Hi Guys

Just got my tax return and I am able to spend 600$. I am planning to change my stock head units and speakers.

I want to buy a Alpine or eclipse head unit and speakers.

Please help me deceiding which one to get and should I get a coaxial or Componenet speaker? I don't have sound knowledge on this, so your help is much apriciated.

Cheers

well it really depends on the music you listen to, lots of ppl waste their money on the general idea of wat a sound system is
headunit front splits, 6" 3 or 4ways for the back
and a AMP + sub

BUT my experience with installing a few sound systems and having a fond love of music, not just 1 type but many seems to find me between a rock and a hard place

$600 is quite a small budget
i wud say if u listen to music with heavy BASS such as r&b or rap then it wud be best to get a SUB
otherwise u shud be safe with
splits and 6x9s
some ppl get both 6x9s and a SUB or 2 and theres really no need the 6x9s are a speaker designed for bass, your better off either 6x9s or SUB
no point in both

some good brands
kenwood
pioneer
cadence
alpine
MTX
rockford fosgate

if the type of music u listen to dusnt hav much bass at all then u wud be better off with clarity, therefore splits in the front and 6" maybe 3 or 4ways in the rear

all depends on ur music and ur budget
also obviously if u r getting the SUB then u will require and AMP to power it, and if u do decide to get the 6x9s and splits instead of the sub option a AMP will not be neccessary BUT will giv u more out of the speakers

hope that helped

only the head unit then - a fairly average one at that. maybe save up or get a easy payment option?

i would recommend that if u decide to buy 6x9s then u should get an amp to run them as most head units would under power them, as is the case with mine and my sisters 6x9s.

Hey man, speakin from experience, I got a pioneer mp3 headunit, pioneer 6s and 6x9s, a sony 12" sub and a 4 channel amp for like 780 installed, and that sounds fine with most music.

or

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Fusion-Encounter-Amplifier-and-Speakers_W0QQitemZ190133139107QQihZ009QQcategoryZ3 292QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

fusion ftw!!!:bowrofl:
but its too high and doesnt come with a headunit

Thanks for your help...

If I get a alpine CDE-9881i headunit comes with 45w x 4, 3 preouts and with High-pass filter
and 2 SPS-171A Type-S component speaker that comes with 250W peak power, 50W RMS and frequency response: 35HZ-30KHZ for 499.00.

What do you think???

yeah i've found alpine offer some very good deals for those ona budget that need a headunit + Speakers

CDA-9885 Alpine :D

This (http://www.lifestylestore.com.au/product.php?id=1529&brand_id=92) plus this (http://jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=AA0422&CATID=24&keywords=&SPECIAL=&form=CAT&ProdCodeOnly=&Keyword1=&Keyword2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=595) plus these, (http://jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=CS2329&CATID=15&keywords=&SPECIAL=&form=CAT&ProdCodeOnly=&Keyword1=&Keyword2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=602) will make a very nice entry level system.

You need to understand that the headunits 4x45/50W reported figure is for peak power, the real power is much closer to the 10-12W range. Getting a small amp like the jaycar one, will make your speakers play louder, cleaner and with more authority. The other two channels can be used later on when you get some 6x9's or a 12" sub. For now i recommend tuning your rears down and playing most or all of the music thru the splits.

if you're limited to $600, i'd look at second hand equipment, it's better to get good old stuff then crap new stuff, if you catch my drift?
In terms of alpine vs eclipse head unit, honestly, you'd be happy with either, i've personally used eclipse for the past 2 years, and haven't had any drama (except my CD5000 was faulty, but was swapped straight over) they sound good, good power, decent amount of options for your average user.
If you're looking to get more competitive, i'd probably recommend alpine, after seeing tim's unit compared to mine, he can do alot more than me :P

I tend to disagree with anyone who pimps alpine gear, working for an electronics company with people who are pretty hardcore into electronics, I've only heard bad things about alpine's quality, sure they have some good ideas and their units are pretty good value for money - that's the problem, things tend to be a bit shoddy under the skin, not to say i trust those people 100% or alpine haven't changed their game because I have had no personal experience with their gear, it just made me weary.

I have an eclipse unit and I love it, it's fantastic. CD5425 was $400ish, 5v outs, sub control, crossovers, mp3 etc.. that with some jaycar/response splits would be decent.

Also I like to tell people who sell 6x9's OR a sub, not both are stupid, who doesn't want MORE bass? also 6x9's are fantastic at midrange if you select wisely, they have a heap more surface area to create a lot of mid to low sp and if run on a filter with your 6x9's will work wonderfully with a sub, say in my car for instance.

Also, second-hand is always a gamble on if the gear is in good condition or not, I would recommend getting the best headunit you can with some ok splits or even coax. that way you won't have to buy a headunit twice when they are the most expensive thing (if you don't go loopy and get amps and subs worth a mint). Stick with your mainstream brands and you'll be fine, anything exotic only starts at your price-range so keep to a sony/pioneer/alpine/jvc style gig.

As I said I'm getting an Alpine CDA-9885, they have been highly recommended on CCA, they say the CDA-9887 has a better chip but for 200$ I wouldn't bother. Make sure if your going to use an iPod cable that the headunit supports "FULL SPEED iPod Control" a friend bought one of these iPod head units and oh so slow.

I can get the CDA-9885 on ebay for $354 incl. ipod cable, postage no wty

Allot of people don't run 6x9's because they are generally used in the rear, so they tend to pull the sound stage back. Which isn't really ideal for an SQ oriented setup. Maybe you want allot of bass, but personally I barely notice my sub - but if it's unplugged i notice it's not there, its really up to personal choice how you want it to sound.

Hey Rally Art,

Thats an awesome head unit, and noone can ever say Alpine isn't a good brand.

For now, that setup will keep you happy and that head unit will look
gorgeous in the center console.

That setup is pretty much for a front-of-the-car setup in my humble opinion...
And it will sound great, you can make some awesome audio with front only setups.

But when you want it better...

scrape some cash together and get a moderate amp and a couple of 6x9's in the back and then your laughing. A 400Watt Clarion amp combined with the headunit's 200 powers my four speaker setup loud and clear. Loud enough to blow up all the speakers anyway.

It would be a different story if i had a subwoofer. If i was a typical, arrogant, VL commodore driving, "ciggarette-in-hand-out-window-driving-past-train-station", duff duff P-plater i'd at LEAST need a 1200w amp. Or two smaller amps.

i used to be all for 6x9's in the rear shelf etc... but some members on here have converted me


and now all she has is front splits no rear drivers just holes i the shelf and subs in the boot...

and you'd never know! to me its now sounding killer...

the 6x9's just get in the way the further along you get with the audio system...

ask puff_dog his 6x9 were blown out of the parcel shelf and torn to pieces by his subs :bowrofl:

I would just spend the entire thing on getting a really good headunit and save your money for future upgrades. If you don't plan to get to serious, then the Alpine combo you mentioned should go alright. It just depends how serious you want to go...