ive looked at a couple of the mex models a while back their ok. Less features then the clarion at more money or similar price. heres manufacture link for all specs and description if the features just get from amazon for the cheap 119 118 shipped price http://clarion.com/us/en/products/2.../cd/CZ702/us-en-product-pf_1259559424064.html If you dont ever plan to go with any amps its best sellong feature is the 24bit DAC BURR-Brown DSP if you plab to amp its selling point is the 6 channel 5v pre outs if you plan to amp Active instead of passive its selling points are the 3 waycrossover/ digital time alignment and its hi/low pass/slope control everything else like parrot blutooth EQ usb mic jack smart phone/pandora control remote hd/satellite radio ready rds are just standard features of just about every otuer HU
There are people who can mod the factory radio to add modern features (bluetooth and what not) which I was finding very appealing. But the cost is several hundreds of dollars. So decision made, add a modern HU. Mike I think you pretty much convinced me to go with the Clarion (do you work for them? LOL). I will stick the HU in the glove box. I want to add an amp and sub-woofer (I'll take suggestions on those). Speakers are the next problem I see. I do not want to hack up the interior, so I'm locked with the stock locations. Three in the dash and two in the back of the rear seats (they face the trunk).
nope i do not lol ive just did lots of research on audio systems and the clarion and rhe pioneer 80prs are the best units for 250 and under 80prs has same exact features as the clarion..just double the price...it does have an auto digital time alignment though to get all the speakers hitting your air at the same time bit some peo l e had problems with the 80prs blue tooth making noise As for subs You going 2 boxes, 1 box or free air in rear package tray?
Your now asking questions that are beyond me at the moment. I can tell you there is no rear package tray in the car because it is a convertible. Which is probably why the original rear speakers are mounted on the backside of the seats. Trying to figure out sealed or ported boxes or if I should go with a powered sub. Given the 5 stock speaker mounting locations, what's a good combination of speaker types to use - woofer, tweeter, other... I do think I want to use component speakers instead of full range speakers. The subwoofer I was thinking on sticking in the trunk.
I have a sealed enclosure and love it, but it does take extra power and the box is big. I have a newer pontiac with a sub in the trunk, but the rear seats are fabric - in my Special, there was a steel firewall behind the back seat (and I think that would have substantially ruined the sound). It was kinda an eyesore to have the sub in my back seat, but it sounded amazing and when I was driving I just enjoyed the sound and didn't worry about what other people thought visually.
I had the same dilemma 2 years ago and did extensive research as well. I finally settled on Retro Radio.http://www.retrosound.com/default.aspx I didn't have to cut anything at all and here is a pic also of the radio installed. I went with the Zuma model. It is 50 watts X 4 and has plenty of power, at least for my setup. I installed Alpine 6 X 9'so in the rear of deck openings, Kenwood dual cones in the dash (3-1/2") with some really small Kenwood 1" tweeters that adhere with velcro, on top of the dash. This is really all that can be seen but they are very small and discreet. The front really needed then as I couldn't find any real two way speakers that would actually fit in the front dash without any cutting. I also have a JL 6" sub in a custom made bando pass cabinet which also serves as a center console with my bench seat. I have a JL mono 250 watt amp in the trunk driving it. I also put a JL power wedge 10" in the trunk itself just to balance out the low ends, front to rear. The sound stage is amazing and I have plenty of power. The unit also allows for an ipoh hookup as well as an auxiliary input which I use for satellite radio. There is even another input for a USB device which I ran over to the glove box and has an SD card adapter plugged into it, and reads music from. overall, a really great sounding system and I didn't have to cut any holes anywhere. I almost forgot, I also installed 2 auxiliary adjustment knows under the das, that I can remotely control each sub amp with for a nice blend. I am out of town right now but if you want to see more picks I can do that after Monday.
An update on where I am on this project. First let me recommend a website I found for those who wish to learn things car audio: http://www.caraudiohelp.com/car_audio_basics.html This site really helped me to get a grasp on car audio details. I can now at least follow along in audio discussions. I recommend it to anyone who wants to upgrade their system and is clueless about audio like I was. After my education from above I made a call to Crutchfield for help on picking components. The guy was a little thrown because the info on my car was inaccurate in his system. But once we got away from car specific stuff, he was pretty knowledgeable (as far as I could tell) These were his suggestions: Clarion CZ702 head unit (This one was my request Mike, LOL) Clarion XC1410 amp for the 4 in-car speakers Kicker 40VCWR122 subwoofer Kicker DXA500.1 amp for sub Now speaker selection was a problem. In all cases space is tight and I really do not want to hack up the interior. The car has four stock speaker locations. Two 3.5"s in the front and two 6x9s in the back. They make 3.5"s but they are not real powerful and to replace them involves removing the dash. Removing the dash is risky business with a currently uncracked 40 year old dash. The thing to have apparently is kickpanel speakers. Space is very tight there on my car (especially on the drivers side) but I think I found something that would work. RetroSound makes some pretty compact speakers and the Crutchfield guy had no problem with them. So on the kickpanels I'm going with RetroSound's 4x6 surface mounted speakers (RPOD4-463N). They look like they will work. There is a possibility the driver's side one may interfere with the e-brake pedal, but the damn thing is frozen now anyway. Besides I can't remember the last time I used the e-brake on an automatic. My rear speakers face the trunk (its a convertible), but the Crutchfield guy said it was still worth it to put speakers there even though the position was not ideal. So for those I went with RetroSound 6x9s (R-693). I picked RetroSound speakers again because once again there is not a lot of space there.
That looks like a ported sub. I HIGHLY prefer a sealed sub. Takes more power, but much better sound IMO. Are you looking for a ported sub? Also, how will you mount the head unit in the dash?
It is a ported sub. While I now know the difference between ported and non ported subs (and band pass), I don't really know which I would prefer. It's what the Crutchfield guy suggested. Our of curiosity why not a ported sub? The head unit is going in the glove box. I want the interior to look as unmolested as possible.
The best way to describe the difference is that a ported sub gives a good "hit" (or punch), but a sealed sub is better for the prolonged part of the bass note (the kind that makes your hair follicles tingle). If you aren't sure, definitely listen to some to compare. When friends listen to my sub, they are always impressed by the sound - but I think that's because they are used to listening to ported subs. -BC
Hmmm, I do recall reading that ported is supposed to be best for rap. Rap is not my preferred music, but oddly I do really like rap - rock (Linkin Park, Korn, Kid Rock.....). I also like to listen to dance music. That's probably why the guy chose a ported sub for me.
I've read that too and I think it's dumb. The sound of a sub, in my opinion, has to do with the person and not the type of music. I like all of those types of music and more. You should listen before you buy. Don't get sucked into a simple side-by-side comparison - you need to adjust the EQ differently for each to sound it's best, a sealed unit needs more power than a ported, the crossover frequency will have to change, the sealed unit might require a different high-pass filter frequency, and so on... A good car audio store might be able to help you hear a difference (with a tech who knows what they are doing, and a real audiophile). It sounds like it will be worth it to have a local shop help you with the subwoofer - buy the rest of it from crutchfield. The fact that this is going in an open-air vehicle may negate the ability to use a sealed sub. Again - a real audiophile at a local store will help you understand the differences. I love Crutchfield and buy stuff from them, but many of their guys are just going off canned information and try to stick everyone in a neat cubbyhole. I think a sub is something you need to understand before you buy - not because you will go "wrong" with a bad sub, but because you can go "really right" with the correct sub for your taste. -BC
I agree with a ported sub or even a band pass would be the best for, not only the open vehicle (convertible), but also because you are more than likely putting it in the trunk. A ported sub will give better resonance inside the trunk, with less power. Also, if you don't want the interior to have that molested look, I would seriously look at Retrosound's head units as I had mentioned above. In a convertible, anything in your glove box can be stolen, if someone wants it. And, I could only imagine how soon you will get tired of opening it and leaning over while driving, to change a setting, song, input or whatever. I don't work for them, but I was real happy with the ease of installation, no cutting and how well my setup sounds. Just my .02...
I did look at the Retro Sound head units, but I decided against them for a couple reasons. First they were 3 or 4 times as expensive as the Clarion. Second while they look stockish, they are not exactly like the stock. From looking at the pictures online, it seems that it would not be too hard to tell the radio was replaced. In my research I came across a guy that will take your old radio and add electronic guts to it so you can have your modern bells and whistles. That would be the way I would have chosen to go, but once again it's quite pricey. You make a good point about security, but with the difference in price I'm willing to take the chance. The Clarion does come with a remote, so I should be good there. The glove box I will try to keep locked at all times.
Any updates? Review on your system as a whole i would of recommended this too if i knew about it at that time alpine CDE-164BT 230 shipped
