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Getting me a system (Car radio thread)
Cptn Pants
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I recently picked myself a new toy in the forum of a 1989 Honda CRX. I had the motor swapped out already, as well as putting new rims and springs, new rugs, a bunch of body work and new seats in the car. My last two items before I can call this complete is paint and a radio. As of right now the car has an AM/FM radio with 2 speakers (fancy eh?) I plan on getting 4 speakers, a new head unit as well as some bass maker (tube or woofer). I don't need a crazy ass system that can be heard across the state, I just want something that is going to sound good and can be turned up when the occasion calls for it.
I need a head unit that plays MP3 off either an SD card or USB drive... maybe something with a hard drive if that even exists. I would also want it to be bluetooth compatible. I assume that a bluetooth radio must have some sort of mic for it right? Other then that I don't know what I'm looking at, I see some that have pre-amp outputs or none pre-amp outputs... what's that all about?
I plan on getting some pretty nice speakers, maybe some Infinity Kappa speakers or Polk. Are all speakers compatible with all types of head units and amps?
I also want to get some sort of bass mechanism... I don't really know what the difference between a bass tube or sub woofer, can someone elaborate on that? Will I need an amp for both? How do I know what kind of amp is compatible with what?
Any other general hints or tips would be awesome! Thanks car people!!
Ps. here are some links to things I was thinking of getting.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_204BT6014/Bazooka-BT6014.html?tp=112 (Bass tube)
http://signature.crutchfield.com/s_108639I/Infinity-Kappa-63-9i.html?tp=105 (Speakers)
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_070XHD7714/Dual-XHD7714.html?tp=5684 (Headunit)
I need a head unit that plays MP3 off either an SD card or USB drive... maybe something with a hard drive if that even exists. I would also want it to be bluetooth compatible. I assume that a bluetooth radio must have some sort of mic for it right? Other then that I don't know what I'm looking at, I see some that have pre-amp outputs or none pre-amp outputs... what's that all about?
I plan on getting some pretty nice speakers, maybe some Infinity Kappa speakers or Polk. Are all speakers compatible with all types of head units and amps?
I also want to get some sort of bass mechanism... I don't really know what the difference between a bass tube or sub woofer, can someone elaborate on that? Will I need an amp for both? How do I know what kind of amp is compatible with what?
Any other general hints or tips would be awesome! Thanks car people!!
Ps. here are some links to things I was thinking of getting.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_204BT6014/Bazooka-BT6014.html?tp=112 (Bass tube)
http://signature.crutchfield.com/s_108639I/Infinity-Kappa-63-9i.html?tp=105 (Speakers)
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_070XHD7714/Dual-XHD7714.html?tp=5684 (Headunit)
Cptn Pants on
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Pre-amp outputs would provide a better signal for an amp to work with, but some amps also have line level inputs, meaning the line that would normally go to the speaker is hooked up to the amp. The main things to look for in speaker compatibility will be the resistance in ohms and power handling in watts. You'll likely find that the speakers are rated in RMS which is the highest recommended continual power they're rated for and the amp will be rated in max wattage achieved in short bursts, so look at the spec sheets to see that the RMS power of the speakers and amp you're considering would be a good fit for each other.
If sound quality is a concern, I've always heard component speakers provide better sound quality than coaxial speakers, but that might just be snobbery on some audiophiles part. Same thing with Subwoofers vs basstubes. Subwoofers provide better response and have more tone to them while basstubes generally just provide some vibration and noise. But I've never heard a bass tube, so give one a listen at an electronics store if you can.