Please Advise: Need a good quality HU with GRAPHIC eq + MP3/WMA
UFO
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Here's the situation, in no particular order: I don't listen to rap, ever, so I've been trying strenuously to avoid getting a subwoofer. I typically listen to heavy-duty rock with seriously clipped guitar, so I wanted speakers that won't fry to a crisp at the slightest hint of trouble. I put in an Alpine 9827 head unit - which I will have to replace because a.) its display is flatly impossible to read in anything but pitch darkness, b.) its control setup is a labyrinthine nightmare requiring an advanced degree to navigate and c.) the eq is parametric rather than graphic, which shift from graphic to parametric is probably the worst thing to happen to car stereo since 8-track tapes.
In the back I put a PPI 4125 4-channel amp which is 125W/ch at 4ohms, and two pairs of MB Quart PCE-216 speakers with tweeters mounted coax, into the side panels of a 2002 Civic Si.
The bass is underwhelming in the extreme, but I skipped Dynamatting the doors & rear panels because Circuit City wanted an extra $150 for the privilege. I'm wondering if Dynamat all around would make much of a difference in bass, or is that stuff mostly for vibration prevention like the CC guy told me.
I've got a real, real bad feeling I'm going to have to spring for a @#!%^&! subwoofer before this is over. Since the PPI's 4 channels are already spoken for, I'm wondering if it would be better to run the sub off of the head unit's amp, or just get a self-powered one like an Infinity Basslink, a JBL Basspro or some better self-powered model. My instinct would be to use the head unit because I don't really care to string more power lines off of my battery (or buy a bunch of exhorbitantly-priced distribution block hardware,) but I'm not convinced there'd be enough power from a head unit sub out.
Any suggestions? - Who (other than Alpine) makes a good quality head unit that has MP3/WMA capability and a multiband *graphic* equalizer? Sony makes one with a seven-band graphic eq and MP3 (their CDX-F5705X - no WMA,) but I keep reading that Sony HUs are crap. Is this true?
- What would you suggest in subwooferage for someone who wants good, solid bone-jarring rock 'n roll punch but not that God-awful boomy rap resonance?
- Or would Dynamat do the trick on bass dramatically enough to eliminate the need for a sub?
Thanks in advance for anyone who can shed light on this stuff.
I'd do an Eclipse 8454 or 5444 for a head unit. Both have a 13 band graphic equalizer, the benefit of the 8454 is it adds a parametric eq. and crossover with selectable slope, 8V Preouts, more advanced time correction, etc. For subwoofers, Image Dynamics ID Max, Adire Brahma, and Eclipse Titanium are all very tight subwoofers with excellent sound quality, not that boomy, they do put out some pressure levels, though. You can NOT run a sub off a head unit, NEVER do this. An Infinity Basslink is probably your best bet if you go for a self powered sub. Dynamat will help a little, but those speakers (or any components or coaxials) will not replace a subwoofer by any means.
By the way, contrary to what you may believe, EVERY type of music can benefit from a subwoofer, it's not solely for rap, though you see more and more crappy booming systems nowadays with very poor taste and installations, which may have been what turned you off. I'm into Sound Quality, and wouldn't ever consider having a system without a subwoofer to balance everything out. Any music, from Classical, Jazz, Rock (Heavy and Soft), Country, whatever your style, benefits greatly from a sub. If you get one and listen, you'll hear the difference and know what I'm talking about because you'll notice that you've been missing a lot of what's in the music. Especially since you listen to hard rock with kick drums, bass lines, etc.