Car Stereo Recommendations?

[Leeway]

A lot of the posters to this board say they do a lot of their listening in their cars. Would like to hear about what car stereo equipment jazz fans are using, and any recommendations.

[James]

I'm happy with my Soundstream speakers - they are accurate, responsive, can handle high volume, and have a good bass response.

I've come to depend on a subwoofer - have a rather modest enclosed sub by JL audio which makes a *world* of difference!

My CD player is an older Alpine 6 disc changer. More than one technician has told me that these provide warmer, more natural sound - but I wouldn't know. It's all I've ever listened on.

Power delivered by two vintage Alpine power amps.

I picked up various elements of this system from friends, and consequently saved some $$ - but I'm sooooooo glad I decided to go with higher-end speakers. Makes such a difference when road noise (even in my relatively quiet car) is factored in.

Good listenin', brother!

[MickJagger]

Leeway, all I can tell you is to get some Infinity Kappa 6x9s for the rear, the Infinity Kappa components for the fronts, and a bridgeable 4-way amp and you will be set. Also, you could add a subwoofer (I like Rockford Fosgate equipment myself, but any will do) if you are not satisfied with the bass response from the speakers alone, but you really don't have to have it. Hope this helps you.

[visprashyana]

It depends on how much you want to spend on your stereo. In general, most of the car audio gear is not made for your jazz listening pleasure. As matter of fact, most of it is targeted to young men who listen to loud bass. There are only two auto makers that are even trying with factory models, there is the Mark Levinson and McIntosh.

I think one of the most important aspects is in the deck. You should purchase a deck which does not have any amplification. Alpine makes two models and McIntosh makes a couple of variations. You want to isolate the cd player from your amplifier and you will be miles ahead of the rest. There are several 4 or 6 channel amplifiers that are on the market. I prefer the McIntosh over the rest. There are a couple others that come close but they aren't cheap. You do have to replace those 10 cent speakers that the car comes with and then for the full affect - a subwoofer.

I spent a lot of time, energy, and money in order to turn my car into a listening environment, but it was well worth it. Most people end up spending a lot of time in their car so why not make it sound good. Even though I only drive a few times a week, when I go on the long Midwest road trips, it is well worth it. I think that you can make a much better sounding car stereo vs. home stereo. The area is so small and pretty well controlled. Homes have alot of problems. My car stereo has great clarity that many home systems do not have. I often notice parts in the music while in the car that I have not noticed while at home.

I installed a complete McIntosh system. Cd player, 4 channel amp (50 watts/channel), 2 channel amp (100 watts/channel), 2-10" subwoofers in custom box in the trunk, 4 pairs of 6.5" woofer separates and some decent cable and interconnnects.

One final note, research who will be doing your installation. Make sure he/she knows what they are doing since they will taking your car apart. I did have some problems because I went for the cheaper installation.

[James]

Don't know if you're still with us on this thread, Leeway - but visprashyana's final paragraph is *especially* on target. On one of my previous installations the installer did a poor job insulating the wiring in the door - a cardinal sin, since moisture has a way of seeping in occasionally. The result: one of my speakers ended up frying.

Door mounted speakers should be well mounted/insulated in styrofoam, and no moisture sensitive components should be positioned in the door.

[Leeway]

Still with you, and thanks for the info.

How does one tell a knowledgable dealer from a pretender?

[geepee]

A good place to start is by finding who are the authorized dealers in your area for the top brands. Look for dealers of McIntosh, Dynaudio, Focal, Oz Audio, Zapco, Xtant, Image Dynamics, Alpine to name a few.

Watch out for guys that want to push products. My installer has no problem installing my eBay finds. A legit outfit doesn't make a huge margin on the electronics, they make it on the hours they bill for installations. Have them show you a book of their installs. Also, audiophile geeks like myself, tend to stop by and talk to the other audiophile geeks at the shop. You should be able to find actual customers and talk to them.

The only piece I recommend you buy from the dealer/installer is your head unit (the most can go wrong with it, so you want the warranty). Everything else is open game. If you do buy stuff used, try to stick with the brands your installer of choice carries. They tend to develop an expertise and know how to make everything work together properly.

I pieced my setup together thru trial and error, so if you care, this is what I've settled on:

Alpine CDA 7863 head unit
Alpine 1214, 12 disc changer
AudioControl 6xs active crossover
McIntosh MCC 404, 4 x 100 amp
Dynaudio System 240 Mk2, front door speakers
Image Dynamics IDQ 10 (10 in sub)

One last note, I used to have a much better home system than my car. I figured out though that I get way more quality listening time in my ride vs. at home (especially once I had a kid). Upgrading to a great car system is cheaper than having a kick ass audiophile home system, and you get more hours on it. Do it. Happy listening.

[NewJazz4Mike]

My car system's all Bose All 11 speakers! They even have some drivers they call "Twiddlers". Perhaps best not to examine them too closely. Bose probably wouldn't have been my system choice, but it came with the car. Truthfully, it's not as bad as I would have expected, and sounds better than the system that was in my last vehicle.