I need ICE help....please:( (long...)
12-21-2004, 06:24 AM
#1
Race Car
Thread Starter
I need ICE help....please:( (long...)
When I met up with some of the other Rennlisters last Saturday, I pointed out to Kevin and others that my rear speakers are toast. I think toast was the technical term for it.
My problem is this. I have no idea about ICE and have actually not a lot of interest in it. I don't use the stereo very much but I do on longer journeys. Now I did talk to the boys about this on Saturday and there was talk of 6x4, and mid range blah blah....and I have forgotten everything. So, one more time for a simpleton:
As I see it I have 2 options:
1. Go to an ICE store and say I want to replace the head unit and all the speakers - please just do it and send me the bill.
2. Get some views from you guys on what to get and where to get it.
Either way, I would like a not too garish head unit which plays MP3/CD/WMA/CDRW. I want to replace all the speakers but not have to cut the car apart to fit the replacements, something that fits in the existing holes will be fine if poss. I do not want to run any additional amp(s). I have no idea whether to go for component, midrange or God knows what else...so can someone explain what I need. I don't have a budget as such but don't need anything too expensive. How about £300 for the gear plus fitting (because of course I am not doing it myself
) Will this get something OK?
I am not too bothered about speaker grills in the back if that is a problem (I seem to remember Kevin mentioned this).
So to sum up, Ijust want something that replaces the original setup as easily as possible at a reasonable price.
I know this has been discussed before but not in simple (enough) terms and of course also a lot of US suggestions have been made that might be useless to me. Needless to say, if I was in the US I would go to Rod Birch
Thank you....
My problem is this. I have no idea about ICE and have actually not a lot of interest in it. I don't use the stereo very much but I do on longer journeys. Now I did talk to the boys about this on Saturday and there was talk of 6x4, and mid range blah blah....and I have forgotten everything. So, one more time for a simpleton:
As I see it I have 2 options:
1. Go to an ICE store and say I want to replace the head unit and all the speakers - please just do it and send me the bill.
2. Get some views from you guys on what to get and where to get it.
Either way, I would like a not too garish head unit which plays MP3/CD/WMA/CDRW. I want to replace all the speakers but not have to cut the car apart to fit the replacements, something that fits in the existing holes will be fine if poss. I do not want to run any additional amp(s). I have no idea whether to go for component, midrange or God knows what else...so can someone explain what I need. I don't have a budget as such but don't need anything too expensive. How about £300 for the gear plus fitting (because of course I am not doing it myself
) Will this get something OK?I am not too bothered about speaker grills in the back if that is a problem (I seem to remember Kevin mentioned this).
So to sum up, Ijust want something that replaces the original setup as easily as possible at a reasonable price.
I know this has been discussed before but not in simple (enough) terms and of course also a lot of US suggestions have been made that might be useless to me. Needless to say, if I was in the US I would go to Rod Birch
Thank you....
12-21-2004, 07:02 AM
#2
Rennlist Member
Hi Cristor, I plan to change my head unit sometime after christmas so any info on this would be great
.
I have noticed an add in the back of 911&porsche world for 6"x4" speakers that apparently drop into the back shelf of 911 well so it says in the advert. speakers are Infinity reference 6402cf they seem a resonable price.
just googled that part number and found a set online for £60. dont know if you want to spend that much. car audi direct was teh first hit. no affiliation
If you dont have teh mag let me know ill give you the details.
I beleiev my car has an optional amp which may make wireing a bit more complicated on teh head unit.
.
I have noticed an add in the back of 911&porsche world for 6"x4" speakers that apparently drop into the back shelf of 911 well so it says in the advert. speakers are Infinity reference 6402cf they seem a resonable price.
just googled that part number and found a set online for £60. dont know if you want to spend that much. car audi direct was teh first hit. no affiliation
If you dont have teh mag let me know ill give you the details.
I beleiev my car has an optional amp which may make wireing a bit more complicated on teh head unit.
12-21-2004, 07:06 AM
#3
Burning Brakes
Christer,
I have an Alpine Head Unit which is a single CD but plays MP3 and WMA files as well as ordinary CD's. I can't remember the product code for it offhand but I can check it easily enough for you if required.
In terms of speakers I have replaced the front speakers with a set of Infinity components which swapped straight over with the originals. At £350 they were expensive but as you don't want to start putting in an amp and sub box it might be worth paying the extra for good quality speakers.
In terms of rear speakers I can't help you too much as I have a custom built box on top of the folded down rear seats which house a couple of 6x9's but there was was a thread recently about swapping out the rear speakers which you might want to look at.
I have an Alpine Head Unit which is a single CD but plays MP3 and WMA files as well as ordinary CD's. I can't remember the product code for it offhand but I can check it easily enough for you if required.
In terms of speakers I have replaced the front speakers with a set of Infinity components which swapped straight over with the originals. At £350 they were expensive but as you don't want to start putting in an amp and sub box it might be worth paying the extra for good quality speakers.
In terms of rear speakers I can't help you too much as I have a custom built box on top of the folded down rear seats which house a couple of 6x9's but there was was a thread recently about swapping out the rear speakers which you might want to look at.
12-21-2004, 07:16 AM
#4
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Christer,
6x9 is the correct size for the rears. The problem most people have is that most of them don't come with new grills, and the old ones break when you removing them 'cause the plastic has become brittle in the sun. You might find that just replacing the front speakers with some better ones (13cm/5.25") will give you a better result in the end as the rear speakers are very small...
Andy
6x9 is the correct size for the rears. The problem most people have is that most of them don't come with new grills, and the old ones break when you removing them 'cause the plastic has become brittle in the sun. You might find that just replacing the front speakers with some better ones (13cm/5.25") will give you a better result in the end as the rear speakers are very small...
Andy
12-21-2004, 07:32 AM
#5
Race Car
Thread Starter
OK, so 6x9 thats very useful...and I HAVE to replace those because they are totally shagged (I think Kevin said that it sounds like the cone has split). What type of speakers should these be? Full range? What about the 13cm/5.25 inch fronts? Are these full range? Component? What about the tweeters (well i presume they are tweeters) are they worth swapping out as well? Alpine head units all look like mobile discos but I guess thats OK.....I am not too bothered about the head unit anyway as long as its capable of driving the speakers without an additional amp....
Are Boston Acc FX92/93 any good for the rears? Boston Acc FX5's for the front?
Also, what is more important - the head unit or the speakers? Is it power thats important on the head unit? Most seem to be 4x50w but some are 4x60...
I really have no idea about this stuff...
Are Boston Acc FX92/93 any good for the rears? Boston Acc FX5's for the front?
Also, what is more important - the head unit or the speakers? Is it power thats important on the head unit? Most seem to be 4x50w but some are 4x60...
I really have no idea about this stuff...
12-21-2004, 08:11 AM
#6
Burning Brakes
Rears are 6x4 not 6x9.
I can't comment on those Boston speakers as I have no experience of them. Personally I would say that the head unit is more important than the speakers as it produces the sound but at the same time I would not want to put cheap speakers into any system.
I wouldn't worry about the difference between 50W and 60W for the head unit too much and pick a unit that does what you require of it rather than go for the most powerful.
I can't comment on those Boston speakers as I have no experience of them. Personally I would say that the head unit is more important than the speakers as it produces the sound but at the same time I would not want to put cheap speakers into any system.
I wouldn't worry about the difference between 50W and 60W for the head unit too much and pick a unit that does what you require of it rather than go for the most powerful.
12-21-2004, 08:13 AM
#7
Neither do I. When I looked into it before, it seemed Infinity speakers were the way to go.
I have an Alpine head unit, although it's a couple of years old. I was planning to buy new Infinity speakers in the new year (online) then pay an audio place to fit them 'cos I'm too lazy to do it myself.
I have an Alpine head unit, although it's a couple of years old. I was planning to buy new Infinity speakers in the new year (online) then pay an audio place to fit them 'cos I'm too lazy to do it myself.
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12-21-2004, 08:19 AM
#8
Burning Brakes
As you don't want an amp, the speakers are more important, upgrading the head unit at a later date is a 15 min job. The speakers are a lot trickier to do. I think you'll need to spend a little over £300 on fresh stuff, i'd go for:
head unit: a £140 mp3/cd head (they pretty much all play cdrw these days),
fronts: £120-£140 on a component set which will comprise 2x5.25 mids, 2xtweeters, 2xcrossovers (infinity or boston or whatever).
Rears: £60-£80 on a set of 6x4 2-ways.
I'd advise you to get the same brand & range of speakers front and back. This will make for a more balanced sound.
Also, it might be worth looking for a head unit with an aux in - as you may have/want to use an ipod type thing in the future.
head unit: a £140 mp3/cd head (they pretty much all play cdrw these days),
fronts: £120-£140 on a component set which will comprise 2x5.25 mids, 2xtweeters, 2xcrossovers (infinity or boston or whatever).
Rears: £60-£80 on a set of 6x4 2-ways.
I'd advise you to get the same brand & range of speakers front and back. This will make for a more balanced sound.
Also, it might be worth looking for a head unit with an aux in - as you may have/want to use an ipod type thing in the future.
12-21-2004, 08:31 AM
#9
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www.alphacaraudio.co.uk
Focal Access 130CA 5.25" 2-way coaxial, Voice Coil 100watts
£74.99
Focal Access 690CA 2-way coaxial - 6" x9", Voice Coil 150watts
£89.99
ALPINE CDE-9827R - 4x 45watts MP3/WMA/CD-R/RW Compatible
£174.99
Sub-Total: £339.97
Focal Access 130CA 5.25" 2-way coaxial, Voice Coil 100watts
£74.99
Focal Access 690CA 2-way coaxial - 6" x9", Voice Coil 150watts
£89.99
ALPINE CDE-9827R - 4x 45watts MP3/WMA/CD-R/RW Compatible
£174.99
Sub-Total: £339.97
12-21-2004, 08:42 AM
#11
Christer,
I've just been through this process myself and was hoping to achieve exactly what you're trying to do. I bought this head unit :
http://caraudiosecurity.com/catalog/...oducts_id+2303
The rear speakers I used are MB Quart 6x4 (drop straight in but don't come with grilles) - I'm not sure if the standard rear speakers were always the same on 964s but I ended up having to use the base plate from an old set of 3.2 Carrera speakers I had kicking around. The speakers on my 964 were kind of built into the the base plate - you need a 'frame type' base plate with an oval hole to fit these. The shop in the link above sold me the speakers too (although they're not on the website) for £40 (depsite £60 price tag on them !)
I already had a pair of Infinity Reference 5 1/4 inch front speakers from a previous car - I used the grilles that came with them as the original Porsche ones were looking tatty and the Infifnity ones look pretty similar, but otherwise they went straight in. Real audio geeks should look away now....... the front speakers are full range whereas the ones fitted to the car were a component set (separate mid range and tweeter units with a crossover hidden within the door pocket), I simply left the tweeters and crossovers in place and just plugged in the full range speakers where the mid range drivers had been. To my insensitive ears it sounds just fine - I thought it might be a bit trebly, but in reality it sounds pretty normal. I guess the crossovers do not provide the full range drivers with the right signal for the tweeter part of them to work much.
So overall I would say £300 is plenty to upgrade the sound reasonably. I fitted the speakers myself but had to have the head unit fitted as the wiring did not match up (despite what they said in the shop !) I reckon the whole lot cost me about £265 including having the head unit fitted. Sure it's not brilliant, but a big improvement on a tape deck that didn't work !!! I've got most of my music on WMA, and at 64kbps you can fit about 25 albums on a single CD which is fantastic. Obviously at that compression the sound can be a bit thin, but frankly it's fine, particularly if you're competing with a noisy exhaust system !!! Clearly you can end up spending vast amounts if you go to specialist ICE places, but they'll try and convince you that you need amps and subs and god knows what, indeed they'd probably laugh at you for just wanting to replace what's there with something a bit newer - so do it yourself and save some money (though you may have to concede on fitting the head unit dependent upon what you are replacing.)
Jamie
I've just been through this process myself and was hoping to achieve exactly what you're trying to do. I bought this head unit :
http://caraudiosecurity.com/catalog/...oducts_id+2303
The rear speakers I used are MB Quart 6x4 (drop straight in but don't come with grilles) - I'm not sure if the standard rear speakers were always the same on 964s but I ended up having to use the base plate from an old set of 3.2 Carrera speakers I had kicking around. The speakers on my 964 were kind of built into the the base plate - you need a 'frame type' base plate with an oval hole to fit these. The shop in the link above sold me the speakers too (although they're not on the website) for £40 (depsite £60 price tag on them !)
I already had a pair of Infinity Reference 5 1/4 inch front speakers from a previous car - I used the grilles that came with them as the original Porsche ones were looking tatty and the Infifnity ones look pretty similar, but otherwise they went straight in. Real audio geeks should look away now....... the front speakers are full range whereas the ones fitted to the car were a component set (separate mid range and tweeter units with a crossover hidden within the door pocket), I simply left the tweeters and crossovers in place and just plugged in the full range speakers where the mid range drivers had been. To my insensitive ears it sounds just fine - I thought it might be a bit trebly, but in reality it sounds pretty normal. I guess the crossovers do not provide the full range drivers with the right signal for the tweeter part of them to work much.
So overall I would say £300 is plenty to upgrade the sound reasonably. I fitted the speakers myself but had to have the head unit fitted as the wiring did not match up (despite what they said in the shop !) I reckon the whole lot cost me about £265 including having the head unit fitted. Sure it's not brilliant, but a big improvement on a tape deck that didn't work !!! I've got most of my music on WMA, and at 64kbps you can fit about 25 albums on a single CD which is fantastic. Obviously at that compression the sound can be a bit thin, but frankly it's fine, particularly if you're competing with a noisy exhaust system !!! Clearly you can end up spending vast amounts if you go to specialist ICE places, but they'll try and convince you that you need amps and subs and god knows what, indeed they'd probably laugh at you for just wanting to replace what's there with something a bit newer - so do it yourself and save some money (though you may have to concede on fitting the head unit dependent upon what you are replacing.)
Jamie
12-21-2004, 08:46 AM
#12
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Originally Posted by Jamie Summers
Real audio geeks should look away now....... the front speakers are full range whereas the ones fitted to the car were a component set (separate mid range and tweeter units with a crossover hidden within the door pocket
Jamie
Jamie
the only time you really need seperate tweeters is if youre having trouble getting the sound-stage right .
well placed co-axials will be better than a set of componants just thrown in .
point of reference of sound and boring stuff like that !!!
christer , this is gonna blow your budget , but it seems an absolute steal !!!
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/prod...oducts_id=2847
12-21-2004, 09:30 AM
#13
Ian,
I know there's nowt wrong with co-axials per se, but they're running off the mid range output from the original crossovers - can't imagine that's producing the best sound as effectively I'm running one mid range and two sets of tweeters on each side ??? (Although there doesn't seem to be much sound coming from the tweeters on the co-axes). Clearly what I should have done was to find the wires in the door running from the head unit to the crossovers and simply bypassed straight into the co-ax speakers, but that would have involved cutting wires and crimping new spade connectors on etc etc, which was more hassle than I was prepared to go through (also didn't have correct tools !!!)
Jamie
I know there's nowt wrong with co-axials per se, but they're running off the mid range output from the original crossovers - can't imagine that's producing the best sound as effectively I'm running one mid range and two sets of tweeters on each side ??? (Although there doesn't seem to be much sound coming from the tweeters on the co-axes). Clearly what I should have done was to find the wires in the door running from the head unit to the crossovers and simply bypassed straight into the co-ax speakers, but that would have involved cutting wires and crimping new spade connectors on etc etc, which was more hassle than I was prepared to go through (also didn't have correct tools !!!)
Jamie
12-21-2004, 10:35 AM
#14
Burning Brakes
Originally Posted by tafkai
christer , this is gonna blow your budget , but it seems an absolute steal !!!
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/prod...oducts_id=2847
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/prod...oducts_id=2847
12-21-2004, 11:24 AM
#15
Burning Brakes
Originally Posted by Jamie Summers
...Clearly what I should have done was to find the wires in the door running from the head unit to the crossovers and simply bypassed straight into the co-ax speakers, but that would have involved cutting wires and crimping new spade connectors on etc etc, which was more hassle than I was prepared to go through (also didn't have correct tools !!!)