jamesinc
Also I can't believe I haven't thrown myself into this thread yet! I've been building carputers of varying types for years! My first was in 2004, with a 1GHz MiniITX with 80W Morex regulated PSU. 40GB HDD. I installed it in my '85 240GL via an in-line FM modulator. The case was made from Lego. Back then headunits with aux-in were very expensive (at least for a 17-year-old).
I built controls for it into the dash. The way I did this was to take an old P/S2 keyboard, remove the controller board, then short the I/O pins and mapped out the closed circuit for each keyboard key. I then bound some of these keys to global shortcuts in WinAmp (which was set as the system shell in Windows 2000), then used passing-contact switches from JayCar and soldered the wires to the controller board. A P/S2 extension cable went to the boot where the system was. There was a big red switch on the dash to power it, and I also made a little breadboard circuit that closed the power switch for a moment when the ignition was cut, to safely shut the system down.
It ran great, though until you got the hang of the library layout, finding the song you wanted was hard. I had some keys multiply. E.g. if you held down next track key and play key it skipped forward 10 tracks at a time, or next and stop was 100 tracks at a time. Then same with previous track key. It only had buttons for prev, next, play, stop, and random. I had to plug into it with a Cat5 in the garage to update the library and playlists, but all in all it worked great.
The only issue it had was that in summer it would overheat in the boot and shut down. I actually found a workaround, which was to open the ski slot in the back seat, and after that it only died I think on one super hot day in January.
Ex850R
Love the Lego case!
jamesinc
Ex850R
Looks good , spoilt for Lego there.......
I was a hi fi fan early on , Yamaha NS1000s etc. ..I sold them to buy another motorbike! New bike every year!
I now have a few amps on the go ,a nice Perreaux MOSFET power amp I revived with pre needing a cleanup , i picked up a pair of Focal floorstanders for an obscene price as no one knew what they were on ebay and he wasnt happy but the guy also had some real weird stuff from Japan and Europe which was good to see. The Redgum was great untill the Perreaux was fixed and an old JVC reciever that goes very well with some JBLs and polk monitors hooked up in the work are in shed. You never stop with Hi Fi , just find that you have other priorities and when it costs an arm and leg to get a tiny upgrade you soon bore of it all....Children going on overseas school trips do it too....
PaddlerEd
@jamesinc, you couldn't not have photo's!
That is awesome... I now want to build something out of Lego... but the nearest Lego I have access to is in Coffs Harbour and the 2 boys that it belong might get a bit cross!
K3FSAR
Funniest realisation I had when I was driving my new Denon amp around was..... My amp is worth more than my car 8-}
What speakers are you running @jamesinc ? I've got a new projector coming soon. Girlfriend thinks I'm weird for wanting a 120" screen that blocks the living room door. Go figure.
jamesinc
K3FSAR;3597 wroteWhat speakers are you running
@jamesinc ?
My home hi-fi is a 2-channel setup. I have a dedicated audio box that is optically connected to an Onkyo A-5VL. The primary speakers are Dali Ikon 7 floorstanding speakers, and the secondary goes outside to some Bose outdoor speakers.
I have to say, the Ikon 7s are just merciless. It's just impossible to get them to do anything other than be perfect, all the way up to 11.
Speakers review:
http://www.avhub.com.au/index.php/Product-Reviews/Hi-Fi/dali-ikon-7-loudspeakers.html
Amp review:
http://www.whathifi.com/review/onkyo-a-5vl
The amp review can be summarised as "good but a very clinical sound", which I agree with - for traditional music I think a valve-based amp would be superior, but I listen to a lot of EDM, for which I've found this amp to be outstanding.
jamesinc
The car is far less balanced - 400W P-audio subwoofer, 400W monoblock Sony amp, Sony headunit, 2 6" Pioneer in the front, 2 6" Sony in the rear. Not bad but lacks a bit of midrange. Could do with some 6x9s but they're a PITA to put in a wagon.
Ex850R
I love the Dynaudio mids that the C70 has but also comes with that centre speaker Dolby stuff. There was a time in the 80s when it was deriguer to bridge the second speaker terminals on amp with one speaker that was a rear , it gave a type of surround that was a bit rubbish once you got better quality gear also DBX dynamic range expanders were the rage as well ! for records ! Again , better gear negated the use but intersting stuff. I find the x70 /850 wagons and sedans have poor mids too on STD gear so am looking at somehow getting some mids in there or ultimately a spectrum anylysed session , someone must do this for car stereo and advise on whats needed?
PaddlerEd
I "lost" my set of Yamaha separates to my parents, so their kitchen/conservatory is rocking a Yamaha AX-396 amp, TX-492 Tuner and CDX-396 CD player and a set of Wharfdale bookshelf speakers... Vastly over the top, but as the kitchen/conservatory is the most used room it makes sense to run the best sound system in there. Sounds great, a really warm sound compared to the micro system that was in there before; even they noticed the difference.
I've lined up my Grandparents 20 year old Technic's as a replacement; they've also got an awesome sound to them; love older systems, such a nice sound to them.
Ex850R
I discovered Technics high bit rate CD players a while back and got a few ebay cheap from lower end to high in the range and am most impressed with what they did back then , i try and find those super quality CDs , the very gold ones that are so much better than the run of the mill ones. The record collection still hasnt been ripped to digi yet , it will be a long and ardous affair unless i weed out what i really want from years ago , probably not much as the ones i rediscover are obtained via download anyway.
There are some gems amongst the old skool '80s gear , with a bit of fettling they can be good agin but speakers need reconed or the foam done is easy , its the amps that cost too much to fix unless its DIY.
I had an outstanding Accuphase japanese amp for years and when an output went i was quoted too much and for the other side to need doing later not worth it but got good trade in with Redgum for a demo amp , the guy is a boffin , designs and makes all this great gear in Melbourne's hills , fantastic amp .
CamZH
Ex850R;3605 wrote someone must do this for car stereo and advise on whats needed?
I have the gear to do this,
It's actually pretty easy to do, but in a car its a bit of a waste of time.
Add an extra person and everything changes.
Open a window, same thing.
The software is called Room Eq Wizard and you can get it from the Home Theatre Shack.
just need a mic and decent external sound device and you're good to go
Ex850R
Ahh , so , what constitites a sound device and how cheap can the mic be as have none of...
I am the one listening so its generally set up for me anyway with balance and f/r on STD system ATM..
CamZH
I've got a M-Audio Fast Track Pro. which is a 2 channel I/O
Normally used for recording music and stuffs.
As for the mic, there is a bunch of options.
You can get a calibrated USB mic for around $100 (which obviously doesn't need the external device)
Otherwise you can use any mic really, helps if you get something that you know the frequency response of.
There is some hand held SPL meters that have line outs that have calibration files available from HTS
at the end of the day as long as you like the sound you get, who cares how accurate it is ?
Ex850R
Yeah , its true , whatever sounds right !
I have an M-Adio pcie card !
I wont be buying anything just to test the car , enough $$ spent on amps etc and the carputer to go in too.
K3FSAR
Alrights! Got the last of the bits coming Monday so I need to get organised :D Been without audio the last few weeks, so it's getting done by the end of next week that's for sure.
Tossing up whether to cut back the slots in the 850 in the double DIN area or modify the box.....
Tigabu
Mac mini or iPad air or Lenovo tablet...
K3FSAR
Neither :P Actually tested fitment of the double DIN box I have and it fits fine. So working out whether Volvo isn't standard or the box I have *shrugs* Tis most interestings.
Tigabu
Hahaha
@K3FSAR I meant that's what I'm going to be using... :-D
K3FSAR
Aha makes sense ;) Been researching for the last 2 hours how to make things all work.... And it's gunna be complicated. But that's alright. I think. A tablet would be a lot easier..... I shall see how I go!