Just like the title says, which unit is best for output, signal quality, etc.

This would of course been run through amplifiers, etc.

 

Dude give me a price and I'll give you a suggestion.

Otherwise I can say a Denon Z1 - $2000
Alpine F1 ~$2000
McIntosh Anything ~$1-2000

You got game?

 

Nakamichi CD-400 is a very good SQ deck and only around $400. No frills just good quality deck.

 

I agree. I use to own a Nak cd45(sp?) but ti was real picky about burned cds and skipped.

Go to some of the car audio forums and they'll bash you on the reliability of the Nak unit...meaning they'll fail.

I never had any reilability issues with them but stayed away after the skipping and burned cds problem.

 

I've heard similar stories concerning the various Nakamichi models as well. It is what has always kept me clear of them, although I heard great things about them otherwise.

 

I ran nakamichi and they sound great, but like what wasw said above they skip. I have also ran high end panasonic and it sounded great, (and before you say it I thought panasonic was junk also) but it was the closest thing I found to the nak that didnt cost over $1000.00

 

I use to run the Panasonic DRX900u? The one with the flip out center channel, lols.

Specs on them were very comparable to the Eclipse's of that day. Then it got jacked. Too damn shiny, lols.

 

Alpine 9835, won't skip at all during heavy bass, cannot produce a clipped signal, produces a 4V preout. If you combine it with the HX701 and CU701 (same brain as the famous F#1 Status unit), you will have 165 band graphic eq, parametric eq and time alignment. Very little if anything that combination can't do!

Eclipse are another good option.

Kind Regards,
Matt

 

Hey Matt how you like those Hammers? Didn't think anyone here would be capable of running stuff like that. I'm SQ so use to have their C7, might be picking one up again.

 

The Sledgehammers are, as you know, one of the best amps ever made. Tons of clean class A/B power. I've got a ton of amps but I like that one the best. I actually have a second one but can't use it yet in the Scion till after CES and we probably redo the install. We actually threw the SH-1 into protect mode because the subs were coming so far out of the magnetic gap we caused a short to ground! Couldn't even get my 18's to move that much! I wish I could get a C7 but I never did, oh well.

A C7 will be a nice part of an SQ install!

Kind Regards,
Matt

 

Right now I have the Pioneer AVIC-N1, I know it's not the best for SQ, but I figured after installing the amps, and some sort of EQ it might be ok...What are your thoughts?

 

Only thing I'd worry about is that it only has 2volts of preout but that might not make any difference at all if you use quality amplifiers. You could always get a line driver if you're worried.

Pioneer makes some cheap stuff but they also make some of the best decks. You bought a quality head unit. No personal experience but I bought the DEX/DEQ P9 from Pioneer that cost almost as much as your screen for SQ and it was awesome.

 

I like the older d9 P9 pioneer combo... have yet to mess with the dex/deq... but it looks more convienent...

for the sub 600 mark i like the pioneer premier DEHP 860mp or certain eclipde models... the ones that don't skip...

I've never been a fan of alpine...

Blackice... have you got rid of all of the road noise in your xa?

 

Since we are discussing SQ, I have a quick one for you.

My buddy just gave me a Diamond Audio 15 CM3. This will be the only sub in my XB, and the rest of my system consists of Focal components up front and back powered by a JL 300/4. A JL 500/1 would be pushing the Diamond sub. Will I be able to get decent SQ out of this sub?

 

Yep, all the road noise and vibrations are gone. The only time I get any vibrations is when we are metering or demoing the car at very high levels, then the sun visors move about 3" up and down, but I just take them and the rear view mirror out of I need to.

As for the AVIC unit, that is a nice unit. It will work fine for your setup. The Diamond is a very good sub, but the total SQ you achieve is now up to how well tuned your enclosure is for your sub as well as a few other things. The Focals are incredibly good mids and highs, so you will have that part covered. Your imaging and staging will now come down to the flexibility of control your head unit offers.

You want to ensure your enclosure is built to the T/S specs of the Diamond sub. Alot of folks just look at 1 or 2 parameters of the sub, mainly the enclosure size and the tuning frequency and build their enclosures accordingly. That's the widespread method of doing it, and it works well of course, but for what you want you need overall frequency response and perfect acoustic resonance. At perfect acoustic resonance the sub will not be moving but will be producing incredible sound. Then you've got your SQ!

Kind Regards,
Matt

 

Most quality subs can and do sound good in the right box. You certainly have the power. Never heard that particular Diamond sub but have heard their TDX(sp?). Diamonds a pretty high end company, only problem I have with them is cheaping out stuff to China. Their drivers use to be German made.

But it is a 15inch sub. not to say that they can't sound as good SQ wise, but find a Diamond dealer and let them build a box for you. should run about $125 for a carpeted sealed box.

 

eclipse

go to a sq comp and see what brands people use...the difference between the sq of a eclipse $2000.00 deck and there lowest cost is minimal for $300 you can get very good and striaght forward sq deck (not one with dolphins or ballons floating across the screen)

if you can't tell im a little bias i have used eclipse decks for the past 10 years and i won't use anything else

 

Fanatics are fanatics, lols.

I bought a used Alpine for $62 shipped off of ebay to do a low key install. Underneath that is my H701 processor. I sometimes like to think a transport is just a transport. why pay more if it gets you from point A to B?

 

Well, I know several world champions that used pure Alpine. As long as it does what you want and you are happy with it, then life's good. But those dolphins are kind of cute

I'd love to hear how that Diamond sub sounds. Bet it will get down. Sounds like you're going to have a great install when it's all said and done. Gotta love those Scions...

Kind Regards,
Matt

 

Well, as you can tell my concern is how well that 15 will preform compared to lets say a JL 12W6, because thats what I was originally going with. I'm just nervous about commiting to the buildup of the box/system around this sub, and not have it preform well.