Is this a good Head Unit?

[Munday]

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=4668

I know its quite cheap but I am not really interested in a high end head unit. Plus this has to be better than the standard one in my cup.
Another quick question, will it support a sub?
Sorry for asking these stupid questions but I know nothing about ICE

 

[Has]

No link or picture or details ? LOL

-----------------------------

*now u put a link and made me look a fool *

 

[hydeyho]

Its not gonna be great as its Sony, but it wil be better than the standard h/u and it will be possible to hook up a sub iuw.

 

[Munday]

I had a Sony Xplod in my saxo and it sounded ok. Think I might go for that then, need some 6x9's me thinks!

Has - sorry

 

[Claire]

6x9's?! oh dear.... lol. Are you amplifying your speakers?
I doubt you'd get very good SQ from that, sony tend to bemore worried about looks than sound. Some very good cheap pioneers are on the market atm

 

[hydeyho]

need some 6x9's me thinks!

:nono:

 

[Munday]

Hi Claire,

I really don't know anything about ICE. I have just spent the last 20mins reading that ICE guide on this site and don't understand
Can you recommend me a good head unit for less than £200 and some speakers? Pwease!

 

[Munday]

:nono:

It says in the ICE guide on this site that they are better than the standard rear speakers!
I don't know what to do! :dapprove:

 

[hydeyho]

It says in the ICE guide on this site that they are better than the standard rear speakers!
I don't know what to do! :dapprove:

You don't need rear speakers!!!

 

[Munday]

You don't need rear speakers!!!

What do I need then?

Head Unit
?
?

 

[hydeyho]

H/U
Front components
Amp
Sub (optional - for 'fill')

 

[Munday]

H/U
Front components
Amp
Sub (optional - for 'fill')

Thanks, I am not doubting your advice but why does that article on this forum say don't worry too much about fron speakers and concentrate on the rear ones?

 

[hydeyho]

If you are on a tight budget have a look at these >

H/U - http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=3822
Components - http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=3855
Amp - http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=4139

There are lots of options but this is probably the package I'd recommend for £250ish

 

[hydeyho]

Thanks, I am not doubting your advice but why does that article on this forum say don't worry too much about fron speakers and concentrate on the rear ones?

Where does it say that?

You don't listen to music from behind. rear speakers will only come in to play for passenegers (but who cares about them lol) or if you are setting up 5.1.

I don't have any rear speakers in my setup, the oe ones have been completely removed and the soundstage is much more to my liking.

 

[Munday]

Ok, I will go with your advice then
Thanks for your help, will probably order it when I get home.

 

[OLI]

never been to keen on sony car audio.
I'd go with a pioneer or get one of last years alpine headunits in the same price range.

 

[Leeshez]

Can you not look at it in a shop?

 

[Spykee]

i would go for a pioneer as the other have said as they are pretty good for not a lot of money!

as far as 6x9's go, if you want more bass than the std system but dont want to use your whole boot on a sub enclosure go for them. get yourself a good set though as it will make all the difference.

i have a set of infinity reference series 6x9's and a set of reference series components up front and it sounds great! to get the most out of your 6x9's though you should invest in a stealth shelf from autoacoustics so you dont get vibration as there is too much flex in a standard parcel shelf.

Alex

 

[Martin_172]

get a Pioneer Head unit mate, ive got a DEH-P8600MP (out of your price range) and its amazing! i also fitted a cheap pioneer unit to my cousins saxo (cost £60 or somthing from car audio direct) and even that sounded ok with the standard speakers.

as said before if you want sound quality just get yourself sh*t hot front components and leave out the rear speakers (it wont sound as good for rear seat passengers, but whos paying for the ICE?!) best thing to do is get sh*t hot front components and fade the standard rear speakers in slightly just to give a bit of fill but so you cant hear them in the front to waste the sound quality from your fronts

i hear a lot of people who dont care about sound quality saying "get loud rear speakers so it sounds like the musics all arround you" but think about it, at a concert everyone faces forward, all Hi-Fi amps (not inc home cinema ones) are 2 channel for 2 speakers, front ones!

 

[Munday]

Thanks the advice everyone, I think I will go for some front speakers and a new head unit then. Good job I hadn't ordered them yet!
Might take a trip down to Halfrauds and have a look so I can see them in the flesh and then look for the cheapest price on the net. Thanks again

 

[Spykee]

i personally wouldnt bother with the front ones, they already have a cone and seperate tweeters like components do anyway!

its the rears that are the let down, not bassy enough

Alex

 

[Munday]

Alex - So you think I should get some 6x9's then? Will the cable reach from the rear standard speakers to the parcel shelf?
This is mighty complicated

 

[Dink]

the fronts are real poo

get a new hu and comps as a start

 

[Munday]

Sorry for the double post but my sister has a Clio and she has just a Sony head unit with some Kenwood 6x9's and it sounds pretty good. So is this the right idea then?

One person on here says one thing and another says something else lol.

 

[Dink]

listen to me get front comps and a new hu

 

[Spykee]

Alex - So you think I should get some 6x9's then? Will the cable reach from the rear standard speakers to the parcel shelf?
This is mighty complicated

munday, yes i rekon that you should get some 6x9's but they have to be 3 way to be any good and some really decent ones will set you back about £100 although you could get matching pioneer ones for about £50...... hand on a minute, i have some spare pioneer 6x9's that are practically new........

im not sure whether the cabling will reach from the back pannels to the shelf but otherwise its better to run uprated cable to the rear of the car and tuck it under the side sills so that its not showing in the passenger compartment. the uprated cabling will set you back about £4 from halfords and will once again make a vast improvement, so basically if you buy that as well as the parcel shelf from halfords its going to set you back about £300 - £350 (£100 for stealth shelf, £150 for pioneer HU, £50 - £100 for 6x9's) but they will fit it all for you for free spending that much.

Alex

 

[Spykee]

listen to me get front comps and a new hu

Dink, why when there are component style speakers set up in the front already?? if you just put components in the front you will have treble overload! i have uprated components but they would be painful on the ears unless i had more bass up the back!

the fronts are far better than most other cars i have had and the fronts are adequate for treble but the rears are sh*te for bass

Alex

 

[Dink]

lol so all cars are the same because they have four wheels

so how come you don't get treble over load with oem comps?:S

decent comps come with adjustable x-overs so you can apply a -3dB output cut if they are too brash

sub-bass should come from a sub and mid-bass should come from front comps as it starts to get directional

 

[wozzaa]

if you want bass buy a sub if you want mid / treble you upgrade the comps the rear speakers are just mid drivers. hence buyign new comps which will handle more bass anyways sound cleaner and go to higher volumes than the standard which arent that good.

 

[Munday]

lol so all cars are the same because they have four wheels

so how come you don't get treble over load with oem comps?:S

decent comps come with adjustable x-overs so you can apply a -3dB output cut if they are too brash

sub-bass should come from a sub and mid-bass should come from front comps as it starts to get directional

The sounds like what a doctor would say if doing car heart surgery lol!

Right, so far I have figured out I need a new head unit and some speakers but what ones I don't know!

 

[wozzaa]

components 13cm ones

 

[Spykee]

lol so all cars are the same because they have four wheels

so how come you don't get treble over load with oem comps?:S

decent comps come with adjustable x-overs so you can apply a -3dB output cut if they are too brash

sub-bass should come from a sub and mid-bass should come from front comps as it starts to get directional

er yer.... not sure what your trying to get at with the first of your comments but im sure its likely to be sarcastic!

i know that decent comps have adjustable x-overs, which is what i have.... or you could just et a head unit that does it for you otherwise... i happen to have both options!

what im getting at is unless Munday wants to start to build up a really good system and spend ££££ then the fronts are ok!

by no means are they good but from what i can gather he doesnt seem to be too bothered as long as he gets a modist improvement. i agree that components are excellent in terms of sound in the front of the car as they are phenomenal IMO but to get a balanced system you need more bass in the back and more treble in the front. this is what components and 6x9's or a sub would do except you will get high, mid and low range frequencies from 6x9's in the rear and not just low like you would from a sub, the oem fronts will then provide supporting high range trebble and it will be more balanced than just highly uprated front speakers!

Alex

 

[Dink]

you don't need 6x9's in any system no matter how much is being spent

as 6x9's come with either 1 or 2 tweeters mounted on on top which is exactly where you don'y want treble to come from.

 

[Spykee]

you don't need 6x9's in any system no matter how much is being spent

as 6x9's come with either 1 or 2 tweeters mounted on on top which is exactly where you don'y want treble to come from.

which is why i said get some decent ones as the tweeter housing will be angled towards the passenger compartment not just straight up into the window or roof area! in terms of height positioning within the car its no different to component tweeters being mounted on the dash!

Sorry for the double post but my sister has a Clio and she has just a Sony head unit with some Kenwood 6x9's and it sounds pretty good. So is this the right idea then?

One person on here says one thing and another says something else lol.

just go with what your ears know mate! if you like your sister's setup then go for something similar but get a pioneer HU.

this is the sort of thread that can turn into a 'which colour car is the best?' type of thread as everyone has their own personal preference on type of sound depending on what type of music they listen to as well as the consideration with pay off against using up lots of boot space or not! i personally use my boot so need it without a sub filling it!

Alex

 

[Munday]

Right, I am going to get some 6x9's and a head unit only
And then if I wanted could add an AMP and a Sub at a later date. Thanks for your help everyone

 

[Spykee]

your welcome Munday, sorry it turned into a bit of an slanging match!

go for a Pioneer HU though as that is the general consensus.... i also rekon you should be able to get a set of Infinity Reference Series 6x9's at a good price on the internet too which you defintately will not be disappointed with!

Alex

 

[Munday]

your welcome Munday, sorry it turned into a bit of an slanging match!

go for a Pioneer HU though as that is the general consensus.... i also rekon you should be able to get a set of Infinity Reference Series 6x9's at a good price on the internet too which you defintately will not be disappointed with!

Alex

If I can stretch myself to an Alpine would that be just as good? I know I said I was on a budget but for the sake of a decent stereo I might as well just fork out.
Also, could I make my own shelf for the car? And would I also need to disconnect the rear speakers and run a cable through to the rear of the car?
Thanks again

 

[Dink]

you will be telling him to get a power cap next

 

[Martin_172]

Pioneer all the way mate, you wont regret it. the fronts in the clio arn't bad (im still using them) the back speakers are terrible. so you would think the best thing to do is replace the back first but i find if you replace the back speakers even with somthing like semi cheap 6x9s they sound a bit better than the fronts and now your getting better sound quality from the rear!

 

[Claire]

spykee, Im sorry, but I dont think you know what you're saying. Someof your advice is quite bad.
6x9's tend to sound worse than components. It is all to do with the way they are designed. component speakers handle one frequency range each. 6x9's handle several. Unless you spend A LOT of money on 6x9's - its never worth it.
You will inevitably do better yo get a nice 10" and some perhaps just over £100 components. As a hu, well I always advise pioneer p77 - gorgeous and good SQ. As for a subwoofer, JL do some good medium power 10" speakers.
How much in total are you looking to spend? Because CAr audio direct have a brilliant Rainbow offer on atm. Components, hammer sub, and genesis profile amp. I've helped install one of these ina punto and the sound is spot on. However this kit is about 450 - though well worth the investment imo