[geeks] car audio

[Jonathan Katz]

Bill asked:
> Suggestions for a decent low-end AM/FM/CD deck for my
> truck?  Under $200 preferrably...  Last time I did *any* 
> car audio myself was 1994...

Go to Best Buy. Look at their opened-items table. That's where
I got the head unit for my 2000. It's a Sony, 40x4 w/ a 3rd
set of RCA outs for the subwoofer. I think it was $189 and has
detachable face w/ CD up front and controller for a Sony CD
changer. Those 4x40 are actually RMS -- this is one unit below
the Mobile-ES stuff and isn't their new XPLOD POS.

Are you eventually planning on running it through an amp? Look
for the RCA outs.

You can easily build a nice system for around $600-700
including speakers. I don't know everything that there
is to know about car audio. I've had decent luck w/ the
Sony stuff. Most of my audiophile friends stick with
Sony/Pioneer and the higher-end Kenwood stuff for their
head units; MB Quarts, Sony, Polk for Speakers, and
Rockford Fozgate for their Amps and Subs. The 2000 has
the base Delco speakers powered directly off the 40x4
in my head unit while the sub is powered off a two 
channel Pioneer amp which is bridged. It's not a world-class
setup, but it works pretty well, it impresses most of my
dates, and I enjoy the sound.

Pricewise you're looking at:

			Low  High
Head Unit		200 (250)  (Open-item, scratch/dent. We don't need no stinkin' manual!)
Front Speakers 	40 (x2)  80 (120)  (The 4" MB Quarts I looked at today were $60)
Rear Speakers   60 (x2) 120 (180)  (There were some 6" JBLs I looked at which were $70)
Sub			 50 (60)   (I paid $59 for my 10" Rockford Fozgate Punch sub)
Box for Sub		 50        (I think I paid $40 for my sub box)
Amp			150 (200)  ($99 or $89 for a decent Pioneer 2 channel amp)

You don't have an HH Gregg local to you, do you?

The trick is if you pick all that stuff up at once
and you shop at a place which is commission (Circuit
City, HH Gregg) you can negotiate w/ the sales dude
and get good prices (close to and even lower) than
the one's I've listed.

You don't want to go the FM/CD changer route if you
get a CD Changer. Shell out the extra bucks for
a head unit which does MP3s (~$350) and that absorbs
the cost of a Cd Changer ($250-$350) for 10-12 disks
PLUS the $200 for a head unit. That's $350 v. $550
for the same amount of music.

-Jon