|
Yerok posted:Any recs for minimalist single DIN mechless head units with no blinding blue lights? I currently have a Pioneer MVH-X560BT in my Crown Vic. It's reasonably minimalist, and the screen and button colors are customizable, along with a manual dimmer. I keep it all green to match the Ford dash lighting. It sounds decent. Unfortunately it's been discontinued: https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item-74585-Pioneer-MVH-X560BT.html edit: pic:  It was $110 when I bought it. Interestingly, literally every singl;e-DIN Pioneer shows out of stock on Sonic Electronix, so I don't know what's going on there, but there are several current models with similar features to mine, with an updated look that still not too flashy, at least for me. I am about to replace it, though, since my car has room for a double-DIN, and I need a reversing camera for that boat. Speaking of, I bought one of the Atoto F7 units with CarPlay from Amazon. I believe I saw that recommendation in here. Amazon had a one-day sale on them last week that saved me a few bucks.
|
#
¿
Feb 7, 2022 22:33
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 15, 2024 01:09 |
|
|
Lowclock posted:Next time I need a deck, which is very soon because Alpine doesn't know how to debounce a button properly, I'm just going to go back to the whole car PC thing. A bottom of the line generations old NUC will give you more I/O and audio processing power than even the most expensive car deck money can buy in about the same package. Back in the day a 7" 1080p capacitive multi-touch IPS screen for it would've cost thousands if it even existed (it didn't), but now it's $50 on amazon/ebay. It will still take endless faffing, but that's half the fun. Just don't faff and drive. Hell, a Raspberry Pi would probably work fine. I'm sure someone has tried. I've got access to an Azulle Mini-PC Stick. It's all of like 4" x 1.5" x 0.5" with an Intel Atom. We had them running full on Win10 and Zoom for conference rooms before we switched to Teams. Could be useful.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 10, 2022 01:08
|
|
|
Wish I could say the same. My Atoto has locked up unresponsive twice in the last week - have to turn the car off and back on to reboot - and the display keeps blacking out randomly while on CarPlay. This may be the wireless CarPlay adapter. Oddly, music and such continues to play, and if you know where the on-screen buttons are, they still work. You just can't see them on the screen. Hitting the hardware home button brings it back. As far as I can tell it's only on CarPlay. Updating firmware on the head had no effect. I'll try updating the firmware on the wireless adapter, but it's annoying to get to right now. If that doesn't work, I will contact support, but I will be strongly considering sending it back. I don't want to, though, because when it's working, it's pretty dang cool.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 15, 2022 01:02
|
|
|
Lowclock posted:Holy poo poo. How does it possibly take that long? Does it have to cold boot a fresh VM every time it starts or something? I would've probably assumed it's broken. If it's like the wireless CarPlay dongle I have with my Atoto, it uses a BT connection to initiate a Wi-Fi connection, in addition to the head unit and the adapter itself booting up. I'm getting similar times. Lowclock posted:drat, that's crazy. I really hope that's just some kind of weird device quirk because if they're all like that, I'd call it unacceptable. How long does it take you to plug in a cable for CarPlay after you get into the car? How busy are you that 1 minute while you buckle your seatbelt, etc. is an unacceptable time loss for you? BonoMan posted:I don't see why it couldn't. May take some finagling, but I think my atoto backup cam even came with a secondary adhesive mount. Maybe for cases like this? Not sure. Also, a reversing camera in your widow is going to have a little less utility for close parking than one closer to the action, as it were. Less so, in your case, since it's a wagon, and you can place it at the bottom of the window. In my sedan the rear camera in the window wasn't useless, but really just for rear dashcam use, since the deck lid blocked the view of anything less than probably 3-4 feet from the bumper. As BonoMan, my Atoto came with the license plate mount, but also a flat mount with adhesive. The Atoto has a full-sized RCA connector, but the two previous cameras I've installed had a small, maybe 1/4" connector before the RCA to deal with the "big hole" issue. e: f, b everdave posted:I see on AliExpress these new style backup cameras that replace your license plate light with a housing that has the light plus the backup camera and they’re dirt cheap. I don’t know about the 60 series I’ve only had 70/80 series so that doesn’t come up in my search but worth taking a look through Ali. I used one of those style cameras on my mother-in-law's Honda Insight (thankfully, Honda used the same license plate light on about a million models.) It fit and worked fine. Got it from Amazon or eBay, I forget which. Didn't want to wait a month for Ali. BonoMan posted:Lol sorry. That was one thing that annoyed me about it. Mine's on the trunk of a Crown Vic, where the hole can go behind the licens plate, but it still annoyed me to drill a half-inch hole for that plug. BonoMan posted:I timed my Atoto F7 EX (with wireless Android Auto) and it was 20 seconds to boot and an additional 5 seconds to connect and start playing. So 25 total. Same. F7 PE. Lowclock posted:Huh. From a little googling it looks like other people say its either something around 30 seconds, 2+ minutes when it's messed up, or "instantly" (???), so it may vary a lot? I guess it's not a huge deal since you'll probably just start driving anyways and it will come up eventually, but I definitely did not expect that it might take as long as cold-booting a 10 year old tablet with hosed up flash. I tried just searching for a real video of one connecting, but the algorithm won't allow it and I get nothing but ads. Does the radio at least keep playing or showing your backup camera or whatever while it's connecting? Yes, if you had it set to radio when you shut off, the radio comes up pretty quick, and plays while the CarPlay connects. I assume same with BT, but haven't tried that. I haven't had to back up while the CarPlay is connecting, but I'm pretty sure that will come up as well. I'm having issues as noted previously in the thread with CarPlay, but I *think* it's the adapter. Will try to sort that this weekend. Keep in mind, my entire experience with wireless CarPlay has been whit this Chinese Atoto deck and a wireless adapter, so YMMV. It's entirely possible brand-name native wireless CarPlay might come up faster.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 18, 2022 17:42
|
|
|
One issue I've noted was that the navigation voice doesn't change volume with the radio/iPhone music. It's just set at whatever, adjustable in settings, but apparently an absolute rather than a percentage. I'm going to detach the wireless unit and connect directly and see what happens. There may also be a firmware update for the adapter, but the instructions said not to update if it connected successfully. I'd categorize this at this point as not successful, at least not all the time.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 18, 2022 22:52
|
|
|
Wasabi the J posted:Firstly, if you're on Android, enable developer options and disable absolute volume. Nah, Apple CarPlay. Works fine with the Alpine, wired, in my wife’s car. Some oddity of either the head unit or the wireless adapter. Will be investigating further.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 21, 2022 00:30
|
|
|
Yerok posted:Which 7" Atoto is the one to get? The linux F7 is the cheapest, A6 a little more than that, and the S8 is $80 more than the A6. Do I just get the cheapest one because any of them will inevitably break and never get warrantied? With regards to warranty support: Atoto Support posted:I am sorry for the problem you met. Don't worry, if there is a quality problem with the product, we will help you arrange an exchange or refund according to the ATOTO warranty policy. Interesting, given that they don't know specifically that I have the AC-44F5 remote (I do.) Seems like they've dealt with this issue before. I pulled the radio out and unplugged the remote last night. It booted fine then @ ~65F, but also had just been on during the drive home. This morning, though, sure enough it booted fine in 45F weather. I'll wait and observe the rest of the week, but it looks like that remote receiver was the problem, and I'll hit them up for the offered new version. Sweet! I really wanted to like this radio. They got back to me next day after posting the support request on their website, so I'd say that they have every intention of honoring the warranty. Everything I've seen so far in terms of the website, support, documentation, etc. says to me that they are striving to be a cut above what we in the US picture a "Chinese company" to be. Certainly the reviews I read on Amazon for the F7 were encouraging. FWIW, I have a F7 8" "Professional Edition". Once the firmware on the head unit and the wireless CarPlay adapter were updated, it's worked very well aside from the powering up issue, which hopefully has been resolved.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 16, 2022 19:28
|
|
|
Update: my F7 has fired up properly all week. Makes me happy. I'll be contacting Atoto support to let them know, and to go ahead and send the AC-44F8 remote. Only issue there is that the F5 remote just plugged into a dedicated 3.5mm port. The F8 is a universal remote designed to work via the connections intended for OEM steering wheel controls, so I'll have to do some harness unwrapping and more soldering. It looks and operates just like the F5, but is programmable in the settings just like factory steering wheel controls would be, which is nice. I do like the rotary volume control on them.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 18, 2022 19:10
|
|
|
Lookup videos on YT of people testing amps on amp dynos. The Taramps stuff typically surprises. I have a couple other small amps on my list that punch above their weight. One of them is a WalMart Dual of all things. Two of them, actually - a 2-channel and a 4-channel that actual produce their rated output for a Walmart price. Sadly, I think both are discontinued. Sony makes or made a double DIN unit that had an actual volume knob. I went with an Alpine - their cheapest-with-CarPlay. I’m on my mobile, so don’t have the model number handy, but I believe it’s still current. A mechless unit that can pair with a nifty piggyback amp that makes it as a package almost as big as a double DIN with an optical drive.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 24, 2022 02:34
|
|
|
Don Dongington posted:We all know that the Ultimate Force in amp teardown and review is Big D over at WillestonAudioLabs Yeah, he's the guy I was talking about vis a vis amp dyno testing. Here's the wee Taramps test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zAe7JuPoXM He also tested the $10 @ Walmart Blaupunkt. I bought 4 of them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBEk9VPsix4 They're not $10 any more, but still pretty cheap. A different channel tested the Dual amps that actually hit advertised power: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFBW9BLZ7RM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23CVp1nczoM
|
|
#
¿
Jun 28, 2022 01:18
|
|
|
intheflesh posted:Aside from the WICKED SICK MONSTER ENERGY 110% ERXTREME branding, I'm feeling pretty good about Skar amps. What am I missing here, would this be stupid to run the front channels then have the rears bridged to a 12"? Generally, speaking, yeah. Almost everything today is so much better than, say 10, definitely 20, years ago. A $100 deck will be pretty drat decent. OEM stuff is at least 300% better than it was. A lot of newer cars I would just leave alone. Speakers, and sub, maybe. That puts me in mind of a vintage (1990s  ) ad, Precision Power I believe it was (back when they were Good Stuff) that was mocking cheap brands. It had something to the effect of "1000W*", with the asterisk being "when lightning strikes it," referring to the ridiculous power claims made by disingenuous manufacturers. Their amps, of course, were labelled with RMS power at a reasonable THD.DoesNotCompute posted:The 22 year old CD player from ebay showed up and good god it was a delight to wire, 12V, ground, ACC, amp trigger and antenna motor trigger. 5 wires god bless. Then just plugging in a few sets of RCA's and fiddling around with the mounting bracket. The dog helped. Isn't it nice? I need something simple like that for my '79 RX-7. Something period-ish. quote:That is the cutest dang picture. empty baggie posted:I had a Blaupunkt Toronto several years ago, although mine was the Toronto 420BT. It was the best single DIN stereo I ever had, and if CarPlay hadn't become a thing, I'd probably still have it installed in my truck. 420 Blaze Tokin' amirite? I gave one to my dad to install in his '70s tractor - it has very little depth to work with , since the factory unit was just AM/FM. Darchangel fucked around with this message at 22:45 on Jun 29, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Jun 29, 2022 22:31
|
|
|
Bulk Vanderhuge posted:How's everyone liking the Atoto F7? Coworker is looking for a Carplay capable head unit and I'll be doing the installation. The only issues I have with mine are occasionally the wireless CarPlay dongle not starting up and connecting properly, and also occasionally the CarPlay connecting, but displaying a black screen. The former is a simple fix of disconnected the dongle form the USB, and the latter takes a reboot of the head unit, which is a key cycle, as I’ve not found a way to actually power the unit off. Put on standby, yes, but no “off” without removing keyed ignition power. Those issues only happen once every 10-20 startups, possibly less. I do need to check if there is an update. I updated when I got it, but not since. I believe I recounted it here, but do not get the plug-in steering wheel remote. It prevents the u it from booting about 1 out of every 3 startups. Use the wire-in universal style remote instead. Edit: overall, I like the thing.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 5, 2022 21:28
|
|
|
RIP Paul Walker posted:I have a pretty new Alpine in the van that has USB input, bluetooth, and a microphone that people I've called say sounds brilliant. It's also pretty easy to use and changes color. I have an Alpine iLX-W650 mechless double DIN CarPlay in our Outback, and my only complaint id that it doesn't have a knob for volume. One of the neat things they do with this unit is, because it's so thin, make an amp that mounts piggyback to it, allowing 4 x 45W in-dash. I didn't use that, but am considering it, since the factory McIntosh amp in the Subaru hates aftermarket head units. That way I can put a dedicated sub amp where the McIntosh lives rather than trying to cram a 5-channel in there. Then I need to replace the factory 6x9 "sub" with something that really is. everdave posted:Please don’t jump me if I get any details wrong…but remember JC Whitney? Mtx speakers? I always thought MTX was a decent low- to mid-tier brand with reasonable price/performance. JC Whitney was always a mixed bag, but as long as the box was screwed together solidly and about the right size, that's all that was important.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 7, 2022 23:07
|
|
|
Nocheez posted:My buddy suggested this one, but we don't have first-hand experience with the actual unit. I think he has an earlier model, but he's been very pleased with it in his RAV4. I have the 10" floating screen version of that. Seems to work fine. Only thing I don't actually like is that the music volume is independent of the Waze (and others, I assume, but have not tried) navigation voice volume. That is, the nav doesn't turn up with the music volume, and doesn't mute the music when it speaks. The Alpine in my wife's Subaru does both. I also have the wireless CarPlay adapter for it, and that works well, too. Very occasionally I have to unplug and reconnect the adapter, and also occasionally I have to turn the car off and back on to power cycle the head unit to make CarPlay display. It connects, just no display. Someone else in this thread commented that their name-brand head unit does that every so often as well. Support from Atoto was pretty good - had an issue with an incompatible remote control causing it not to boot - they figured that out pretty quick. Be sure and register so you can check their support site for firmware updates.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 12, 2022 17:12
|
|
|
Nocheez posted:Good advice, thanks. Hopefully. No updates since 11/18/2021, though, which is the firmware I'm using.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 13, 2022 23:59
|
|
|
Nocheez posted:Here's an old memory: I built a ridiculous box for my 1990 Cutlass Supreme (the w-body, Lumina clone). My brother and I called MTX and spoke with an engineer there who asked what we were doing, what components, type of music, etc. He then faxed us (lol) some build sheets and we went to work making a ported box with 2x10" subs. Buddy of mine had a pair of custom Toby 15s (as I recall) in a box that literally filled the entire hatch area of his third-gen Camaro. It was ridiculous, but it would drat near go subsonic. My first "big" system is still in my '70 Cutlass. A pair of Pioneer free air 12s in infinite baffle and a Carver M2120 amp. Carver only made mobile audio for a few years - I caught this one on a good price at Crutchfield. I also had a pair of used 12" Lanzars - not bad, not the best. They were in my '81 Regal in a box replacing the rear seatback. I think I used the Carver there, too, then put it back in the Cutlass when I retired the Buick. I still have one of the subs - the other locked up a voice coil. Various other cheap-rear end woofers over the years in various things. Nowadays Boss and Dual are the "cheap car audio" of choice it seems. Back in my day it was Pyle and Pyramid Gold. Slightly better that Rockwood, Kenford, and Alphine. ...I still have a Pyramid Gold in the Cutlass driving the 6x9s on the rear deck. I had a JL Audio 10" in my Crown Vic, but I let it play after the surround separated and it locked up the voice coil, too. That really annoyed me. I'd had that sub for like 20 years. What *really* annoyed me was that I bought a kit and replaced the surround before realizing that it had died. Then there's the Godfather 8" subs I still have, though the foam has been patched with silicone and tissue extensively. I should see about re-foaming those. Man, I should scan some of the pictures from '90 car audio shows I went to... Half the old big names that were expensive superior quality are now Chinese zombie brands. Phoenix Gold, Precision Power, Soundstream, Hifonics (I think). edit: oh, man, you guys sent me down a nostalgia path. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Geevr9GOBw and: https://www.facebook.com/OldSchoolStereo/
|
|
#
¿
Jul 14, 2022 18:58
|
|
|
Nocheez posted:https://i.imgur.com/BuzSky1.jpeg NICE!  I have one of the original NOS energy drink bottles that actually looked like a NOS nitrous bottle - the cap even looks like the valve knob. I want to mount one in the trunk somewhere.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 14, 2022 22:24
|
|
|
StormDrain posted:This feels like the dumbest question but I've been struggling. loving anything. Almost. Lamp cord or "zip" cord is actually fine, electrically speaking. 10 million strands of oxygen-free copper with Teflon jackets are unnecessary even when you *are* running high power etc. Nocheez nailed it. There's a famous test where an expert put a whole bunch of high-priced cabling to the test, most critically double-blind listening tests, and literally none of the cabling snobs were able to pick out the expensive directional O2-free gold-terminated cabling reliably from other choices such as the same-gauge lamp cord and, amusingly, coat hanger wire. What I'm saying is Monster Cable is bullshit. They make quality stuff, but none of that makes any real difference in electrical delivery, provided sizing is the same. They're just nicer to work with, and tend to stay together better. The esoteric brands positioning themselves above Monster Cable are even deeper in the dookie. Power cable is even more basic, but having a shitload of strands on a heavy gauge wire is very nice for flexibility (think welding cable - which a lot of old-school installs used!) I like 16 gauge for most stuff, just in case, since I tend to run amps, but 18 gauge is fine for head unit power levels. Anything thinner just gets kind of difficult to work with in terms of crimp connectors and durability. The clear-jacketed stuff with a decent number of strands for flexibility is OK. Just make sure it's pure copper - a lot of the budget wire is copper-clad aluminum, and I don't feel good about that. I've not seen any tests or anything, but... eh? StormDrain posted:Perfect I just ordered some from monoprice that's a pair of wires in a jacket. That'll provide some abrasian resistance that I crave. Monoprice is a good choice for inexpensive but decent stuff. You just need something with appropriate flexibility and sizing. edit: I was briefly searching for the original test I read about, and OMG some of the incredibly stupid comments about this out there... Mostly false equivalence about insulation, other components ("so if price doesn't matter just buy the cheapest everything, right!" - no, we're just talking about speaker cable Karen,) and basically not understanding or misrepresenting what is being tested (same length, same size/gauge for all types.) My God, how people will stan for a company they gave a buttload of money to. My dudes, speaker cable is literally the simplest, least affecting thing in your device chain. except *maybe* the AC power cord. As long as it's big enough, and connected securely/making good contact, YOU CAN NOT HEAR THE DIFFERENCE. This isn't the test I remember - that was in the '80s, maybe '90s, as I recall, but it's the same poo poo: https://consumerist.com/2008/03/03/do-coat-hangers-sound-as-good-monster-cables/ Another one, more detailed, and more recent: https://www.soundguys.com/cable-myths-reviving-the-coathanger-test-23553/ edit2: I may have strong opinions about this. edit, the third: More info than you would ever want. Addresses a number of factors, and I think the Gordon Gow (a McIntosh engineer) test he talks about meay be the one I'm thinking of? http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm Darchangel fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Jul 26, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Jul 26, 2022 22:51
|
|
|
Oh, definitely - that's basic physics. Resistance goes up with length, limiting current capacity. There are some easy charts and guidelines out there for what a particular length of a particular gauge of wire can handle, just like when dealing with, say, AC power extension cords.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 27, 2022 23:21
|
|
|
The secret to using crimp connectors is to use a good crimper. I use a ratcheting cam-action crimper that can crimp a *lot* tighter than one can with the regular crimpers, typically. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-Ratcheting-Crimper-10-22/dp/B07WMB61J5?th=1 I have an older unit without the changeable dies, but it has platform to rest the terminal end on, and the die crimps the actual connection and snugs the insulation at the same time. Bonus is that you can get additional jaws for other crimp types, like ferrules and "W" crimp bare terminals. This kit has what looks like a decent stripper and additional jaws: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08G48C5NT/ref=syn_sd_onsite_desktop_492?ie=UTF8&pd_rd_plhdr=t&th=1 It's also really important to use the right size crimp terminal. The red ones are up to 18 AWG, which most stereo wiring is, until you get into higher power amp power and speaker cabling. If you don't use a cam-action crimper the type that dimple the barrel work a lot better for me. Like these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006M6Y5M/ref=emc_b_5_i They're technically for uninsulated terminals, but work fine on the insulated ones. edit: always tug on the connection after making it. If it's not going to hold, better that it fail *before* you put everything back together. Darchangel fucked around with this message at 16:29 on Sep 22, 2022 |
|
#
¿
Sep 22, 2022 16:27
|
|
|
Nocheez posted:Listen to Darchangel. I have used that last crimper for all my jobs for the past 20+ years, and it's still going strong. I also like using auto-strippers to strip wires, and have had the same set for as long as my crimper. I picked up a Chinese copy of that Irwin stripper at a swap meet earlier in the year, and I love the thing. I learned to strip with dikes when I did mobile electronics installs professionally in the '90s, but this is *way* easier, and more consistent.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 22, 2022 17:23
|
|
|
I got frustrated and disconnected the wireless Atoto CarPlay adapter and just use the cable now, albeit with a magnetic end so I don't wear the socket on the phone out. The adapter had a tendency to not quite work, needing a reboot (unplug, re-plug from the head unit.) The head unit still sometimes displays a black screen on CarPlay, though the audio works. That requires a reboot of the head, which requires turning off the car and letting the head unit shut down. No way to restart the head unit from the controls that I've found, which is amazingly annoying. That said, incidence of those black screen issues seems to be down with the direct connection. I'm still reasonably happy with it for the price. If I had it to do over, I probably would have gone with the regular 8" double-DIN, or the BOSS single-DIN with floating 7" display that I just installed in a coworker's van. The attachment method on the display is much better thought out, and it swivels and adjusts easily without tools. It also worked well for the short period I was testing it.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 23, 2022 23:29
|
|
|
I'd bet you can - I found a camera and mount that replaced the license plate light on my mother-in-law's Honda insight (and a lot of other Hondas due to parts-sharing.) Worked fine. On the Camry, I'd probably build a spacer that changes the angle, but I'm handy like that. Also stubborn.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 29, 2022 23:49
|
|
|
meatpimp posted:I knew if I dug enough on Amazon, I'd find it: https://www.amazon.com/Navigation-A...97-eb60747b8daf So, just so you know, I'm pretty sure that this unit just works through the aux input of the radio (not the setting on the head unit.) It's a standalone display that does CarPlay/Android Auto and then pipes the audio to the head - which is fine in cases like this, where it's a major PITA to replace the OEM unit. It's basically an Android tablet customized for auto use, and made to fit in the Acura's dash, in this case. There are more universal ones available, too. edit: I think it's essentially an Android head unit all to itself, since I see FM on there, too.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 9, 2023 20:51
|
|
|
Gangringo posted:I just acquired a 2005 Ford Escape as a dog transportation device, camping vehicle, and Costco wagon. It currently has the original double-din CD changer from that magical era after the cassette deck and before the aux jack. Double-DIN + Ford is pretty easy. Only concern would be whether or not it has the Premium Audio (JBL) with outboard amps. If it does, then it's potentially different plugs (well, one different plug) for the head unit, and you have the option of bypassing the amp. I'm not aware of any current non-touch interface devices beyond steering wheel controls, whether add-on or OEM. The NVX subwoofer in my Crown Vic stopped working the other day.  Well, that's not good. Further investigation:  OK  Ah. It's dual 2-ohm voice coils wired to 4 ohms to run the map bridged, because I couldn't be arsed to add a second terminal plate to the box. Same power running bridged as 2 x 2 ohm, of course. My solution was to just run one voice coil and one channel of the amp. That worked for about a week. It's dead again. I haven't tested it, but I assume that the other voice coil burned up. Supposedly, this amp (Planet Audio AC2400.4) is rated for 450W RMS per channel @ 2 ohms, 900W RMS per channel bridged, so I *may* have been overdriving the poor thing. I got almost 2 years out of it, and the Square Trade warranty paid out $41 (I paid $49.95 plus tax and shipping,) so not too upset. I've just gambled on a Skar Audio SDR-10 DV2 ($75). Reviews look good, particularly for the price point. It's rated for 600W RMS, 1200W max. Still less than the supposed power output of the amp, but I don't believe it actually puts out that much. My current box is small for it ported, a little bit too big for it sealed (box is 1.25 cu. ft., sub wants 1.65 ported - with a fairly large port - and .95 sealed.) I'm going to try sealing the current port at the inside end and running it sealed, and build a new slot-ported box if I feel like it. As I understand it, when a manufacturer gives you a port area, the standard is that size opening, and 16" of port length inside the box. And I bought a pair of terminal plates so I can wire it up properly.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 18, 2023 19:18
|
|
|
Oh, that's handy. I'm pretty good at nerd poo poo. I had no faith it was putting out nearly the advertised power but had not done the math on the fuse (which I knew about thanks to Williston Audio Labs.) I've already drawn up the new box. Just need to get my dang contractor saw back from the buddy who borrowed it, though I do have a saw guide for my circular saw if need be. It'll be the same box, just about 8" wider with a big ol' rectangular hole at one end. edit: the amp does seem to act up from time to time, losing the left channel(s) until I turn it up a bit. Not sure what the deal is there, but it's not the head unit (it did the same with the previous one) and the front speakers have also been replaced. Darchangel fucked around with this message at 21:32 on Jan 19, 2023 |
|
#
¿
Jan 19, 2023 21:30
|
|
|
Got my Skar Audio SDR-10 D2! Ok, so the box recommendation on the Skar Audio website don't match the box recommendations that came in the box with the driver. The site recommends 1.65 cu. ft. and a tuning of 39 Hz:  The instruction sheet say 1 cu. ft. and 32 Hz:  Oy. FWIW, both locations cite the same TS parameters, so this is just a difference of tuning. Current box is 1.28 cu. ft. without accounting for the woofer or port displacement. the current port is tuned to ~31 Hz, and is 1.5" ID x 2.87" long (yes, I know it's a bit small and potentially noisy. There was limited room on the face of the box - and I didn't realize it shouldn't be a problem to put it on the side.) I'm using 0.049 cu. ft for the displacement of the driver, using numbers from a similar JL Audio, since Skar doesn't seem to publish that... Port displacement is pretty much negligible (.004 cu. ft.), so net internal volume is about 1.23 cu. ft. A little bit larger that the instruction sheet, and ~0.4 cu. ft. smaller than the website. Oy. I'm inclined to just jam the thing into the existing box and see how it sounds. edit: farting around with calculators, specifically https://speakerboxlite.com/subwoofer-box-calculato, which has a driver database (that also has the Vd of the driver: 1.16L or .041 cu. ft., so .049 wasn't far off) it seems the 1 cu. ft. box is the way to go. I finally got something approaching 1.65 cu. ft (47L) if I put in that I wanted a flat response, and that 47 liters is gross internal volume, not including the driver or port displacement. Every other calculation gave me about 1 cu.ft. - less if I wanted "boom". Using that calculator to just stuff it into my exiting box looks decent. I think. If I'm reading the graphs right. Darchangel fucked around with this message at 18:34 on Jan 20, 2023 |
|
#
¿
Jan 20, 2023 17:14
|
|
|
Lowclock posted:I'd say your current box design seems fine except for that tiny little port. A 3" port like 10" long would be a lot more reasonable. If you want to build something slot ported, I've always found this style works great, with maybe a little tweaking if you really insist on tuning really low. Unfortunately, I can't make the port any bigger without taking the box apart. I centered the driver when it was a sealed box for a JL Audio 10W1, and 1.5" was all I had room for. I may see how terrible it would be to yank the speaker baffle and make a new one with an offset woofer so I can put in a bigger pipe. The whole thing is glued and screwed, plus silicone sealant. If I use a slot, it'll take up more of the internal space, so I'd have to watch that. Actually, it occurs to me I could just put another panel over the original and cut out as needed and get some doubling!
|
|
#
¿
Jan 20, 2023 21:09
|
|
|
Got the Skar Audio sub into the box and it sounds pretty dang good. Should get better as it breaks in. It seems reasonably happy in the box. There is, as predicted, quite a bit of port noise at certain frequencies. It's in the trunk, so typically I can't hear it, though. I probably will put another face on the box with the holes in an arrangement to allow a larger port, though, eventually. Old:   Remaining voice coil defnitely dead:  Putting in the second terminal cup:   Had to get a new grille because LOL:  New driver in:  Back in your hole!  Thanks, y'all for the sanity check, and helping me work through the details.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 23, 2023 21:50
|
|
|
Lowclock posted:Yeah I guess if that's all the space you're willing to give up and you might just have to take what you can get. That price seems kind of ridiculous but it should serve you well. However, I will die on the hill of "just buy a 3k full-bridge and turn it down" when it comes to amplifiers. They're small, AND affordable! Thanks, ordered a couple of those ports. I'll need to add a bit to a pair of them - I got a calculated length of 14" for 3" - but I'll figure something out. Probably 3" PVC adjusted to fit if necessary. Also ordered some of their RCA cables to try in my wife's Outback. I've got noise issues, and it's almost definitely being induced in the cables, since it'll do it without the head unit connected, but the RCAs connected to the amp, AND with ground loop isolators installed. The cables I used are UTP. Going to try shielded cables.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 26, 2023 22:25
|
|
|
Lowclock posted:Yeah it's obviously up to what you want to tune it to. 3x10 should be like 35-ish hz. I'm not a big fan of tuning boxes super low or "flat" because there's just not much actual material down there in normal music, and it gives up a ton of output everywhere above it. If you like a bunch of screwed stuff or actual bass CDs then yeah gently caress it, make it 18" long. 14" is 32 Hz as I recall, so yeah, 10"/35 Hz would probably be fine. Do they still make Epicenters? I remember those from my youth, when sound-offs were a very big thing. edit: It still sounding good back there. I'm still happy. Of course, my wife informed me that the powered sub I just installed in the Outback made a wub-wub noise and quit yesterday... I think the Subaru hates me.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 30, 2023 19:26
|
|
|
Lowclock posted:Your stock radio looks for digitized messages from a single wire that tells it to turn on, turn off, make the chime noise, or switch to on-star or whatever. It doesn't have any reason to have the classic switched 12v red wire that your aftermarket radio is looking for to turn it on and off. Whether your get that switched 12v from a fancy module that also reproduces the chimes and stuff, or from somewhere else like tapped off another circuit is up to you, but it won't work without it. My brother-in-law's Cobalt did that. It literally didn't have a switched power wire on the vehicle side. I was ready for that, since Crutchfield's installation guide for it points it out, along with several other installer sites. I had to pick up power form another circuit in the fuse block, which is conveniently in the center console below the radio on that car. In his car's case, since he bought a base model, it didn't have OnStar and none of the driver info center stuff came through the radio, so I didn't have to deal with that. The models above that sent all the chimes and DIC noises through the stereo, including using the display. His just had an in-dash display and separate noise box. The aftermarket does make a black box that handles the upper models, though.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 7, 2023 00:10
|
|
|
Lowclock posted:Then I guess it's worth a shot! Hopefully it's not all hissy. I wonder what the input impedance on that factory amp is like. Might be set up for something that's higher than most line levels and lower than most speaker levels. Perhaps the amp is set for the higher of the two common line-level voltages? My amp can be set to 2V or 0.2V, as I recall. Something like that.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 10, 2023 23:33
|
|
|
Nocheez posted:I hope someone can recommend something better than the Atoto F7. It fits those criteria but I'm so over the constant crashing. Really? Mine's only crashed a few times. Few enough that it still surprises me. Did you update the firmware? All it takes is a thumb drive and an account on their support forums (which is dumb - shouldn't have to log into anything to DL basic stuff like that.) Woof Blitzer posted:I just got some speakers, and the diagram shows two positive wires going to the amp. My current speakers only have one positive wire. Can I just leave one unconnected? My head unit only has one positive wire per channel. That's odd. Generally it's one positive and one negative to each speaker, for full-range speakers. Subwoofers get more complicated sometimes. Agree a pic or link to the manual would be useful. A thought occurs: it's not an older super-cheap head unit that uses common ground, is it?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 23, 2023 22:41
|
|
|
That's not two wires on the positive, they just drew it dummy thick for some reason. edit: basically, their technical illustrator was experiencing a loss of skill for clarity that day.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 23, 2023 23:35
|
|
|
shacked up with Brenda posted:Hey folks, My Alpine iLX-W650 has one rear USB port - that's something I specifically selected for when looking - but doesn't do wireless Android Auto/CarPlay. The iLX-507 does, but is another $300 over the 650 - $100 more than the Kenwood you're looking at. You're looking at a minimum of $500 for a name-brand wireless Android Auto head unit. Sony and JVC (and Jensen, LOL) both have one right at $500. IF you want to gamble, Boss has one for $350. Seems like most have only one USB port. shacked up with Brenda posted:I was trying to not hack into the harness if it was easy to not do so. If you just want USB ports for power, wire them in when you build the harness for the radio. You've got fused switched, battery, and ground right there. You're going to be soldering a vehicle adapter harness to the head unit plug anyway.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 24, 2023 17:46
|
|
|
Captain Log posted:This is probably the lowest priority, but what mid-range double-din head units are worth a poo poo? Which should I avoid? I'd install it myself, but almost all the car shops around here have free installation. The important feature to me would be true wireless function with my iPhone and compatibility with iOS. It's worth noting that *wireless* CarPlay over wired CarPlay adds a significant premium to the price of the head unit. For that matter, CarPlay itself bumps it up. Cheapes name brand CarPlay I've seen is $349, and that's my Alpine iLX-W650. The cheapest Alpine that does wireless CarPlay is the iLX-507 at around $650. Cheapest head unit I've seen that does wireless CarPlay is a Boss at $350. Cheapest wireless CarPlay units I found were right at $500. No-name *wired* CarPlay units can get down in the $200s. I like to shop at Crutchfield, and compare at Sonic Electronix. I usually end up buying from Sonic Electronix. Both offer installation kits (dash kit and wiring harness adapter for head units, harness adapters and adapter plates if needed for speakers.) I can't really *not* recommend any of the big names like Alpine, Sony, Pioneer. I'd be fine with JVC, I think. Kenwood annoyed me with the head unit I put in my Jeep 5 or so years ago - it liked to reboot a lot, and the display was *glossy and curved* while simultaneously not being bright enough. Single DIN, and not even CarPlay which made the bad firmware more of a head-scratcher. May not reflect on current offerings at all, however.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 27, 2023 20:57
|
|
|
Captain Log posted:So the general consensus is that CarPlay is a good thing? I like it because it puts the nav, music apps, etc on a nice big solidly mounted display. BT is nice, but you still have to use the phone for Nav and some music apps. CarPlay currently works with Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze, for example, and a host of music streaming apps.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 29, 2023 19:13
|
|
|
Captain Log posted:The USB and AUX inputs native to the car beneath my dash are dead. Apparently, selecting a head unit with a DVD/CD player knocks them out...for reasons. I did a lot of searching on Spark forums to find out that wonderful information. Yeah, some one just didn't want to put in the work to *make* them work. At the very worst, they can be replaced with panel-mount standard jacks.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 6, 2023 20:19
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 15, 2024 01:09 |
|
|
That sort of device is handy if upgrading the car’s system is not practical or desired (classic cars, or yours where it’s expensive.) Only negative I see from the specs is that the only connection method to the host system is FM. That’s great for older cars, but I’d prefer the option to use a dedicated aux cable to the car. It has an “in” but no “out”.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 21, 2023 16:09
|
|