Hi Fi Car Audio

Hey Sedond, I think you maybe on the wrong website- This is a Hi Fi Audio website, not Gearhead.com! Let's stay on topic, shall we? Grumpybb, your car system looks like it would sound terrific! I'm about $2,000 behind you, but have considered a larger sperate amp for my sub (Infinity Beta 12 in a sealed enclosure), and a Rockford Fosgate DSP unit that does EQ/delay/crossover in one box. The salesman was really pushing the DSP unit, but I was afraid it would screw up the great sound I have been getting without it. It sounds like you have had great success with your Pioneer DEQ 9200, and would recommend it. Did you happen to compare it to the Rockford DSP unit? Could you elaborate on the Pioneer DEQ 9200 and offer any insight on comparable units you auditioned? Also, does the DEQ 9200 help in any way to integrate your sub into the soundstage? That is my biggest problem with my system - the bass still sounds like it is coming from behind at times, which can become detrimental to the soundstage I am creating up front. I agree that with a good sub, well recorded organ discs can be exciting ear-openers in a good car system! I recommend Pomp & Pipes/Dallas Winds on Reference Recordings - check out "The Vikings" - it's sure to get your blood pumping! Lastly, what type of car is your system in? Thanks!

Hifi4me, sure I'll fill you in on the DEQ9200. I have not compared it to the Rockford unit, or any other for that matter. The reason I bought the 9200 is because I owned an older version of it(about 3 year old model),which was stolen. I think the model number was 7200, and it under the Premeire side of Pioneer. The 9200 is an incredibly adjustable piece of machinery. It has built in crossovers for sub, mids, and tweeters, and all 4 cut-off points are ajustable for frequency AND slope. The sub can be crossed at 12,18, or 24 db per octave and the others at 6,12, or 18 per octave.It allows you turn on and off tweets, mids , and subs seperately to allow for easier crossover tuning. It also allows you to invert the phase of any of the drivers by pressing a couple of keys instead of having to swap wires. This really helps make set-up much easier. The delay lets every driver be set seperately from the others, since obviously no 2 driver are in the same location. This is adjustable in 1/2 inch increments. Just measure the distance from your head to the driver and punch in the distance. The best way I have found to match the sub was to cross the low pass of the mids as low as possible with 18 db/octave slope(80 hz works best for me) and same with the sub high pass but at 100 hz and 24 db/octave. I know there is a little bit of overlap, but with the sharp crossover rates it is not noticable at all. This keeps as much low frequency as possible up front. I tried lower crossover points, but the mids bottomed out to easily at higher volumes. By the way, the vehicle is a Lumina Z-34. The sub is in a 1.5 cu/ft sealed box that's mounted against the rear seat but fires towards the back of the car to get proper loading. I also have a pair of Beta- 12's that I have not tried out yet because of lack of free time, but I am looking forward to giving these subs a shot. Picked them up at Ultimate Electronis a while back for $125 ea, unopened. Couldn't pass up a deal like that. If you have any other questions, post back or e-mail me.

I'm also interested in the 9200. Can you change the phase of the sub just a little bit. I had a local car audio guy tell me that one of the problems with my system is that as the bass comes to the front of the car the bass form my mid bass 8's and the little bit that is eveident in my 4's are clashing just a little bit out of phase causing my bass to seem disconnected and out of the sound stage. I drive a Mercedes 190e and cannot put my sub in the cabin (Boston Accoustic Competitor C110, it's a 10 with a passive radiator) I do however have the 8's (Boston Accoustic rs-8) On the floor behind the driver and passenger firing at the celling. do think that this unit will help solve some of these problems, or do you know of other units that have sub woofer delay or advance reseptively through delaying everything else. thank you

Carbear, I think that this unit would do what you want. By changing the amount of delay of the sub, it would have the same effect as changing the phase. You are still modifying the time correlation of the drivers.

Thy will be done.... Nakamichi makes a reference standard type of head unit called the TP-1200 there is a (special shop) model which has no tone controls and upgraded parts. The board is suspened and isolated from vibration and the head unit is merely a control unit. The actual pre-amp is mounted in the rear near the amps the head unit controls a servo activated real volume potentiometer. McIntosh clearly makes the best car amps and a great sounding parametric equalizer as well as a transparent 5 way electronic crossover network with memory presets. Use a Wadia D/A converter As for speakers I intend to use parts from teh new Red Rose R3 speakers. Or perhaps the Proac speakers. Screw the "car speakers" they suck. Use Dynaudio and Focal drivers and Vifa Midbass drivers. Also I hear the new Eminent Technolgy planar diaphram car drivers 20kz-400hz are nice. Stuff it all into a Mercedes E class sedan with the subs working in an free air infinite baffle arrangement over teh rear deck. The front stage drivers must be mounted in kick panels. Don't try to use a wide car like the older s-class because the listeners will be too off center. consider a sheet of VB3 lead septum damping sheet over the transmission tunnel and Dynamat under the roof liner and on the doors. spray Rockford fosgate noise killer in the door ares you can not dynamat. Cars are quiet now (good ones at least) They are small enough to pressurize easily to have convincing bass, luxury cars have enough sound deadening and less over all decay times. Finally the electronics are good enough save for teh d/a converters for cars. Do it in a Mercedes, at least the car will last. Putting a high performance system in a car like a Kia is like putting your home stereo in a room made out of cardboard. (I'm sure this will piss off some people... but it is true- flex is bad in a door panel.