WHAT AMP!!!!!

[retronickk]

Hey there, just wanna know what amp i need, Only want a cheap one as i already have a decent one in my bros car (he robbed it for now)

Somethin from halfords i guess, just powerin a 180 rms an 350w peak 12" sub, might do a pair of 5.5s as well,

Max is about £150, as it's still my daily just want a simple on i can throw under my seat, s im gonna put my proper stuff in when i get my retrim

Help Please

[Niche]

I can't help you as I have no experience in this department but you can get a much better one for £150 if you shop somewhere other than Halfords!

[Unheard]

Halfords can do some amazing deals i got my satnav for £29 RRP£150 and a set of ratchet spanners for £29 usualy 70 odd

but apart from that they are not the best on price

Car audio direct (www.caraudiodirect.co.uk)are where most people would recommend you take a look, I have used them quite a number of times now

Once for a set of very hard to get hold of coaxial style components. All though it took some time they managed to get hold of them

direct from the states. They really do have a fantastic team.

This would fit the bill blaupunkt-gta260

[Niche]

Personally I would avoid Sony and Blaupunkt as there useless.

The standard VW BETA & GAMMA head units are made by Blaupunkt. I immediately noticed a huge different just by whacking in a pioneer head unit.

I would stick with Pioneer which is a good B class product. If you want A class than see this list.

ICE brand league table

[Unheard]

Sorry mate i disagree Blaupunkt make some good stuff,

The standard headunits are miles ahead of many standard units you get in other cars and they are being banged out for about 20p.

Its obvious your going to see an improvement by fitting an aftermarket unit of almost any brand. The amplification on factory fit units is a total joke

i think the gamma / beta are rated at 20w but thats not a very powerful 20ws . On the lupo the standard speakers are wired up in a way that shows an 8ohm load. By under powering the speakers clipping starts to happen very low down on the volume range. Distortion creates more heat in the voice coil further bumping up the Ohm rating. By putting a headunit in with better amplification you can get a much cleaner signal at a higher volume reducing the clipping that happens and thus reducing the heat that will build up in the speakers. You are then running at a lower real world Ohm rating than they were when forcing a bad signal through them.

Incidentally under normal load 4ohm speakers actually show more of a real world value of 6 to 8ohm so the more you can reduce the distortion the better your going to get out of any system and the longer it will last. Obviously the factory headunit are going to be crap but what do you expect when they cost pence to make. Becker could make just as crap a headunit if they were making them out of recycled baked bean cans, old tesco

bags and Pamela Anderson's old implants.

Unfortunately headunits dont always reflect a brands capability at making good quality kit. Most people will get a hedunit on its looks alone

so there is a big push for car audio brands to make there units look as nice as they can to attract the masses. Take money away from the components that put out the sound and direct them to the visual side of it. Easy money.

Personally i would not recommend Pioneer to anyone any more. I have not been happy with any of there kit iv have had the misfortune

to deal with for quite some time now. I have not listened to there latest range of top end stuff. There is usually a huge leap between low mid and high end with Pioneer but as most people don't tend to go for the top of the line i don't rate them. I am just going on recurring dissatisfaction i

have had with the range that us mortals can afford and i have had to setup. My biggest beef on there headunits is there useless EQ system. I hate it so much.I can never get what i want out of the them. Obviously through personal experience i am now slightly bias towards the brand but they can make very good kit. My feelings may well change if they start making headunits that give me the sound i am after.

As far as Blaupunkt goes there top end headunits ware they use to be super good are not as good as they were but the lower mid end units are really quite good. They look drab but thats because they know there market. At the end of the day i would much rather go for a lower end Blaupunkt than a lower end Pioneer. As for a budget amp i would not hesitate to go for a Blaupunkt there is no frills or gimmicks just an amp that does what it says on the tin. Id much rather go for that than something with flashing lights and looks like it has escaped from Roswell.

I have an old mac audio amp in my lupo its still much better than a lot of higher end amps i have setup but it looks shockingly bad. it never pretened to be anything fantastic it was just and amp with all the specs i required. I shelled out for a Rockfod amp to replace it but i sent it back. I noticed no realworld differance from the sub. The mac audio is simpler to get to the LPF and im always tweeking that depending on what type of music i am listening to. I kept loosing the allen key for the Rockford and i had the side off more than it was on. Money does not always buy happiness, getting something that fits your needs will though, who ever makes it.

Blaupunkt is like the kid in the playground that does not feel the need to have the latest Nike trainers. The ones he got from millets last

much longer and rub his feet less. On the surface of it they may not look as cool but he is just as good at football as the rest of them.

By law (Distance Selling Regulation) you have 7 days to change your mind and return any goods if your not happy with them. As long as return costs are covered by the person that purchased the goods. So if you order something and find out it really is not what you want then return it and get something else. In that situation its always worth pushing your Luck and asking the seller if another product can be slightly reduced as its what really would fits the bill for your needs but not what you can quite afford.

[Niche]

Personally i would not recommend Pioneer to anyone any more. I have not been happy with any of there kit iv have had the misfortune

to deal with for quite some time now. I have not listened to there latest range of top end stuff. There is usually a huge leap between low mid and high end with Pioneer but as most people don't tend to go for the top of the line i don't rate them. I am just going on recurring dissatisfaction i

have had with the range that us mortals can afford and i have had to setup. My biggest beef on there headunits is there useless EQ system. I hate it so much.I can never get what i want out of the them. Obviously through personal experience i am now slightly bias towards the brand but they can make very good kit. My feelings may well change if they start making headunits that give me the sound i am after.

WORD. I've always preferred their EQ on the budget head units compared to their higher end units, less options.

But as far as budget goes I'd rather have a Pioneer than a blaupunkt out of personal taste.

Edited June 30, 2008 by Niche

[Unheard]

Thats the problem they don't give enough options i never use preset EQ if i can help it they always sound flat where i want a bit of enhancement. Its never any good unless you have really shite coaxial speakers. I swear Pioneer set the EQ to sound good on the most budget speaks they can find. The bass is usually jacked up and there is not enough mid detail, fine if you listen to drum an bass or dance but useless for any real music.

Many things are about personal choice and what fits the indavidual. I cant say your choice is wrong because you may be happy as pie with what you go for and thats all that really matters. Just dont be fooled into thinking something is good just because of a name sony have used there name alone to sell poo products for years. Some of there products are class leading unfortunately its not across the board.

I would not go for either a Pioneer or Blaupunkt headunits personally as i would get another Alpine or more likley a Clarion.

I dont bother with a front amp and both alpine and clarion have very very good amplification, they are also tweekable.

But that has nothing to do with what amp to go for.

My take on it why spend up over £100 for something more than is needed save the cash.

[Niche]

We all know Sony are poo mate.

Xplooooooooooooooooooooood LOL.