Now I'm such a novice on this topic it's embarassing :o

 

I wanna change my import radio and speakers for some half decent new ones.

 

Looking in the backs of various car mags I see prices have dropped loads over the past few years, which is good :D.

 

Decent cd changer, nowt flash, looks around £150, speakers £50 a pair? Not bothered about being the best/loudest/bassiest(!) just wanna be able to play cds and turn the volume up sometimes without fuzzy noises etc.

 

Do I need an amp? Are they only for high wattage outputs?

Will the wiring already in place be ok?

Can I just go to a shop and buy a stereo I like, with 4 speakers of the right size, and fit them in place of the orig stuff?

 

Ideally I'd like someone to list what they've got in their modest but decent set-up please :) , hopefully with prices :D:D:D

 

My head hz :p

 

Thanks

 

Pete

Pete,

 

Mail me!!

 

Matty.

Mailed ya Matty! You got it?

I mailed you too, did you get that?

 

I have nothing from you!!

 

Try:

 

TopSquads@aol.com

 

Matty.

Right, there's many ways of going about it.

Firstly install it all yourself, especially in a Z as when i did mine a few weeks ago it was the easiest car i've ever done!

 

You could try and get a head unit with alot of power but really for the sake of 100 odd quid ur better off getting an amp, 2 channel is enough as there's no point in powering the rear pair. If you have a set budget for speakers, say £100, spend it all on the front pair. 6 1/2 inch components you want really but if you want it to be really easy to install get coaxals but they're not nearly as good.

 

I would personally say budget for a sub, doesnt have to be big n flash infact i prefer descrete as possible, making it look factory fitted. I'll email you a pic of what i mean, i can make the same thing for u for beer money(just p&p) if u want. Gives the sound much more depth and doesnt have to be booooooomy.

 

Wiring depends on what you decide. Just a headunit and speakers, existing wiring will do. With my amp i took wires from it and tapped into the speaker wiring just before it goes thru into each door.Had to run a wire thru to the amp from the battery but was a piece of wee getting it through the cable release grommet.

 

Anywho i'll leave it at that as you probably havent even bothered read this far!!:p

Thanks Rob, yeah I think I'd have a go at it myself, can't be too bad.

 

So does the sub just hit the lower notes? And how would this be wired in? - does any decent head unit have sockets at the back for subs, tweeters etc or is that when you need an amp?

 

Or do they plug into the amp, then the amp into the head unit?

 

I presume wiring for the back speakers runs under the plastic by the door sills?

 

What is this Pete - 20 Questions :D ?

 

Thanks mate

 

Pete

Yes the sub just does the lower frequencies. If i have music playing and i press a button to turn the sub off, the music sounds horrible and flat. Especially as the speakers you put in the doors arent designed for bass unless u use 6x9's which aparently are a pain to cut/weld/superglue in. Atleast they're nice and cheap.

 

The sub does need an amp. Doesnt have to be expensive tho especially as u dont (or i dont think you do) want something to powerful, there's enough novas around thankyou.

 

Get one 4 channel amp, 2 channels drive front pair, other 2 are bridged to one output for the sub. A simple pair of rca cables (one red, one white just like home hifi) will go from back of headunit to amp. also one other little wire which will be explained in the headunit and amps manuals. Basically when the headunit is on it turns the amp on.

 

You could easily hide the amp out of sight if you want, say under the passenger seat or something.

most head units have pre-outs and the amps plug straight in to these, just recently done all mine, new head unit, fitted amp,sub,speakers the lot im no expert but i trust myself so if you need a hand let me know and i'll pop over your only 20 mins away;)

there's enough novas around thankyou

 

Exactly my thinking, the 300zx is a classy car and it shall remain so!

 

Keith: thanks for the offer mate :) , I'll drop you a shout when I buy some bits! I'm sure theres some drinks in it for you! No showing off your MP3 wizardry tho, nah only joking - course you can! Did you know yours was the 1st zed I'd been in? Ahhh memories...

 

Cheers

 

Pete

Did'nt know that, you obviously know matty. If your talking about the neo-jukebox mp3 player matty had in it i had to take it out after misplacing the software (not much good without that) anyway got a new in dash mp3 now so if you know anyone that wants the old one, minus the software make me a offer ;)

Keith,

 

How much do you want for my old MP3 player???????????

 

:D

 

Matty.

Keith you don't need the software for an mstation, the computer just reckonises it as another hard disk. Only thing the software is used for is to convert cd music to mp3s. There are loads of these programs free on the internet and to be honest the one that comes with the player is rubbish IMO.

I can copy the cd that came with mine 4 u if you want but u really dont need it. Last week i completely formatted my comp's hard disk and re installed windows and i havent even bothered put the software back on.

okay - a couple more questions on the same topic :)

 

- Looking at head units, the specs say eg 4x50W - what does this relate to? Presume it must be speakers x max wattages but isn't that a bit low - or is that where you'd need an amp to raise output?

 

- "pre-outs" - whats this? Are they important for a standard set-up?

 

Keith - yeah I went to look at your car when it was Matty's but couldn't sort the money out :rolleyes:. Nevermind - mine's red so therefore is faster :D

 

Matty - you are obsessed! But I hope you and your old MP3 player can reunited once again in perfect harmony :D;) I know it's been missing you...

 

Cheers Zedders...

 

Pete

When it says 4x50 watt it means that it has 4 outputs (drives upto 4speakers) of 50 watt Max. Don't confuse max with rms, 50 watts rms would be alot more power.

U say that isn't much but compare to home hifi's argos sell, they're like 2watt per channel.

4x50w headunit will be enough to drive fairly low powered speakers fairly loud but there's the worry of distortion popping in. That's what ruins your hearing!

 

Pre outs are outputs which havent been amplified by the headunits internal amp, and thus you plug these into any amps you have. So preamps are important if you want any seperate amps, otherwise won't matter.

Thanks for the offer and advice ROBTOR but i aint got room for it now anyway so matty is having it back.

Woooooooohooooooooooo!!!

 

:D :D :D :D :D

LoL

stay calm Matty.

They are good pieces of kit tho.

:D :D But will it still have your old Beegees and Carpenters hits you stored on it Matty?

Don't forget all my 70's 'funk' as well pete!!

 

;) :D

 

It will be like being reunited with a part of my old Z..........:cool:

 

Matty.