the letter, and winds up locking up as a result. At least I can disable phone audio and keep A2DP working with no issues.

I may jump ship and get a different head unit from JVC or Kenwood. It'd be nice to have the head unit show what's currently playing (supposedly JVC can do this over A2DP), and it'd also be nice to have it dim when I turn on the headlights.. something my current Pioneer can't do.

LloydDobler
Oct 15, 2005

You shared it with a dick.

jackyl posted:

What the gently caress did I do wrong????

99% of the time it's just a bad crimp joint or a blown fuse that doesn't look blown. Bust out your multimeter and find out where the power stops. Don't have a multimeter? Go buy one. Even the $10 made in china ones will work well enough for automotive diagnostics. If you get a $4 one from harbor freight just get two in case the first one dies. That's what I use and it works great.

let it mellow
Jun 1, 2000

Dinosaur Gum

LloydDobler posted:

99% of the time it's just a bad crimp joint or a blown fuse that doesn't look blown. Bust out your multimeter and find out where the power stops. Don't have a multimeter? Go buy one. Even the $10 made in china ones will work well enough for automotive diagnostics.

I have one and will do that. What should I measure, though? Yellow/black? Or something else? Thanks for the advice, by the way.

I know residential electric with no issues, and figured I could easily transition and well, here we are.

edit: part of me thinks it is the blue/white or power antenna connection, but that may be just me being an idiot, since that b/w is now tapped on the lead to the power pack, which works perfectly. also, the manual suggests that is could be ground, but my jeep has a floating ground and all grounds are tied together to the factory harness ground. so it has to be the connection to the 10A fuse tap, right?

Right?

That's all I have. :smith:

Edit: It was a crap connection with the add-a-circuit. Problem solved, thanks for the multimeter idea!

let it mellow fucked around with this message at 17:49 on Dec 29, 2012

Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal
In the first post of the thread it mentions using lovely wires... would these qualify as lovely wires? http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=KOL-AK4-4 It's about $250.00 cheaper than my local audio shop wants for an 8 gauge install kit (this is 4 gauge) for the same OFC w/ RCA wires.

E: Also would the RCAs included in that kit power all 4 speakers?

E2: Nevermind looks legit. My local audio shop is just over the top expensive for just about everything.

Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 11:30 on Dec 29, 2012

kimbo305
Jun 9, 2007

actually, yeah, I am a little mad

LloydDobler posted:

I'm gonna go with an insulting reality slap and tell you that spending any money on a tape player of any kind is a loving retarded decision. IT'S 2013 ON TUESDAY DUDE.

:) I lost a lot of steam when I realized the factory HU didn't have manual equalizers like on the FB RX7s.

There's nothing wrong with the Pioneer headunit, really. It sounds way way better than the factory unit in my Vette, which is kinda sad. My only beef with it is that I haven't figured out how to randomize the tracks it plays on my mp3 CD. Once I figure that out, it's pretty much game over for the old head unit.

Lowclock
Oct 26, 2005

Knyteguy posted:

In the first post of the thread it mentions using lovely wires... would these qualify as lovely wires? http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=KOL-AK4-4 It's about $250.00 cheaper than my local audio shop wants for an 8 gauge install kit (this is 4 gauge) for the same OFC w/ RCA wires.

E: Also would the RCAs included in that kit power all 4 speakers?

E2: Nevermind looks legit. My local audio shop is just over the top expensive for just about everything.
Not lovely at all. I've used the Flex many times and it works just fine. Even their super cheap CCA wire is good enough for most stuff.

the
Jul 18, 2004

by Cowcaster
Should I jump on this? Trying to save money. How can I find out if it will fit my Honda Civic?

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/pts/3472435265.html

let it mellow
Jun 1, 2000

Dinosaur Gum

the posted:

Should I jump on this? Trying to save money. How can I find out if it will fit my Honda Civic?

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/pts/3472435265.html
can't comment on whether you should buy it or not, but if Crutchfield sells it, you can go there, put your car information in and select the head unit. The site will then tell you if it fits or not. I used that extensively when doing my Jeep stuff, and ended up buying several components from them for a bit more than I could get them from elsewhere because of how useful their site was.

the
Jul 18, 2004

by Cowcaster
If you didn't see earlier, I'm trying to stay under $200, here's what I have:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_105KDR330/JVC-KD-R330.html
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130TSG1644/Pioneer-TS-G1644R.html
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_777P69/Sound-Ordnance-P-69.html

Totals $184.97

JVC and Pioneer I've heard of, but Sound Ordinance seems like a discount brand. However, the speakers have 4.5 stars with 75+ ratings. What should I do?

Lowclock
Oct 26, 2005

the posted:

What should I do?
Replace the Sound Ordinances with something else and order it all from Amazon instead.

Black88GTA
Oct 8, 2009

Lowclock posted:

Replace the Sound Ordinances with something else and order it all from Amazon instead.

Ehh, the one thing about Crutchfield is that they don't really deal in bullshit brands. The "worst" stuff they sell is usually mid grade. I haven't heard much about SO, but the fact that Crutchfield sells them at all says something (unless things have changed over there since I have looked into this stuff). They are probably a new brand that hasn't really established a rep yet, unlike the big brands that have been around for 15+ years.

I would bet that the brand is fine - possibly one of those brands that are actually pretty good, but without the Big Brand price tag. That said, all companies (even the big names) have their budget / crap lineup, in addition to the good stuff. Which is usually "OK" but never "great". Both sets of speakers linked have kind of lame power ratings - the SOs at 55w RMS, and the Pioneers at 40w RMS, which really kind of sucks for 6x9" and 6.5" speakers. OK for head unit power, but if you ever decide to build it up and use dedicated speaker amps, you're going to want something with better RMS ratings. I'd consider saving a bit more cash and getting something a bit higher end, honestly.

atomicthumbs
Dec 26, 2010


We're in the business of extending man's senses.
My 1988 Volvo 240 sedan's mostly stock sound system sounds like crap. The head unit is a Pioneer DEH-405 from the early 90s, which was apparently quite expensive when now, but lacks currently-accepted features such as auxiliary input and a clock that you can set without knowing the Clock Secret.

The car has 4" speakers in the front doors, and (I think) 5.5" speakers in the rear deck (Volvo model HT-172, which may or may not have been a premium thing). I've seen complaints from people on various forums that there isn't much mounting depth available for the door speakers.

What do I upgrade first? Are there any radios that don't have fake brushed aluminum and blue LEDs all over them? What do I need to look for in speakers? I don't need incredibly loud bass, but I would like to be able to hear any bass at all, as well as being able to crank it up far enough to hear over road noise without the elderly speakers making horrible resonaty vibraty noises. Are there any radios that don't have fake brushed aluminum and blue LEDs all over them?

Also, when I upgrade the speakers, is it possible to keep the stock speaker grilles, or do I have to change them out?

the
Jul 18, 2004

by Cowcaster

Black88GTA posted:

I would bet that the brand is fine - possibly one of those brands that are actually pretty good, but without the Big Brand price tag. That said, all companies (even the big names) have their budget / crap lineup, in addition to the good stuff. Which is usually "OK" but never "great". Both sets of speakers linked have kind of lame power ratings - the SOs at 55w RMS, and the Pioneers at 40w RMS, which really kind of sucks for 6x9" and 6.5" speakers. OK for head unit power, but if you ever decide to build it up and use dedicated speaker amps, you're going to want something with better RMS ratings. I'd consider saving a bit more cash and getting something a bit higher end, honestly.

Thanks for the advice, but I'd really like to keep it under $200. It's not a car I'm planning on putting a lot into (a point A to B car) so I just want a decent sounding setup that I can connect my Android phone to.

With Amazon.com it looks like I can save enough extra to add in an amp, but I have no idea what kind of amp I'm supposed to be looking at. Crutchfield has a number of "Blaupunkt" amps around $50, but I don't know what I'm looking for. Do I need to match it to the power that the speakers will be taking or something?

EDIT: Crutchfield doesn't sell BOSS electronics, how can I find out if this fits my car?

the fucked around with this message at 21:58 on Dec 30, 2012

LloydDobler
Oct 15, 2005

You shared it with a dick.

atomicthumbs posted:

What do I upgrade first? Also, when I upgrade the speakers, is it possible to keep the stock speaker grilles, or do I have to change them out?

Upgrade front door speakers first. You will have to get creative with the mounting, and you want them mounted as solid as possible, they will come loose if you don't. Retaining the stock speaker grilles is unlikely, but more likely on those later models. If you find a shallow speaker that fits the standard opening it'll look pretty clean and sound good. Take the stock speaker out and measure both it and the hole to see what you can get away with.

As for the rest, you can mount anything on the rear deck, the 240 used to have standard 6x9 holes in the metal for you to mount to. If not get the largest speaker you can fit on the deck, even a 6-1/2" will add a lot of bass using the trunk as the enclosure if you mount them right.

the posted:

Thanks for the advice, but I'd really like to keep it under $200. It's not a car I'm planning on putting a lot into (a point A to B car) so I just want a decent sounding setup that I can connect my Android phone to.

With Amazon.com it looks like I can save enough extra to add in an amp, but I have no idea what kind of amp I'm supposed to be looking at. Crutchfield has a number of "Blaupunkt" amps around $50, but I don't know what I'm looking for. Do I need to match it to the power that the speakers will be taking or something?

Don't add an amp, because then you have to add a bunch of wiring that blows your budget. Use the extra budget to go with some higher quality speakers or go up in price on the head unit.

Just so you're aware, that boss unit has no CD player, are you okay with that?

the
Jul 18, 2004

by Cowcaster

LloydDobler posted:

Don't add an amp, because then you have to add a bunch of wiring that blows your budget. Use the extra budget to go with some higher quality speakers or go up in price on the head unit.

Just so you're aware, that boss unit has no CD player, are you okay with that?

Alright, I just didn't know if I would pop/blow/whatever the speakers if I didn't have an amp.

And yes, now that I found out those exist that's what I'd want. I don't play CDs, and I'd just want to listen to my cellphone. But how can I make sure that BOSS fits my 98 Civic?

KeanuReevesGhost
Apr 24, 2008

The BOSS is a single din, should fit fine.

Be careful with BOSS though. I bought one for my winter beater a few years back, and it was absolute poo poo. Most BOSS is, thats why you can get a headunit for $35

Black88GTA
Oct 8, 2009

the posted:

EDIT: Crutchfield doesn't sell BOSS electronics, how can I find out if this fits my car?

Heh, this is exactly what I was talking about when I said that Crutchfield doesn't deal in bullshit brands. You don't want anything that says BOSS on it.

Adding an amp is kind of an involved installation process, if you do it "right", and still requires a lot more disassembly and running of cable even if you halfass it. You have to run all new speaker wiring, RCAs, power / ground cables, mount the amp somewhere, etc. If this is just a basic audio system for an A-B car, I'd skip it unless you know how to do it already or want to learn. That said, Blaupunkt is decent, although the kind of amp you're going to find for $50 is likely to be a tiny 2 channel, which won't really be a ton better than deck power, and will definitely not be worth the added headache of installing it. Plus, all amplifiers will require at least a basic installation kit (speaker wires, RCAs, power / ground cable, terminals, and a fuse holder) in addition to the amp itself. With that kind of budget limitation, I'd look on CL for a deal on a decent used amp if you still wanted to go that route.

Ideally, you basically want to at least loosely match the RMS rating of the amplifier / power source to the RMS rating on the speakers. Running speakers rated at 40w RMS on a 100w RMS amp channel will likely result in them blowing up as soon as you put the volume up a bit. Ignore "peak" wattage, this is marketing bullshit and not a reliable / significant spec. You can run speakers with higher RMS ratings than the power they are getting (like speakers rated at 100w RMS can be powered on a 25w channel off a head unit) but they won't sound nearly as good as they will with higher power input.

the
Jul 18, 2004

by Cowcaster
Alright then, this is what I'm thinking of getting:



Look good? Also, how do I know what additional installation equipment I need?

Puddin
Apr 9, 2004
Leave it to Brak

the posted:

Alright then, this is what I'm thinking of getting:



Look good? Also, how do I know what additional installation equipment I need?

If your not amping up the speakers the only thing that I can think of is sourcing a patching loom for your car.

Something like this http://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/autoleads-pc2094-honda-accord-accord-coupe-ballade-civic-wiring-harness-p-9180.html

Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal
Got my final build together (unless someone sees some mistakes?):

Subwoofers
2x 10" Low Profile Subwoofers: https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_26889_Pioneer-TS-SW2501S2.html
1x 250Wx2 @ 2 OHMs amplifier: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_22733_Kenwood-KAC-7205.html

Front Speakers
1x 6.5" Component Speakers: https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_63995_Pioneer-TS-A1605C.html
1x 60Wx2 @ 4 OHMs amplifier: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_33466_Kenwood-KAC-1502S.html
2x speaker harnesses
2x speaker adapters (5x8 => 6.5")
1x Dremel ;)

For Tablet
1x EQ/processor/line driver: https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_41255_Cadence-CEQ-773.html
1x Nexus 7 32gb w/ mobile capabilities
1x Double din HU mount

Wires
0 gauge power/ground to battery
Power distribution block
8 gauge power/ground (speaker amp)
4 gauge power/ground (sub amp)
2x RCA cables

Gonna custom make the sub enclosure. Pretty much I'm going for this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/FORD-F150-S...c1447c0&vxp=mtr. Unsure about the center piece because that's a good place to mount the sub amp. The subs only need a .35 cubic feet minimum to run, and will go up to .7 Will be doing ported probably (unless someone thinks it would be wise to go sealed; the subs say either works) since I mostly listen to rock.

Total price should be about $950 w/ the MDF/carpet and amp install kits. Still really pricey but could have been much worse with a headunit that will have anywhere near the features that a tablet will offer.

E: typos

Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 03:22 on Jan 2, 2013

BabyJesus
Nov 13, 2002

Knyteguy posted:

In the first post of the thread it mentions using lovely wires... would these qualify as lovely wires? http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDetail.cfm?prodID=KOL-AK4-4 It's about $250.00 cheaper than my local audio shop wants for an 8 gauge install kit (this is 4 gauge) for the same OFC w/ RCA wires.

E: Also would the RCAs included in that kit power all 4 speakers?

E2: Nevermind looks legit. My local audio shop is just over the top expensive for just about everything.

I've installed 2 systems with knu konceptz kits. It's been awhile though. It worked out ok, wire was decent. I would much prefer a decent kit off of sonicelectronix though. I think the last time I put one in it was ~75 for a Rockford fosgate or something similar. It was definitely nicer than the knukonceptz kits.

Mistayke
May 7, 2003

I ordered this: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_43552_Pioneer-AVIC-X940BT.html
Which comes with all the parts I need, harness, antenna adapter, etc. I should have it by the end of the week.

And I also ordered the traffic tuner for it. It's going in to a 2011 Nissan Versa Hatchback.

I was thinking of having it professionally installed, but after looking at some videos, it doesn't look like a huge job and may try doing it myself.

Does anyone know how difficult it would be to take apart the OEM poo poo radio that comes stock on the Versa and make a fake faceplate out of it, so it looks like the poo poo OEM is still in the dash so this new one doesn't get stolen?

I looked for "Dummy faceplates" but there aren't many choices, and I would think thieves would know what to look for if they saw one of them.

Edit: Oh, this HU has a partial detachable face, meaning the lower left quadrant of buttons below the volume knob come out. Are these keyed to a specific HU? Or could a thief just pop one off a display model in Best Buy and have a working HU to sell for crack?

Edit Edit: Well, according to Pioneer, they are NOT keyed to specific head units. Well that sucks. Looks like I'll have to make a dummy face.

Mistayke fucked around with this message at 00:21 on Jan 4, 2013

Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal

Mistayke posted:

I ordered this: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_43552_Pioneer-AVIC-X940BT.html
Which comes with all the parts I need, harness, antenna adapter, etc. I should have it by the end of the week.

And I also ordered the traffic tuner for it. It's going in to a 2011 Nissan Versa Hatchback.

I was thinking of having it professionally installed, but after looking at some videos, it doesn't look like a huge job and may try doing it myself.

Does anyone know how difficult it would be to take apart the OEM poo poo radio that comes stock on the Versa and make a fake faceplate out of it, so it looks like the poo poo OEM is still in the dash so this new one doesn't get stolen?

I looked for "Dummy faceplates" but there aren't many choices, and I would think thieves would know what to look for if they saw one of them.

Edit: Oh, this HU has a partial detachable face, meaning the lower left quadrant of buttons below the volume knob come out. Are these keyed to a specific HU? Or could a thief just pop one off a display model in Best Buy and have a working HU to sell for crack?

There's how-to guides for dummy faceplates. Basically you just pop off the face, solder or glue the buttons to the plastic and call it good. You may need a strip of velcro to hold it on over your aftermarket though.

Puddin
Apr 9, 2004
Leave it to Brak
I just bought a new amp and totally forgot about how the previous owner had 0-gauge running to the back of the car.

They must have had a huge system in it, but the thing that got me the most was the fact that the took out the stereo, left the wire in but it was looped together and stuffed up under the back parcel shelf.
Not even any tape over the exposed wire, I must have driven the car for a year before I traced the wire to its location.

It has a circuit breaker about 10cm from the battery, I can't remember if it was isolated at the time though, could have very well have had a post in the failure thread on how my car caught fire.

stevewm
May 10, 2005
Haven't seen it posted here yet... but http://www.mp3car.com has a active forum dedicated to installing computers and recently tablets into vehicles. It covers all aspects from software/hardware to fabrication to make things look factory. I've been following it for several years now. It started around 1999 when people where installing low power machines running DOS with simple LCD displays just to play MP3 files. (I was one of them!!, my first was a older PentiumMMX (133 i think) running DOS 7 and MPXPlay hooked up to a PS/2 NumPad and a parallel 20x4 display)

atomicthumbs
Dec 26, 2010


We're in the business of extending man's senses.
I've done too much looking through Crutchfield for head units and am pretty sure I'm gonna choose either the Sony CDX-GT700HD or the Kenwood Excelon KDC-X596. Are there any caveats of either of those I should know about?

My 1988 Volvo 240 already has an (old) aftermarket head unit. Can I reuse the mounting kit and wiring harness from it?

MikeyTsi
Jan 11, 2009

powderific posted:

Anyone have suggestions for how to set the high and low pass filters for the sub? Right now I have mine set at 24db per octave at either 70 or 80 hz.

What color are they?

Kachunkachunk
Jun 6, 2011

Puddin posted:

I just bought a new amp and totally forgot about how the previous owner had 0-gauge running to the back of the car.

They must have had a huge system in it, but the thing that got me the most was the fact that the took out the stereo, left the wire in but it was looped together and stuffed up under the back parcel shelf.
Not even any tape over the exposed wire, I must have driven the car for a year before I traced the wire to its location.

It has a circuit breaker about 10cm from the battery, I can't remember if it was isolated at the time though, could have very well have had a post in the failure thread on how my car caught fire.

Ugh that's pretty irresponsible in itself, but at least you don't have to run the power wire yourself. Get a good distribution block and run your amp from that with the desired gauge. I run 0-gauge myself, but it was... interesting trying to get it through the firewall. I literally had to tape, shape, and lube it before it went through. :heysexy:

atomicthumbs posted:

I've done too much looking through Crutchfield for head units and am pretty sure I'm gonna choose either the Sony CDX-GT700HD or the Kenwood Excelon KDC-X596. Are there any caveats of either of those I should know about?

My 1988 Volvo 240 already has an (old) aftermarket head unit. Can I reuse the mounting kit and wiring harness from it?
Of the two you linked, the Kenwood looks to have stronger pre-outs, more color options, but no satellite radio connectivity. Do you have much of a speaker system to accompany the head unit, or any specific requirements?
The interface matters a lot, too. In any head unit, you want to play around with the very same unit first, or at least similar ones from that brand/lineup, so you can get a good sense of how they perform or behave while you're supposed to be concentrating on driving. The interface also needs to be quite fast and responsive, intuitive, and not particularly inviting to Human error. The moving parts like knobs should not show sign of becoming unresponsive over time, but that's not easy to judge.

They should support various bits of technology like hands-free bluetooth hopefully, and most important for me, iDevice or Android-equivalent audio connectivity, or at least USB storage support (even then it can be quirky and rather selective).

I'm still using a Pioneer Avic-F90BT. I bought it without having tested these kinds of units first, which I somewhat regret - it's super slow to boot, but has strong high-volt outputs, good navigation all around, supports iDevices and a plethora of other entertainment options, has backup camera support, etc. EQ is a bit weak (not granular enough and groups too many bands together) for my liking too, as I have some weird zones in my car.

I never really saw many posts of people complaining about the same things as I, but I had some luck reading forums for the Pioneer AVIC series to get an understanding of what people felt about the brand, and what burned them, etc. Try the same yourself.


But yeah, that Kenwood looks a bit better, spec-wise.

Kachunkachunk fucked around with this message at 15:46 on Jan 3, 2013

Kachunkachunk
Jun 6, 2011
[Sorry, ignore, double-post. Tried to put two together, but I can't delete this one.]

powderific
May 13, 2004

Grimey Drawer

MikeyTsi posted:

What color are they?

Is this a snarky way of saying I didn't provide enough information or something?

MikeyTsi
Jan 11, 2009

powderific posted:

Is this a snarky way of saying I didn't provide enough information or something?

Yes. Optimal settings are going to depend on the types of subs you're using, the box they're in, the speakers you have them matched with, the type of music you listen to, etc.

Puddin
Apr 9, 2004
Leave it to Brak

Kachunkachunk posted:

Ugh that's pretty irresponsible in itself, but at least you don't have to run the power wire yourself. Get a good distribution block and run your amp from that with the desired gauge. I run 0-gauge myself, but it was... interesting trying to get it through the firewall. I literally had to tape, shape, and lube it before it went through. :heysexy:

That's what I've just done, got a 1 to 4 Block, and running 4-gauge to the amp that sits now about 20cm from the block.

But seriously though how hard is it to just to tap up the ends just for a little bit of safety. I'f I every get rid of the stereo, its going to be make sure that it's wrapped to within an inch of its life.

In any case, my new amp has now shown me that I either have to, buy a new sub box to replace my lovely home made one or buy a nice sub+box combo.

I'll probably go for the latter as the sub is one of 2 that I bought way back in 2000 from my holiday to the UK.

That's right I went on holiday back to the UK from AU and came back with 2 12inch subs and an amp in a second suitcase. To be fair, I bought all the gear for like 60 pounds, which would have cost me well over $800 back home.

powderific
May 13, 2004

Grimey Drawer

MikeyTsi posted:

Yes. Optimal settings are going to depend on the types of subs you're using, the box they're in, the speakers you have them matched with, the type of music you listen to, etc.

The speakers are JBL MS62C's in the stock door holes and the sub is a Rockford Fosgate 12" R1 prime in a sealed box. The JBL's claim to bottom out at 60 hz and the sub claims to go up to 250hz, but neither companies say whether that's within 3db or 10db or what, and I'm not sure how cabin loading, time alignment, etc affect everything.

I assume that it's something that requires some trial and error, so maybe I should have said "how to determine the best crossover settings" or "what sorts of information do I need to find optimal settings."

Lowclock
Oct 26, 2005
I usually start out with both the high and low pass set around 120hz and do it by ear from there. Maybe separate them a little more if they're not nice 4th order (24db/octave) filters.

Black88GTA
Oct 8, 2009

Puddin posted:

But seriously though how hard is it to just to tap up the ends just for a little bit of safety. I'f I every get rid of the stereo, its going to be make sure that it's wrapped to within an inch of its life.

This is cool, until the electrical tape goes through a couple summers, gets gooey, and starts unraveling. It's much safer / easier to just pull the fuse from the fuse holder that's near the battery*. If none is present, slap whoever did the installation and install one. Worst case, disconnect the power cable and use a zip tie to tie it off somewhere that won't get in the way.

*Unless it's one of the lovely round glass tube fuse holders that rely on the fuse being in place to keep the cable ends apart. In this case, use a non-conductive stiff material as a spacer in place of the fuse.

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b0nes
Sep 11, 2001
My brother has a Pioneer head unit and the USB port has stopped working. Is it possible to get it fixed or will he need a whole new unit? Right now he is just sing the aux in. Also can you replace the faceplate with one found on Ebay?

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