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Head unit should be changed before upgrading using the factory head unit is sort of like a last resort in my book. For crossovers just look for something that is

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Old 07-22-2009, 02:20 PM   #31 (permalink)
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Head unit should be changed before upgrading using the factory head unit is sort of like a last resort in my book. For crossovers just look for something that is going to send out a mid signal that the woofer is stable at and same for the tweeter. I think that you should of just gotten a component setup and not worried about running a 6x9 there, because the tweeters in the woofer will not work if you use a crossover and if you ar thinking about doing so don't it is a was and will not sound right. For head unit an alpine would give you nicer sound or even the kenwoods now but the alpines are gear more towards sound and ipod hooks up as well. For amps if you can afford them take a look at the higher end sound streams and the focal amps along with the audison amps there what I am going to be running I had one before but traded it the thing was awsome.
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Old 07-25-2009, 10:47 AM   #32 (permalink)
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Okay so a lot of you are starting to get comfortable with taking apart your Z to install a radio. But some of you might be still lost of do not want to spend a lot of cash on a fancy head unit. I am going to try to clear up what is good and what is bad out there. For a good DD head unit expect to spend anywhere from 600-1000 for a nice one, some DD do not have the NAV which in that case drops the price tremendously.

Alpine- Very nice head units, Great sound quality from the factory or even if you are using an aftermarket amp. Great Interface for the ipod as well, almost as if it was made for the ipod "which some are"

Boss- A very cheap name brand usually sold at walmart or flea markets. Not by any means great or just good. These units have crappy interface and the music signal that it sends out can actually make your system sound worse.

Cadance- This company is more known for there amplifiers than there head units. I have known no one that has used them or has tried them. IMO I would keep away.

Clarion- Still ahs one of the best top of the line SINGLE DIN head units for a SQ active setup. Only thing is that is almost a grand. There other normal head units are nice as well though I am not sure if they have to many choices for DD's. They are still something to keep in mind. My only beef with them there ugly.

Dual- Yet another name brand sold by flea markets and bargan stores. These units are like your lowest end that I would allow in a car, there lower end models are like pyles, and there nicer ones are like a cheap pioneer but not as good.

Eclipse- A fantastic head unit for a nice setup it is right up there with Alpine. There very nice head unti for the money and have a nice interface as well, the only one I may stay away from is the which they do not make anymore, which is the one that integrates a tom tom gps and you use that as your main screen and your gps.

Fahrenheit- Another low class name brand not even sold at flea markets some will try to trick you into these as if they are great units, there not, buyer beware.

Jensen- While not the top or middle class these do have a lot to offer, but it comes at a price. The screen is by no means a god one to look at gps let alone a movie, and the signals that it sends out for an external amp can have engine noise in it as well "not all cars" If you are looking for a low end one to put in your wife's car to make her mad this is the one.

JVC- Middle class head units, while I have not had much to do with them I still have played with a few and such. There flashy screens attract those teens that want that boom boom in the trunk. They are nice units and can be fairly easy to use, only for the money you can always get something better.

Kenwood- Fantastic interface with the best NAV and blu tooth I have seen in years. You can not beat these DD units. If you are looking for a nice Nav interface and a nice unit for music look no further.

Panasonic- If you can get past the flashy blue screen you may like them "single dins" The double dins are nice as well sprting a lot to offer for a good price, but as soon as you want to add nav you are slamed with an extra 500 bucks.

Pioneer- If you do not know me by now I have sort of a beef with pioneer. I started installing stereos 5 years ago. I have used pioneers and had nothing but problems "in my own and others" Problems from face plates dying. internal amps frying, cd's not ejecting, engine wining noise and so on. But I will say this there premier units are pretty nice, and the sound quality signal you get out of them is nice as well. There ipod interface is junk and slow. Other than that there not bad units.

Sony- This company use to be the milestone in sound quality and use to be the baddest company on the block. Now there commercialized junk. I have seen these units literally short themselves out, the power signal you get form there head units and amps are garbage and so on. Stay away!

Valor- Yes they look like a great package don't they? Do not be fooled another name brand just like pyle and Boss only a tad nice, they may look nice but that's all.

I hope this has helped you in some way. I know my reviews may of been a tad harsh but i have used them and know how they are.
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Old 07-25-2009, 11:21 AM   #33 (permalink)
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I like this unit:

Clarion VX709 DVD receiver at Crutchfield.com

Built in bluetooth, and the microphone is built into the front of the headunit. It also plays MP3 amd WMA on DVD, so you can get a lot of material on one disc, albeit at reduced quality. I don't really need nav.

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Old 07-25-2009, 11:27 AM   #34 (permalink)
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That is a nice one not to mention the car in the pic LOL
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Old 07-28-2009, 10:54 PM   #35 (permalink)
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Default Alpine's EQ/Crossover PXE - H650

If one stays with the base HU and adds an amp and sub and front speakers, would the addition of a Alpine EQ/CrossoverPXE-H650 improve the sound?
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Old 08-01-2009, 07:36 PM   #36 (permalink)
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That is the only way to install it on the bose model, yes it will help a bit on the base head unit as well. My first choice would be to change the head unit, it will be the best bet for SQ and also look better IMO.
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Old 08-17-2009, 11:50 AM   #37 (permalink)
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Don't forget the WiringWizard!
Rockford Fosgate® - Woofer WiringWizard
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Old 08-22-2009, 10:05 AM   #38 (permalink)
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Default DVD Audio

Does the Kenwood play DVD audio CDs or only DVD video?
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Old 08-22-2009, 11:38 AM   #39 (permalink)
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Depends on which model you are looking at, the 6140 will play dvd audio and video as far as I know.
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Old 08-25-2009, 08:53 PM   #40 (permalink)
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just joined the other day and I just want to say what a great site and THANK YOU bigaudiofanat. i just got a new nismo and had no clue what i had or what to do about it. thanks to everyone on this thread. i feel educated. nicely done. hope to contribute sometime down the road.
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Old 08-25-2009, 09:03 PM   #41 (permalink)
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No problem man Welcome to the site! Also PM sent to you.
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Old 08-29-2009, 06:10 PM   #42 (permalink)
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Tomorrow I think I am going to do another write up. Just trying to think on what though "if you have an idea just pm me or post it". Keep an eye out for it tomorrow!
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Old 08-29-2009, 06:28 PM   #43 (permalink)
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< keeping an eye out
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Old 08-29-2009, 08:14 PM   #44 (permalink)
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Okay I am bored starting them now.

Rear Speakers
In top end cars there are no rear speakers because SQ "sound quality" is setup for optimal performance. In small cars such as the z it is even more unnecessary, you only have 2 people in the car and no rear seats. Rear speakers that close to the fronts will collide and cause the audio to sound multiplied. If you listen to it for a few days you will get use to it and it will definitely sound better than 4 channels. Think of it this way an artist records there music in 2 channel format so the optimum way to listen to it is threw 2 channels. It may sound a bit different at first but as I mentioned if you give it a few days it should grow on you. Either way save your money and invest it in better front speakers.

Bose systems
So some of you may of knew this was coming. Yes the bose system is by no mean worth the money you have to pay to get it. I am not trying to get personal just trying to be informative. The system is not even as good as the base sound system. Why I say this is the fallowing. The bose system consists of a amp and a processor. When you start turning up music the processor looks at the signal coming form the head unit. It reads it and detects what can cause distortion on the speakers. It than cuts those frequency's so no distortion will happen. So as you turn up your volume your highs and your mids "sub" start to fade out to the point where you can no longer rely hear them.

Another poor thing about the bose system is the PITA of upgrading it. If you want to upgrade the system in any means you have to start from scratch. If you just upgrade the speakers "can not", the processor will still do the same thing to the signal. So you have to remove the factory amp which in tern you have to replace the head unit. By the time you are done upgrading it you could of saved a bundle and just bought the base model to begin with, because you have replaced everything in the car. "My apology's to anyone that I may of upset that owns a bose system"

JL Myth
So a lot of you may have heard or been told by people or the internet that JL is basically the best you can buy. This is no way true. There are so many better companies out there for around the same or less price than JL. A few to start with are focal, CDT, Image Dynamics, Rainbow, and Dynaaudio. Do not get me wrong JL is good stuff just there is a lot better for the price you spend for JL. If you are looking for a site that carries the brands and others that I have mentioned please look no farther than Woofersetc.com the online car audio super store, the largest selection at the lowest prices!

Base Model Speaker Size
In the base model of the Z the fronts are able to fit 5 1/4 or 6.5 inch speakers. As for the tweeters they are 1 inch tweeters. By using the z enclosure spacer rings in conjunction with the plastic that is already in the door you can fit just about any speaker in the door, as I have shown in my California Z build.

Bose Model Speaker Size
Fronts are 6X9's but with the right spacer rings and fitting you can put either a good set of 6x9's or the better choice would be a set of component 6.5's. Rears I believe are 3 1/2. As for the sub it is 2 small 4 or 5 inch woofers.

Capacitors
Before I get into this I just want to say for most of the systems I have seen, and for what the stock alternator is capable of putting out. NO ONE will even need to worry about running one of these. That being said they DO reduce or omit light dimming, but they are not a fix more like a band aid. What a capacitor dose is stores a charge of power that can be depleted very quickly, this allows some of the strain to be taken off the factory charging system. But the cap still have to be recharged over and over again. This in turn may cause damage to your charging system over time. Do not feel bad if you have run one before as even I have at one time. So if your lights do dim a lot it might be time to look for a new alternator and or a second battery that would be mounted in the trunk. The only time you will have to worry about this happening is if you are running over 1000 rms all the time.

Stock Wiring
So some of you might be worried about running new speakers on your factory wiring. Well I am here to tell you as long as you stay below 50 watts going threw the wire you will be fine. If you are planning on running something like 120 watts to the speakers than you will need to upgrade the factory wire in the doors to aftermarket. The reason you do this is for safety. If you try to push to much current threw to small of a wire you can cause damage to your equipment or even start a fire in some cases. A good wire to run is 16 or 14 gauge.

Satellite Radio
So you have your beautiful brand new z and you want to start taking some road trips or some trips threw the mountains. Well I have taken many road trips and ever sense I purchased my satellite radio I have never been able to go without it. Yes you may have your ipod but sometimes that can get old. If you are taking any kind of trip or a big traveler I would recommend looking into getting satellite radio, the quality is great the selection is great and you never have to worry about surfing for channels. Xm and Sirius have merged so it rely dose not matter which one you choose.

Pioneer Ground Noise
So in some cases even z's can get engine noise after a new system install. If you have a pioneer head unit here is the fix. Pioneers have a ground problem with there rca's that causes this. Here is the fix. Take a piece of wire any size and wrap it around your rca ends. Than ground that wire to the chase of the radio. This should fix it and you should be good to go.
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Old 08-29-2009, 09:18 PM   #45 (permalink)
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More will come tomorrow.
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