Omega Owners Forum
Omega Help Area => Omega Electrical and Audio Help => Topic started by: V6mac on 07 January 2007, 01:34:37
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Hi, i want to put a new audio system in my car, is it straight forward or will it need a little messing with to achieve this, i also want to put a sub in the boot :question
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If it's a facelift then you'll need a fascia adaptor, I have a Pioneer MP3 player in mine and had to buy an adaptor to fit it.
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;) thanks for that, it is the facelift. What about wiring, is that easy enough ?
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Well as long as you don't have the Bose system installed it is really quite straightforward.
The Facelift has more space behind the headunit for the extra wiring will be a big help. :)
My advice would be this:
Get a decent headunit. Pioneer & Alpine are highly recommended. Don't skimp here.
Don't bother with changing the speakers yet. Simply amp the ones that are already there. The standard speakers are excellent and respond very well to being amped.
Amps... I would recommend a good 4 x 30-40w RMS (ignore any other figures they are meaningless). You don't need more power than this for the components.
Recommended amps are Alpine, Phoenix Gold, Pioneer, Kenwood etc.
Sub. Well I use a 12" JL Audio in a sealed unit driven by a Phoenix Gold amp.
Not hugely powerful (around 125w RMS) but very very effective. :)
All you then require is a wiring kit and some time... ;)
What is your budget? We can recommend some kit.
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thanks for the info, i have a budget of £200-£300, could probably up it a little for the right system.
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I agree with Laidback on his comments. To add my own:
It's all balance and compromise.
Depending on your personal preferences, you'll probably want a good lift in the bass department and a bit better quality of sound. But how you achieve this depends primarily on budget.
The biggest change you can make is to simply add a sub and nothing else. It's the bass frequencies that get absorbed the most in the car. Most of the power in music is at the lower frequencies, so if you boost these back up, your music will come alive.
But, as Laidback said, you really need to junk that headunit.
£200-300 is enough to make a decent system change, but you'll have to go secondhand.
A good quality new headunit will be around £200 on it's own.
Don't replace the door speakers, they can be fed from the amp and should be 'high passed' so that they only receive treble and mid range frequencies. This way, they will be able to produce a higher output.
You can leave them un-filtered, but you'll have to be careful you don't kill them.
So, a decent 4 channel amp. New, around £200-250. Secondhand, half this or less. Go for decent brands. Cheapos will not last and may badly colour the signal.
New headunit, around £200 (Pioneer or Alpine). Not really worth getting secondhand unless you know it's history.
Sub and box. Vary variable. New around £50-100. Half, secondhand.
Wiring. Around £30-50.
The headunit is the most expensive part, but should be as this is the first point in the signal path. From this point on, the quality can only deteriorate. So it's needs to start off good.
The amp is fixed in the boot. It is earthed with a thick cable to the chassis. It is powered from a separate, high current cable connected direct to the battery (via an appropriate fuse).
The RCA leads from the headunit are fed to the boot and connected to the input of the amp.
The outputs from two channels of the amp are fed via speaker cable to behind the headunit where they are connected to the existing front speaker wires.
The other two amp outputs are 'bridged' together to power the sub which is fixed in the boot.
The rear door speakers can continue to be driven from the headunit, but faded down a bit.
That's the basics. There's more detail obviously and it's a bit fiddly, but very well worth it. We can guide you through it.
There's plenty of research material on the web if you search.
www.bcae1.com Very thorough from start to finish on all aspects of car Hi Fi.
www.talkaudio.co.uk The ICE site. Very qualified and experienced people here.
If you want some piccies of how I did mine, I'll post them and bore everyone rigid, once again!
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Ok. I would look at getting decent second hand kit. I went this way and got some bargains. :)
Some suggestions...
Headunit:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PIONEER-DEH-P7700MP-MOSFET-MP3-CD-HEAD-UNIT_W0QQitemZ270075393217QQihZ017QQcategoryZ39762QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Nice, I used to have one of these. Anything under £100 is a good price.
4 channel Amp.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pioneer-GM-X354-amp-amplifier_W0QQitemZ300067946578QQihZ020QQcategoryZ4950QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Good 4 channel amp at a dirt cheap price.
Sub (and amp)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rockford-Fosgate-Punch-Sub-and-Amp_W0QQitemZ320067679344QQihZ011QQcategoryZ18805QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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;) ;) thanks for that great advice , should help loads. with all that info i might tackle it my-self :y :y
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Good recommendations there from laidback.
Especially the little Rockford amp. They are very good, strong amps and always underquoted on power.
The best thing about that one is that it'll probably fit in the first aid cubby like this.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a59/Hillper/111_1190.jpg
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Here is my sound upgrade:
Alpine head unit, 9854R its very good well made and good sound:
(http://tunnie.co.uk/projecta/DSC05872.JPG)
Don't go the double din route, looks awful. I tried it just don't go here.
I also have a Vibe CR10 Active Sub in the boot, the combination produces some fantastic bass.
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;) like it, loks really good, already got vibe cbr10, mate got 12" and my 10" sounds more crisp and more precise :y :y
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meant to ask, can you control the volume on the steering wheel :question
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meant to ask, can you control the volume on the steering wheel :question
Yes but you need a loom adaptor, around £20 ish off eBay. Full controls kept, change track, switch between CD, Tuner, Aux ect...
You can also re-customise the buttons to do what you want though the Alpine HU :y