Audio idea

I agree on the mp3 quality ..now that ive had enough sleep I realized when I burn cds I use windows lossless..if you ever want to know the difference in quality for sure I recommend burning the smashing pumpkins 'adore' album in all the formats..for some reason this style of music brings out the crap in the lower bit rate recordings..it is in fact where I noticed the subtle but very noticeable differences..and this was in the car cd player..granted at night and not driving..but I burned more cds with different bit rates ..mp3..wav quick burn..wav quality..and wav lossless..im assuming apple lossless is similar to wav lossless..this was using the same rip on the puter eachtime...same result...science folks....yep its a headunit for my girl err.... SVX
thanks for the input!

[Landshark]

Originally posted by Weasel 22
..if you ever want to know the difference in quality for sure I recommend burning the smashing pumpkins 'adore' album in all the formats..for some reason this style of music brings out the crap in the lower bit rate recordings..

there's rasp in any system with the Smashing Pumpkins - worst guitar sound evAr!

[lee]

Originally posted by Landshark


i agree with you, lee, but ....... i rip my CD's at 256k (320 being CD quality, i'm sure you know.) i can't tell the difference, given the car environment with windows open, AC/heat on, road noise, engine noise, etc.

I can only tell the difference in the car if I switch back and forth for an A/B comparison, or really pay attention to how much bass there is.

Like I said, it's all about what the listener wants (and/or can afford) - I'm not a purist by any means - I normally listen to one home-burnt CD or another in the car - reasons why:

it's nice to not worry about sun/scratch/etc damage to the originals

getting around 6 CDs worth of music on one burnt disk, so I don't have a book of CDs laying on my seat - to maybe push a potential thief over the edge.

[Tim]

Once it gets over 256Kbps I can't tell the difference in the car over my bearing noise lol.

But at home on my Kef monitors it's quite easy to hear the dfference after that.

I think once you get to a certain point where your equipment can also find recording flaws too hehe...

[Tim]

Originally posted by lee


I can only tell the difference in the car if I switch back and forth for an A/B comparison, or really pay attention to how much bass there is.

Like I said, it's all about what the listener wants (and/or can afford) - I'm not a purist by any means - I normally listen to one home-burnt CD or another in the car - reasons why:

it's nice to not worry about sun/scratch/etc damage to the originals

getting around 6 CDs worth of music on one burnt disk, so I don't have a book of CDs laying on my seat - to maybe push a potential thief over the edge.

Yea I'm the same way Lee. I always burn 2 copies of the original: one for listening in the house and one for listening in the car. You never know when your cd player will eat your CD.

I think a theif would flip out of they went through my cd binder because all of my discs are burned from the original.

..speaking of installing aftermarket components..Ive noticed several sites saying the speaker combo in the SVX is 6 1/2's in the doors, and 6x9's in the rear..and yet some sites say its 5 1/4's in the door and 6x9's in the rear..which combo actually fits properly? Thanks for any info
later

[drivemusicnow]

in short neither.. in long, if you make your own brackets, the 6.5" and 6x9s are teh best way to go... plus 3/4 inch or 1 inch tweeters

Originally posted by drivemusicnow
in short neither.. in long, if you make your own brackets, the 6.5" and 6x9s are teh best way to go... plus 3/4 inch or 1 inch tweeters

I see....so in short there isnt a specific size of speaker that directly drops in....special car....special needs its all making sense now..well I shall 'massage' a set of 6x9's and 6 1/2's into their respective spaces..and then I shall be happy damnit...

[odepaj]

the stock speakers are 6.5's and 6x9's but the 6.5's have the mounting bracket welded to the frame of the speaker. (have yet to pull mine out so im not 100% sure about that, im just going with what i was told)

[lee]

Originally posted by odepaj
the stock speakers are 6.5's and 6x9's but the 6.5's have the mounting bracket welded to the frame of the speaker. (have yet to pull mine out so im not 100% sure about that, im just going with what i was told)

that's correct. you either have to drill out the spot welds and find a 6.5" speaker that is a match, or make/get a new mounting bracket. The new mounting bracket can be made with plywood, MDF, etc, but my favorite material is Corian - the countertop stuff - waterproof and non-resonant while cutting like wood. Also, I seem to remember (a search should turn it up) someone who found plastic mounting plates from another type car that work.

the part about finding a 6.5 to match is that not all 6.5"s are the same size. The ones I bought are "oversize" 6.5 that probably would fit most cars, but not the SVX metal bracket (found out after I drilled out the spot welds).

[PhatWeasel]

Originally posted by Landshark (320 being CD quality, i'm sure you know.)

"CD quality" is 1411k, not 320k.

Found as such: (44100kHz sample rate) x (16 bits per sample) x (2 channels) = 1411200 bps.

But in the context of this discussion: 320Ksamples compressed audio is indistinguishable (for most people) from CD quality audio at 1411Ksamples.

Resources:
http://www.teamcombooks.com/mp3handbook/11.htm
http://www.contact.net/os2/CRendus/S...ammp3ws2k.html

Originally posted by lee


that's correct. you either have to drill out the spot welds and find a 6.5" speaker that is a match, or make/get a new mounting bracket. The new mounting bracket can be made with plywood, MDF, etc, but my favorite material is Corian - the countertop stuff - waterproof and non-resonant while cutting like wood. Also, I seem to remember (a search should turn it up) someone who found plastic mounting plates from another type car that work.

the part about finding a 6.5 to match is that not all 6.5"s are the same size. The ones I bought are "oversize" 6.5 that probably would fit most cars, but not the SVX metal bracket (found out after I drilled out the spot welds).

..could be why some suggest a 5 1/4 ..and if I may inquire as to what brand and model of speaker did you manage to match the bracket with? I prefer inifinty as they do make a slim line 6 1/2 in the reference series, but id like to stay with the kappas..however these are oversized 6 1/2's..choices..choices..stay fuzzy..save the world

[drivemusicnow]

no need for the slimline really... if you are really intent on your audio, heres what, I have done, and would suggest.

Make a baffle for the speakers out of durable, yet workable material. corian is a good example. (not so easily workable.. but thats ok) if you use a wood, i'd suggest treating it how you would an exterior wood on your house.

make the shape of the current sorta triangular mounting plate in the wood. sand it on an angle such that the speakers will slightly aim up towards the passangers. this A)gives you more room for a larger magnet, and B gives you slightly better imaging.

This will give you great response due to the completely sealed baffle (use a closed cell foam to seal in between the speaker and the baffle) and gave me clearence enough to mount speakeres with a fairly decent sized magnet on them.

here is my best advice... listen to a lot of speakers.. preferrably in cars. in the store, they're in sealed boxes which is a different environment then in your car

[SVXdc]

Originally posted by Weasel 22
I have realized just how good the stock panasonic system is ... [tho mine] only has the cassette ... heres my idea ... im going to get an ipod 20gb and the car kit with fm transmitter ... this way I can keep the stock system and not hassle with wiring gremlins.

Since you don't have the factory CD player, you may be able to plug into the CD connector (the round, 13-pin DIN jack on the back of the stock radio). This will sound much better than a cassette adaptor or FM transmitter.

Removing the stock radio is easy (see my WWW link, at the bottom of my post).

Some older radios simply need you to short two of the pins on that connector to switch the radio to "CD mode." You connect your iPod audio to 3 other pins (L- and R- line inputs and ground).

Newer radios use a serial data stream between the radio and CD player, but people are working on one-chip computers to trick the radio.
link 1 - mictronics.de, link 2 - Kuni's Homepage, link 3 - PAC Audio

I'm not sure which of these methods (short two pins or data stream) is the case for the SVX's radio, but all model years (92-97) will be the same.

When I can get some time, I'll figure out the pin-out of the DIN socket (but it would help a bunch if I could borrow a stock CD player to test with).

very helpful, thanks!