Re: Factory Changer vs Head Unit

["Mark Radelow" <rpcprod@hotmail.com>]

I am not gonna start a long drawn about debate about this one...But yes, 
it might have been an "okay" deck ten years about...But today it is 
1997.  Any deck installed in a vehicle should be at least able to 
reproduce sound across the band.  Every person who has sat in my car and 
listened to the stock system said that the highs (treble) were very 
subdued and that the cymbals were not very well defined.  In case you 
haven't listened to the bose system I suggest you do.  And yes, most 
people wouldn't really care about the difference, but the minute you 
have someone considering upgrading to a cd player you need to make sure 
that at _least_ the deck is reproducing the full scale.  Here is an 
experiment for you to try...Go listen to a FM modulated cd changer in a 
car, and then go listen to a regular cd player in a equivalently 
equipped car...You will hear the difference if you use a fidelity track.  
Sure a lot of things out there are placebo effect...But I don't believe 
this is one of those cases.  Whats the point of upgrading to 400 dollar 
german mbquart speakers if the deck isn't doing its job properly?  It's 
like...well putting a V6 in a sedan, calling it a sports car and putting 
Eagle GA's on it!!! It just doesn't work ;)  (That was a feeble attempt 
at humor...please bear with me.)  Anyways, it's late, and I am sure 
everyone is sick of hearing about this, so I will sleep now :)

Mark Radelow
VW Jetta Homepage
jetta.aosi.net

>Date: Fri, 19 Sep 1997 04:37:52 -0400
>From: Vaso Bovan <Vaso_Bovan@compuserve.com>
>Subject: Re: Factory Changer vs Head Unit
>To: "INTERNET:jettaglx@igtc.COM" <jettaglx@igtc.com>
>
>Message text written by INTERNET:jettaglx@igtc.COM
>>Simply put, the stock Bose Panasonic headunit does make a difference. 
In=
> =
>
>sound audibly and technically.  Let me explain, I RTA'd both the stock 
=
>
>deck and my Eclipse (and RTA measures frequencies.  Kinda like an =
>
>equalizer, but it uses a mic instead of a line input).  Anyways, the =
>
>slope on the Panasonic started dropping off at 14,000 hz.  This IS =
>
>audible...Especially when listening to CD's.  The deck is essentially =
>
>setup for playing FM with drops of at 14,000hz.  Of course this is at =
>
>approx. 12db per octave but it is a definate difference.  The eclipse? 
=
>
>Well baring speakers performance it was flat to 20hz.  This was playing 
=
>
>a perfect sin wave at 90db (approx. 1 watt).  So don't be telling 
people =
>
>it makes a difference that is not noticable.  Even though it _might_ =
>
>seem to be a negligable (sp?) difference on paper...In the real world, 
=
>
>where the ears don't lie; it makes a difference.  The only thing I can 
=
>
>say to prove my point is.,...If you live near Los Angeles or San Diego, 
=
>
>come listen to my stereo and tell me you can;t hear a difference.
>Mark<
>
>
>The only thing I can say is there's a mass of published double-blind 
data=
>
>that shows that most people can not tell the difference between a good
>system and a very good system except maybe in artificial controlled
>environments. In the real world, in a stock automobile soundstage, with
>stock speakers, at reasonable sound pressure levels, most people are 
easi=
>ly
>bamboozled into thinking there is an improvement with aftermarket head 
un=
>it
>CD/tape/FM play when there really is not. Much of the automobile
>aftermarket stereo industry is based on delusion.  That's a fact.
>
>Don't be telling people the stock VW "Premium" system is a piece of 
shit.=
>
>It just ain't so. Ten years ago it would have been equal in sound 
fidelit=
>y
>to all but the most expensive aftermarket car units. Even today, unless 
t=
>he
>listener has fifteen year old female ears and has never been to a rock
>concert, he/she will not notice a significant difference between the 
stoc=
>k
>head unit and a typical aftermarket unit worth the money and 
inconvenienc=
>e
>of an exchange. (Also, all aftermarket head units look ugly in the A3
>Golf/Jetta dash). I'd advise someone looking to improve their stock
>Golf/Jetta sound system to get better speakers and/or a sub-woofer 
before=
>
>investing in a megapower head unit.
>


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