Radio upgrade

[370Z/28]

As much as I love my new car...the radio SUX!

Any suggestions on upgrades? I don't really want to break the bank, but this distortion has got to go. I like my music hard, fast and loud. This radio ain't getting it.

[AppleBonker]

What kind of budget are you working with? How much do you want to replace (speakers, head unit, amp, sub)?

[370Z/28]

I would be perfectly happy with better speakers I think. As long as I can play my iPod, I'm happy with the unit.

I have speaker grills behind my seats, but when I try to change the "fade" on my radio nothing comes out so I'm assuming there are no speakers in there. Are these wired for upgrades. How stingy of Nissan not to just go on and put speakers in there.

[AppleBonker]

You have the base audio package? If so, there aren't speakers back there. And I'd be willing to bet a large sum of money nothing is wired either (side note: in the Bose package with speakers back there, the Bose amp is in the trunk, so speaker wires would run from the trunk forward to the speaker locations. Since you don't have the amp in the trunk, that additional wiring would cost time and money, so it is almost certainly omitted). For the good news, in a two-seater (or any car for that matter), speakers in the rear are a BAD idea. I've got speakers in the back locations on my car, but I don't think they've been turned on more than about 0.05% of the time. All of your sources in the car are two-channel, so ideal reproduction would also be two-channel. So, you're in luck! I would simply swap the speakers in doors and go from there.

The only issue you'll have is the wiring. It looks like on either side of the car, the tweeter is wired in parallel with the door speaker. This is not ideal. If I were you, I would find a decent set of component speakers and run new cable from the crossover to the door speaker/tweeter on either side. This will provide you the best upgrade (with the least possibility of damaging a new speaker), but will require a bit more work.

Are you happy with using the auxiliary input on the head unit for your iPod? How much would you want to spend on speakers?

[370Z/28]

Yes....I really like using the iPod. I keep it between my leg and the seat so I can switch to another song easy. Only issue I have had is hitting the cord when I shift but that is no problem.

I'm going to take it to a radio shop and see what they can do for speakers. I would really like to keep it under $300 or so. I might eventually really splurge on a better radio.

My 370Z isn't my only toy. I have a '95 Z28 I show and it needs some stuff done to it too. So many toys....so little money.



Thanks for your help. I'll let you know what I decide.

[AppleBonker]

Do keep us posted. $300 should get a nice set of speakers. I would highly recommend doing the install yourself (if you weren't planning on it) to save money (and by save I mean have more to invest in the speakers).

[370Z/28]

Think I found out why I was getting so much distortion. I had my iPod on full blast. I just Googled and got this info:

For optimal sound quality when using external speakers, set the iPod volume at less than half the maximum output and adjust your listening volume through your stereo controls. This prevents overamplification, which can cause distortion and reduce audio quality.

I'm going to try adjusting the 2 volumes and see if I can't get better sound. Gosh I love Google!

[Ace2cool]

Makes sense. Having the ipod volume high puts the internal headphone amplifier at maximum output, which in turn causes "clipping" of the audio, which can come through as distortion or choppiness of the sound.

[370Z/28]

Turned my iPod down to right below 1/2 volume. Made a world of difference. Still getting distortion at high volume. First time I hit a royal flush at the casino, I'm heading straight to a stereo shop.

[BusyBadger]

I did the same thing with my Droid and was amazed at the results,

What casino are you going to? I've always said if I lived closer to Cherokee that I'd quit my regular job and just grind out a living at video p0ker. It's all probability and odds and one of the few games that a smart and dedicated player has an advantage playing.

[370Z/28]

Hollywood in Tunica, MS. We love it there. They bit my butt last night, but I think it was the double vodka and crans that got me. I was up for a while then gave most of it back. Gosh I love video p0ker. I can play it for hours.