Am I crazy to upgrade NOW

umm i put about $4500- in audio into my truck the first week i had it. I worked for 2 days straight without sleeping installing it all, and deadening everything. Well worth it, the factory system blows

 

Huge mistake IMO... put that 200 bucks toward a good head unit.

 

The cleansweep is a pretty interesting unit and will give you crossover controls and let you use an external amplifier. If you like the OEM interface it's kinda cool.

Nother option is the JBL MS8. It has an 8channel amp built into it and it does auto time alignment. I tried one for a while and didn't care for it but I think it had more to do with my setup. Most people have excellent results with them.

 

Fair, this particular unit may be that way. How is it lacking quality, and what breaks, and how often? What testing did you do on the unit to show it was low quality?

Ill agree with this - all aspects are important *in an essque build*. Can the average listener tell the difference in low or no loss compressions of original files, vs the original files, in a TRUE blind test? How about driving down the road at 70?

Yeah, I dont think so either. So a full build may not really benefit everyone.

Nah, a well treated door gives the best bass response. And the C5's are OK, as a pre-packaged big box set.


First, remember I said I had no experience with the factory head unit, but that MOST modern ones were fairly decent, but weak. Most have a low volume eq change, but then so do MOST tuners/aftermarket units.

You say you have set up a bitone. Tell me, how many active systems have you installed and tuned? Not helped with, not ran the speaker wire for, not had in your shop. But YOU have actually done?

From reading your posts on this forum, I would guess this was your first "full retard" install (your words...), and you had to ask "what speakers(due to lack of alternatives to listen to)", "what sub", "what wires", "What do I need to "deaden"", and "how to wire my amp/is it OK to run 2/4 ohm at the same time".

I have a lot of respect for what you do, and appreciate your daily work, but put lets hear about how right and knowledgeable you are. This is not a personal attack, so please dont think it is, but I just see you having asked a bunch of questions in the past year, now professing to be all knowledgeable.

generally a truth. Not a big fan of the Cleansweep.


All the above asked, I am generally a fan of aftermarket head units, but generally find they are the most "competent" pieces of a factory system. Unless one wants to switch, normally it is not a mandatory replacement.

 

Although I have not tested it personally, others have found that the head unit has some dramatic EQing in order to compensate for the crappy acoustics that come out of our speakers. When you try to amplify that signal into a new amp and speakers, you are just amplifying the crappy signal and making louder. It's a garbage in and garbage out scenario.

Now the Audison BitOne or the JBL MS8 will go a long way to flatten out and clean up that signal, but for that price, why not just get a cheap double DIN nav unit and a bunch of other added functionality instead?

Just my .02

 

I have never and would never do a full active set up of my own. I cannot imagine a bigger nightmare than tuning a full active system. I'm not saying I'm completely all knowing or anything but I have tried aftermarket speakers and the factory head. I have tried an aftermarket head and factory speakers. The factory head unit just didn't cut it. I've also had disk changer carrier issues (wouldn't transport disk) and am not the only one to have that issue. I've had the opportunity to listen to a lot of systems over the past year and hear a bunch of different gear. One thing that always remained a constant was everyone jelling a factory head didn't sound as good and the line converter or all in one units had their own issues ranging from not recognizing iPod without a reboot to induced alternator whine that couldn't be tracked down. A new head unit cuts down on potential headaches and will give better sound and long term reliability.

As for hearing lossless music vs 128 mp3 music. Yes, on my system it would be easy, even at 70 MPH. I think anyone could, especially on the highs. You lose the sizzle and definition ... its easy to hear. Now 256 and up... not something I can hear at my age.

 

Cool, thanks. Like I said, no experience at all with factory head. Mine didnt have it in when I bought the truck

I was scared of full active until I bit the bullet and tried it - I would have a hard time ever going back now, and that was with an Eclipse CD7200 Mk II - a dead head with all the processing built in.

It makes a great difference!

I hate in dash changers for those reasons, and again, no factory head experience.

128 is a crappy compression, and is definitely noticeable - but even iTunes knows that, and does higher rates.

Anyhow, good luck to the OP, sorry to derail a bit.

 

What do you think the clean sweep does?

 

$4500..damn! i was gonna drop around 5-600 for mine....now im thinking in the thousands...damnyou!

 

I haven't used or seen/heard when a clean sweep was used so I cannot attest to it like I can the others.

 

Well that's actually what it was designed to do. It takes a non flat input and flattens it so it is a pure source fit to be amplified.

 

It may allow you to EQ the signal flat and convert from speaker level to line level but it cant remove any crap in the signal that was already there... and it adds a little of its own.

 

thats a retarded idea...your stock speakers are made to handle like 10-15watts...

even just by upgrading the head unit you can blow the crap factory speakers.

swap out your head unit and you will more clarity and better sound, after that you can upgrade the speakers and add an amp if you still want more.

 

Really man, it's designed to take a NON FLAT signal that has boosts and cuts in certain areas and flatten it.

Now, that's not to say that if you send it a DISTORTED signal that it can clean that up. Nothing can fix that. As long as the signal is distortion free and a decent voltage it should be pretty much fine.



Not sure y'all are ready for this yet but I'll let you in on a little secret. Ever look at amplifier specs and see the specification 'THD'? That stands for total harmoinc distortion. Most amps spec WELL below .1% at their rated power; that's one tenth of a percent. How much distortion do you think a speaker adds to the signal path? Any idea? Even really high end stuff has WELL over 2% distortion....yes, that's more than 20times the distortion.

Now tell me, where do you think you should be spending your money?

 

Is there a way to fix the static/cracking sound with Pandora? My iPhone is very convenient but the cracking makes me think my speakers are gonna blow. I need to upgrade my speakers and get a CleanSweep!

 

Yes, all three of these DSP's do this.

Honestly, the high THD for speakers doesn't surprise me. It is the only component with moving parts, and at a very high rate as well. Because of that movement, as well as the amount of power it is dissipating into sound, means that is also generating a lot of heat. As you know, heat is the devil!



Knowing JL Audio, I was not sure why it was so much cheaper than the others. I normally like their stuff since they don't usually skimp on good quality electronics. So I briefly looked at the clean sweep and it looks like it doesn't have the flexibility that the others have (number and type of inputs/outputs) which would explain the lower price point. So if people are simply doing a set of components up front, a set of coaxials in the rear, and also a sub, then the clean sweep should be a good deal.

 

If it does it with the volume at lower levels then your phone/source is the problem not the speakers.

And yes, the fact that a speaker moves is it's weakness.

The JL is cheaper because it just doesn't have the functions that the other units have. You can't do nearly as much. I think it's been out forever too.

The Bit1 is just every tuners wet dream. Total control. The MS8 has auto tune and a built in 8 channel amp. That's why it's expensive.