Club Cobra - In Car Stereo

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As much as I love the sound of my engine there are occasional times when I would love to have had some stereo noise. Anyone here put one in? Did you hide the install? Pics would be great.

Phil

Why not just use an iPod?

Pandora and Rdio on my phone, earbuds for speakers. Uncomplicated, clean sound, and no extra cost!

Small amp and 6 1/2" speakers hidden in the trunk with a Bluetooth interface ($30). All hidden with clean and simple wiring. Syncs to iPhone/Pandora in seconds. Gives just enough noise when cruising. Mine are mounted behind the rear firewall with the carpet covering the speakers and acts as a speaker grill. Very stealth. Can't post a picture because you can't see it :)

I don't recommend ear buds at all. A bit to disconnected from your surroundings for my taste. Just my opinion.

Use your phone with blutooth...

Earbuds are not legal in some states/provinces...
Headsets | AAA/CAA Digest of Motor Laws

Earbuds and Ipod. I wear ear plugs when not using the earbuds. Stops the wind and exhaust noise and I can drive all day long. I pull them out when I see a potential threat.

Legal, OK yup there are potential issues but I can still hear what's going on around me and I'll take the ticket to protect my hearing.

Now about the built-in stereo, why, what do you expect to hear? My car idles at 95db and full throttle is 123db both measured with a pro series meter positioned between the two seats at about ear level.

Jim

Quote:

Originally Posted by gunkk (Post 1346341)

Earbuds are not legal in some states/provinces...
Headsets | AAA/CAA Digest of Motor Laws

And here's a nice infographic based on the AAA data:

http://img.gawkerassets.com/post/17/...ic_final_2.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by Large Arbor (Post 1345603)

As much as I love the sound of my engine there are occasional times when I would love to have had some stereo noise. Anyone here put one in? Did you hide the install? Pics would be great.

Phil

I have one and never use it. I prefer to hear the sound of the side pipes.

I wanted something hidden, but something good. What I chose is a JL Audio HD600/4 amp, which has line-level attenuation, so you can plug an iPod or iPhone directly into it. All you see in the car is a cable exiting where the bulkhead meets the floor, and you plug the phone into that cable. I used a grommet and some nice fabric conduit from McMaster-Carr, so it looks clean.

The JL Audio HD amps have a feature where you can control the volume of the amp using an optional pot, so the install will be clean and doesn't require a head unit. I put the pot on a little aluminum bracket I made under the dash, so it is completely hidden but I can reach it easily from the driver's seat. The amp drives 4 JL Audio 5.25" speakers with external crossovers, two in the bulkhead and two in the footboxes. It is far better to use the line-level output on the phone's pin connector, and not the headphone jack, which adds another (very cheap) amp in the chain.

So it works as follows: iPod/iPhone line out (Lightning connector) > Lightning/30-pin adapter > 30-pin to RCA cable > RCA > amp (with line level volume attenuation) > crossovers > speakers.

Let me know if you want more details.