Ok, it's me again...doing some more searching...

I wanted to ask, how is Blaupunkt's stuff? Their head units, their amps, their speakers, etc...I know it's not a "popular" brand NO ONE uses them in competition but you guys know my deal...I'm looking for a decent, inexpensive upgrade to the SC400...also, the REAL reason why I want to find out is because Blaupunkt offers a reasonably priced navigation system...which is NO WHERE near as good as the others but it's $700 and it does the job (it's the same one that's in Audi's)

Thanks!

 

I've had a little experience with blaupunkt and do not rate them too high.

 

Godfather,

They're ok. Not the greatest thing for SQ or SPL but they'll get the job done.

Percy

 

hey check this out it might not be in the price range your looking for but in the long run it will save you money and probably look the best in the car


www.gnetcanada.com

 

Manaray, how much are you planning to spend on the whole system? Actually what are you planning to get?

Head unit
Pair of component speakers (1 or 2)
Amp
Sub
CD Changer (?)
Navigation

Anything else I'm missing?

If you give us your budget and what exactly you're looking to buy...we might be able to provide more suggestions...

I know for about 1400 - 1800 you can get a really good system. (w/out navigation)
Dyn240MKII (500)
PPI 4 channel (400-500)
Clarion, Alpine head unit (nothing fancy) (200-400)
JL Powerwedge (150-250)
Misc cable and stuff (100)

Is this within your budget for the SC? Grit your teeth and get the Dyns...their tweeters are very very nice...the others will have less impact on your sound quality to most people so you can get away w/ 'slightly' lower quality stuff.

hope that helps
Andrew

 

Biggie - That auto PC is interesting...I could run just standard WinBlows apps on it...hmmm.....I could PhotoChop while at stops!

Well what I want to do is this...

1) Headunit with MP3/CD
2) Navigation (if it's rolled into the headunit, even better but I had double DIN so two single DIN units would be OK too...)
3) Either one or two amps (one 5/6 channel to drive everything or one 4 channel for the speakers and one 2/1 channel for the sub)
4) CD Changer...6+ capacity...
5) Freeair/Infinite Baffle Subwoofer

I already have a set of 5.25" speakers (MB Quart QM's...) that I can use for the front and rear speaker...

Basically, I'm more concerned with the suspension and looks of the SC400 more than the sound...sure, the stock system isn't GREAT, but it's also not bad...that's the angle I'm coming from so you have to understand why I'm not trying to spend lotsa money on this sound system...

What I was looking at is the Blaupunkt RNS-150 Travel Pilot as the head unit, the 5 disc in-dash Blaupunkt unit (AN108 or whatever it's called)...and then the Blaupunkt 10" sub (they have one model that can be used for FA applications) or a Pioneer 10" Freeair sub...and then some amps...maybe the Pioneer GMX line or the new "iMac" Blaupunkt Amps (and yes, I would HIDE these!)

Definitely not trying for a "show" sound system or a SPL crusher...just something that's going to give me better quality than stock (better bass, louder, clearer sound....etc., etc..)...I'm NOT trying to compete with Percy here!

Let me know what you guys think...

 

ok you have a few choices in this matter, you can always do the D-net thing, or you can get a stand alone NAV system and get a seprate MP3 player from Pioneer or Alpine, since you dont want to spend more than a $1K you can always look into eclipse or clarion.

Clarion offers the Joyride which is a head unit that has all the goodies and works on windows NT technology, It will play everything from cd's, to DCD' to MP3's, it also has a built in navagation system and can be utilized to use flash memory cards so you can store DATA on it, it will also hook up to a screen so you can get a more detailed map for the NAV. Now the down side of this unit is its very hard to find and the new ones are costly, but you can always find a used one for $400-$500, and parts and hookups for it are pretty expensive.

now another choice is you can get the headunit you like with an MP3 player, and then get a standalone NAV unit like this eclipse unit http://www.carreview.com/pscCar,Audi...ation/Eclipse,(Fujitsu,Ten),9902,GPS,Unit/PRD_15507_1685crx.aspx , this way you wont spend as much but you will loose some functionality of the unit, and the NAV system isnt the greatest but it gets the job done.

or you can always do what Im doing and go out and get a Pioneer DEH-P940p which has MP3 technology and a 13band EQ and the works, it would also hook up to a Pioneer GEX-8000 and a screen, and the NAV would hook up to the GEX this way I have everything I wanted but it costs alot more

 

This is kind of off the topic, but do you already have the front and rear speakers? I've found that I prefer not to have rear speakers, they detract from the front sound stage if not set up properly (which can take alot of work and money).

If you skip the rear speakers and have a quality set for the front (Quarts are good as I'm sure you knew) with a strong amp, it'll save you the money you would have spent on rear speakers and the amp to push them. IMO and for my ears, that money is better spent elsewhere, especially in a relatively small car like the SC.

You could trim things down a little and spend more for the HU-NAV part of things. A 4 channel amp w/ 2 channels to the front speakers and the back 2 bridged to the sub would be all you'd need rather than a 5 or 6 channel, and you'd save money on the rear speakers.

Maybe this doesn't sound attractive to you, but it's another route you could take, so I thought I'd throw the idea out there.

 

Biggie - Thanks for the info...I'm still debating on what to do for the electronics...I am almost thinking about getting just the DEH-P940MP (one bad *** head unit!) and skipping the Nav system for now...then just build it up in stages (well, two stages actually)...hehehe...I'm doing it this way for reason though (as you guys will soon see...

Kyle - That's a good point you have there...but I already have 4 speakers (MB Quart QM's) that will work...and I found a nice 5-channel Amp that I can get for a decent price...the JL Audio 500/5...

I'm already thinking about skipping the free-air and just going with a super small bandpass box with a 10" sub...I heard a 10" JL W3 sub in a JL designed bandpass box and it was VERY impressive. Sounded a LOT better than two 12" JL's in a standard ported box...

Man, I have a Excel spreadsheet with about 20 different "scenarios"...what a PITA...hehehe...but after sitting in my buddies S500 with a full system (and a very impressive system), I definitely like the way my CD's sound on a "real" sound system...hell, even in my Mark Levinson equipped GS, it sounded SO MUCH better than the stock SC setup..like night and day...

 

Plus isn't the RSX still a hatchback? That alone would make it sound better...I bet gets some decent low end on his setup...

I'm going to plug in my homie's box (the exact same setup I'd want to do) and see how it sounds...if it's good, I'm going to have him make me one...if not, I'm going to try the freeair setup and see how that sounds...

The SC is NOT a sound system friendly car...

 

IB is the most balanced setup .Your subs will blend much better with your frontstage and the lowend is great. You loose SPL that's for sure.