Hi folks,

First off: apologies for starting yet another topic on a subject that's been covered many, many times (I should know - I've been reading up on this for the past week or so).

Also, I tend to get a bit long-winded: again, sorry. (In fact, I think I'll just post again after this with a summary of what I'm looking for...)

About a year ago, I noticed that the tweeters in my car (2001 Octavia 1.4litre) were dying one by one, and I decided I should upgrade my speakers. I was also hoping for an overall improvement in sound quality.

Naturally, I never got around to actually buying anything, but in my research at the time I read that for an improvement in sound I'd be better off upgrading the head unit (Blaupunkt Modena CD50 that was in the car when I bought it) instead of the speakers (or as well as...).

More recently, I have noticed that the LR speaker drops in and out - mostly out actually. When I put my hand under the head unit and press up on it, the sound comes back on. I've taken it apart to see if I can find any cold-solder joints, but can't see anything obvious.

To make absolutely sure it was the HU, I swapped in the old one from my wife's micra, and sure enough, the LR speaker is fine. However, after running for a few days, it seems to have blown the LF and RR speakers (LF sounds more like a tweeter now, with a bit of farting on the bass, and RR is gone completely)! I think it happened when the power was switched on sometime - that radio seems to pop any time it's switched on. Needless to say, I've put the Blaupunkt back in.

Anyway, on to the crux of the matter: I would like to buy a new head unit (well, not necessarily new, I don't mind used) that I can use with my iPod and ditch my crappy FM transmitter and that sounds reasonably good without having to add amps and subs etc (I already have a recording/instrument gear addiction to blow my money on without adding a new one ). I've been looking at the Alpine units that lots of people recommend and they seem pretty good. It seems you can get some of them for under €200 on ebay. Thing is, there's so much choice that I feel like my head's going to explode! Incidentally, I do occasionally listen to CDs, so that rules out the iDA series or the Fusion IP500.

As well as that, I'd like some recommendations on matching speakers to replace the stock Octavia ones - I think at this point I have 2 good woofers and 1 good tweeter - not good for someone like me that spends a lot of time in the car and enjoys listening to my music :(

Okay, sorry for the extremely long post - hopefully it won't scare too many people off...

Cheers,

Anthony

Right, as promised, here's a summary of what I'm looking for:

A head unit that's iPod compatible, that I can use to control the iPod so I can just leave it in the glovebox or wherever.

A set of speakers to replace the stock Octavia ones that'll go well with whichever HU I end up going for.

Cheers

My Alpine is brilliant, was about £150, so is within budget, has iPod connectivity and a CD player

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/alpine-cde-9880r.html

Edited 12 May, 201016 yr by Babs

thanks for the quick reply

I was just lazily searching through ebay and spotted this Kenwood for cheap. Put a bid on it, not really thinking about it, but I ended up winning it for £35 - oops Hope it works out now...

That said, I'm gonna keep an eye out for an Alpine, and if I find a good deal on one, I can always get rid of the kenwood...

So, any idea on good speakers to get? I presume a component set for the front anyway?

Should I just get full range speakers for the back and forget about replacing the tweeters back there (they're bloody annoying anyway considering the driver side one is right in my ear)?

Just done a bit more reading on speaker possibilities - would the Alpine SXE 1750 fit properly into the front door? I saw someone on here recommended them, but can't see a depth on them. Apparently Pioneer do speakers that fit exactly (TSG-171) so that's an obvious choice. Price is fairly similar on both.

But do I need to check the power handling to pair them up with a head unit? Sorry for dumbass questions - this is my first time changing speakers in the car.

My only experience of matching speakers is guitar amp -> cab :p

If your after Ipod connectivity the Alpine IDA series are very good, i have this one: iDA-x100

Although it doesn't have a CD player it makes up on the ipod side of things (if you know what I mean :p) displays album art, charges ipod..etc.

Just thought I would put some Input in

That unit was in my Octy when I bought it. I replaced it with my trusty 6yr old Alpine and saw a massive improvement with just the stock speakers, but hey - you've got it now.

The next step is replacing your speakers. A couple of manufacturers do make "custom fit" comps which are guaranteed to fit without any effort. If that's a priority for you, go for it. Anything will be an improvement over the stock setup. Honestly though, you would be far better off getting a cheap 2 channel amp, sticking it under the passenger seat (assuming you don't have height adjustment mech under there) and powering some £100-150 comps. Then get some sound deadening for your doors. You can always upgrade the HU later. The difference it would make will be night and day.

For somebody who's into music as much as you, and I'm guessing that's a lot from your other obsession , you'll be glad you did.

That unit was in my Octy when I bought it. I replaced it with my trusty 6yr old Alpine and saw a massive improvement with just the stock speakers, but hey - you've got it now.

The next step is replacing your speakers. A couple of manufacturers do make "custom fit" comps which are guaranteed to fit without any effort. If that's a priority for you, go for it. Anything will be an improvement over the stock setup. Honestly though, you would be far better off getting a cheap 2 channel amp, sticking it under the passenger seat (assuming you don't have height adjustment mech under there) and powering some £100-150 comps. Then get some sound deadening for your doors. You can always upgrade the HU later. The difference it would make will be night and day.

For somebody who's into music as much as you, and I'm guessing that's a lot from your other obsession , you'll be glad you did.

Cheers for the replies guys

I have actually noticed a marked improvement on the sound with the new HU (it arrived last week) compared to the blaupunkt. I think part of it is down to the fact that I now have a mids control, so I don't need to crank it to insane levels to hear everything - I've noticed that even when the music is low enough that we can have a conversation in the car, I don't need to struggle to listen to the songs. I'm still keeping my eyes on ebay for a deal on an Alpine

It turns out, though, that the iPod cable that was sold with it wasn't the KCA-ip500 that would let me control it from the HU, it's actually just an Aux input that connects to the headphone jack. Still sounds way better than my FM transmitter though, I just need to keep an eye on the battery level (which holds up pretty well considering I got it 4 years ago...).

As for speakers, I ordered a set of pioneer comps for the front (TS-G171C) and coaxials for the rear (TS-G1302i), but got an email from the shop in germany saying they didnt have the fronts in stock so they offered me Clarions (SRE 1721S) instead for the same price (i.e. I didn't have to re-order anything). I'm thinking they should arrive sometime this week. It'll be nice to have a full set again - working with one FR and one RL has been a bit weird :p

I probably should have spent a bit more, but my guitar amp is having problems lately so it needs to be re-tubed, which isn't exactly cheap. I am gonna look into sound deadening though, and maybe try the mod to the front door, although considering how much rain Ireland gets, that might not be such a good idea...

Anyway, I'll keep an eye on this forum for any other useful info (like where I might be able to get a replacement grille... stupid pigeons!)

Cheers for the replies guys

I have actually noticed a marked improvement on the sound with the new HU (it arrived last week) compared to the blaupunkt. I think part of it is down to the fact that I now have a mids control, so I don't need to crank it to insane levels to hear everything - I've noticed that even when the music is low enough that we can have a conversation in the car, I don't need to struggle to listen to the songs. I'm still keeping my eyes on ebay for a deal on an Alpine

It turns out, though, that the iPod cable that was sold with it wasn't the KCA-ip500 that would let me control it from the HU, it's actually just an Aux input that connects to the headphone jack. Still sounds way better than my FM transmitter though, I just need to keep an eye on the battery level (which holds up pretty well considering I got it 4 years ago...).

As for speakers, I ordered a set of pioneer comps for the front (TS-G171C) and coaxials for the rear (TS-G1302i), but got an email from the shop in germany saying they didnt have the fronts in stock so they offered me Clarions (SRE 1721S) instead for the same price (i.e. I didn't have to re-order anything). I'm thinking they should arrive sometime this week. It'll be nice to have a full set again - working with one FR and one RL has been a bit weird :p

I probably should have spent a bit more, but my guitar amp is having problems lately so it needs to be re-tubed, which isn't exactly cheap. I am gonna look into sound deadening though, and maybe try the mod to the front door, although considering how much rain Ireland gets, that might not be such a good idea...

Anyway, I'll keep an eye on this forum for any other useful info (like where I might be able to get a replacement grille... stupid pigeons!)

Sound deadening is a superb idea and really will make a huge difference if applied properly. As long as the HU is an improvement, that's great. A decent Alpine will bring you greater control of the sound, but then so will any mid-high end HU.

Keep us informed as to how you get on with the speakers...

well, I finally got around to installing the new speakers yesterday, but naturally the ****ing car wouldn't start this morning, so I haven't had a chance to test drive them yet (had to take my wife's micra to work today :( ), apart from a quick check to make sure everything was working and my connections are good.

Actually that's been happening a lot lately - I think it might be time for a new battery... there's always something, isn't there?...

Jesus, I keep forgetting to update this thread, but I'm finally back!

Having spent about a year now with the new system, I must say it's a definite improvement on the old setup, but I have noticed that when I move the sound all the way to the front speakers the bass drops away dramatically - is this normal for 17cm components or is there a chance the crossover is wired incorrectly? I mean, it sounds fine when all speakers are in use (especially when the boot is empty and the bass can bounce around inside there :p), it just seems like the front ones aren't a good match for the rear ones or something...

Also, I just recently replaced the front grille, so let's hope I don't meet any more suicidal birds on the road...

Double check your wiring...but that big boot will act as a bass box!!!

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, because of my genius idea of getting coaxials for the rear, I had to cut out a section of the speaker grilles to make room for the tweeter, so there goes any chance of selling this thing on for any money :p

Actually, the fact that the tweeters are pointing straight up probably accounts for the big bass sound from the back - the highs aren't making it to the front of the car at all