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What on earth happened to car stereos? Rant of sorts...
- Thread starter Arkay
- Start date
piece-it pete
What, me worry?
They weren't on ALL of them, just (pick one) .
I'm ok with the stock radios, I just upgrade the speaks, I think the noise level in a typical car is just too high for a more serious approach, imho.
Pete
I'm ok with the stock radios, I just upgrade the speaks, I think the noise level in a typical car is just too high for a more serious approach, imho.
Pete
bowtie427ss
Lunatic Member
Sorry OvenMaster, i should have said "KP-500/TP-900"
And yes, a KP-500 was my first "home" stereo at age 11. Ran it with a RS regulated power supply with a very crudely fashioned pair of hommade boxes with 12 inch RS musical instrument speakers and the 2x6 RS tweeter horns............ it kicked ass, all things considered.
And yes, a KP-500 was my first "home" stereo at age 11. Ran it with a RS regulated power supply with a very crudely fashioned pair of hommade boxes with 12 inch RS musical instrument speakers and the 2x6 RS tweeter horns............ it kicked ass, all things considered.
Arkay
Lunatic Member
Thanks for the comments, guys!
I've just been thinking about the sound on my Dad's old Cadillac back in the seventies. Okay, the thing was a beast, like a tank that floated on marshmallows, but with all the sound-dampening put in it, you never heard the motor more than a faint distant purr. Between the plush uphostery, thick shag carpet and the padded headliner, there wasn't much other than window glass to reflect sound. While far from ideal, you could have done worse for a "listening chamber".
It had cassette deck, radio, 8-track(!) and if memory serves me right, two 6" x 9" speakers on the back deck and two (perhaps slightly smaller?) in the front dash. Not true audiophile, but really not so bad, either. With the windows up, you could hear MUSIC.
When the car came from the dealer, they even threw in a few free 8-tracks, including a classical music sampler and Barry Manilow! 
Led Zep cranked up nicely in that car, but the dealer didn't give that one for free. Guess they had ideas about their target market's tastes!
Not really true audiophile, but not all that bad, either. Good enough you could genuinely "enjoy the sound" as you cruised down the road. You could hear some bass, some midrange, and some treble -some detail and a sense of soundstage, even if it was sort of swirling all around you.
In contrast, all I could hear on my friend's new system the other night was... thin, ugly somewhat sibilant semi-treble.
I think when I finally do go back to owning a car, I'll go vintage inside it, too... unless maybe I get a deal on one of those McIntosh's! :scratch2:
I've just been thinking about the sound on my Dad's old Cadillac back in the seventies. Okay, the thing was a beast, like a tank that floated on marshmallows, but with all the sound-dampening put in it, you never heard the motor more than a faint distant purr. Between the plush uphostery, thick shag carpet and the padded headliner, there wasn't much other than window glass to reflect sound. While far from ideal, you could have done worse for a "listening chamber".
It had cassette deck, radio, 8-track(!) and if memory serves me right, two 6" x 9" speakers on the back deck and two (perhaps slightly smaller?) in the front dash. Not true audiophile, but really not so bad, either. With the windows up, you could hear MUSIC.
When the car came from the dealer, they even threw in a few free 8-tracks, including a classical music sampler and Barry Manilow! Led Zep cranked up nicely in that car, but the dealer didn't give that one for free. Guess they had ideas about their target market's tastes! Not really true audiophile, but not all that bad, either. Good enough you could genuinely "enjoy the sound" as you cruised down the road. You could hear some bass, some midrange, and some treble -some detail and a sense of soundstage, even if it was sort of swirling all around you.
In contrast, all I could hear on my friend's new system the other night was... thin, ugly somewhat sibilant semi-treble.
I think when I finally do go back to owning a car, I'll go vintage inside it, too... unless maybe I get a deal on one of those McIntosh's! :scratch2:
superdog
AK Member
Thread reminds me of my first car stereo about 1977in a 1968 Dodge Charger RT.A Craig- Pioneer(remember when they were one)underdash fm 8-track and some Jensen coaxials.sounded great and was state of the art in my town at the time.Eventually moved up to Blaupunkt and Concord in the 80's.Now I don't care much for high end car stereo.I am more into home stereo.I look through the latest car stereo offerings in Crutchfield and they all look the same and just as confusing.
After spending 10 years in the car stereo business (1986-1996),I am/was aware of the right sound,the right gear,the right speakers,and the right placement of said speakers,to at least get what we all know and would possibly like out of a stereo autosound system.I was and never will be a "boomer" sound maker,these poor kids listening to their distorted bass at damaging hearing level,will wish they hadn't did it,in about,say....5 or so less years.The proper balance of good speakers(separtes,if space permits),a proper amount of amplification,a dedicated subwoofer to supplement the bass,and a decently featured head unit,will go a long way to bring you the real stereo sensation in any vehicle.The vehicle's electrical system must be up to the challenge to meet the car stereo system's demands,and special attention has to made to wiring and connections,but otherwise you can have "hi-fi" in anything with four/two/eighteen/however-many wheels. Rob
Years ago I got a new truck - 1990 to be exact, with a premium sound system from Ford (JBL). I located a Yamaha YCR series for a staggering amount and put it in - it was low on gadgets, but high on sound quality. I located a smallish power Pioneer amp to drive pioneer speakers behind the seats, clarions in the doors. Each item was chosen at the time because it was the best I could find for a price. Yamaha got out of that bizness and I think there was a reason why.
Used to be when I was in college, pioneer units had the best tuners, sonys had the best tape mechanisms. nowadays? Kenwood. For the most part you get the same tuner and cd specs regardless of price, you pay for the gadgets. So I went and bout 7 Kenwoods to fit all the vehicles and the boat using a common harness and faceplate.
The only car I ever owned that I liked the stereo is my 06 Jetta. The head and XM add on play thru a bazillion speakers, separated by function and scattered about the car where they do the most good. Someone finally realized that having woofer/mid/tweeter in some single 6x9 footprint prolly was not going to sound the best.
Used to be when I was in college, pioneer units had the best tuners, sonys had the best tape mechanisms. nowadays? Kenwood. For the most part you get the same tuner and cd specs regardless of price, you pay for the gadgets. So I went and bout 7 Kenwoods to fit all the vehicles and the boat using a common harness and faceplate.
The only car I ever owned that I liked the stereo is my 06 Jetta. The head and XM add on play thru a bazillion speakers, separated by function and scattered about the car where they do the most good. Someone finally realized that having woofer/mid/tweeter in some single 6x9 footprint prolly was not going to sound the best.
melofelo
Addicted Member
here's a sneak peak at my current ice install ..awaiting more 'madmax' vintage bits...salvaged here and there for pennies...
lots of watts
2 front tweeters
2x front upper mids (4")
2x underseat rear 6"bass 3way retro hitachi in car speakers (midrange fillers)
2x rear panel 8" bass units with old mission 700 crossovers and tweeters (rescued from sidewalk)
1x yet to be installed m&k 12 inch sub (£10) for the driver brand new boxed
salvaged mdf & ply to make dash speaker unit and sub enclosure
sounds pretty good considering there's no eq yet..just a bit of front to rear fade and some adjustment on the present amp to even the levels from each location..
alpine cassette head unit has been reliable with its 20-20khz response and goodmans cassette adaptor gives passengers with ipods a chance to select their own music...
(in car dj's i call em..) ...best music interface you can get...just shout out next song you want to hear..and passenger cues it up on the ipod for you...
no distraction...maximum driving fun...
the unit also has a remote for rear seat passengers worried about hearing damage...:yes:
lots of watts
2 front tweeters
2x front upper mids (4")
2x underseat rear 6"bass 3way retro hitachi in car speakers (midrange fillers)
2x rear panel 8" bass units with old mission 700 crossovers and tweeters (rescued from sidewalk)
1x yet to be installed m&k 12 inch sub (£10) for the driver brand new boxed
salvaged mdf & ply to make dash speaker unit and sub enclosure
sounds pretty good considering there's no eq yet..just a bit of front to rear fade and some adjustment on the present amp to even the levels from each location..
alpine cassette head unit has been reliable with its 20-20khz response and goodmans cassette adaptor gives passengers with ipods a chance to select their own music...
(in car dj's i call em..)
...best music interface you can get...just shout out next song you want to hear..and passenger cues it up on the ipod for you...no distraction...maximum driving fun...
the unit also has a remote for rear seat passengers worried about hearing damage...:yes:
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Sandy G
Retired Member
These hotshit designers nowadays apparently never heard of the "K.I.S.S." principle- Keep It Simple, Stupid...I never saw what was wrong w/a simple 2-knob radio...the knob closest to you turned it on 'n' off, & made the volume go up & down..the OTHER knob changed the stations.
jedo1507r
Active Member
Sandy G said:
Definitely agree with that since who would want to mess with tone controls buried in a menu and having to find what buttons are to adjust the tone. About the knobs going out of favor, people want CD and also that some people think the dual-shaft design was for old farts without "taste".
Saratoga48
I need that radio
I gave up
Being an old tube guy, who prefers vinyl. My current test for a Car "system" is to turn it on and see if it picks up the AM, sports Channel I like in New York City about 160 miles away. I almost never put any kind of music on in the car.
Being an old tube guy, who prefers vinyl. My current test for a Car "system" is to turn it on and see if it picks up the AM, sports Channel I like in New York City about 160 miles away. I almost never put any kind of music on in the car.
![JimJ[VT]](/forums/data/avatars/m/20/20031.jpg?1443894878){kind=avatar}
JimJ[VT]
Super Member
There are a few units that defy the trend for flashy, irritating displays - but almost all of them require that you spend a little dough to get.
Pioneer's P9 DEX/DEQ combo has a very basic head unit, that has next to no animation of any kind. It has a pretty complex menu system, but it's needed to control all the functions that the outboard processor can do.
Denon's upper end has very plain decks...but you likely won't get your hands on one for under $1500.
And to anyone that's harkening back to "tone" controls, once you get your hands on a real parametric EQ you'll never bother with such simplicity again...
Eclipse units have a built in 10-band PEQ that's about all the tuning flexibility you'll ever need...is it something you can adjust while driving? No, but you shouldn't be adjusting your EQ while in motion anyway. That's something you do in your driveway.
Pioneer's P9 DEX/DEQ combo has a very basic head unit, that has next to no animation of any kind. It has a pretty complex menu system, but it's needed to control all the functions that the outboard processor can do.
Denon's upper end has very plain decks...but you likely won't get your hands on one for under $1500.
And to anyone that's harkening back to "tone" controls, once you get your hands on a real parametric EQ you'll never bother with such simplicity again...
Eclipse units have a built in 10-band PEQ that's about all the tuning flexibility you'll ever need...is it something you can adjust while driving? No, but you shouldn't be adjusting your EQ while in motion anyway. That's something you do in your driveway.
soundmotor
super modified
JimJ[VT] said:
Used market only for Denon now. They vacated car audio for good a couple years ago.
fropiler
Super Member
I used to be totally into car stereo, (Late 70's early/mid/late 80's) Nothing but Alpine and lots of power. Pretty sure I can pin the vast majority of my hearing loss on those days.
Now I just want peace and quite. Road noise is bad enough without adding more racket via the stereo.
Now I just want peace and quite. Road noise is bad enough without adding more racket via the stereo.
alwayslooking
Recorded Live
Kenwood
I had Kenwood separates in my 1984 Celica. I wish I would have kept them- silver and solid:tears:
I had Kenwood separates in my 1984 Celica. I wish I would have kept them- silver and solid:tears:
soundmotor
super modified
JimJ[VT] said:Even for JDM stuff? That sucks, I didn't know that.
Well, regardless, you won't touch even a used Z1 for much under 2 grand
One to look for is the Rockford-Fosgate Platinum 2000Ti Series of headunits. The RFX8250Ti in the line was a rejiggered Denon, the Denon you are referring to. One other one often overlooked is the Nakamichi CD-700. For the moment... these along with the current McIntosh MX406 are the last of the high-end head units.
aw11sd
vintage seductee
Mister Pig
Pigamus Maximus
I Spent A Few Years Selling Car Audio
While in my college days i spent a few years selling car audio. I still appreciate a good system. It does seem that high end car audio has moved to alot more flash, and less substance. The epitomy of pop culture.
My 94 Mustang GT has this sytem installed:
Eclipse head unit...forget the modelat the moment
Phionex Gold Xenon 4 x 100 amp
Phionex Gold Xenon 1x 1200 amp
Phionex Gold Titanium 20 Farad capicator bank
Focal 11 inch Polyglass subwoofers...3 of them
Focal Power series seperates up front
Dimaond Audio two ways for rear fill
Stinger dry cell battery
IXOS cables
1.5 bulk packs of Dynamat
It's a nice sounding system with good balance. Maybe a bit over the top, but an aweful lot of fun to listen to.
Regards
Mister Pig
p.s. one of my favorite amps is still the Soundstream Class A 50's that we built in the early 90's.
While in my college days i spent a few years selling car audio. I still appreciate a good system. It does seem that high end car audio has moved to alot more flash, and less substance. The epitomy of pop culture.
My 94 Mustang GT has this sytem installed:
Eclipse head unit...forget the modelat the moment
Phionex Gold Xenon 4 x 100 amp
Phionex Gold Xenon 1x 1200 amp
Phionex Gold Titanium 20 Farad capicator bank
Focal 11 inch Polyglass subwoofers...3 of them
Focal Power series seperates up front
Dimaond Audio two ways for rear fill
Stinger dry cell battery
IXOS cables
1.5 bulk packs of Dynamat
It's a nice sounding system with good balance. Maybe a bit over the top, but an aweful lot of fun to listen to.
Regards
Mister Pig
p.s. one of my favorite amps is still the Soundstream Class A 50's that we built in the early 90's.