Sorry for the long post.

Well, I went and checked out Head Units this weekend. I was really expecting a lot more mp3 features. MP3 playback is very important to me. When I buy CD's, I rip them before I listen to them. The funny thing is that I own almost all the cd's for the mp3's I listen to. I listen to about 6 to 8 hours of music a day (about 1.5 hours in the car !).

I have had a Kenwood mp3 compatible head unit for about 2.5 years now. It was the third mp3 capable unit on the market. I have been happy with it, except I would like to have a unit that will better integrate into E's amp, etc.

The one thing that really annoyed me is the user interfaces for the head units. The seem to be able to play 5 second movies and have all kinds of flashy graphics, but they cant do something as simple as displaying an ID3 tag. The kenwood unit I had from 2000 stills seems to blow them all away in that respect.

The thing I am very interested in is a hard drive mp3 player. I would prefer to stay away from a portable unit, because it seems too messy. I am only going to be using this in my car.

I did however find the perfect solution. The Alpine HDA-5460 ( http://www.alpine-usa.com/html/D2_n_1_n_n.html ). unfortunately, it is more then I want to spend AND it is not available anywhere.

So after reading the forums here, asking questions, and going and looking at the units, I think I am leaning toward the Alpine CDA-9813. It seems to be the best compromise between features and mp3 functionality for me. Yes, it is the ugliest, but oh well. I would consider the CDA-9815, except I have a green E and I think the 9813 fits in better (9813 = green, 9815 = blue). This also leaves me with the option of the HDA-5460 if it comes down in price or if I just decide to go with it. I could also go with a Kenwood and get the Music Keg system, but I am looking to move up in sound quality. (am I wrong?).

There is also the option of a Neo unit ( http://www.ssiamerica.com/products/neo35/neocdc.shtml ), but I am a bit skeptical of these.

I generally listen to electronica or 80's music. I don't like a lot of base, but I do listen to it at fairly high volumes ;)

So this is my thinking. Any feedback or ideas would be appreciated.

I will get the Alpine CDA-9815. (thoughts)
I will replace the 4 6" speakers (suggestions please).
I will keep the factory tweeters (thoughts or suggestions for replacements please)
I will keep the factory sub and amp (possible upgrades down the road).

I am mostly looking for thoughts on keeping or replacing the factory tweeters.

I may try to figure out how to mount an iPod in a way that all the wires etc. are tucked away.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Ben

[quote:3940ea7dd2="GreenMeanie"]
I will get the Alpine CDA-9815. (thoughts)
I will replace the 4 6" speakers (suggestions please).
I will keep the factory tweeters (thoughts or suggestions for replacements please)
I will keep the factory sub and amp (possible upgrades down the road).

I am mostly looking for thoughts on keeping or replacing the factory tweeters.
[/quote:3940ea7dd2]

On the Alpine, it's a decent unit but I think the Clarion is a far better value and much better at simple things like ID3 tag display. I think it looks better in the E as well with the chrome. Pictures don't do that unit justice. Check out my review of the top 5 head units for the E here (http://home.comcast.net/~derek-kelly/element/top5.html).

On the speakers, check out CDT audio. There's a post with user reviews here (http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3019). The people who are discussing these speakers are using these speakers with the factory amp - just like you'd be doing.

On the tweeters - if you get some nice coaxials like the ones mentioned above, I'd recommend that you disconnect the factory tweeters. Yes they're that bad and you'll create soundstage and imaging problems for yourself - not to mention how overly bright it will sound. Believe it or not, the dash pillar is actually not the best place for a tweeter in the most cars anyway - very reflective - not a good thing.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply.

I did not get a chance to look at the Clarion. I will find one and check it out.

I am really confused about the whole speaker / tweeter thing. I understand the mechanics with them. I also assumed that the amp would filter out the signal to send the highs to the tweeters (like a crossover ?). With this in mind would I loose anything by unplugging the tweeters.

I am the type of person who not only pulls over and asks for directions (while my wife is saying "I know the way"), but I will ask 2 people !.

I respect the advice of people in the know.

So would it be best for me to unplug the tweeters or should I replace them? I would rather do things correctly then cheaply. Ideally I would like to spend under $400 on the speakers. If I can get good quality for $250 that would be even better ;)

Ben.

The way the E is wired is like this...

The amp sends full range signal to all door speakers. The tweeters in the front are daisy chaned off of the front door speakers. Theres an inline frequency isolator that keeps low freqencies from getting to the tweeter at (these are mounted on the back of the tweeter).

A coaxial speaker (presumably what you'd be replacing the door speakers with) already has the tweeter attached to the speaker so there's no need to use your factory one too.

Make sense? :?:

If you really want to do things right then you'd install component speakers which separate the mid-bass speaker and tweeter into 2 separate and distinct components in their respective door and pillar locations. The problem with component speakers is that they are usually used on higher end systems. The factory amp will have a hard time driving these types of speakers cleanly.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for all the feedback and words of wisdom.

Unfortunately, the Clarion is really hard to find in Houston. The few places that do carry Clarion don't seem to have the 835MP in stock.

As for the speakers. The CDT audio's look good. I am a bit concerned with the installation. I will post in the that thread about the install.

Ben

No problem.

On the Clarion, you could always buy a unit off the net and have a Clarion dealer install it. Tell them you're gonna do this and watch how fast they can get one in stock. :wink:

On the concerns regarding the speaker install I can only say this...

If you're gonna make an omelette, you gotta break a few eggs! :lol:

Take care.