Your Car Audio Blog

Pioneer AVH-P3100DVD 5.8-Inch In-Dash Touchscreen Double-Din DVD Multimedia A/V Receiver

2010-06-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

Pioneer AVH-P3100DVD 5.8-Inch In-Dash Touchscreen Double-Din DVD Multimedia A/V Receiver
The Pioneer AVH-P3100DVD is a touch-screen Double DIN aftermarket car stereo. It has a 5.8" full color widescreen face, front auxiliary port for connecting an IPod or other device, a front USB port for connecting a USB flash drive, and it can play DVD-R/RW, CD-R/RW, DivX, MP3, WMA and AAC files. The Pioneer AVH-P4100DVD 7-Inch In-Dash Double-DIN DVD Multimedia AV Receiver with Widescreen Display is the same exact radio, except it adds a bigger screen (7") by removing the physical buttons to the side, and it adds a subwoofer preamp output.

INSTALLATION AND DVD BYPASS: Double DIN means that it is roughly twice the size of a conventional car stereo, so before ordering, you need to make sure it will fit in your car. The best way to do this is to go to Crutchfield's web site and determine if it will work on your vehicle. The unit itself comes with the receiver, mounting screws, manual, a stylus pen, front mounting cover, and a power cable. I found it fairly easy to install. The power cable it comes with just has bare wires coming out of it. In addition to the radio, you will want to buy a mounting harness and mounting bracket for your vehicle. The harness looks just like the one that comes with the stereo, but it is designed to clip into the factory harness that's in your vehicle, to make it easy to remove the stereo. If you don't have one, you'll have to connect all of the wires by hand, and disconnect each one to remove. The mounting bracket is designed to make sure you radio fits correctly in your specific vehicle. I purchased both the harness and bracket from Crutchfield. My only problem with installation, is that it comes with a long green wire that is supposed to be connected to your emergency brake wire. This is necessary, because the unit has a safety feature that requires the emergency brake to be applied in order to play DVDs. My emergency brake wire was extremely hard to get to, and once I was able to finally remove the center console and find it, it was buried and almost impossible to access. I don't suggest doing this, but if you have the same problem and want to get around this issue, or if you want to be able to watch DVDs without having to engage the brake, then you need to connect this wire to an auto relay switch. Go to Radio Shack and buy a momentary push button switch, part number 275-1548. Cut the green wire coming out of the radio harness from the receiver, close to the end of it, maybe 5 inches away from that red clip. Strip the wire, and run it through one of the holes on the relay switch. You can solder it or just wrap it with electrical tape. Buy a standard 16 gauge wire from Radio Shack and connect it to the other hole on the switch, then connect the other end of it to a grounded connection on your vehicle. I just wrapped mine around one of the mounting screws for the radio. I stuffed this wire out of site under the dash and pull it out when I need it. Alternatively, you can just cut the green wire directly in half, and use the half you cut instead of having to buy more wire at Radio Shack, but I wanted an extra long wire in case I ever want to move it. Now, when you play a DVD, the warning screen will come on. Just press the button on the switch and it will go away, since it tricks the receiver into thinking you have engaged the parking brake. Be sure to check with your local laws, as having the DVD player on while driving or bypassing this may be illegal in your area. It may also void insurance claims. I definitely do not recommend ever watching a DVD while driving.

FORM FACTOR: The radio itself is beautiful. It fit flush with my dash and looks gorgeous. There are only a few buttons on the left hand side, and I didn't even realize they were buttons until I looked at them closely. They control volume, forward/backward, source, mute, and power. I like having these physical buttons, especially for volume and mute. If I get a phone call or need to hear something, I want to be able to instantly mute the radio without having to fool around with a touchscreen. It's very nice to have a radio that doesn't have 15 buttons all over it and looks cluttered. Customization is easy with the radio. You can select from several different colors, which will change the LED colors on these physical buttons and on the touchscreen menu buttons, so that it matches your car's LED colors. You can also choose from seven factory background screens, three of which are animated videos. The animation on the videos is very subtle and doesn't distract you. Plus, when you change the LED color, it actually changes the color of the background videos to match it, which is really cool. If you don't like these, you can use your own image from a CDR or USB drive. The screen contains a dimmer option, so when you turn on your lights, it automatically dims. This is pretty nice, but can also be annoying. I like to use my lights during the day, and while the screen is still readable, it can be hard to see. Fortunately, you can completely adjust the dimmer options through the settings.

TOUCHSCREEN: The touchscreen is very easy to navigate and done very well. The menu system is very intuitive and set up a lot like a computer. There is a back button and an escape button to get you through the menus. Seeking through a song can be done in three ways. You can hold down the physical forward/backward buttons on the unit, you can do the same with the touchscreen forward/backward buttons, or you can use your finger to slide a progress bar back and forth, the same as you would do with a video file on your computer or with an IPod. This is great because a 30 minute song can start, and I can just press the end of the progress bar with my finger and it will immediately skip to the end of the song (or whatever position I press on the bar). From what I can tell, it will scroll exactly like a computer and stop at the exact position you touch. A lot of touchscreens would have "segments" or 5-10 seconds, and stop on whichever segment you came close to. But with the AVH-P3100, it is segmented into 2 second increments, so you can have much more accurate scrolling. This is the only instance where I can see the stylus being of any use, but I have fairly large fingers and don't have any problem with the scroll bar. My main gripe with the touchscreen navigation, is with the up/down scrolling. This is used when navigating radio/satellite stations, song tracks on a CD, or file folders on a USB/IPod. There is no page up/down feature, so if five folders are displayed and you press the down arrow on the scroll bar, or if you press anywhere below the current position on the scroll bar, it will move the list down by one, instead of down by five. This is a major oversight in my opinion, and will affect the way you setup your folders. I have one folder on my USB with 80 subfolders. That means if I want to scroll through every folder in the list, I have to press the down button 75 times. Now you can put your finger on it and simply drag the arrow down to move quickly, but it goes kind of fast, and paging through the list would be so much more convenient. Also, since it only displays five lines at a time, it means you have to scroll one time to view all six of your radio presets.

USB: USB is the main reason I purchased this radio, and works well, with a few faults. First, it takes about 10 seconds when I start the car or select the USB source, for it to "read format." This is possibly because I am using a 8Gb drive with over 1000 songs on it, so it's acceptable to me. My main problem with the USB feature, is the way it organizes the folders. They do not appear alphabetically. I am not sure what method it uses, but like a lot of MP3 audio devices, it just seems to throw them up in the folder list in whatever order it wants. It will use the same order every time, but you can't trick it by copying a folder you want to appear at the top first, or adding "01, 02, 03, etc" in front of your folders/file names." There is probably a workaround for this, but I have no idea what it is. I think it would make more sense if it just listed the folders alphabetically. It does read ID3 information very well, however it cuts off anything after a certain character limit. It would be nice if it scrolled sideways through long song titles/artists to show you the full ID3 information, but for about 95% of people's music, this won't be a problem, and for the other 5% you should have enough of the title to figure out what it is. However if you don't have ID3 tags on your music, it can be a problem. For example, if you have a folder with 10 songs in it labeled "DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince - Greatest Hits - Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble," and there are no ID3 tags, it is only going to display the first part of the filename until it reaches the character limit. So your list on the screen will have 10 songs on it that all say something like "DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fr." Additionally, the USB drive is going to stick out 3" or so from the unit, so unless you remove it every time, you have to be aware of it and careful not to break it off. It doesn't bother me at all though. (Edit - I recently purchased elago Mobile Nano II USB 2.0 microSDHC Flash Memory Card Reader (Black) for it, which only sticks out about 3mm from the unit and is awesome. Get this and a Kingston 8 GB microSDHC Class 4 Flash Memory Card SDC4/8GB and you won't even notice the USB). The only other problem I've noticed with the USB playback, is that the progress bar is off. The bar shows time elapsed and time remaining at the same time. Time remaining is incorrect about 80% of the time. A song will start up and it will show that it has 6:22 remaining, when it is only a 4:00 song. Some songs are accurate, but the majority is off anywhere from :30 to 3:00 (Edit - A commenter informed me that this is likely caused by MP3s encoded in Variable Bit Rate (VBR) format. This is a very plausible explanation and the most likely reason.

IPOD: IPod usability is handled exceptionally well. You can just plug in your iPod using the factory USB into the USB input on the radio. You don't even need to use the aux input if you want to save that for something else. I assume you could also plug the iPod in using just the aux input and free up your USB, but I'm not positive. Unlike USB, the radio accesses iPod songs immediately. IPod menus look the same as the front of your regular IPod and navigation is easy. You can either use your iPod to navigate, or it will lock your iPod and you can use the front of the radio. If you do the latter, your screen mimics an iPod screen and controls. Unfortunately you can't use the screen to seek like you can with USB, and have to hold down a FORWARD/REVERSE button and it will skip through the song in 16 second increments. This is a bit slow and it never speeds up, so be warned before trying to get to the end of Freebird. This is my only problem with it, but I'm not sure if they could have come up with a way around it due to the iPod's design (although this feature may work if you use an iPod touch with it). It will also display a picture of the album. The song name is displayed beside the album picture for some reason even though there is plenty of space below the picture. This means you can only view about 9 characters of the artist name or song title. Audio quality with the iPod sounded amazing, even better than the USB. I don't know if that's due to the internal equalizer in the iPod or not, but I can hear a noticeable difference when using an iPod. Navigation of your iPod through the radio, including accessing your play lists and searching for songs/artists, is very quick and intuitive.

DVD PLAYBACK: DVD playback is superb. The video quality is on par with any portable DVD player you would buy. You cannot tilt the screen, so application is limited, but if you're parked somewhere you can easily enjoy a movie from any seat in the car. If it's daylight and sunny, you won't be able to see much however. The DVD onscreen menus are nice, and the scroll bar works well for skipping quickly through a movie, even better than a traditional DVD player. There's a HIDE button for quickly removing all onscreen displays, so you don't have to wait several seconds for the menus to time out.

SOUND: Sound quality is excellent. DVDs sound great. It has three loudness modes which really bring out the sound. I am using factory speakers with no amplifier, and the built-in Pioneer amplifier makes a huge difference. It has several pre-set equalizer settings for different types of music.

Overall, even if you don't get it at Amazon's current price (40% off SRP), I think this receiver is worth the money. It really is a beautiful and functional unit, and I always like showing it off to my passengers. It is too bad there doesn't seem to be a way to update the firmware, because it would be a perfect unit if Pioneer just made a few small changes to the menus. The unit also does not come with built in Bluetooth, HD Radio, Satellite, or steering wheel controls, but you can add all of these from the products below. I realize Pioneer makes more money by adding these separately, and also keeps costs down on the unit from not including them unless someone wants them, but it would be nice to have built in HD Radio and Bluetooth at least. Stay away from the remote though, it's worthless.

Pioneer CD-IU50V USB iPod Cable for Pioneer AVH-P3100DVD - You don't need this, you can use the factory USB cable that came with your iPod. You don't even need to use the auxiliary input.
Pioneer GEX-P10HD HD Radio Tuner for Pioneer HD Radio-Ready Head Units
Pioneer GEX-P920XM XM Satellite Tuner - See my comments on the Sirius tuner below.
Pioneer CD-SB10 - Sirius Bus Interface for use with Pioneer SAT Radio Ready Headunits and AV Receivers and SIRIUS SCC1 SIRIUS Connect Universal Tuner (you need BOTH of these to get Sirius radio) - I will write a separate more detailed review on these on their respective pages, but bottom line, is that I am very dissatisfied with the satellite radio tuner. The signal comes in great, and installation was fairly simple. The tuner works fine as far as I can tell. My issue is with the incredibly poor way the P3100 interfaces with it. Channel display is awful. Instead of displaying Station Number, Station Name, Current Artist, and Current Song or Track, like EVERY other satellite radio, the P3100 only gives you 1 single line of usable information for the satellite radio. You have to press an "info" button on the screen and it will then cycle through each piece of information. Since it has a useless "composer," that means 5 lines of information. You can never view the artist and song on the same line on your radio. For example, it will show "Bruce Springsteen." Hit "INFO" and it will then display "Born to Run." Hit INFO again and it will then display the station name "E Street Radio." Hit it again and it will display the channel number "S010." Hit it again and it will display "NO COMPOSER." Finally hitting it one more time will go back to the artist name. I don't have to tell you how annoying this is. The frustrating thing is it has the data fields and lines available to display all of that info at once, it just doesn't and uses that for empty space. Incredibly poor design. But I can live with it in order not to have an external radio taking up space and my cigarette adapter. I assume the XM tuner has the same issues. There are other issues with the design (like not even displaying station names in your programmed memory list), but if you just listen to a few channels it will do.
Pioneer CD BTB200 - Cellular phone Bluetooth adapter - This is designed almost as badly as the Sirius adapter, but the hands free works great and it beats having to hold a phone. I use my actual phone to dial out instead of the radio, since it is much faster than trying to bring up a phone number through the radio's built-in directory. Also, unless you have rigged up a handbrake bypass as I described above, you can only receive calls and can't use it to dial out unless the car is in park.

Panasonic DMP-B15 Portable Blu-ray Player - Non-stop Entertainment

2009-09-12T23:47:00.000-07:00

Panasonic DMP-B15 Portable Blu-ray Player - Non-stop Entertainment

Panasonic is well-known for its quality, value and innovation. They distribute high quality electronic products all around the world.

Recently, Panasonic has released a Blu-ray player -- DMP-B15, a portable 8-inch DVD player having features like a 16:9 wide LCD screen offering a unique style of watching.

Its free style watching ensures the screen to be swapped to a broader array of positions for watching. This DVD player has a large viewing area to enjoy DVDs more comfortably. This player can also be connected to an HD-Audio compatible AV receiver with a home theater speaker system and enjoy movies with outstanding surround sound. To accommodate the traveler, the DMP-B15 offers an optional headrest mounting bracket for in-car use.

This player has PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus technology developed in collaboration with Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory is a high quality image-processing technology that precisely processes each pixel of the Blu-ray Disc video signal in the vertical direction which results in high image quality. It reproduces color data with twice the accuracy of conventional systems, resulting in faithful and sharp colors.

This device also includes VIERA CAST functionality -- a distinctive application that allows the user access to select Web sites, including Amazon Video-on-Demand, a streaming video service that permits the users to access more than 40,000 titles. Moreover, this B15 features an SD Memory Card slot that allows the users to view and share digital photos, as well as HD video recorded on a SD card like all other Panasonic Blu-ray players. Also this gadget has a long battery life too.

Audio Video Cables Installation

2009-09-12T23:35:00.000-07:00

Audio Video Cables Installation

Cables and cords are essential to operating your favorite device. Component video separates the video signal into individual streams and these video streams are carried via three cables, colored red, and green and blue that normally comes bundled with RCA type jack connectors. Component video signals will provide better color resolution, purity and fidelity than S-Video and composite video signals.

For electronics like televisions, digital cameras and camcorders there are DVI cables, HDMI cables and S-video cables. Also, HDMI cables are used for content management. For example, a manufacturer would use it to enable service providers to control access to specific content.

DVI stands for Digital Video Interface, while HDMI stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface.

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The biggest difference between DVI and HDMI is that DVI is used solely for video and HDMI cables carry both the video and audio signals through one signal. There are RCA cables, which are also known as composite cables, which include one connection for video which is usually yellow and it includes parts for left and right audio channels, which are usually white and red respectively.

Audio video Cablesare higher quality analog video cables which are generally used in hooking up your television, VCR, DVD player, or similar to another video source, such as a computer. There are also component cables which are essentially providers of higher quality and better signal throughput.

The principle idea behind HDMI is the use of a single interconnects instead of several cables when connecting an audio video source, such as a set top box or DVD player and an audio and or video monitor, such as a plasma TV, over a single HDMI cable.

The use of a single HDMI cable that replaces the maze of cabling behind home entertainment centers is the primary advantage brought about by this new standard. This is not the case with DVI supports digital video only hence, a separate audio cable is needed to transport digital audio when a DVI cable is used.

Audio Video cables are used to hook up receivers, tuners, radios, stereos, micro shelf systems and speakers. Other cables that are also used in audio video equipment are optical cables which are used to transmit light as the signal and coaxial cables. For cords, some of most popular are actually wire harnesses which are used in cars to power a car stereo.

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How A Sony Xplod Car Audio Can Enhance The Sound Quality Of Your Car

2009-01-17T01:35:00.000-08:00

Sony Xplod car audio come with revolutionary features that are sure to amaze your curiosity. There are Sony Xplod car speakers, radio cassette, subwoofers and others to choose from. They come in a very high quality and you can trust them to serve you in the right way. Sony Xplod head units connect with digital music players like iPods making them very convenient. Many of this head units come with a memory called the gigastick. Speakers come with features like aluminum woofer cones, rubber surround, balanced dome drive tweeters and so many other features and you can get this information and more from the internet. Sony amplifiers will go a long way in ensuring that you get the quality sounds you need.

Sony Xplod car audio will therefore enhance your life and you can look for cheap products in the market. Reading through many reviews that were sent by users on a particular site, I read one that was very positive about the functions of the head units from Sony. If you do not know where you can get the products, search on the internet for a store near you or you can just shop online. Before you make the purchase, have no doubt about the store. Some of the things that a consumer should be aware of is the legality of the business and whether they have in stock the right Sony Xplod car audio.

The prices can be a bit high but, it is upon you to search for discounts and cheap prices. Very cheap prices will make eye brows rise because there must be the question on quality. You might be very happy because of throw away prices and forget about quality but, it is always good to buy value. Online stores always have offers and discounts and they are a good place to start. If you are upgrading your system, make sure that the car audio is compatible with the already existing systems. Have the right fits and avoid problems that may present themselves because of this. If you are not sure of any function, make use of store staff and manuals.

There are many manuals including installation manuals and getting them will be paramount to ensuring you install Sony Xplod car audio in the right way. Do not forget all the kits you need and from Sony, you can get wiring kits for amplifiers, power and ground cable, capacitors, fuse holders and many others. Read manuals carefully without rushing and if you need additional help, you can buy DVDs that instruct users step by step. There is no doubt that after you have taken such vital steps, you will have your systems well installed. You need to experience it for yourself to realize the extra ordinary sounds that will have you spend so much time in your car. The entertainment is superior and you can recommend the car audio to somebody else to ensure they get to experience pleasure in their cars. Write a review and express your feelings about the product.

How To Install An Amplifier!

2008-04-26T23:52:00.000-07:00

How To Install An Amplifier!
Pyle - Mini 2x75W Stereo Power Amplifier - PCA3

Remote Turn-on Wire
The remote turn on wire goes to the head unit. When the radio is on, it puts out 12 volts that turn the amplifier on. If you are using a factory radio that does not have a remote turn on (or power antenna wire) you can tap into, hook it up to the ignition, so that the amplifier does not remain on when you turn the car off.

If you are using multiple devices (amplifiers, crossovers, equalizers, fans, etc), you might have to add a relay, since typical turn-on wires in a radio can't handle more that 300mA.

Power Wiring
Even though amplifiers are easy to install, a lot of things could go wrong. The most important thing to consider is where to get the power from: Straight from the battery. ALWAYS put a fuse as close to the positive battery terminal as possible. If the wire going to the back of the car shorts out, then the fuse will blow. If you don't install a fuse or breaker and the wire shorts out, then the wire will carry so much current that the insulation will melt and could catch your car on fire. The size of the fuse should be the same rating as the fuses used by the amp(s) or less. The ground (-) should be hooked-up to a metal part of the car. It is not necessary to run a ground wire all the way to the battery.

It is not essential to spend a lot of money in getting 99.999999% copper 0-gage wire and gold connectors unless you are installing a competition system. Here's a table to help decide what gauge wire to use, based on total current draw and length of wire:

RCA Wiring
When running power wires to the amp, keep them as far away from the RCA wires (see alternator noise section for more info), ideally on the other side of the car. It is OK to run the turn-on wire from the radio along with RCA's, since it carries very little current.

Mounting
Amplifiers produce a lot of heat and need to receive plenty of fresh air. If the amplifier is to be mounted under a seat, upside down, in a rack or enclosed, a fan or two might need to be used to increase air flow.

To avoid noise problems, it is good practice to mount the amplifier itself to a piece of wood or other non-conducting material. That way the only ground it gets is from the ground wire and not the mounting screws.

Source:http://www.carstereo.com/help/Articles.cfm?id=37

An introduction To Amplifiers!

2008-04-26T23:47:00.000-07:00

An introduction To Amplifiers!

Amplifiers take the signal from the head unit and makes it large enough to be able to drive your speakers. It is preferable to use separate amps for high and low frequencies but it is not necessary. The problem with using one amp for all frequencies is that you cannot adjust the levels among different frequency ranges as easily as you can adjust outputs of separate amps. Many people start their system with an amplifier for the low frequncies (bass) and use their head units built-in power to drive the higher frequency speakers. This is adequate but the built-in power in a head unit is usually not strong enough for high volume listening and not clean enough for the discerning ear. There are many options when choosing an amplifier.

Power?
There are different ways in which power is measured by amplifier manufacturers to make people think that their amps have more power than others. Laws of physics tell us that Power can be obtained by multiplying Current and Voltage. For example, if your amplifier gets 12 volts, and it draws 20 amps, then power would be 240 watts, right? Not exactly. In the real world, amplifiers waste 50% or more of the power in the form of heat. That leaves you with only 120 watts.

Things get more complicated than that. There are different ways to measure power. Power can be measured for top to bottom of the signal (Peak, or Max, etc). Another way to measure power is From the zero-level to the top half (usually called music power). The most accurate way to measure power is RMS (root mean square) watts. The RMS value is obtained by squaring the value of the signal, taking the average, then the square root. This is the equivalent of the actual power delivered. Most reputable manufacturers use the RMS rating.

To get RMS power from peak or max power just divide by three. Music power is just half of peak power. For example, an amplifier is rated at 100w (peak) per channel. The so called Music power would be only 50w per channel. The RMS power would be 33w per channel. Big difference, isn't it? Be careful when checking specifications of amps before buying, to see what you are really getting. Always ask for the RMS power of an amplifier.

Confused enough? There is more. Some companies rate their amplifiers using unrealistic conditions, for example calculating power at 15 volts, under 2 ohms, at 10% distortion, etc. Make sure you see the actual test voltages and loads.

How to tell if I am getting a good amp?
Shop for reputable brands. Look at the size, weight of the amp. The more power the amp puts out, the more wasted heat, and the bigger area it will need to dissipate that heat (bigger heatsinks). This alone can't be enough to determine if the amp is good or not. Watch out for companies that use bigger heat sink than needed, giving the idea of a more powerful amp.

Look at the fuses that are either plugged into the amp, or specified by the instruction book. If you see a 400w amplifier with a 5-amp fuse, you should be suspicious. Remember what was said above, multiply size of the fuse by around 6 (12v at 50% efficiency), and that will give you a rough idea of what you are dealing with in terms of maximum possible RMS power.

How much power do I need?
For mids and highs, anywhere from 30 to 50 watts (RMS) per channel would be a minimum. For subs you would need at least 80 - 150 watts (or more) per subwoofer. There should always be more total power going to the subwoofers than the rest of the speakers, since human ears are more sensitive to higher frequencies than lower. For example, if you have 4 x 50 watts going to all your mids and tweeters (total=200 W), then you should have at least 200 W or more going to your subs.

A lot of people wonder if too much amplifier power can burn up the speakers. What damages speakers most of the time is distortion, not power. If the speakers have the proper crossovers and are not distorting, then it is really hard to blow them. A bigger amp just gives you the opportunity to go to higher volumes without distortion. Get the biggest amplifiers you can afford and your car's electrical system can handle. More power means louder sound, but most importantly, cleaner sound.

What Else to Look For in an Amplifier

It is a good idea to get an amp with a built-in crossovers, so that you don't have to spend extra money later on crossovers. If you are going to be using multiple speakers, make sure the amp is 2-ohm stable (or less). A bridgeable amplifier could come in handy in the future if you are planning to upgrade. Overheat, short-circuit, overload protections are good features that any good amplifier should have. Look for a low THD (total harmonic distortion) rating.

Amplifier Classes
There are different amplifier designs: Class A, A-B, B and D

Class A amplifiers are the most sonically accurate. On the other hand, they have some drawbacks that make them a rare breed. Class A amplifiers use only one output transistor that is turned "on" all the time, giving out tremendous amounts of heat. Class A amplifiers are very inefficient (less than 25%). More heat means more heatsink area, so even though most class A amps have built-in cooling fans, they are big. Class A amplifiers are usually and expensive choice.

Class B amplifiers are the most common by far. They use two output transistors. One for the positive and one for the negative part of the cycle. Both signals are then "combined". The problem with this design is that at the point when one transistor stops amplifying and the other one kicks in (zero volt line), there is always a small distortion on the signal, called "crossover distortion". Good amplifier designs make this crossover distortion very minimal. Since each transistor is "on" only half of the time, then the amplifier does not get as hot as a class A, yielding to a smaller size and better efficiency (typically 50%).

Class A-B amplifiers are a combination of the two types described above. At lower volumes, the amplifier works in class A. At higher volumes, the amplifier switches to class B operation.

An increasingly popular kind is the class D amplifier (known as digital amplifier). These amplifiers are not really digital (there is no such thing), but operate similarly in the same manner as a digital-to-analog converter. The signal that comes in is sampled a high rates, and then reconstructed at higher power. This type of amplifiers produce almost no heat and are very small in size, but really expensive. Although there are full-range class D amplifiers available, most high-end manufacturers are designing amps for low frequency applications. These amps are capable of over 1000 Watts. Efficiency is much higher in class D amplifiers (~80%).

Source:http://www.carstereo.com/help/Articles.cfm?id=40

A Pioneer In Their Own Right: The Pioneer Car Stereo

2008-04-26T23:45:00.000-07:00

A Pioneer In Their Own Right: The Pioneer Car Stereo

Look at any good car stereo system and youl probably see a Pioneer car stereo unit plugged into the console. Alongside with quality speakers and a strong lineup of accessories like LCD panels and navigational devices, Pioneer products/Pioneer car stereos have earned a huge following the world over.

The Pioneer Company is a Tokyo-based corporation, and is one of the world leaders in digital entertainment products. The Pioneer Company was first founded in 1938 in Tokyo as a small radio and speaker repair shop business but today, they are recognized as a leader in technology advancements in the consumer electronics industry.

The company is truly deserving of their name. They are respected for many innovations such as interactive cable TV, the Laser Disc player, developing the first Compact Disc player for the car and the first detachable face car stereo, DVD and DVD recording, plasma display, and organic electroluminescent display. Their strength in optical disc and display technology is complemented by its state-of-the-art software products and manufacturing capabilities.

Nowadays, Pioneer car stereo units are not just simple head units. A car stereo can easily be comprised of several items built into the console of the car. Hardware like navigational devices, DVD players with LCD panels, coupled with the standard array of compact disc, mp3 and cassette players now usually go together. One would be hard-pressed not to acquire all of these, as it is such a delight to see these units work harmoniously. But traditionally, a Pioneer car stereo unit is a head unit with a radio, cassette and cd player. No matter how bare-bones this might sound, anyone will surely be impressed with the sound quality and features a Pioneer car stereo can boot.

Something like the DEH-P90HDD Pioneer car stereo single CD player head unit. The DEH-P90HDD allows you to record CD Audio (from the unit itself or from a changer) onto a 10GB hard disc drive, which holds about 200 audio CD's (using ATRAC3 digital compression). Your CD's are recognized by the pre-installed Gracenote CDDB database, which includes auto-playlists that make finding a specific CD easy. This Pioneer car stereo unit can also play your MP3 CD's plus CD Audio, CD-RW, and CD-R discs. Also, the MagicGate Memory Stick player lets you play recorded Memory Stick tracks. The Organic EL display is easy to read and accepts image downloads, so you can customize its look. Built-in DSP offers a 13-band graphic EQ and a huge variety of tools. The DEH-P90HDD is XM Ready and provides a steering wheel remote.
If cassettes are your thing, the KEH-P4020 Pioneer car stereo cassette player head unit is a good product to choose. It is a full logic cassette system with multi-color display, 45Wx4 High Power, EEQ?equalizer system, Tuner, IP-Bus System Control, flap face and has a detachable face security.

If youe planning to buy a Pioneer car stereo unit, why not match it with a set of Pioneer speakers too? Pioneer car stereo has made another innovation in their REV Series speakers, which incorporates technological breakthroughs in their IASCA award-winning Premier Reference Series (PRS) speakers. Rev Series speakers boast Pioneer Kevlar Fiber Composite Cones, Soft-dome tweeters and Wave guides. Each speaker features a bright yellow cone and distinctive wave guides, plus a six-spoke grill with a titanium finish that simulates chrome wheels.

With all these impressive products, is it still a wonder why they call Pioneer car stereos pioneer?

Planning A Car Audio System Installation

2008-04-26T01:13:00.000-07:00

With such a wide range of components and gadget on the market for car audio systems, the big question is "Where do I start?"

First you must decide what exactly you wish to do. If you are wanting to build a car audio system for a daily driver (the car you drive back and forth to work) with good sounds, but you are not interested in competing, a system can easily be put together for under $1000. However, if you are looking for the all-out bass monster, be prepared to drop in some big bucks into your system.

One of the most important things to keep in mind when building a car audio system is planning. Get an idea of where you are going to place components, subwoofers, amplifiers, and power distribution. A lot of headache can be avoided with the proper planning!!

For the basic system, lets look at some of the components needed.

Let's first start with the head unit (CD player). Obviously you are going to want a nice head unit. If you start with a good quality cd player, and choose to upgrade your sound system in the future, purchase a head unit that will grow with you. Some of the features you may want to keep in mind are:

1. CD changer controls
2. XM / Sirius controls (if you decide to add Satellite radio in the future)
3. Dual RCA outputs (carries signal to the amplifiers)
4. Pause button (important for competing)
5. Detachable face, or other security devices
6. High voltage line driver - this will send the sound signal at a higher voltage to your amplifier/s reducing noise and improving overall sound quality.

After you have chosen your head unit, you will want to make a decision on amplifiers and subwoofers. Keep in mind that you get what you pay for. A $30 subwoofer will be as big as a $300 subwoofer, but the capacities of each will differ greatly. Look at the power handling of each subwoofer and decide accordingly. You will want subwoofers will work with your amplifier/s (see compatibility).

You must also keep in mind the available space in your vehicle. Are you willing to give up your entire cargo area? How many subwoofers will fit? Decide on the size. Sizes will vary from 8" up to 18", some are square (Kicker), but most are round. Also keep in mind the resistance (ohms) of the subwoofer and make sure they are compatible with your amplifier/s (see compatibility). The subwoofer decision will also have an effect on the enclosure you decide to build or buy. For the basic system, I would recommend purchasing a pre-fabricated subwoofer enclosure. This will save you a bit of money and headache (especially if you end up building it two or three times!!). Make sure you take accurate measurement of your cargo area before building or buying an enclosure!!

Other components may be needed depending on the type of system you are building and how elaborate you want your sound to be. For the competition vehicle, figure on upgrading your alternator, adding a battery to your system (maybe more), running high quality RCA cables, power cables, ground cables, and speaker cable. You may need to add a capacitor to provide your amplifier with a reservoir of power for bigger hits from the subs. You may need an electronic crossover, an equalizer, replacement factory speakers, an amplifier for your mid-range and tweeters, additional speakers within your vehicle for staging, etc.

by:Will Reece

4 18's+20,000 watts - Tremendous Bass19 Ear-F*cked

2008-04-26T01:11:00.001-07:00

4 18's+20,000 watts - Tremendous Bass19 Ear-F*cked

Car show tuning for life

2008-04-26T01:07:00.000-07:00

Car show tuning for life

Pordenone Hi-fi car

2008-04-26T01:03:00.000-07:00

Pordenone Hi-fi car

B&W 600 Speakers

2008-04-25T02:54:00.000-07:00

Kenwood Car Stereo Lets You Listen To The Future Of Car Audio.

2008-04-23T06:57:00.000-07:00

Kenwood Car Stereo Lets You Listen To The Future Of Car Audio.

This brand is a household name for every car audio enthusiast. Mention the name Kenwood car stereo and they will know what youe talking about.

Kenwood car stereos have produced high quality consumer electronics, test equipment and communication equipment since 1946. Kenwood car stereos primarily specialize in the design, engineering and manufacture of wireless communication infrastructure but are also renowned in the production consumer mobile and home entertainment systems. Kenwood car stereos are also committed to creating the finest quality components with state of the art technologies that has earned them a huge following in the audio products scene.

At present, Kenwood car stereos have a very impressive product lineup that would make anyone drool over, whether he is an audio enthusiast or not. For the regular Joe who isn really into technical stuff, and is just looking for something nice to put into his ride, Kenwood car stereos offer sleek designs that will surely satisfy anyone craving for aesthetic. Tech-freaks and geeks will also be impressed with the specs a Kenwood car stereo has.

A lot of Kenwood car stereo units nowadays include popup LCD panels for watching VCD/DVD movies. The Kenwood KVT-717DVD 7.0?Wide, Fully Motorized In-dash Monitor DVD/WMA/MP3 Receiver is a good candidate for any situation.

-7.0 inch Wide Color TFT Active Matrix Display
-Full-automatic Open/Close with slide and angle adjustments
-Interactive Touchscreen Control with OSD
-Audio Easy Control Mode while Playing Visual Source
-Selectable Wall Paper (6 Patterns)
-Installer/Backup Memory of Audio/Video Setup
-Maximum Output Power : 50W x 4 (MOSFET Power IC)
-3 Preouts with 5V Pre-out Level
-2 RCA AV Inputs / 1 RCA AV Output
-Video Input for Rear View Camera
-RGB Input for Navigation System
-System Q/ System E's+
-DVD Menu Direct Touch screen Control
-MPEG 1/2 Video files (.mpg) and JPEG files (.jpg) Playback
-Dual Zone Source & Volume Control
-DVD/RW Compatible
-External Media Control -iPod Ready
-Optional TV Tuner

For those who might not get what the hell all of these means, just imagine this: a really thin monitor panel that smoothly retracts and extends at the push of a remote, crystal clear movie and picture playback, all encased in a beautiful black matte finish polymer casing done with a space age design.

If all you want is a just a regular car stereo for playing CDs? listening to mp3s or the radio, Kenwood car stereo have a lot to choose from. A good head unit would be the KDC-MP928 AAC/WMA/MP3/ CD Receiver with External Media Control.

-Auto-Slide Detachable Faceplate
-Rotary Encoder & Jog Control Knob for Easy Operation
-4096 Color OEL Display
-Display Customize Function
-Maximum Output Power : 50W x 4 (MOSFET Power IC)
-ACDrive (Advanced Codec Drive)
-AAC/WMA/MP3 Playback
-G-Analyzer (Graphic Motion Analyzer)
-Built-in DSP : DTA/System Q(4band P-EQ)/Digital E's/SRS
WOW Digital Effect
-O.D.D. (Offset Dual Differential) D/A System for Sound Quality
-Installer/User/Backup Memory of Audio Setup
-SIRIUS Satellite Radio Ready
-HD Radio Ready
-External Media Control ?iPod Ready
-Dual Zone Source & Volume Control
-AUX Input
-Gold Plated 3 Preouts with 5V Pre-output Level

The Kenwood car stereo auto slide detachable faceplate allows you to take the faceplate (one which has all the buttons) in order to prevent theft by taking away the functionality of the unit left in the car.

Budget Bass: Discount Car Stereo

2008-04-23T06:54:00.000-07:00

Budget Bass: Discount Car Stereo

Dying to satisfy that craving for that boom bass but can make the budget? Can sleep uz of that new Clarion head unit? Look no further, you just need to find that discount car stereo to fulfill your car audio needs.

Well, there are probably only two instances where a need for a discount car stereo will come in. These two instances always entail lack of a financial comfort zone (that why we call them discount car stereos).

First instance, you don have an audio system in your car, and you would like to install one. Following the premise we have above, youe most probably a car owner who doesn have enough cash to spend on a new, top of the line system.

What to do: How do you get a discount car stereo? One way is to go to a car stereo sale. Still, you have to deal with store prices, theye cheap, but not that cheap. Another is to scour the classifieds and buy and sell for second-hand items. These are real discount car stereos, but you have to have a sharp eye to recognize which is a good deal and which is a swindle. Ask the seller how many years he had it, in what car. Inspect the car where it is installed. If it still installed on the car, give it a go. If it just a head unit, or a speaker that isn installed, just be careful. Research the model of the discount car stereo youe planning to buy, also find reviews.

Second instance: You already have a car stereo system installed, but you would like to upgrade it. Again, most probably youe just searching for a discount car stereo/discount car stereo system not far from what you have. Maybe something with higher wattage, or a head unit which can play mp3's? And again, try searching at sales. Take advantage of classifieds, buy and sells, second hands, and also swaps. Chances are, if your'e a car audio enthusiast, someone in your circle currently has a better system than yours and maybe willing to sell it to you. No need for standard pricing here. Or if others have equivalent items which they might be willing to swap, like a head unit for an amplifier, or a nice set of tweeters for a cd changer (i highly doubt it) or your pedigreed pitbull for the whole shebang! Youl get more discount car stereos if you have a circle of friends/people who share the same interest.

Other tips which might help: Another way to get a discount car stereo is to SUBSTITUTE. Like cars, Japanese made units are often cheaper than German/European/American made units. Also, look at the basics. What is it that you need, as in the most BASIC FEATURES? Do you really need that mesmerizing LED display, or can you do without it? Goes for speakers too. If youe not going to enter a car audio competition and you just want to hear good treble and bass levels without making your speakers croak, maybe you can do away with a couple of 3way/4 way speakers. A big subwoofer will definitely need an amplifier, and those are already 2 things to buy.

Discount car stereos are always a good deal, you just have to know where to get one.

Pimp Up Yo?Ride! Why You Need A Good Car Stereo System.

2008-04-23T06:53:00.000-07:00

Pimp Up Yo?Ride! Why You Need A Good Car Stereo System.

Youe got a nice pearled paint job. Youe got your 18?sized chrome mags. Youe got an interior job that looks like a dream. But all of that would be superficial if you don have a good car stereo system in your ride.

A good car stereo system is a marvel to experience, just like a poorly constructed car stereo system is such a pity to look at. The price is a big factor, but not all expensive hardware perform well if installed haphazardly, or if hooked up with incompatible hardware. It is also subjective, just as some of us find black cars more appealing than other color cars. If you like your car stereo system more than any other in the same vehicle, then you have the best.

If you like some other car stereo system more than yours in the same vehicle, then that one is better. Only you can decide which is best for you. For a car stereo system to be a good or great, it must first meet or exceed the user's expectations.

The type of vehicle also plays a major part in what kind car stereo system you should build. For some people, after only being in a few vehicles their ears recognize the inherent characteristics of this unique environment. Most of what we hear in a vehicle is a recording of the original artist in a given environment, usually in two channel stereo which can be playing in a totally different environment with the listeners placed in awkward listening positions relative to the placement of speakers. A great car stereo system is created with the understanding of acoustics, basic electronics, and the different products that are to be used.

A good idea is to gain references to compare to your auto audio system or any other and experience it live in as many different environments as possible. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to go to expos?and conventions. As you hop from exhibit to exhibit you'll immediately notice the difference in sound characteristics of each setup. You will find some car stereo systems that you prefer over others, if not a favorite and that is the way to choose a cheap car stereo system that you like. Also ask for specs, theyl gladly give it to you.

The benefits of aftermarket speakers are: they have a larger frequency response (more music coming through the car stereo speakers), more power handling capabilities, they will brighten your highs and increase your auto audio system bass. There are two types of CAR speakers available: the dual cone and the two way. A dual cone has a small paper cone built into a larger paper cone.

Amplifiers are the backbone of your car stereo system. Weak amplifiers damage good car stereo speakers, not the other way around. Amplifiers provides musical power and contributes greatly to the elimination of distortion and the upgrade of sound clarity. The size of the amplifiers will be proportionate to the level of power you want. You can tell a good power amp by turning the auto stereo system above half volume and still hearing clear amplification. Bear in mind that the more power you have the better control you have over your system.

A good car stereo system is something to show for. It can bring satisfaction to you, the owner, and to those who will witness it. It will also raise the quality and value of your car in case you wish to resell it.

Car Stereo Speaker: Let Your Car Stereo Speak For Itself

2008-04-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

Car Stereo Speaker: Let Your Car Stereo Speak For Itself

Even if youe not a car audio connoisseur, it easy to be impressed with a car stereo speaker while looking around in an expo or convention. Theye the first thing youl probably notice, they come in different colors, shapes and sizes. Those big throbbing concaves blaring incredibly low bass lines or cool little tweeters whistling out seething treble sounds.

Car stereo speakers are interesting and very tempting to buy, especially the big loud ones. But big is not always the best. Each speaker has its own unique quality, intended use and price range. Some may also be better than others at certain things so it pays to investigate your type of car stereo amplifier or head unit before you finally decide on a car stereo speaker for your system. Here are some features to consider:

Car stereo speakers are not all the same size and wattage, and this can cause a problem once you try to hook it up in your car. Know the specs of your system. Sort this out ahead of time, it will save you a lot of hassle. You will be happier with your new acquisition if you can get to see it in action as soon as possible.

There are also a lot of car stereo amplifiers on the market, it pays to be aware of how the car stereo speaker you are considering compares to the others, and how compatible it is to your amplifier or the amplifier youe planning to buy. Car stereo speakers and amplifiers go hand in hand. Youl want the car stereo speakers you buy to be suitable for your automotive entertainment needs and not strain the system.

Style can be an important factor when choosing your special car stereo speakers. Youl want the one you choose to fit in perfectly with your other all sorts of stereo speakers. If youe planning to install something different, you have to take into consideration the modifications your going to have to make in order to accommodate your new car stereo speakers.

One of the biggest issues in buying a new type of car stereo speaker is suitability. How suitable your car stereo speakers are is probably the biggest issue. Don't forget the reason youe buying the type of car stereo amplifier in the first place, and ensure that the all sorts of stereo speakers you are looking at will do the job you need no matter what other fancy features they may offer.

Brand is an important consideration when you are shopping for a car stereo speaker. The fact is, one brand of type of car stereo amplifier may have a much better reputation than another, and for good reason. You be the judge. Do your research. Ask car audio enthusiasts. Read magazines and reviews. Do you want to take a chance on just any car stereo speakers, or go for the proven name brand?

Lastly, price is important even if you think it's not. After all, would you want to pay more for your car stereo speakers only to find it cheaper the next day at a different store? Nobody likes that. When shopping for better car stereo speakers, it pays to check at least a couple of different stores, just to make sure you're getting your car stereo speakers at the best price.

Shoe Sale For The Big Boys: The Car Stereo Sale.

2008-04-23T06:13:00.000-07:00

Shoe Sale For The Big Boys: The Car Stereo Sale.

Announce a shoe sale, and the women come aunning. Announce a car stereo sale and the men, or more appropriately, the Big Boys come thundering with their checkbooks and wallets waving in the air.

The car stereo sale. This is every car audio, or even the regular audio enthusiasts?Mecca. Only intense prayer is replaced by intense spending.

Car stereo sales happen at audio stores regularly. When a car audio manufacturer launches a new product, the prices of prior models drop drastically which may prompt the store or the brand name to initiate a car stereo sale. Most especially when a new technology comes out, a good example would be like the introduction of the Compact Disc technology, suddenly all cassette player car stereos became dirt cheap, no matter how cool that LED display might be.

Another avenue of car stereo sales are at expos and conventions. Most of the time, the good stuff come out at expos? whether it be a car expo, audio system expo, but usually the largest car stereo sale happens at a gathering of car audio manufacturers. Well, at these kinds of expos?and conventions, it not usually a sale because the manufacturers usually try to get buyers for their newest product. If you have the money and youe out there to buy some serious hardware, then by all means, SPLURGE AWAY!

But first you have to know what it is you want to buy. Don go running off to a car stereo sale without knowing what it is your system needs. There are a lot of items in a car stereo sale, shiny, glittery and LOUD items that might get your attention but don let it tempt you to whip out your wallet just yet. Although most car audio enthusiasts need not be reminded of this (because they know their stuff well, it probably all they think about all day) any car stereo sale newbie might get the itch to impulse buy, especially when the item displays high wattage. Or even if it just looks spacy and high-tech.

When planning to go to a car stereo sale, you have to prepare, prepare, PREPARE. Take a good look at your audio system. What does it need? Do you need a complete overhaul of your stereo system? If it doesn really need anything but you just want to take it up a notch and upgrade it, make sure what youe planning to buy is compatible with your existing system. Don but a high watt bazooka speaker if your amplifier can handle it. Although audio parts like these have very high resale value, save yourself some trouble and buy the right parts. You don want to end up buying a very expensive paperweight.

Also, do what other enthusiasts?are doing. READ MAGAZINES! These car audio magazines contain reviews and price listings of the items you may be looking for. Youl also get acquainted with products you might have never heard before, it will surely open up your choices and options.

Going to a car stereo sales is also a good way to meet other car audio enthusiasts?like yourself. Who knows, you might meet someone who might be willing to just trade items. It will save you the money and gain you some new friends.

How to: A Car Stereo Installation Guide

2008-04-23T06:09:00.000-07:00

How to: A Car Stereo Installation Guide

Want to save some money? Ever wonder if you could do a car stereo installation yourself? Yes, you can do it yourself! Go ahead, spend that money on your hardware! Don spend it on labor. Besides, doing a car stereo installation yourself can be a very rewarding experience, not to mention you can learn a lot from it too. Nothing beats the feeling of seeing your reation?in action, running smoothly and perfectly.

But be very careful, you really won want to damage your expensive hardware. Well, most car audio hardware are no-brainers to install, you find that most of the time the parts have specially shaped sockets and slots etc. and would only fit where it supposed to be installed. Still, it best to proceed methodically.

In a car stereo installation, you have to determine what kind of rig youe going to put into your vehicle. If youe a beginner, it best you do a car stereo installation if it just a simple system. You may want to leave the complicated stuff to the professionals, like installing delicate equipment like LCD panels, motorized parts etc. especially if it requires the creation of custom panels and such.

Head units are one of the easiest to do in a car stereo installation. Fortunately, most units follow the same size standards (DIN). In many cars, once the factory radio is removed the aftermarket radio will fit in the hole. In many other cars, a kit is needed if the factory hole is too big, or not deep enough. In some cases the dash has to be cut. Any car stereo store should have kits required for installation.

There are two types of mounting in a car stereo installation. ISO mounting is when the radio can be screwed to existing factory radio brackets, such as in most Japanese cars. Ring mounting is when an aftermarket radio comes with a metal ring that gets mounted to the factory radio hole or aftermarket kit via bendable tabs. In many cars, dash and trim rings have to be filed to enlarge the radio hole. Once the ring is installed, the radio slides in and is held by snaps. In most cases, special tools are required to remove the radio.

Speakers are very critical in a car stereo installation. No matter how expensive your speakers are, if they are not properly installed, the sound will not be up to par.

In a simple car stereo installation, youl probably be using speakers that fit into a factory location. Just make sure there are no gaps or holes. Sometimes building a wood or fiberglass baffle helps reduce holes and gives you much better sound. But always be careful when using power tools around speakers. Car stereo installation warranties usually don't cover holes in speakers.

For unconventional speaker locations, sometimes metal has to be cut. You might want to leave this to the professionals, tools like plasma cutters and pneumatics drills are required. But if youe going to insist, a pair of metal snips (left and right cut) will do.

A car stereo installation has to put up with vibrations and other noise sources in its environment. Even though it is impossible to eliminate these completely, there are products that will greatly decrease the noise and rattling, particularly on non-luxury cars. Liners, sprays and adhesive strips and even carpeting applied onto the panels can make a world of difference.

Duh, It A Car Stereo!

2008-04-23T06:08:00.000-07:00

Duh, It A Car Stereo!

Pretty self-explanatory isn it? It a stereo system in a car, you say. Whoa, hold your horses, it not that simple. Although some people like to put home stereos in their cars and vans (out of dire need for some sounds), sometimes it just doesn work. Yeah, maybe before it coulde worked just fine, all you needed was radio and a cassette player (or 8 tracks, for the inner dinosaur in you) so sure, lug those big box speakers into the back seat and youl be blaring down the highway. But nowadays there are things like cd players and mp3 players and your popup LCD panels and all that techie knickknack you think they like to build a home theater system right smack on the console of your van. If you don know anything about these things but would like to have some sounds in your car anyway, here are some things to know about a car stereo.

As mentioned above, at first units and speakers from home audio systems and professional markets were just simply installed into vehicles. However, they were not well suited to the extremes of temperature and vibration which are a normal part of the environment of an automobile. Car stereo enthusiasts were not satisfied with the sound quality of regular car sound systems, and with the advent of the CD player, they really had to start modifying some of these home stereos in order to work well in a car environment and voila!, now we have the modern car stereo.

If you have a new car, first hand bought, say from about 90 to present, chances are you already have a actory?car stereo in your car. It means the car manufacturer already included a car stereo system in your car, unless specified in the car model but most often this is the case. Some car manufacturers make their own car stereos, like BMW which includes a pretty decent car stereo package head unit and speakers. It is a standard which comes with all their cars (which isn surprising considering that BMW is included in the league of luxury car manufacturers?. Or like Mercedes Benz or Volkswagen, they use car stereo systems from a German audio manufacturer called Blaupunkt.

A standard car stereo (also called a head unit) usually includes an auto-reverse tape deck, a cd player and sometimes the optional changer ?a device which automatically changes the cd in play. On newer car models, the car stereo can also play mp3s and other digital audo file types like WMA and AAC, whether on a cd or a memory device which can be hooked up to the head unit.

The car stereo head unit is connected to several speakers. Older car models usually just had one speaker mounted underneath the dashboard, pointing through perforations towards the front windshield. The standard for car stereo nowadays is a pair of weeters?(used to bring out high treble) on the driver side/front passenger side dashboard, a pair of normal id?speakers on both doors, sometimes even the backseat passeger doors if it a large car and larger speakers capable of bringing out low ends at the back protion of the backseats.

Your car stereo is probably ok as it is, as car manufacturers ensure that the audio products that come with their cars can handle most dirver listening demands. But if you think that what you have isn't enough, you can always CUSTOMIZE.

Mobile Multimedia: A New Peak For The Alpine Car Stereo

2008-04-23T06:07:00.000-07:00

Mobile Multimedia: A New Peak For The Alpine Car Stereo

We all know that brand names matter when purchasing car audio hardware. There are brands that are surely more reputable than others. When you are at the store and they offer choice after choice after choice, suddenly you feel overwhelmed on what really to buy. But you can be assured of one thing, if they offer you an Alpine car stereo you can go wrong with it.

Alpine car stereo and electronics, founded in 1978, is a world leader in the industry of high performance mobile electronics. They specialize in mobile multimedia, an integrated system approach incorporating digital entertainment, security and navigation products for the mobile entertainment.

Alpine car stereos are a new breed of units which feature the convergence of high performance audio, video, navigation and telematics in the form of Mobile Multimedia. Navigation systems act as the resource center of the Alpine car stereo Mobile Multimedia lineup. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), DVD players, Dolby Digital systems, satellite digital audio radio, mobile data linking and communication through telematics devices will be fused with navigation systems to create a platform of products. Mobile Multimedia integrates Alpine's innovative audio, video, security and navigation products, as well as its new GUI for Drivers, human interface and information communications technology.

To grasp what the Alpine car stereo Mobile Multimedia is, take a look at the IVA-D901 Alpine car stereo Mobile Multimedia Station/CD/DVD Receiver/Ai-NET Controller.

The IVA-D901 has 400% more pixels than a conventional in-vehicle display, meaning that it has 1.15 million pixel elements. It has 50W x 4 built-in power and 3 PreOuts (4 volt), SAT Radio ready, a Hard Disc Drive (HDD), and Alpine car stereo Navigation. Key features include:

- 7" Fully Motorized Wide Screen Monitor
- 18W x 4 MOSFET Amplifier
- Built-in Dolby Digital/DTS Decoder
- Bass Engine?Plus
- Subwoofer Level Control
- Bass Center Frequency Control
- Bass Band Width Adjustment
- Treble Center Frequency Control
- Subwoofer Phase Selector
- Bass Type Control
- 4-Ch Digital Time Correction
- 3 Position 12 dB/Oct Crossover
- MediaXpander?
- SAT Radio Ready
- MP3 Text Information Display
- Quick Search Function
- CD/CD-R Playback
- CD Text, Text Display, Text Scroll
- M DAC
- MaxTune SQ Tuner
- 3 Auxilliary A/V Inputs with Remote Control Input
- Dedicated Navigation Input
- Dedicated Camera Input
- 2 Auxilliary Monitor A/V Outputs
- Navigation Audio Mix
- 3 PreOuts (4 volt)
- MM Driver (Hard Disc Drive) Ready
- MobileHub Ready
- Ai-NET Control Center DVD/CD/MP3 Changer Controller
- "Digital Art" Spectrum Analyzer Display
- RUE-4190 Universal Wireless Remote Control Included

If these all seems too much for you, Alpine car stereos also have more conventional head units to offer. The CDA-9835 Alpine car stereo In-Dash CD Player/Ai-Changer Controller lets you fully customize both illumination and sound, with a range of 512 colors and super-versatile Bass Engine functions like digital time correction and parametric EQ. You can download audio parameter settings and connect and control as many as eight amps. The BioLite display, Menu key and rotary knob make operation extremely easy.

Like most Alpine car stereo units, it is also SAT Radio Ready, giving you a much greater choice of listening options than ordinary local AM/FM radio. You can select from among a wide range of music genres, news, sports, and talk programs with digital quality anywhere.