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| Thread ID: 134417 | 2013-06-29 05:45:00 | How important is total harmonic distortion in a car stereo | asdex (1488) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 1347444 | 2013-06-29 05:45:00 | Hi I am going to buy a car stereo for radio and music at a place we have that is only on 12 volts.(solar and wind). I like the look of the Fusion one but it has a THD of 10% compared with a JVC one at the same price of 1%. The JVC is a bit flashy for the style of the farm house and the Fusion takes a SD card as well as a USB. I may add a small amp (55 watt RMS) later but would I notice the difference in 10% and 1% THD? Thanks |
asdex (1488) | ||
| 1347445 | 2013-06-29 06:37:00 | Guess it depends how fussy you are but if the Fusion you refer to is Sony then I wouldn't bother. Seems to be more suited to boyracers who want volume over quality. All that I have heard have pretty rubbish internal amps. Better off with JVC / Pioneer. Of course you can have a nice headunit but if your using rubbish speakers it will sound crap so keep that in mind. Alternatively have you thought about a stereo running off car battery? Would end up with much better sound but the hassle of batteries could outweigh it if your using it for long periods. |
hueybot3000 (3646) | ||
| 1347446 | 2013-06-29 07:28:00 | Hi, thanks for that. the Fusion player is the Fusion CA-ML600. The JVC a JVC KD-X200. I have a bank of 8 six volt batteries giving 880 AH at 12 volts. Cheers, |
asdex (1488) | ||
| 1347447 | 2013-06-29 09:04:00 | It depends to an extent upon the type of music you are going to be listening to. 10% THD is terrible even for the crummiest valve amplifier. However if you are listening to pop guitar with a fuzz box, then you would want to hear the intended distortion in all its pristine condition :) But as huey said people who have boom boxes wouldn't care about distortion, I expect their ears have already been compromised......... |
Terry Porritt (14) | ||
| 1347448 | 2013-06-29 09:35:00 | Sounds like it's best I go for the JVC. We listen to stuff like: Leonard Cohen, Eagles, Dylan, Neil Young Pogues Pink Floyd etc. I like a good quality sound. We have a Marantz 150 watt amp and big 200 watt RMS Wharfedale floor speakers. Thanks, |
asdex (1488) | ||
| 1347449 | 2013-06-29 10:14:00 | JVC isn't great gear, person I know at Repco tells me it has the highest return rate of all their car audio gear. | Alex B (15479) | ||
| 1347450 | 2013-06-29 10:18:00 | Oh damm an recommendations for a mechless unit around the $100 mark? Thanks |
asdex (1488) | ||
| 1347451 | 2013-06-29 10:38:00 | Are you planning to use the car stereo as a signal source only and use the Marantz as your main amplifier? If so, and if the amp is also intended to run off battery power, then using a simple rule of thumb you will be peaking at over 12 amps drain on your battery if the amp is driven to the full 150 watts (assuming it is 75 watts per channel, if it is 150 watts per channel it will peak at more than 25 amps). I doubt you would want to run it at that power level anyway, the sound pressure levels would be hazardous to your ears. Getting back to your THD figures, it all depends on the power output level at which it was measured, and if it was at full power then it may be far less at a more reasonable volume level. Before any comment can be made about THD levels it is necessary to know the power output at which it was measured. Incidentally, if the Marantz amp runs off an inverter then conversion losses will take the battery current drain up to another level again. What sort of charging setup do you have? Cheers Billy 8-{) |
Billy T (70) | ||
| 1347452 | 2013-06-29 11:08:00 | Thanks that's really good information. I was considering using the Marantz there but as you say the drain would be a bit hard on the batteries. I think we will go with a car stereo system and maybe add a small amp. The batteries are charged with a 250 watt wind generator and four solar panels I think they are a maximum of 4 amps each so 16 amps total. I'll look at Pioneer maybe and some six inch speakers. We can make do with less sound than we have now. Yes we have twice turned the stereo on and accidently had the volume on full. It was deafening in the lounge for the few seconds it was on. Cheers, |
asdex (1488) | ||
| 1347453 | 2013-06-29 11:47:00 | I have a 12V 20W T-amp purchased on E-bay for $60, would be perfect to battery power. These things are awesome and the sound quality is impressive. It's an S.M.S.L amp125597 according to the label on the side. Didn't import it myself but I can ask what's involved if you want to know. It runs off my PC Feeding a pair of wharfedale Diamond 9.1 bookshelf speakers in my office it's enough to fill the house with music and truly is a lot louder than you might think at 20W. Look up T-amp on google and find a review, people love these things and they are cheap. Edit: Here's a link to a similar one www.ebay.com Boy racers deafening themselves thinking it's in some way not idiotic aside, most music is listened to at 10 watts or less, even 20 is pretty loud if using decent speakers. In a car you may need more to combat road noise but in a house not so much. Point is most head units are around 40W these days which is more than enough for most people without adding an amp, however car speakers tend to be 4 ohm or lower so you will get less wattage/ volume if you use 8 ohm house speakers. I'd try it out first before adding an amplifier, given your power situation I'd not be adding unnecessary loads to the mix. I have an 18W stereo amp feeding a pair of old car speakers in my shed, it's surprisingly loud and rarely gets past half way. At half volume you can still hear it across the road. Not as good as the T-amp in the house though :) |
dugimodo (138) | ||
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