Samaras

Hey all, this is my first post here at Canadian Car Audio. I was referred here by a friend who suggested that if I have any confusion regarding car audio, I should direct all my questions here. Basically I am planning on installing a new audio system in my 2007 Dodge Caravan. I plan on replacing the deck and adding a subwoofer. So far, I have decided to buy the JVC KD-R600 deck from Future Shop and get it installed there as well (my friend works in car audio over there). After, I plan on saving up a bit to buy my friend 12' subwoofer, custom box, and amplifer. The problem with this is mainly that my friend wants about $400 for all of that however his system is loud at 140 db (which I like). I was just wondering if anyone here could give me some advice with regards to the setup I just mentioned above (if it is any good or not) as well as general advice on car audio and maybe what a noob in car audio should be looking for as well as which brands/deals to go for and which ones to stay away from. Any help would be very much appreciated. Thank you!

Sikk Nation

iTrader: (1)

The JVC radio functions but it is much more flash than quality. Do you know specifically which sub and which amp he's selling you?. the stuff might not be worth $400 brand new. Getthe model numbers of the equipment. (not just the brand name and wattage that tells nothing). Also find out how old all that gear is

DeadlySones

iTrader: (4)

ANOTHER Caravan build ..... There should be a minivan only class.

Samaras

Umm, no idea. I'll ask him next time I speak to him. All I know is that he has used his equipment in competitions and kicked some serious *** with his stuff. Once I get the details, I will post them on here.

Another question I was wondering about was how many pre-outs would I need for my setup. My friend told me that I can just have a deck with one pre-out since the harness will be controlling the speakers and the pre-out will control the subwoofer. I think this would be okay considering I just want to use my stock speakers for mids and highs and the subwoofer for all the lows. Would there be a problem by doing this?

danyman

iTrader: (1)

if your gonna have a loud system stock speakers just wont keep up. trust me. upgrade those bastards and get a 4 channel to power it. you will not regret it. and get a deck with 3 preouts and not 1 or 2 THREE. this will help you expand your system once you install that 4channel whenever you wish to do so.

JVC, sony, dual, pioneer 4100 and lower = crap. on a deck a good amount to spend is about 200 and over.. a good deck= good signal witch means good sound and no distortion.

dont cheap out get the good stuff first even if you have to build yourself up. you will save money in the long run.

ohh and do your BIG 3 upgrade if you gonna run lotsa power

Samaras

Hi Danyman, thank you for the informative reply. I may have misstated my original intentions. Basically, I have a lot of money to dump on car audio... the thing is I would rather limit myself to roughly $500 for a complete new system. The reason being I can use the extra money spent on car audio for something more practical like my University tuition or saving up for post-University life. Basically, I am trying to run a decent rig for $500 or less and one way of cutting expenses is to reuse the stock speakers for mids and highs. This won't matter too much to me because I think my Infinity stock speakers are pretty damn decent and most of my music is bass heavy (hence the quality needed for the subwoofer). As well, if I REALLY think I need to be replace the stock speakers, I can do so sometime down the road.

Another questions I had for you car audio experts. iPod control? I have an iPod Touch that will be used extensively with my sound system and I was wondering if I should play it cheap and get a deck with just an auxillary input or drop a few extra bones for one with auxillary and USB input (the latter for music on USB thumbstick as well as iPod control). I also heard I may need a special USB cable for iPod control that could run me $40-$60 extra (the rumour is regarding JVC decks). Just wondering how worth it the iPod control function is. I think it would be nice, but dropping an extra $40 or so on it really is not worth it in my opinion.

Browntown_07

I believe in the case of a ipod touch if you want to CONTROL the ipod from the deck as well charge, you options are limited to higher end pioneer, kenwood and alpine, I'm sure there are more but in terms of controlling you will need a higher end head unit as not many control the touch. Your only alternative to save money would be a head unit with a usb/aux in which would mean the ipod does not charge the ipod nor does it control it, it just lets you use it.

Samaras

Ashley is a chike who could have just told me that through a text message or on MSN. Grats...

Samaras

Hey guys, so I stopped by Future Shop today and narrowed it down to two head units. The Alpine CDE-102 or the JVC KD-R600. They are roughly the same price (the Alpine is $10 more) however the JVC has a shitload more features than the Alpine. For example, the KD-R600 has switchable illumination, native USB iPod/iPhone support, auxillary input, etc. On the other hand, the CDE-102 has no switchable illumination, USB iPod/iPhone support through the purchase of an additional $50 cable, and an auxillary input. On the plus side, the CDE-102 has two preouts as opposed to the KD-R600's single preout. That being said, I only believe I will need a single preout just for my subwoofer which will be installed in the future. My question is should I stick with the deck that is loaded with features relevant to me (the KD-R600) or should I go for the deck that has a better reputation and possibly better quality (no idea if the CDE-102 has better quality than the KD-R600). Any help would be great, thanks you!

420guy

iTrader: (5)

Bro, do not cheap out on the head unit. The reason you get all the extra features on the JVC for the same price is the quality is not as good as the Alpine. If you haven't yet have a look at Kenwood. They have a couple of models in your price range that will do what you want. Sounds like you are going to also want 3 sets of preouts as you will not be happy with stock speakers for long. If you are around Brampton hit me up and you can hear what a well planned and installed system can do for under $1500 total. DO NOT cheap out to save a few bucks now as you will need to replace and upgrade it later ending up costing you way more. Trust me I have done it both ways. LOL
Nick