[cseal11]

Hi everyone,

Im new to the forum and to the whole ICE stuff, so im sorry if i ask stupid questions.

Basically i've had my first car which is a ford fiesta 02 reg, which has a tape deck in it for a while now, so the time has come to replace it with a new head unit, and i would like some advice on them as i dont understand some of the more technical side of them when it comes to preamp etc, for adding speakers and subs

At the moment i am just looking to buy a head unit, but in the near future i will upgrade the font speakers and add a sub (or twin sub) and an amp.

In the end i want a decent system that has reasonable power and bass so that i can listen to it loud when i want to.
Im not after a system thats top of the range and costs the earth, but at the same time i dont want it to be too cheap.

Would you be able to recommend some head units to me that will enable me to do those future upgrades and enable me to have a decent overall system in the end.
The only main feature that i want the head unit to have is the ipod control so i can play my ipod through it.

My price range for the head unit is around the £150 mark but £200 at the max

Thanks
Chris

[lauraly]

I asked pretty much all the same questions as you a little while ago.

Brilliant head unit with full ipod control: Alpine IDA-X303

Before you spend money on speakers put sound deadening stuff in your doors - Dynamat xtreme - fairly pricey but compeditiors dont come close to the quality.

speakers: personal choice but I would go for Focal in the front possibley in the back if you really want.

Dont bother with 6x9's if you are going to put a sub in the back just get decent fronts.

Amp: try get something decent 2nd hand, dont go lower than about 300w RMS - dont get drawn in by the number on the front that says 10000watts! RSM wattage is what you want to look for

sub - up to you but dont buy Edge, Vibe, Fli, Sony, Fusion or anything you get from Halfords, go for Alpine, JL, go for quality rather than quantity - 1000w RMS sub for £100 is going to very loud but the quality and clarity is going to be rubbish.

Just had my stuff proffesionally installed by Huets and it sounds amazining.

I made the mistake of buying rubbish components first and just wasnt happy so ended up spending more money on quality stuff.

Hope this helps

[Nezerous]

Lol @ 300W RMS amp.. U can have a 90W RMS AMP to run speakers, depends on what your power requirements are. Its not the overall Watt or RMS you have, its the quailty of sound your gear makes.

[Nezerous]

Anything over 500W for a sub is a bit stupid imo. I had a 700W Alpine, and it was so loud and sharpe that it would practially blow ur ear drums out!

On the other extreme, my friend had either a 15" or 18" insaane Wattage.. and the back windows would open when he turned it up slightly!

[Nezerous]

I love Alpine headunits tho. I had their £940 flagship at one point. But that was a bit extreme. On the otherside of the coin, there are some very cheap mp3 headunits on the market.. just take a look around, read some reviews and choose which you like the best.

With most new headunits of a good brand are 4x60w, it will run speakers a lot better until u get amp. plenty of power to run a nice set of fronts and small rears.

[cseal11]

thank you for all the tips and advice, im more knowlegable about the subs, RMS etc
That was useful information about the subs, thanks.

If anyone has any other useful tips, hints or knowledge i would be grateful if you post it so i can have a read and understand a bit more.

Thanks

[lauraly]

Nezerous - I was referring to the amp running the sub and speakers actually, would be a bit silly to run a sub and speakers off a 90w RMS amp!

My post was simply based on my experience with ICE and I way prefer quality to quantity!

I have the above setup in my car and no it wont blow the neighbours windows out but the quality is simply beautiful!