Stereo Repair advice needed

[Tom Reingold]

How's the sound quality? I'm just messing with my son's castoff MP3 player,
(he got a 40 GB MuVo) and as a guy who likes CD-quality sound, some MP3's
sound awful. I'm experimenting with compression rates, and the
highest-quality rate sounds ok in this cheesy MP3 player...

-John O

Seems OK to me. I'm using 160 KB. But I might not have such fine ears. I
did notice that 64 KB has some bad distortion at the high end.

 

[John O]

Seems OK to me. I'm using 160 KB. But I might not have such fine ears. I

did notice that 64 KB has some bad distortion at the high end.

My ears aren't so good anymore, but distortion kills me. I'm thinking that
in a car it's not such a big deal with all the ambient noise anyway...and an
MP3-capable deck is a lot easier to use than a disk changer.

Thanks, guys.

-John O

 

[The Gadget Shop]

MP3s - If your player supports variable bit rate (VBR) than I suggest you
encode with high quality VBR. The data rate varies on the complexity of the
sound at that point, ie silence = 0, a single note might be ~128Kb/s and
bang/crash/voice might be more like 256Kb/s. Programs like iTunes let you
set a minimum bit rate for VBR - suggest 128Kb.

In a good stereo, 128Kb fixed can sound OK, probably similar to FM radio. I
can easily notice the difference in bass/top end between 160 and 192Kb, but
after that I can't tell the difference with my gear. For most car setups,
128-192 or Medium VBR would be fine IMO.

For best ripping, try exact audio copy:
http://www.exactaudiocopy.de

LAME seems to be a popular encoder too...

Cheers, Jason
PC-Video-Gaming: http://gadgetaus.com
128MB USB/MP3 Player/Voice rec $89

 

[BobN]

I successfully removed and dismantled my OEM stereo yesterday. The good
news is I got it back together and reinstalled with no screws left over, and
it still works as well as it did on Saturday. The bad news is that the
motor that spins the CDs is broken. I think that would be an expensive part
and it would be a gigantic pain to take the CD player apart to that level,
so I need to buy a new stereo head or a changer, or live with just the radio
and tape.

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

 

[Tom Reingold]

I successfully removed and dismantled my OEM stereo yesterday. The good
news is I got it back together and reinstalled with no screws left over, and
it still works as well as it did on Saturday. The bad news is that the
motor that spins the CDs is broken. I think that would be an expensive part
and it would be a gigantic pain to take the CD player apart to that level,
so I need to buy a new stereo head or a changer, or live with just the radio
and tape.

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

That's good news that you now have the confidence in replacing your
stereo. Good luck with replacing it. I'm sure you'll be happy with a new
unit.

 

[S]

Hi John, All!

How's the sound quality?

MP3s are kinda like *.jpg fotos; they can be very good, or they can be
poopoo. Really depends on bit-rate, and whether the creator took the
effort to "normalize" the levels. MP3 "tags" are also a nice but
optional feature. Fortunately these are easily added/edited if so
desired.
I really prefer MP3s for mobile use; way easier (and safer) than
fumbling with swapping CDs on the run.

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[David R. Birch]

Best Buy runs ads occasionally offering free installation with sale car stereos.
This doesn't include the price of an "installation kit", which seems to run
about $60. Considering Crutchfield sells them for about $7 or sometimes gives
them away, is Best Buy a ripoff, or is there something else at work here? Does
my 2001 OBS require anything special?

David

 

[S]

Hi David!

Does
my 2001 OBS require anything special?

Most any contemporary stereo will mount using the existing brackets in
your car. If you have one of the double-height factory units, you will
need a "pocket" to fill the space left when you install a
single-height aftermarket head. Mmmmm, about $10 from Crutchfield,
IIRC.
You will also probably want a wiring harness adaptor to match the new
stereo to the Subaru harness, another ~$10 from Crutchfield; free if
you purchase your electronics from them.
So then. I'd estimate that the installation into your car by an
experienced tech would take perhaps 15 minutes from the time they
picked up the service ticket, til they handed you back your keys. If
you've never done one before, the same job will probably take you
20-30 minutes; it's really fairly straight-forward given the harness
adaptor, and requires only a phillips screwdriver, and perhaps a
butter knife to pry the surround out.
I'd suggest that the $60 "kit" is probably paying for the "free"
install. This might still be a good deal, depending on how much you
have to pay for the stereo, vs purchasing it on-line (or where ever),
and doing it yourself; that you'll have to decide on a case by case
basis.

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101