well, "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link" and if that weakest link is the HU, then CHANG IT! its 400 bucks, but its well worth it. and if you're paying 300 for a aftermarket HU, ur getting ripped off. or maybe u just live in the boonies or actually pay retain *gasp! retail? whats that?* LOL, but any ways, whatever way u decide to go, as long as ur happy with it.

but hey guys with the cool looking trunks, how much did u spend on those installs? they look awesome.

G35s6mt/TSecu/350Z Springs&Struts/JWTpopcharger+Z-tube/StillenDualExhaust /6WireGroundKit/KinetixHighFlow

 

uh.. I could be wrong.. but even buying online.. an Alpine 9833 runs you north of $300.. You can be cheap..but I'm not, and if my system is worthy of a nice headunit of that caliber, I'd rather do it in pieces. The clarion, while not the best.. sure isn't the worst either.


2004 G35s 5AT DG/Graphite/Premium/Huper Optik Tint

 

I paid 175 for my Pioneer Premier 7400 last year when i decided to buy all my components online to save money .... It crapped out three days before I had to take out my system to give back the Maxima to nissan (lemon) and the website wouldnt do warranty on it.

I'd gladly pay 300 dollars for a solid head unit + warranty and service from Sound Advice. Anything goes wrong with it they give you a new one, no questions asked.

 

I second tgenius. If you're yanking the stock HU, don't put in a $200 HU. I'd say you'd have to spend at least $300+ to get a HU that would much of a difference. (There will be a slight improvement by using the RCA outs on a decent deck, thereby bypassing a LOC.)

 

I mean.. there's always something cheaper.. but I'll give you the same argument I had when deciding tints:Your driviing a 30k+ car, why are you going to be cheap with it when you bought it.. if you wanna be cheap, buy a kia

like I said.. the clarion with a good LOC (The Navone are PAC units are good examples) and a nice high quality amp (JL, Alpine V12, Eclipse, etc.) and your good to go.


2004 G35s 5AT DG/Graphite/Premium/Huper Optik Tint

 

I'm sure there are plenty of companies that make better equipment, however I'm basing my assumption on a satisfied customer that has a very clean, hard-hitting system. Whether or not the internals are bottom of the barrel, the system my friend has performs well. Also, he didn't pay an arm and a leg for the stuff. For what he paid, I truly believe he got a good value.

I'm sure Audiobahn isn't top notch gear, but for some it does the job while being quite cost effective.

I didn't mean the "ignorant" comment as an insult, just as joke. You must not have seen that episode of South Park, so take it easy guy.

 

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

Calling audiobahn junk is in no way ignorant. Have you opened one of their amps up? Have you compared its sound to other amps on the market? Have you tried speaking with the "customer service" department? Not only do they have no clue about the products they produce, they also use some of the lowest quality parts on the market for their equipment

<hr></blockquote>

well, my take on it is this, you have to know what you paid for it, i will never said that any certain product are "junk", just because they are cheap that doesnt mean they are bad product, now not everyone can afford $2000 per amp [img]/w3timages/icons/mad.gif[/img], so i hope you get what you paid for it, i have own and have heard few 'top" end amps, yes they might have different quality parts or customer service, but you can not honstly tell me they have big sonic difference between your TRU Technolgy amps and my audiobahn's, which after all isnt it the most importan part?...it will be different story if we are talking about speakers, which you can tell(hear) noticable difference between different brands...by the way i have no reason to call their customer service so far [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]

03 coupe 5AT DG/G premium,performance

 

I never mentioned price in any of my posts. You do not have to spend $2000 per amp to get a good product. I bought my girlfriend a system for her car that totaled $700. It consisted of a clarion deck, infinity kappa speakers, hifonics amps, and an elemental designs sub. It sounds incredible for what it cost.


I would never suggest that someone has to spend $2000 on amps to get good sound. I am only suggesting that there are excellent choices at any price point besides settling for audiobahn. Hifonics, planet audio, and even US Acoustics are all solid, reliable amps that dont break the bank. Like i said earlier, i have done the comparisons so i am making these statements based on facts.

The reason i spend so much on my system is because that is extremely important to me. I wanted it to sound as good as possible since i am competing in IASCA and USACi comps this year. You don't need to break the bank for a good system, and my girlfriend's system is a prime example of that as mentioned before.

 

Audioman, everyone's ears are different. Your comparison led you to form your own opinions on the amps you heard. I don't see how you can say that is a fact... If I or someone else did the comparisons, we would likely have come to a different conclusion. So I wouldn't consider it a fact. The same goes with your girlfriend's system. Someone could call that equipment junk, but unless they've listened to it, it's not valid.

In fact, (just kidding) I'm currently running two of the new PPI amps (DCX 600.4 and DCX 500.1). Many people have told me that PPI has gone downhill since being purchased by Directed, but mine sound as good as any, to my ears. I'm also running Boston Pro Components in the front doors (installing the rears tomorrow) and currently using the factory rears hooked up to the PPI. To tell you the truth, I can hardly tell any difference between the Boston's and the factory speakers. Since you are into competing and whatnot, you'd probably be able to tell more of a difference than me. But again, just opinions.

Anyways, calling sound equipment junk before you've listened to it is like calling a painting ugly before you've seen it.

 

LOCs are cheap. Try the Clarion. If you're not satisfied, order the double din kit and swap it out. I've gotten excellent sound quality out of the Clarion and decided it wasn't necessary to change the HU out. I quickly, temporarily hooked up an aftermarket HU to the amp system to see what the difference was, and it wasn't nearly enough to make me want to buy the double din kit, a nice aftermarket HU, the PAC kit for making the steering wheel controls work.

-- Rob

<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by djrobx on 05/07/04 10:18 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

I agree with djrobx, I've done the same thing (Navone LOC) and am pleasantly surprised with the SQ. Plus, I get to keep my 6 disc and Sirius!

 

Here's my vote for the Navone LOC too.. high quality, adjustable, well presented, and David Navone is a great wealth of information who's always willing to help.


2004 G35s 5AT DG/Graphite/Premium/Huper Optik Tint

 

is one LOC better than another? if so..what is good and what to stay away from ( i dont even know what kind of converter my audio shop put in my car)
thanks


Mitch
2004 G35C AT
Blk/Blk
Prem.Aero.Perf.Nav
Nav/TV Tuner w/ PS 2
2-10" Subs w/ Rockford Amp
Clear Corners
Pop Charger
Z-Tube

 

chances are they used the PAC units.. which are good.. I think the best on the market are the Navone units.


2004 G35s 5AT DG/Graphite/Premium/Huper Optik Tint

 

In response to Hey-Ya's post, Just because something sounds good to you, doesnt make it a quality product. It is still composed of cheap internals. I know everyone's ears are different, but just because it sounds good to you, that doesn't change the fact that it is a cheaply made product. There are better alternatives to audiobahn no matter what type of equipment you are looking at for any given price point. Your ears would agree if you listened to other amps. It's that simple.