the Interceptor's general AUDIO thread

Alright car audio gurus, need your help. I am in need of upgrading my old system (headunit is half-dead, interior speakers are on the way out) with a new head-unit and interior speakers. I plan to keep my current 4-channel Alpine amplifier, so hopefully can just remove the old headunits/speakers, unplug the current wires, and then reattach the new stuff in(speaker wires to the amp, signal wires from headunit to amp, etc.)

For head unit, I definitely would like to stay with Alpine (current one is alpine, half-broken due to my own stupidity, otherwise great unit). Would also like to be able to play music from my iPod, so not sure exactly what I need for that. (USB vs auxillary) But I think most units these days are iPod-capable, so shouldn't too bad of an issue. Remote would also be nice. The other thing is since I will have 6 speakers total (4 interior, 2 subs) I think I need 6-channels of preamp outputs from the head units, right? Crutchfield shows most units have 2V preamp output voltage while others have 4V, of course 4V is "better" but how important is the preamp voltage?

So far I'm looking at the Alpine CDA-105 vs CDA-117: http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Prod...eItems=01|500CDA105&compareItems=01|500CDA117

The 117 is $150 more, has 4V preamp output instead of 2V, remote included, and more EQ bands. Not sure if it's worth that extra money. $350 is quite a bit of coin to drop for a headunit.

The other thing that I read about is Alpine's new Imprint technology which uses this $150 processor (http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500PXAH100/Alpine-PXA-H100-IMPRINT-Audio-Processor.html) and this $30 tuning kit (http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500KTXH100/Alpine-KTX-H100.html) to automatically tune and calibrate the sound so that the driver seems as if they are sitting in the front row of the stage:

Is that worth getting?

And of course, the standard question of what speakers to look for? (5.25 or 6.5 speaker, no component system)
 
The Behringer monitors which I acquired half a year ago (used) are getting noisy. The left channel i so noisy, it's distracting even at 1m distance :(

So I ordered a bunch of capacitors to replace every electrolytic one on the board, hoping it will help. I was told Panasonic FC-series are the good "audio" stuff :p
 
I am not really knowledgeable on automotive audio equipment, but anway:
The other thing is since I will have 6 speakers total (4 interior, 2 subs) I think I need 6-channels of preamp outputs from the head units, right?
I think you would drive the 2 subs as mono anway (unless they are different woofers and/or need to be delay in relation to one another), so I think 6 channels will be just fine.
The other thing that I read about is Alpine's new Imprint technology which uses this $150 processor and this $30 tuning kit to automatically tune and calibrate the sound so that the driver seems as if they are sitting in the front row of the stage:
Is that worth getting?
That sounds quite interesting and should improve your sound quality, since it tunes your system to your car. It is quite a lot of money, but I'd say it's worth it, especially if you are already spending quite some money on your system.
 
Question.

Looking for a pair of earbuds to replace my aging Shure SCL2s. I'm looking at Monster Turbines and Klipsch Image S4s, as I listen to a lot of techno and want a really boomy bass line without tinny highs.

Suggestions? I'd like to stay under $120.

Bonus if they have mic + button that works with a Galaxy S.
 
MX 370 or MX 471? My Apple earbuds are falling apart and also out of my ears.
 
I'm planning a truly epic party next month. The setup is just mindboggling... but i'm a little bit confused as to how to set it up, which is why i'm posting here.

The plan:
We will have 3 full sound systems hooked up to their own separate amplifiers / receivers. I already have all of the general stuff worked out but the things i'm confused about are these -
With this insanity, we are planning to have 3 surge protectors, but how would we make sure that they aren't plugged into the same circuit? Would we have to get a couple extension cables and plug them in in different rooms?
Also, there's at least 9 other plugs for lighting. Would it be safe to plug them into a cheap (as in 20 years old, probably bought for 25? each) extension cord / splitter, and then into a surge protector, or should we go for a separate surge protector altogether?

Also, what methods are there to block the sound from going outside? There are no windows in the room (but luckily, powerful air conditioning), but the nearest door is rather closeby, and it would be great if the cops don't show up.

Any other tips would obviously be great.

---------

On another note, for use with the Vestax VCI-100SE, should I go for the Native Instruments Audio 2 DJ or the Audio 4 DJ? I think the Audio 4 DJ would be more useful, but I'm seriously at a loss as to if $100 extra will end up being worth it.
 
How to wire up your stuff depends on a couple of parameters:

- how many kW do you trust each circuit to take? (Note: If a room has three sockets it may only have one circuit with one fuse, so distributing the power evenly will not increase the capacity)
- how many circuits do you have?
- are all circuits on the same phase or does your house have all three phases connected up somewhere?
- how much power does your equipment draw? Saying "9 plugs for lighting" could be 9 60W bulbs or 9 units with 24x2kW, who knows :lol: Same thing with "3 full sound systems", that could be three sets of maybe 2x50W amps or three sets with 10kW each. Who knows what kind of party you're planning...
- what are the surge protectors for? Maybe yours are different, but the ones we have over here protect the units from lightning strike etc, not the fuse from popping due to too much load.


On the noise, keep doors and windows closed. If you have a few weak points, ie bad windows, stuff them with matresses or blankets. Also, talk to your neighbors. Letting them know what is going on before it's happening will help.
 
Looking good, how do they sound?

definite improvement over the W4-657's alone, filter working nicely...
it's really astonishing how those tweeters bring out certain elements of music that i've never been able to appreciate before.
additionaly, i've been stuck on two terrible satellites from an old 5.1 system for the last 4 weeks, so those now sound extra extra sweet :thumbsup: yay for being able to hear lots of detail...
mwah... i hope to never again be forced to listen to boiled-down and bland music just because the speakers are rubbish!
 
I would like some help with a new audio set-up. I would like to have my PS3 and PC connect to 5.1 headphones and my PC speakers. Atm It seems like getting a Tritton AX Pro would be the best bet, allowing me to use my computer speakers with the PS3 is a bonus, however it doesn't seem like an ideal as I will need to get a optical soundcard to use the outputs on the tritton amp properly, or do some wierd wiring to get to the speakers from the computer. If anyone knows of an alternative to what i'm thinking, i'ld be glad to hear it. Thanks
 
Just ordered a pair of Klipsch Image S4s for a grand total of..... $27.

I love having connections.
 
The sound on my AKG K701s cuts out when using the adapter to listen to something from a standard 1/8" jack. My fiddling and toying with it makes me 90% sure the problem is the adapter going from the headphones' 1/4" jack to the 1/8" jack. Where can I find a good one to replace it?
 
Just ordered this little gem for my laptop:

3979.jpeg


Nuforce Udac 2. I don't understand entirely how it works yet (it's some kind of external soundcard but not quite) but the quality seems to be exceptional and it uses a well-known open source low-level protocol for communication over the USB port, which is a lot better than the crappy drivers most "customer" soundcard makers deliver their stuff with. No input or midi stuff like you would get from a high-end external sound card either: stereo RCA, coaxial and headphone out. Another great feature: entirely usb powered.
Looking forward to see it blow away my laptops onboard audio card (which sounds reasonable but has quite some interference from other parts).
 
so one of my ancient connectors gave up today... suddenly only had sound on my left speaker and when i pulled the plug from the other speaker the entire connection came with it -.- damn it, replacing that thing means i have to take the whole thing apart! :mad:
 
Nuforce Udac 2 arrived today. Cool thing, small with a quality feel and all-metal casing.

Installation was a breeze on my win7 64 bit. Plugged it in, windows installs drivers all by itself. Two minutes later you have it all set up and it doesn't even require a reboot.
After that I installed asio4all and the asio plugin for foobar and set it up so the udac receives pure and unadulterated bits. Everything runs smooth. Nice as well to have a decent analog volume setting instead of the discrete computer stuff.

Haven't tested it much quality-wise but at least the annoying interference is gone completely :)
 
I started making this: http://diyaudioprojects.com/Solid/12AU7-IRF510-LM317-Headamp/

My first tube-amp. Made the circuit on a protoboard already. It has some interference on left channel, I'll have to look at it tomorrow. Otherwise it sounds cool. I'll post pics after I make a case for it and get my stereo potentiometer. (it's a mess now, wire after wire since I want the tube on top and transistors under a heatsink, although they don't need it)
 
Just ordered a pair of Klipsch Image S4s for a grand total of..... $27.

I love having connections.

I paid 70eur for the Klipsch Image S4, a year ago or so, slight improvement over 12eur Nokia WH-701...not a good investment, especially if you have large ear canals like me and even the biggest rubber thing doesn't fill the right ear completly and there is a loss of bass.
 
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