The ICE thread

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 10:20 pm

Susan Donym wrote:just hope its got outlets for me amp to drive my subs

Doubtful, but one of these should do the trick!

citsncycles · Post by **citsncycles** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 11:12 pm

Now that looks just the job. You can get away without, but it does strain the amp, and can kill it.

frog · Post by **frog** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 2:21 am

I have one of these in the 16V.
It looks the part and is actually a great piece of kit too.
I don't miss the CD either.
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.as ... TID=1029#4

Cost me all of $70 AUD.

B-Hive · Post by **B-Hive** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:52 am

Now that I have finally identified any noises that may be of problem, it is now time to drown them out with a sound system in the GT.

Yes so it has the original dash tweeters that are actually quite good. Not keen on the idea of a boot mounted sub so have decided to utilise the space where the bass box is currently with a self power and subtle sub.

As for the mids, I'm not keen on putting speakers in the rear shelf as they give the rear hatch struts grief... plus the flush mounts give no end of problems when you need a flat load in the rear. if its not the wires that need disconnecting, its the non flat shelf..

The rear c-pillar spots are an intriguing option and I have found some nice retro heavy magnet speakers that fit nicely in the holes but are not as flush as I'd like.. So I'll play around with these..

Option B for the mids/rear is utlising the twin plugs and wiring set up for rear headphones.. Remove any in line resistors that may be in place, and simply plug some appropriate small box speakers of my choice..Placed on the back seat (perfect acoustic baffling) or routed onto the back shelf on bespoke unobtrusive brackets in the rare cases of bodies in the back seat...

Head unit will be a a mech-free USB/AUX input Phillips units..as its nice to have my music collection on a keychain of 4 USB's

I'll update as I progress....

mds141 · Post by **mds141** » Thu Nov 17, 2011 1:22 am

The XM has a superb sounding system. Real depth and clarity to the sound. It is a Phillips head unit and cd autochanger in the boot and i presume Phillips speakers as well.

B-Hive · Post by **B-Hive** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 4:08 am

Well the new Philips stopped reading the USB...oh fun ..remove unit ...pack it up in its box...send it back for repairs...hhhmmm not happy..

Christmas period ..probably wont get it back for 3 weeks...

Plan B, as the SAAB will be getting a system upgrade, so it has now donated its Sony head unit to the GT...

Result...Very impressive...might I add that despite folks here saying that the original boomer box system in the car was rubbish, I have to disagree..But you need to be sure to wire it correctly so the twin coils dont cancel each other out..

Plus it also helps enormously to wad to inside of the c-piilars with acoustic insulation (behind your speaker of choice mounted there..)

System now provides a very pleasing sound with warmth, crispness, and depth...PLUS no need for additional speaker holes cut anywhere

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 10:02 am

I'm slightly tempted by an MP3 player, perhaps with its own internal storage as I don't own an iPod or the like. It would be great to listen to anything I own rather than realising I've left the CD in another vehicle! The thing that puts me off though, is the time it must take to transfer your entire music collection onto a computer. Especially if you have to enter the disk and track details.

citsncycles · Post by **citsncycles** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 9:39 pm

I did this earlier this year when I decided to get an MP3 player, using Windows media player to copy my discs onto the hard drive. For 90% of my collection, it pulled all the track details automatically, with only some of my very early CD's or more obscure stuff (and a lot of my stuff is like that to most people) needing manual input.

I wasn't sure how much I'd use an MP3 player, but wanted to go for plenty of memory so in the end I bought a Sandisc Sansa Clip+ with 8gb memory and a slot for a micro SD card up to 16gb. Currently I have about 1600 tracks on the on board memory with a bit of space left. It's a good starter player, but the battery is non-replaceable so when it's gone, it's gone. On the other hand, it cost less than £40 on Amazon, & I'm getting plenty of use out of it.

My advice if looking at MP3 players is decide what features you want and shop around for different alternatives. If you want to plug it into a car radio, docking station etc through the headphone socket, make sure that you can bypass the nanny state volume limit that has to be set on all players sold in the EU.

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 10:06 pm

Hmmm, there's very little in my music collection that would be considered mainstream or even recent!

Not sure whether I'd prefer a standalone MP3 player which I could plug into a head unit, or just putting everything onto a USB stick which I then plug into a head unit. I still can't see me having the time or the inclination to transfer all my music to another format though!

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 10:59 pm

I don't rate MP3 players for sound quality, however, i've never heard a car stereo one, are they actually any good because if they are like ipod's etc...then a portable minidisc player sounds miles better.

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 11:16 pm

But would the sound quality be that much of an issue in a car? I'm not sure I'd be able to tell the difference whilst travelling.

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 11:19 pm

I must admit that in a BX travelling at speed, then perhaps not, but at less noisey speeds, hell yes, time to get your ears syringed

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 12:20 am

What?!

My only experience has been comparing manufactured CDs with audio CDs burnt from MP3 files, and listening to the two formats back to back in a car I wasn't able to tell the difference.
Not had much experience listening to an iPod or the like so can't comment on that...

Matt H · Post by **Matt H** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 9:33 am

Seriously... If you rip an CD at 320kbps, you wouldn't be able to tell in any BX. I did the comparison in a very nice Bowers & Wilkins equipped Jag XJ and couldn't. MP3s can sound horrible and compressed if you use lower quality though.

If you really can tell the difference (and I'm still unconvinced), use the FLAC format, and make sure your player can decode them properly.

When I want to properly listen to music I do it at home on my 20 year old hifi

I recently came into some very nice (albeit classic) equipment, and it has seriously spoiled me

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Tue Dec 20, 2011 11:15 pm

What old stuff did you get, my stuff is going on for 20+ years & still sounds brilliant, mind you, it was v-expensive in its day.

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The ICE thread

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