which radio system is the best for the NB?

[alquimista]

Hi! I have a 2001 nb and i've been thinking on getting like a subwoofer with an amp but don't know which one to get. I don't want to compromise that much the trunk's space. any suggestion?

[DiSiAC]

What have you been looking at so far?

[sean_fabanich]

jl and mtx thunderform both have options for the new beetle. the mtx fits along the side of the trunk and the jl actually sits in the spare tire...

both of those ways arent the cheapest however

best option to keep what little truck space you have is to get a truck box for a ten inch woofer. and just mount the amp to the box or the back of the seat.

one ten properly powered and tuned actually sounds pretty darn good in the beetle.

[alquimista]

thanks a lot... i will start looking out for more info on them...so far i checked the infiniti ones and they are also quite expensive aswell. I also saw a truck box from sony xplod...it didn't look that bad but i's not sure yet. the price with the 10" speaker was $189. what do you guys think? is it a good option? is it too expensive?



thanks for all your help.

[sean_fabanich]

i wouldnt go the sony route....unless your buying a tv.

id probably just get a sub and load it into a truck box 10. and then buy a seperate amp.

ive been a huge fan of diamond audio, ive suggested and built quite a few boxes using their stuff...and am always impressed.

id probably do a diamond audio d3 ten, and maybe something like an eclipse amp....right now the prices are great on them online...at maybe amazon.

Amazon.com: Diamond Audio Technologies D3 800 Watt 12" Dual 4 Ohm Voice Coil Subwoofer D312D4.2: Electronics

and

Eclipse XA1200 Mono Subwoofer Amps Car Amplifiers Car Audio Car Audio, Video, & GPS Navigation - Sonic Electronix

that amp would give you more than enough for 2 subs..let alone one....but its cheap for the quality...

good luck

[alquimista]

oh ok, thanks sean_fabanish....I will def look into it.

[Fl_bug]

I have a cheesy kenwood in mine that came with the car and it is by far the WORST headunit i have EVER dealt with! My sister just sold her Mazda Millenia, so she gave me her headunit and put her factory one back in.

I got REALLY excited! I took the old one out myself and when it was time to put the new one in, the connections didn't fit. So i'm just going to pay the $55 to best buy to install it so they can run the wiring for the ipod wire AND possibly fix my rear speakers that aren't producing sound.

[DiSiAC]

Diamond Audio makes some good stuff that flys under the radar.

Infinity Kappa Perfects get low without a massive chunk taken from the bank.

I second the sony remark. They make awsome TV's (XBR-FTW!) but they seem to lack in the sound departments these days.

[alquimista]

Hello. One question? so I can run a wire lets say from the back of the factory radio to the front for my ipod? b/c that will be great. i won't have to deal with the casette player....please let me know and if yes where to get it done....

[alquimista]

I have been looking around and I think I am gonna get a infinit kappa.... i saw an infiniti subwoofer with an amp all in one for about $299 but I am not sure....It says it's 200 watts....isn't that too low?

now...do you know of a good amp? something nice looking and great quality?

[sean_fabanich]

when picking an amp make sure you pick one that matches up with rms wattage. not peak wattage...if it doesnt say rms wattage...dont get it.

like i said im a big fan of eclipse. and if the sub is only a 200 watt rms sub you could get a very low cost amp...althou ill be honest. a 200 watt sub is pretty low for wattage. ive experimented with alot of subs...and to me i probably wouldnt do a single sub application with a sub that is rated at less than 400 watts rms.

ok...well im not giong to delete what i just typed...but i think you meant radio...not amp...when you asked about your last question.

i am a big fan of pioneer and kennwood and alpine.

all three have great ipod inter-connectivity. which means (as long as you check the compatibiltiy between your ipod and the radio) that it would come with a usb cable to connect to the ipod cable...you could run this cable to your glove box or arm rest...or whereever. it would charge the ipod and also allow you to use the radio to control the ipod...

alpine and pioneeer have a higher volume tolerance (the volume goes in smaller increments to higher numbers) therefore allowing you to not here a noticeable difference in volume with just one click of the volume.

i now have a kenwood and love it. hd radio built in (which i dont really care about) but the ipod control is great...
also it is the cheapest radio (of those three brands)that has nice sound features like time correction.

whatever you pick...id say make sure you get a radio with at least a 3 band eq, ipod control, internal crossover (for hpf and lpf reasons),3 sets of rca outputs, and time correction.

the beetle is designed, from an audio stand point, very poorly, having those extras will really make you alot happier with your system.

the kenwood will most likely match up with color scheme the best. mine has a white 5 line display (which is great cause you get so much ipod info) and the knows and such are illuminated in a blue very similar to that of the beetle lights.

pioneer also makes a great product. chances are it wont match up as well as the kenwood.

and alpine makes a great product, althou in my experience alot of them are sometimes put on the shelves with defects, so i tend to steer away from them, and on top of that youd need an external add on for any decent sound control.

so id def steer you towards the kenwood or the pioneer.

check these out

Kenwood KDC-HD942U (kdchd942u) All In-Dash Car Stereo Receivers Car Stereo Receivers and Head Units Car Audio Car Audio, Video, & GPS Navigation - Sonic Electronix

Pioneer DEH-P7100BT (dehp7100bt) All In-Dash Car Stereo Receivers Car Stereo Receivers and Head Units Car Audio Car Audio, Video, & GPS Navigation - Sonic Electronix

the second one doesnt have the time correction or time alignment feature

id def suggest going with one that does have that feature

back to the amp and sub you picked..do you have the link...id like to check it out,

thats really cheap for an infiniti kappa sub and amp combo, makes me a bit curious...and ive never seen a kappa series sub with that low of a rms required wattage.

anyways,

good luck

[Fl_bug]

Originally Posted by alquimista

Hello. One question? so I can run a wire lets say from the back of the factory radio to the front for my ipod? b/c that will be great. i won't have to deal with the casette player....please let me know and if yes where to get it done....

It can be done, but its going to take creativity. Most common is through the glovebox. Thats GREAT if your new headunit allows you to control an ipod without needing the actual ipod.

If it is an Aux Jack, then that is a completely different story as you will need the ipod near to change songs and what have you.

The one i received from my sister (not installed yet, it was in her previous car) allows it to be controlled via the headunit, so all i would do it route the cords to the glove box and call it a day. Check VwVortex in the mk4 Jetta/Golf section for wiring ideas. They have some that i think i would try myself


Finally, if you are keeping the stock radio, you can go here and get an aux jack adapter and/or one that allows you to use an ipod. Pretty much, anything is possible, as long as you have the mind, time, and dime to do it.

[timdrivesbeetle]

heres a really good system for sale that doesn't compromise too much trunk space. $160 for the whole thing + shiping. It uses a 600 watt amplifier. Complete Sound System For New Beetle

[topless kitty]

i have an infinity basslink. mine is mounted horizontally, but mounted vertically they take up even less space.