DAMNIT... just typed a long post but it was erased because I wasn't logged in. Too pissed to retype.................here is summary:

Alpine, Pioneer, Clarion, Eclipse, Kenwood....all are going to be similar in your price range. That model Alpine would be fine for you. All you will read here is good stuff about Alpine - way over-hyped.. visit more audio-oriented forums and opinions will vary about the newer Alpine stuff.

Rather than the HU mentioned above (9883), I would look at this model http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...+CDA-9884.html

iPod controls are built in unlike the other. It is still HD ready, etc. but needs additional equipment for bluetooth like all within the price range you are looking at.

Here's another iPod ready unit: http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...EH-P590iB.html
Not HD ready though.

 

That's a nice Alpine....Thanks for proving my point that Alpine are the S***

 

Excellent site. It shows pics of the back of the stereo and the different displays. Alot of sites dont do that. Thanks for researching it for me.

Im getting fixed right up! Now if I could decide on speakers.

 

I strongly recommend running your component speakers off an amp and not the headunit. you will have a much louder crisper sound and your headunit wont have to work as hard, helping prolong its life.

 

Blah..Blah...Installing an amp for your component speakers is going to be a waste. Most likely it will be to much power for the speakers you buy. Not to mention its not easy to hook all 4 component speakers to an amp. You will be forced to keep the amp way down, therefore it will be a waste. Either of the particular Alpine headunits discussed will be PLENTY of power for your 6.5 in speakers. They are made specifically to push aftermarket component speakers. I had a set of Alpine 6x9's in my first car (Mazda Protege) and the Alpine head unit could have easily blown the crap out them. A nice head unit will give any speakers a loud, crisp, clean sound (unless blown) so a set of Alpine Type R's (or any other Alpine speakers) will sound simply AMAZING. It will be the exact sound you are looking for.

 

Dude, I see why you have the Yungin in your name.....
Do you actually think before you speak

#1: An AMP is not a waste, it's just an additional expense to get BETTER Sound.
#2: You would only overpower your speakers IF YOU ARE SO RETARDED that you don't pay attention to the power levels you are dealing with... IE Match you components to your amp based upon power ratings.. Gee that makes some sense huh
#3: Setting the amp level with components that have matching power levels ensures you'll get the most of your amp, and let's say 75-80% of it's power (You probably have never heard 100% is bad due to distortion, but you can probably go 100% if you like muddy sound)
#4: They make 4 (YUP 4) channel amps to power 4 (Again 4) Speakers... Geee another WOW in your world and have you ever installed Component Speaker, Cause if you did you would know they can be used with a Crossover that makes them easy to install just like a standard speaker

#1: Now you state Alpine is good... OK, I'll agree it's decent for the price, not the best though, but fine for this application. But the idea that ANY (YUP ANY) Head-unit is designed for Component speakers is just not true... Speakers can be driven by any power source, but the best answer is always an external amp, and one that's correctly matched to the ratings of your speakers. Why you say: Well because an external amp is designed with the ideals of powering speakers and ONLY powering speakers.. Not receiving FM Stations, displaying information, dealing with inputs to change stations / songs etc. Amps have larger Capacitors & Power Supplies. As well as being designed in a way to ensure they don't overheat (IE LARGE Heatsinks, and cooling fins). Also note that to fit something like this into the small space of a head-unit just isn't feasible.

#2: Alpine Type Rs are a decent speaker, but again there are numerous others out there that will blow them away. Best bet is to get the best speaker in your price range.

Now Like stated earlier $400 for a Head-Unit & Speakers will get you upgraded sound, but to get to LOUD & CRISP you will need more, NO IF ANDS OR BUTS, just the nature of the equipment

Now in this case if $400 is truly the budget, I would try to search for deals to get an amp within that budget, but if not possible I would sepnd it on the Head-unit, and the right speakers to work with an amp. Then purchase the amp later to acheive the Loud & Crisp Goal, knowing right now I have only 'Upgraded' Sound

 

WOAH 96z28! Sounds like you know your stuff too. Well I just found a guy with an Alpine deck for sale and I should have it within a week or two. I could get two small subs for the sail panels and then two good speakers for the doors... or 4 good speakers and a sub in the back. I have a 12" sub but I think its going to hit too hard.

 

Jeez! I didn't know 96 Z 28 was so touchy!

#1 With that Alpine head unit...an amp won't be needed. (Staying in budget)
#2 Are you suggesting I'm retarded? I understand the power levels, the capacity at which a speaker can handle amperage, and all that. However, for someone asking advice...and who is working with a budget. I'm giving suggestions to this person so that they can get the simplest answer with the best results.
#3 Again with the insults to my intelligence. Yes, it would be wise to get an amp that matched the power levels to your speakers. Seeing as how I did not suggest this, I did not go into further detail.
#4 Yet another insult...Yes there are 4 channel amps. Yes they connect and power 4 speakers. YES I have installed component speakers. If you haven't noticed...I have been suggesting Alpine for a reason. I have Alpine throughout my Z28. All of which I installed myself. I suggest it because I have had Alpine in all my vehicles. All of which I put in myself...and all of which sounded great. My last Camaro I had in sound competitions...and won. Believe it or not...I didn't have any of my component speakers hooked to an amp. Yes...an amp is a great additional expense. But like I said...working with the budget of $400, high quality speakers with a high quality head unit will be all that is needed. It will sound great.

 

Congrats on your Alpine deck. If you get 2 small subs for the sail panels and two good speakers for the door, then you will need an amp. Get an amp with the correct power for your small subs. That will sound GREAT. If you choose to get 4 good speakers with your sub in the back, that will sound good too. 12" subs are pretty loud in Camaros. WIth the hatchback the the force of the subs makes it resonate pretty loud. But if you adjust your amp properly, you can find a sound that is right for you. And if you go that route...I still stand by my suggestion of not getting an amp for the 4 6.5 in speakers. Good luck! Hope you get a bad a** sound out of it!

 

just listen to yungin. hes clearly the expert here

 

Well you know...

 

-- OK... But not what you said previously.... You said blah blah an Amp is a waste... and then proceeded to give BAD assumptions as to why...

-- Your stating now that you know this, but your previous statement was that an Amp WOULD blow up the speakers, not that it COULD if power levels are not matched.... And you stated it would have to be set low. You don't even know what amp and speakers he would be using, right to it won't work, it's gonna blow up

-- But rather than suggest that an amp is outside the budget you pretty clearly implied that it was WORTHLESS, and PS you made quite a few statements that were not true, and continued to just state invalid assumptions... So I figured I would point out the obvious, but hey if you know maybe you're a little smarter than you showed us... But come on here...

-- I would agree, except that he's asking for clean and loud. Two things that just can't happen from a head-unit alone. So stating that he'll be happy with it is your opinion imposed on him, IE your deciding for him. Some folks don't like certain features, some can't stand specific colors, to you loud is not the same as me or him. Just provide your details and move on, don't continue to insist that your setup is god's gift to car audio and tell him this is exactly what he needs... Provide helpful details and let him make the choice... PS I bet I can find everything for about $100 more at most, and maybe that's 1 more week of saving (Maybe he already has more just didn't want to spend in haste), so just bashing the amp idea doesn't help anyone...

PS I still don't really understand exactly why you scream Alpine, other than it works well in your car for YOU!! You've not given any user friendly details.

OK, I'm done now, just wanted to make sure you understood that jamming your setup down his throat while may be right for you doesn't help to get to what he can afford and would like to get to for his needs...

 

...you know about sarcasm, right?

---


Anyways...some pretty ignorant posts here...

You want LOUD, CRISP sound...again - that has to be defined. My girlfriend thought her music was loud and crisp until she heard my system. That completely changed her perception of sound. To me mine is loud and crisp as well, however, I know if I heard a $10,000 system...that would change everything, and I would realize there is more to be had. I'm not sure how many systems you have been around or listened to, but if this is your absolute first, then start with the new HU and speakers and build from there.

On critical question though, that nobody has asked... does your car have the Monsoon system stock??? (If Monsoon....you'll be better off in the end by not having it integrated within your system at all...though it may satisfy you for now, it may start to fail and casue you to completely restructure your system.

I would do the following for a budget system, depending on how much you spent on the head unit:

+ new 2 channel amp ($60-150) (please give specs on current sub and amp so that we can decide if you're ebttwe off using the current 2 ch for the sub or using that on components and purchasing a new mono block for the sub)

+ new set of front components ($75-150)

+ wires ($20-$80)

(I would spend $80 on amp, $100 or so on components, and $50 on wires in your situation)

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I would strongly consider this setup...you can always add speakers in back later off of deck power if you desire, but two properly amped components up front will be enough -- and you may really end up liking your sound stage a lot better (the majority do).


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The Alpine unit is NOT anywhere NEAR enough to properly power a/m speakers. Sure, it may put out 18-22wRMS, but not all of that power is useable as mentioned. On average, after about 3/4 power, a HU will begin to distort and the signal received by the speakers is bad, thus the sound reproduced is bad... (note that an amp doesn't allow youy to turn the HU volume up to 100%, because the HU will always create distortion -- it does allow you to adjust gain settings, etc so the volume at 3/4 is your 100%) The only way to overcome this is with an aftermarket amp -- otherwise, don't expect to hear anything louder than what you're currently at.

 

I have a 10" Elemental Designs Sub in a Stealth Box and it adds just enough Bass to cover the entire musical range. Although I have it a little underpowered (Only 250 RMS), it would really rock with an additional 200 Watts powering it.

Also note I don't think you can fit a 12" Sub in a Stealth Box (Although I could be wrong), so you lose your T-Top Storage.

Check SubThump.com for some ideas

Have you had the 12" in the car?? Did you like the sound??

If you've been happy with the 12" so far, you can always turn down the Bass Levels, although that does sort of defeat the purpose of a larger Sub

I also ran with no sub for a while after mine died (Water + Sub Amp = No Good), and my 4 mains powered @ 65 watts RMS sounded pretty good, just not a lot of low end....

 

*She's



I think thats part of the problem -- he has Alpine, he just updraded speakers, and he is satisfied. Or, maybe he has convinced himself he is satisfied. Either way, because he doesn't have an amp and doesn't think he needs one - he doesn't feel it is necessary. shaguar_Red's needs may be different before she is satisfied.