help me pick a new head unit and speakers please!

Yeah, I drive to school maybe 15 miles tops every day - probably less. I have enough time to listen to about 5-7 full songs from the time I leave the driveway to the time I'm parked in a spot depending on the traffic. I might be more interested in audio stuff for the Riv (Particularly head unit) if it wasn't such a PITA to install. I do not want to take that dash apart because mine doesn't squeek at all and I don't want it to.

I know what you're gonna say but I still think not having tinted windows is stupid. For one, I hate the bright light. For two, I hate everyone else being able to see me. And for three, I don't need anyone else looking at what's in my car. I don't think "I can't see what's inside, lets break in and see if there really is" is something that runs through the common criminal's mind. If I had big rims, lots of tacky stick on stuff like portholes and stuff or audio stickers on my back window then that might be a good tip off.

Non-tinted windows just say "Hey, like what you see? Break in and take it if you want it! You know what you're getting into so it's not a chance you're breaking in to a car with nothing you want in it." The truck has no tinted windows and I can't stand it, I'm so used to tinted windows I must have them. I prefer people only being able to see an outline in my car as opposed to my entire person. They have no business seeing me or what I look like unless I want them to (Roll the window down).

I would buy more off eBay but the last time I got ripped off. Broken camera and then the guy didn't want to refund the money because he claimed we broke it even though it arrived that way. Entirely a PITA to deal with, not to mention Paypal and their BS. Admittedly full of great stuff to have, just not so easy to get things sometimes. I did buy my Canon Rebel G off there and it was wonderful as well as a Dell Axim X5 PDA which was also flawless and as described.

And on a realetd note, damn! Where do you work that makes you drive 75 miles every day? I couldn't take that, too much driving time you have to allocate for. I wouldn't want to have a job I have to be at at 8 am that takes me an hour to get there and with the time it takes me to get ready that makes me need to wake up at 5:30 am every day. I don't see how you people do it because I sure as hell couldn't. lol, I struggle to wake up at 10:30 am - the earliest I need to wake up for class.

1998 Riv wrote:

deekster_caddy wrote:

...., I can't believe I waited this long. The improvement is... drastic...

I'd also like to go aftermarket, but I'm afraid of what kind of figures I'd be looking at. I would NOT do the install myself.

Mine was around $700 when all was done, including the speakers, amp, swi and head unit.

That was without labor. I don't know how much a shop would charge, but the behind-dash modifications were not easy.

I have two jobs in two cities 30 miles apart. Most of the people I work with drive at least 20 miles more per day than I do. Some people fly in from Canada or Los Angeles to work. The idea is, a big company in a small town doesn't always have the resources it needs locally, so they pay enough so the associates can buy reliable transport, and it's worth it.

Getting up in the morning is part of life. Like music in the car, it depends on how bad you want it. I've heard you say before that the kind of car you drive later in life depends on how much money you make. Realize that's entirely up to you. Whether or not you're willing to work hard, make sacrifices, etc.

I've shared my opinion before about the tinted window issue enough, so I'll just repeat the fact that I've never had anyone try to steal anything out of any of the 10 cars I've owned over the past 15 years, I've never tinted my windows, and I've never parked any of them in a garage. I don't live in the swanky part of town, so I think this says something. Conversely, all of my friends who've had break-ins also had tinted windows. Not some of them, all of them - we're talking about maybe a dozen different cars here.

Like most everything, you have to shop wisely on eBay. The seller's feedback and item description are important. Sometimes you just have to watch a seller for a while and make a good decision. I've never been had on ebay, because I don't gamble with auctions that are too good to be true. I pay a a fair price, and I research the equipment heavily before I commit to buy.

I looked up the camera before I bought it, everything was good. He had great feedback and everything. The problem was it arrived broken - screen didn't work and nothing else on the camera would work without it.

I propose to your perfect record of no break ins, we've had tinted windows on every car we've owned since probably '95. None of our cars have ever been broken into. I think it's more about other stuff you car has on it and the type of car - people break into Acura Integras constantly which is the key reason I would never even think about driving one. I believe among top stolen vehicles it is Escalades, Navigators, Grand Cherokees, Camrys, Accords, and Integras. Needless to say, if you have an Escalade with tinted windows, yeah you're a more likely target.

Still, I park under a supervised area every day. There are "Parking police" patrolling all the time and the area is constantly full of people walking to and from their cars. I don't think the risk of theft or anything is as likely here as I thought it would be. The area is also under camera surveillance. I've had no job yet though, so I don't know if some place I work might not have a somewhat less protected location for my car. I always do my best to park somewhere that people will all see my car and no one trying to break in or steal it will be able to without others witnessing it.

I think you're just giving up tinted windows for no good reason. Criminals aren't going to break in just because you've got them and I just said why. It's way riskier than non-tinted windows. Not only that, my car has nothing a normal criminal would want. Sure, two or three CDs, some change in the cup holder, sunglasses - that's it. I have nothing of value in the car. Riv's look awful without tinted windows IMO (Actually, that's most cars).

I guess it is all about what is important you. To me I work hard for my money most days I work 6-4 everyday mon-fri. When I feel stressed out I like to go out for a drive and turn the tunes up and just let my problems leave. That is why I spent so much.

riviera2454 wrote:

I guess it is all about what is important you. To me I work hard for my money most days I work 6-4 everyday mon-fri. When I feel stressed out I like to go out for a drive and turn the tunes up and just let my problems leave. That is why I spent so much.

I can understand that, but it sucks if someone wrecks your car and that stuff gets torn up or destroyed in the process. Then you're out more than just the car. I like the audio stuff at home since I can just lean back in my chair and close my eyes listening to it. Not something very advisable to do when driving.

Rarely in an auto accident is the audio equipment damaged or unrecoverable. It's designed to take a beating. If the accident were that bad, you'd have much bigger problems at hand than loosing some car audio gear.

I would agree, it you enjoy listening with your eyes closed, or if home theater is your thing, car audio may not be for you!

As of now I am not worried about stealing. My building has outside cameras and my assigned spot is almost right in front of it. I do not mind home audio. I have a older kenwood reciever and pair of advent floor speakers. I figure your are only young once and I just happened to have got luck and make a fairly decent living for being just out of high school.

I agree. You can't really live life if you're always worried about being ripped off, stolen from, messed with, etc. Things happen, but the frequency of negatives can be reduced if you're smart about how you do things, and if you are a victim of crime, that's why we have insurance. It's a lot like auto accidents. It's never an accident. There's always something that someone could have done to avoid the situation.

I wonder if our cars are broken into less just because they are Buicks? Where do we fall on the break-in statistics with the Riv? Anybody know how to find that?

I know Buicks are rarely stolen. My insurance company used to sound out these things every now and then and the Park Avenue was one of the lowest theft rate cars along with the Crown Vic and Grand Marquis.

I don't always listen with my eyes closed, but sometimes I do to achieve the imaging effect. If my speakers were positioned slightly better I would have even better imaging where I would feel like I was really there. I need to move some crap so I can achieve that goal, it's the only reason they're not that way already.

I won't rule out car audio completely, it's just a much lower priority to me than home audio. I knew some kids who went to school with me had crappy cars and their first investment was in the audio system (Not fixing the car...). That I always find really stupid.

Grasshopper, if you were to ask Mr. Rock I think he would advise being very careful about the tinted windows. I got to admit I like them very much. If you insist on tinted windows and very loud stereo systems be sure and study this lesson...



Bert

Shintsu wrote:

I looked up the camera before I bought it, everything was good. He had great feedback and everything. The problem was it arrived broken - screen didn't work and nothing else on the camera would work without it.

I propose to your perfect record of no break ins, we've had tinted windows on every car we've owned since probably '95. None of our cars have ever been broken into. I think it's more about other stuff you car has on it and the type of car - people break into Acura Integras constantly which is the key reason I would never even think about driving one. I believe among top stolen vehicles it is Escalades, Navigators, Grand Cherokees, Camrys, Accords, and Integras. Needless to say, if you have an Escalade with tinted windows, yeah you're a more likely target.

Still, I park under a supervised area every day. There are "Parking police" patrolling all the time and the area is constantly full of people walking to and from their cars. I don't think the risk of theft or anything is as likely here as I thought it would be. The area is also under camera surveillance. I've had no job yet though, so I don't know if some place I work might not have a somewhat less protected location for my car. I always do my best to park somewhere that people will all see my car and no one trying to break in or steal it will be able to without others witnessing it.

I think you're just giving up tinted windows for no good reason. Criminals aren't going to break in just because you've got them and I just said why. It's way riskier than non-tinted windows. Not only that, my car has nothing a normal criminal would want. Sure, two or three CDs, some change in the cup holder, sunglasses - that's it. I have nothing of value in the car. Riv's look awful without tinted windows IMO (Actually, that's most cars).

Im very excited about this I think it will look pretty good in this car. I think my system should be pretty good for awhile. Im also planning on mtx 6by9s.

MTX tweeters? From what I've known and heard of them, they make decent subs and amps and that's their area of specialty. It's like buying Magnepan speakers for bass....

And for anyone who may not know what I'm talking about, Magenpan speakers are electrostatic home speakers which use a planar system mounted in panels. They have great treble and mids, however if you send any bass to the speakers they make a horrid thump sound. If you wanted bass, you added a subwoofer to the system. Needless to say, you didn't buy Magnepan's for bassy music...

Didn't AA recomend some Infinity Reference series for 6 x 9s? I believe the exact model was 9623i wasn't it? I would go with those, everyone here has recommended them as well as everyone I've seen who had them. Not to mention, Infinity makes great home audio as well which would tend toward a higher opinion of them.

No, I recommend keeping stock 6x9"s.

Ah, right then. But if you were to get aftermarkets, the Infinity's would be the ones to go with?

Look at my head unit thread. The infinity speakers I put in sound great, but they were on the expensive side.

The stock 6by9s are out of the question they sound horrible. Somehow one of them has a rip in the cone which just does not make them sound very good. The mtx 6by9s sound very good and have a real price advantage. I pulled them out of the car I traded in for the riv.

speaking of prices on the audio equipment in cars. Right now I have everything needed to do my install (minus a dual amp block).

4-channel amp (1000watts max, 90rms per channel)
2 channel amp (550max, 250 rms) - bought this in store so kinda pricey
5.25" component speakers
Pioneer head unit
install kit
amp wiring kit
total $500 ($100 was 2ch amp, $170 was head unit, rest was ebay)

I don't consider $500 excessive for great sound. I drive 50 miles total each week day for class.

Forgot to add my 10" sub that's going to the 2-channel amp (250rms/750 max). Price is already in the $500

Dereck, I just noticed how good your steering wheel looks(picture from page 3) I have been looking for a new steering wheel for a while because mine is not dirty but just worn out and I have been looking for a Wood grain Buick Steering wheel that will fit in our cars and I still have not found one, but I would keep mine original if it was as clean and shinny as yours is. What do you guys think about having a woodgrain wheel from like a park ave or something in our cars? I guess I may just send mine out to be re-conditioned this winter when I store the car in the garage for the season.

I didn't know the PA had a woodgrain wheel, I though it was pretty much the same as ours. I think somebody here installed a caddy STS wheel that looked pretty nice.

Im not trying to wade through this thread....

I see people talking about 6x9s. If you have a sub in the back you dont want these 6x9s period. If you dont have a sub then yes, but set them up more as a mid range woofer or subwoofers and NOT full range.

If you want some thump but no box in the trunk, get some 6x9 subwoofers:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=264-837

For the front speakers components are the way to go... Skys the limit.

I see someone said they bought Polks and they were pricey? Pricey is relative. I had $600+ components in my doors.... Oh and a $1400 McIntosh head unit.... Now that to me was a tad pricey, but still a good value.

Ryan,
Thanks for the tip. Would an enclosure be necessary with these woofers if I were to install them in the factory location(rear deck) for a tighter sound ?
I already have bought a pair of POLK component level speakers for the front and was wondering how i was going to mount a 10" sub, but this looks like the solution. Now all I have to do is sell the 6x9's I already bought for the back. Won't need them if I install a pair of these woofers.
Rick

Given the nature of the application and intent of that speakers design you shouldnt need a box at all.

These were meant for infinite baffle applications and that fits the bill.

if your powering with an amplifier (a requirement pretty much for all good sound!) just watch the power on them. If they are bottoming out back the power down.

Thanks for the info. I am definitaley going this route. I think it will be better.
And yes I do have an Amp for this, actually two.