Any car stereo experts here?

[bobafett]

I desperatley need to upgrade the stereo of the 550. Aftermarket exhaust sounds good and all, but I drive this thing a lot and listen to lots of music.

I have a few ideas in mind, but basically am thinking of focal speakers, mcintosh head, decding on an amp, and a phatbox. also, putting a small (8") sub behind the driver's seat in a custom resin enclosure wrapped in black leather to match the rest...

A very simple system, but good for driving. let's hear what you experts think...

--Dan

[No.1]

Get a Bose system.... it has class, and sounds good. :D

You don't really want to get any Sony/JBL crap in the car. THat will ruin it, and maybe decrease the value :?

As always with music... it is quality, not quality. :wink:

[T-Bird]

OK well thenumber1 already messed up you cannot buy Bose stereos for cars aftermarket they have to come with the car. If you want something that is high quality and won't be "cheap" in that kind of car go with Alpine and Alpine Type R speakers, that's what I've got and the quality is amazing almost better than Bose or Monsoon. The cost is much more than Sony or Clarion or some shit like that but it's well worth it and they are the best looks wise. Your idea is nice but I prefer to stick to one brand since The alpine controls the Amps and XM etc... all from the head unit.

[No.1]

^^^^

Sorry, but i'm not an expert :roll: ... even tho the topic sed so.. i thought any input would be appreciated.

[callen]

guys at least offer ideas better than or at least on par with the setup dan has already suggested. im no expert, but i do know what ur potential setup kills ne of the others suggested so far. what kinda deck are you going with? and amps i dunno amps. i do like ur idea of an 8" sub. u dont need to much boom boom. it is a ferrari after all. sounds like u know more than most so far dan, but ill keep an eye on this one to learn a little more about car stereos. and T bird ur setup might be seriously solid in a T bird, but for a ferrari, only the best, althogh alpine is close, they aint 'the best'

[No.1]

Try Linn ... they make great hifis and a stereo in Aston Martins.

Also Mark Levinson... he does Lexus.... these companies might be worth a try if they fit for all cars... tho i am not sure :?

[T-Bird]

/\/\/\ Same thing they are all propriety systems and are really amazing ones at that but sadly not aftermarket. they all have great home audio though. And callen Alpine can't be all that bad since they do make the stereos in BMW's along with some Harmon Kardon. And Alpine F1 is very elite and top end but alot of people don't know about it. but like I said the setup he has in mind is very nice.

[No.1]

^^^^

I had better quit this advice business ... its all crap :P :wink: ]

I will stick to what i know cars... (excluding radios) :wink:

[jon_s]

When it comes to component speakers, Diamons HEX are the only ones ot go for if you want the best, there is nothing better, period.

http://www.diamondaudio.com/MobileAudio/index.cfm?page=Speakers

You need to find out what size the standard (door+dashboard) speakers are in the 550, then order the appropriate size, and then they can just replace the standard speakers without 'damaging' the car. You will, however, need to amplify them in order to get the best out of them. You need to match the amp with the speakers: the correct ohms and Wattage. Under powering a speaker can do a lot of damage. Obviously, a Diamond amp is good, but I would also look at a genesis amp.

As for the Sub, I would go for a 10inch, it will be quite punchy. I would run it on a speorate Mono amp, again matching the amp to the speaker.

Finally, I would suggest having a professional installers do the work, especially on a car such as yours. Audiobahn is another company to look at, I personally run their stuff, but I would switch to Diamond/Focal in a heart beat. (although, you could run an audiobahn amp, as they look amazing!)

No offence to Alpine, (I run an Alpine head unit) but their speakers are good, but cannot compete with Diamon, Focal, or Audiobahn. If you are willing to spend the money (as indicated by your suggestion of Focal) then there really is only a choice of those three companies.


T-Bird, the Alpine F1 is found in the McLaren, and it is undoubtedly good stuff, but it is heavily biased towards weight loss. Oh, and another thing, make sure there is enough depth in the doors!! I bought my components, all went fine, door back together......first sunny day, put the window down, SHIT!

[bobafett]

Jon: all good points. I have all of the dimensions in a notebook soemwhere. I got the official measurements and kept them. Need to dig it up.

I realize that I'll need at least one good amp. There was one recommended to me, but I can't for the life of me remember the brand. Very small, off the wall, but apparently extraodinarily great amps with a reputation for standing behind their product (friend of mine whose shop I'll use for the - he blew one out on his Murcie and they replaced it gratis).

I'm in no mood to go digging around and adding unnecessary bits. I'm planning on keeping everything very clean, fitting in stock mounts, etc. except of course for the amp and sub.

--Dan

[T-Bird]

Oh, and another thing, make sure there is enough depth in the doors!! I bought my components, all went fine, door back together......first sunny day, put the window down, SHIT!

HAHA that happened to a friend of mine she bought the speakers and I put them in for her and the next day she tried the windows and they wouldn't go all the way down so I took them out and check everything out it was fine until I realized they were too deep luckily Circuit City took them back.

[sameerrao]

desperatley need to upgrade the stereo of the 550. Aftermarket exhaust sounds good and all, but I drive this thing a lot and listen to lots of music.

I have a few ideas in mind, but basically am thinking of focal speakers, mcintosh head, decding on an amp, and a phatbox. also, putting a small (8") sub behind the driver's seat in a custom resin enclosure wrapped in black leather to match the rest...

A very simple system, but good for driving. let's hear what you experts think...

--Dan


.... Shaking my head in disbelief here ...

... how could Dan have forgotten the obvious music system ...

Buy a Tubi exhaust system and let her rev!!! Can't be any simpler. :wink:

[bobafett]

Tubi on 550 sucks. Cargraphic is the way to go. I did my research there. Besides, i said i have an exhaust. Actually, i am considering having someone fabricate a set of center resonators for me rather than use the Stebro x-pipe to get a really snarly sound to match the deep-throated v12 bellow...

--Dan

[dingo]

There is no one brand that is the best, even though every second person swears that their fav is simply the greatest. I think among the high end brands there is not that much difference, definately not an audiable one anyway. So I would go with what you've had good experience with and provides what you need at the right price.

[jon_s]

Personally, I think that a set of speakers are only as good as the amp. A pair of well driven Alpine components (p.s T-Bird- I think that the Type R Sub is very good) will out perform a badly driven set of Diamond Hex. I honestly think there is a difference between a $100 set of speakers and $800. It might just be me, but when it comes to sound, I am really fussy.

[Gallardo_lover]

I desperatley need to upgrade the stereo of the 550. Aftermarket exhaust sounds good and all, but I drive this thing a lot and listen to lots of music.

I have a few ideas in mind, but basically am thinking of focal speakers, mcintosh head, decding on an amp, and a phatbox. also, putting a small (8") sub behind the driver's seat in a custom resin enclosure wrapped in black leather to match the rest...

A very simple system, but good for driving. let's hear what you experts think...

--Dan

Hey there,
with reagards to your sub, I know it's getting a custom made box, but I can't emphasize enough how important it is to make sure your enclosure is the right specifications for your sub... Even a small sacrifice in the size of your box can lead to wave distortion and cancellation. If you're concerned about size go for a completely closed enclosure as a ported box usually requires more space! If you're looking for style, you should go with a boston acoustics setup all round! :)

[findleybeast]

considering the companies you already mentioned, it looks like you're considering spending a significant amount of money to get the highest quality components. focal speakers are definitely a good way to go. other alternatives i'd suggest are adire kodas or arc audio speakers. the whole alpine series is a quality product and a lot of bang for the buck, but in the company of middle and high range focals the only things that can really compare are the type-x series, and they run extremely expensive.

McIntosh makes awesome amps, as do Hifonics and PPI. I don't know if you were planning on getting a speaker amp, but I would highly recommend it. especially if you're getting components.

If you're still set on the 8" subwoofer, then I'd probably recommend the JL 8W7 "heavy eight". the price is way higher than it should be, but it's one of the best 8" subs out there. great frequency response and power to spare. Boston Acoustics also makes some pretty awesome 8" subs. If you consider moving up to a 10" sub, a lot more options open up for you. Resonant Engineering's XXX subs are relatively new and not well known, but are some of the best performing subs on the market, and are offered at a much lower price than the competition. Adire Brahmas, JL 10W7s and most other high end subs are offered in that size. Another thing you might want to consider is getting the Focal Utopia special long-throw 5WS subs. They're 5" subs that will significantly improve sound quality.

One other thing I would recommend considering is getting a MaxxBass bass enhancer, especially if you're sticking with the 8". They're sold by Orion and PPI. It will significantly improve bass response in all your speakers and subs, and will allow them to play well significantly below the normal fall-off point of their low frequency response.

well that's my 2 cents

[findleybeast]

and I completely agree with gallardo_lover. a properly designed and built enclosure can make a world of difference in the performance of the sub. a sealed enclosure can mask small mistakes in the design better than any other enclosure type.

[abbor]

Hey man bobafett... you don't have to get another stereo before you switch the car with my caravelle! I don't want a stereo at all...

[bobafett]

LOL Abbor! :D

Guys: any thoughts on McIntosh? I love the look, but I can't tell if a) it's hype or not, and b) if it's worth it in a noisy car in which the windows are down a lot.

--Dan

[gigdy]

ive heard of mcintosh but only that they are ultra high end, so i never had any reason to look into them.

[findleybeast]

Unless you're a true audiophile, I doubt you'll really want or need get McIntosh. Were you considering their amps or their head unit (or both)? They only have one head unit as far as i know (MX406). It's super clean, but it's also super expensive and not really worth the money. They're known for their outstanding amps, but those are also uber-expensive. I'd stick with the high end brands (like hifonics and ppi) but I don't think you need to go THAT high end.

[findleybeast]

I do have to admit though, the McIntosh head unit is beautifully clean and simple. Nothing else really looks like it.

[Bling]

a quote from my audiophile friend:

"lets see here, image dynamics has the best sound quality, hands down. go with tube driver amps, cause the only real sound quality amps run off electron tubes. alpine cda 7949 the best sound quality deck ever produced. run that unit threw the alpine fiber optic d to a converter and then run that further thre the f1 status surround processor then to the tube amps."

yeah, ummm he knows his shit, u got the cheese, go get looking for it...that would cost like your car.

[callen]

a quote from my audiophile friend:

"lets see here, image dynamics has the best sound quality, hands down. go with tube driver amps, cause the only real sound quality amps run off electron tubes. alpine cda 7949 the best sound quality deck ever produced. run that unit threw the alpine fiber optic d to a converter and then run that further thre the f1 status surround processor then to the tube amps."

yeah, ummm he knows his shit, u got the cheese, go get looking for it...that would cost like your car.

HUH?! that sounds a little too serious! fiber optic cables, electron tubes!? what the hell is going on here! how much is something like that going to cost, and honestly, how good can a sound system be when its set up like that one?

[zaxfire69]

I have a little advice. As far as the Mcintosh head unit I am not real sure about. They do make nice amplifiers..As far as sound quality the Nakamichi head units are very nice..Also The new Sony line with the built in hard drives are cool...10 gb hard drives you can store alot of Mp3's on 10 gb..As far as component speakers go I favor the Diamond sound quality..Subwoofers I go with Kicker, because of the quality of low extended bass...Also here is a link for nice prices online..www.mmxpress.com

[Sachmo12345]

id go with Eclipse or JL Audio... unless you wanna go top of the line which would be Nakamichi

[megahurts4]

JL Audio doesn't make head units :wink:

For head units: Pioneer Premier, Clarion ProAudio, Alpine, Eclipse, or Nakamichi
Nakamichi isn't as good as they used to be. They used to be godly, but have toned down now-a-days, but they are still good nonetheless.

Sony.... all Sony car audio is trash. Plain and simple. It's pretty bad.

Kicker isn't known for sound quality mostly. For sound quality, Adire, Resonant Engineering, Mmats, Elemental Designs, Image Dynamics, Focal, or Diamond. There are more, but these are more cost effective.

[coombsie66]

Personally, I think that a set of speakers are only as good as the amp. A pair of well driven Alpine components (p.s T-Bird- I think that the Type R Sub is very good) will out perform a badly driven set of Diamond Hex. I honestly think there is a difference between a $100 set of speakers and $800. It might just be me, but when it comes to sound, I am really fussy.

I stand by Alpine as producing quality goods, their head units are a little fiddly to use, but my mates Type R sub with the applicable Alpine bridged (non-digital) amp sounded fantastic! Ive been very happy with my T303 amp which is ancient now and its running a Type S sub which is just wat i need with the standard componants and headunit. (all subs 12" by the way)

Sorry for resurecting the thread, i saw that bobafett never posted how he got on, thought advice might still be usefull!

[jon_s]

LOL, well my Alpine head unit and Audiobahn components are still running stong :P I wounder what he did?!